Sometimes you’ve got things to worry about and other times you worry even when there’s nothing much to worry about. It doesn’t make much difference in the end. My advice: Stop worrying and write a poem. Worry is a big black bird. It spends its hours on a wire. Waiting. And then at the slightest, […]
A poem – In a moment
First things first, nothing horrible has happened and everything is rather fine at the moment. I just wanted to see if I could catch the feelings in that moment when you hear some awful, life-changing news. When the tears won’t flow. This is the worst day of my life. The sharpest. Every second a pin-sharp, […]
Poem: I come from …
I come from the north, From grey harling, drizzled crags and scree. Dandelion and burdock. Engage low gear now. Bacon for breakfast. Breaking in your boots. Passing places and bloody tourists. The library’s parquet gleam. Peewits and feral cats. Toasted arse against the Aga. Wellies and broken veins. Creosote on the fence. Shirt […]
A fine bed
A poem inspired by Fionaoutdoors and her adventure in the furniture shop. A fine bed It will last 20 years, they said. This bed. Like a galleon, strong enough to sail through your stormy nights, safely to the dawns. The wood got ready in forests. Sprouting and branching while you were still rolling through the […]
Metrophobia on National Poetry Day
Metrophobia. Fear of poetry. In the first few classes, I thought it was one of those set-piece jokes like teachers repairing the fabric of the school with leftover dining hall dinners. But then I realised they were serious. Creative writers with a fear of poetry. Who knew? I don’t understand enough about it to be […]