This poem stemmed from a creative writing class. Our task was to choose an object at random and create a poem about it. We chose an object from a lucky-dip bag so there was no pre-empting what we would receive. I pulled out a black purse, beautifully decorated with colourful embroidery. Inside the purse was a small rubber-toy lizard.
I think the fact that we had no idea what we were going to receive out of the lucky-dip bag changed the way I wrote - there was no room for preparation or thought about what we would write. I think this helped me to be unintentionally more spontaneous and adventurous with my poem. It is often harder to write something if you overthink it - I definitely find this is the case. This connects quite nicely with my experience of Medicine. If I know that I am going to lead a patient consultation and examination far in advance, I always overthink it and overcomplicate the scenario in my head. Whereas, if I am told two minutes beforehand, I go in with a fresh mind and often perform much better.
With that in mind, here is my spontaneous poem about the lizard in the purse:
