SMASH has a £10 book token and a chance to be published on our Blog and in the next news letter for the best poem or prose piece (1000 words maximum) entitled “On being young” Send your entries to us at SMASH before August 1^st.   Mark entries “Writing Competition”. In the mean time for a little inspiration here’s one from SMASH’s excellent poet in residence Melanie Stevenson (15).

 

Ash 

 

Waxed Life, crackling under the torn flame.

 

 Rain penetrates the silvery shell in iron lashes

 

 Shattered, then, splashing; into moon dusk light

 

 As though kissed by the sun, and taken by it’s radiant waves .

 

 The pale figure shouts out, but nobody is listening;

 

 

 It dies, without mourning, by just another grave

 

 

 Sinking in the webbed countdowns through each year,

 

 

 An empty box, filled with dirt, pain, regret, and each shed tear.

 

 

 

 

 

Mel might not like to say so publicly but a year with SMASH and her excellent Mentor Anna (among other things) has given her a little more hope maybe than when she wrote that. She was even described recently by the Evening Advertiser as “Inspirational”. We at SMASH tend to agree.

   

Young peoiple and not so young people enjoying a charred sausage or two at the, “A day with SMASH” bar-be-que. Despite the rain and the flooded sports hall at the Link, everyone enjoyed the day which included football (medals presented by Swindon Towns Adam Wainwright), tshirt making, arts and crafts, smoothy making, music and dance with SBC’s Mobi and much more. Also in attendance was the Mayor of Swindon, Cllr. Steve Wakefield and our very own advisory committee member and youth champion, Cllr. David Sammels. Thank-you to everyone who attended for a really enjoyable day.