#jill
all the men who knew how to live have long been dead
The one who showed me car battery contact cleaners
after watching me push start my car backwards by myself for two months
As dead as the geo I totaled at that stop sign when my friend tried to skip my favorite song on the radio
We rode bikes from one side of town to the other when I was young.
My dad taught me to melt the patches on my bike tires. He didnt have a license when he taught me how to drive out of necessity.
Necessity, Like the degree I couldn't afford that I got so I knew how to fix a car myself. Because all the men who knew how to live
Have all been long dead
May 1
May 1, 2026 at 12:51 PM UTC
~
November 2024
HP Poet: Jill
Age: 47
Country: Australia
Question 1: A warm welcome to the HP Spotlight, Jill. Please tell us about your background?
Jill: "Mum and dad immigrated from Northern Ireland to Australia before having my brother and me. I’m very grateful to be living in South Australia on Kaurna Land. My parents were teachers, and they seeded and encouraged my love for education. At university I studied psychology, philosophy, and French. Then I went on to a PhD in psychology, and later, a master’s degree in statistics. In my day job, I’m a psychology professor, which includes lots of scientific writing. Outside work, I love playing music and singing with my partner and our friends and spending time with my precious son and our fluffy dog."
Question 2: How long have you been writing poetry, and for how long have you been a member of Hello Poetry?
Jill: "I’ve been writing poetry on and off for years. The times in my life where I have been most active coincided with having friends who were interested in reading and writing together. In high school, my dear friend and I would watch British comedy shows and write silly, surreal, or nonsense poetry. Our aim was to make each other laugh as much as possible. More currently, I’ve been writing songs with friends, including lyrics, which often start as poems. I joined HP only recently, in August 2024. This community is so generous and supportive, with such a variety of style, depth, and imagination for inspiration and motivation."
Question 3: What inspires you? (In other words, how does poetry happen for you).
Jill: "In many of my poems, I’m trying to make sense of big feelings. I often write about my experiences caring for my parents, who both had close and complex relationships with alcohol. That is a never-ending well for poetry, ranging from trying to process some of the intense events, to exploring what it has meant for my self-concept and mental health. Having said that, sometimes I’m just trying to write something that sounds pretty or might cause someone to smile. I love challenges like BLT's Webster’s Word of the Day – seeing what comes from a single word across different poets."
Question 4: What does poetry mean to you?
Jill: "In my more personal poems I am documenting, reconsidering, and re-investigating my memories, and organising them in nice, even lines, which feels cathartic. In poems, I find that the small or large amount of distance that you can create through imagery, rhyme, or humor makes it possible to explore difficult or even traumatic experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Writing poetry is a transformative exercise, but there is something greater still about sharing poetry with others."
Question 5: Who are your favorite poets?
Jill: "One of my favorite poets is WB Yeats, I particularly love 'The Stolen Child'. Other all-time favorites include Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, AA Milne, Lewis Caroll, Edward Lear, Spike Milligan, Rik Mayall, and Crawford Howard. I also love lyricists like Joni Mitchell, Michael Stipe, Stephen Schwartz, Tim Minchin, Wayne Coyne, Stephen Malkmus, and Rufus Wainright. I have so many favorites on HP – too many to list!"
Question 6: What other interests do you have?
Jill: "I love music. Since childhood, I’ve played violin in classical orchestras and musical theatre pits. I adore Irish folk music. For me, at the moment, music mostly happens with friends, with my electric violin, in pub bands of different kinds. Most of the poems I’ve written previously have only been publicly shared, adapted as song lyrics, with some of these bands. I also love all things science-fiction."
Carlo C. Gomez: “Thank you so much Jill, we truly appreciate you giving us the opportunity to get to know the person behind the poet! We are thrilled to include you in this ongoing series!”
Jill: "Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this, Carlo! It is such a privilege."
Thank you everyone here at HP for taking the time to read this. We hope you enjoyed coming to know Jill a little bit better. I most certainly did. It is our wish that these spotlights are helping everyone to further discover and appreciate their fellow poets. – Carlo C. Gomez
We will post Spotlight #22 in December!
~
Nov 1, 2024
Nov 1, 2024 at 8:50 AM UTC
She would hand out pieces of herself to those she found friendly
But when a person she thought she could love stumbled on through
She gathered everything she was and put it in their lap
Until one day the person she loved let her drop to the floor
Now when it comes to those she thinks she can love
She hesitates on handing them one tiny crumb
Jul 2, 2021
Jul 2, 2021 at 11:04 AM UTC
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To make out in seclusion
Coz no water is on the peak
Penetrated deeper inside
Stuck in captivus
Ov'r the hilltop
Into the horizon after
Nov 6, 2019
Nov 6, 2019 at 11:11 PM UTC
I wish i knew the words
to heal what you feel
Sometimes it's hard to understand
something so real
Like when Jack and Jill
went up the hill
to fetch their pale of water
They were only trying
to find ways to live a little longer
I wish i could see her
hold you in her arms once more
Come on momma
I don't want to see you cry anymore
Aug 8, 2019
Aug 8, 2019 at 5:16 PM UTC
How are you?
And how is Jill?
I gathered in KG,
That you fell down,
Broke your crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
You must have grown up by now.
Sep 3, 2018
Sep 3, 2018 at 3:30 AM UTC
"Jack..."
Yes..., "Jill"
What is in that sack?
Nothing... "Jill"
Isn't it time to fetch water
Ya, but......
"Jack"
I want to know
It's trash to throw..., "Jill"
Then why you climbed up this hill
You could have thrown elsewhere
"Jack...",
Yes... "Jill"
You are lying to me
I am not..., "Jill"
I felt I would miss this moment with you
So I forgot to throw this on my way
Sitting here with you......
Open the sack, "Jack" !
Why? You don't believe me?
I want to believe you, "Jack"
But my eyes wants to see
No!!
Why not, "Jack"?
Because it will smell...
Ofcourse, it will "Jack"!
Huh!!!
Yes! The blood is dripping from the sack
What have you done, "Jack"?
(silent sighs)
What, "Jack"?
It's another **** isn't it?....isn't it?
Yes, "Jill"...
He's the last of the gang, that killed you
Now you can rest in peace, "Jill"
I will just tumble this sack over
Then fetch some water, down the hill
I miss you, "Jill"
Do you miss me to?
Yes, "Jack", but you shouldn't have killed
Why not?, "Jill"
They took my life away
So I took their knives and slittered same way
As, they did to you...(cries)
I will join you shortly, "Jill"
I will join you shortly...
©sim
Nov 8, 2017
Nov 8, 2017 at 2:24 AM UTC
kicked the bucket down the hill
what should I do next?
I have no clue... maybe
I should find Jack for your Jill
or Jill can find Jack for me
....I'm feeling a bit lonely...
May 31, 2015
May 31, 2015 at 6:48 PM UTC
I went up to the hill
that Jack and Jill
once tumbled down
quickly becoming the talk of the town
a terrible reminder of youth
the scene from this hill
one fall down this grassy slope
and your life
becomes the tale of legends
of stories
of perverted wonderings
one tumble down this metaphorical hill
and you leave the land of butterflies and fairy wings
and hit your childhood crown
on the rock of adulthood
Jan 25, 2015
Jan 25, 2015 at 4:17 PM UTC
Jack and Jill Remix
Jack and Jill went up the hill
If they didn’t they’d be killed
They had to fulfill a task
On the floor they found two masks
Jack fetched a pail of water
Jill was a naughty daughter
Jill was bad and pushed Jack down
Till this day Jack was never found
With the mask on Jill’s face
The police could not close the case
In fear Jill had to hide
And if they found her, she would lie
She was not very wise
For she had forgotten her disguise
Frantic, she tripped and fell
Accidently into the well
Trapped so there she waited
Boiling all full of hatred
Their mother was full of worry
She stuffed herself with bean curry
The police found out who killed Jack
They had to find Jill at last
After along time they gave up
A man went to the well named, Pup
Jill jumped out, free at last
Hoping people forgot the past
But really she was wanted dead
She just needed to be fed
Mother found her, put her to bed
Next day Jill was off with her head
Mother stayed happily fat
Replacing daughter, got a cat
Sep 29, 2013
Sep 29, 2013 at 1:12 AM UTC
1. Silver foxes are better than young bucks
2. Love is the answer to everything
3. Jill Scott can evoke any emotion
4. Romantic comedies are horrible but sometimes they are necessary
5. Praying is a release whether you're religious or not
6. Art is more than paint on canvas
7. Hurting someone doesn't mean you don't love them
Jun 11, 2014
Jun 11, 2014 at 4:19 AM UTC
Like a moth
blinded by such froth
wished to touch the flame.
Wrapped with swath
Burnt wings dropped the cloth
Time to take the blame...
May 23, 2014
May 23, 2014 at 6:24 PM UTC
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
With Bill And Ted
To buy two bottles
Of mineral water.
Jack and Jill
Came tumbling down
Fatally cracking their heads open
And the local council was done
For corporate manslaughter.
But Bill and Ted
Came down on their mountain bikes
With the mineral water
towed on a skateboard.
And having buried Jack and Jill
At an environmentally friendly funeral
They headed for the Amazon
On solar powered surfboards.
Thus they concurred
This was yet again
As vinegar
Bed and
Brown paper-free
As there ever could be
Excellent Adventure.
May 23, 2014
May 23, 2014 at 8:49 AM UTC