Poetry on the hoof

You may have noticed that there's a lot of poetic activity across the BBC at the moment and Radio 3 is no exception.

On the 21st of May the poet Ian McMillan joined Sara Mohr-Pietsch to encourage listeners to build a poem throughout the course of the programme. The fun started around 7 am when Ian put forward the first line for our 'Breakfast' poem. He also took an opportunity to create a new form: The Pietsch, the rhyming structure being ABABCC.

Well, once the challenge was thrown out there was little delay before the suggestions came flooding in via email, text-message and on Twitter.

Over the course of the morning we received over 600 suggestions for the poem.

Listen to the poem:

Here's the poem as it evolved with the names of the creators next to the lines.

The Listeners' Poem Complete:

Ian's first line:

'I pull the curtains wide and feel the morning on my face'

Second line from Stuart Handysides:

'then stumble down the stairs to make the tea'

Third line from Barbara Rusbridge:

'the gush, the steam, the click, the clink, the ritual gathers pace'

Fourth line from Wendy Davies

'the phone rings and it's you it's you, I hear you telling me'

Fifth line from Jude:

'you are outside, but I am not washed or dressed'

Sixth line from ANON

'I pressed the buzzer, shut my eyes and you can guess the rest...

And without authors:

The Breakfast Poem

I pull the curtains wide and feel the morning on my face

Then stumble down the stairs to make the tea.

The gush, the steam, the click, the clink, the ritual gathers pace...

The phone rings, and it's you, it's you! I hear you telling me

You are outside, but I'm not washed or dressed.

I pressed the buzzer, shut my eyes and you can guess the rest...

We're hoping to repeat the experience very soon.

Listen to the daily poems commissioned by BBC Radio 3

Ian McMillan on why poems are perfect for chronicling big events.

Roland Taylor is Interactive Editor at Radio 3