I tilt the levelTrying to perfectlyBalance the caught breathOf the bubble trapped within Perhaps if it is carefully alignedEverything made straightThen the world willMake sense And maybeIf I can tilt myselfTo the right angle, thenI’ll be at peace with what isAnd with what is trapped inside Note: The initial concept for this was inspired by …
Category Archives: Poetry
The selvage
The thread is fine nowAs thin as gossamerShimmering in the light There is a strange beautyIn these timesOf holding, and letting go I never believed in the fatesSpinning, weavingWaiting, releasing But now I see your placeIn life’s tapestrySo clearly My eyes may be wetYet my heart is fullYou are part of the patternForever Note: This …
Teatime
The tragedy thatA full fridgeIs cheaper to runThan an empty one. So the columnistAdvises placingBowls of waterOn bare shelves. Now in homesAcross the countryHungry childrenWill open the door – Only to be met withTheir own reflections. Note: This was inspired by an article in The Guardian. I understand the necessary practicality of the advice, but …
Flowers for Rose
You asked me to write you a poemAbout bringing you beautiful flowersI thought about spinning slow versesUnfurled in deliberate hours But amidst the hair pulling and shoutingAnd laughing and singing and climbingI find I’m increasingly doubtingThat you give a fig about rhyming So these quick-crafted lines must sufficeAnd although concentration is nice And finishing is …
Sky and Soil
flying and fallingthe differencebetweenlooking aheadto open airandan anxious gazeat the ground Note: This was inspired by a bird flying outside my window. I played with different versions of this poem. Initially, there was more structure – firmer sentences, more words, capitalisation, punctuation, but it felt airier stripping that out. I tried to tease out exactly …
Missing mothers
Any student of fairytales will tell youAlmost nothing is as essential asA missing mother. The journeys and adventures belongTo the orphaned and abandoned;Not to those tucked safely in bed,Left with a warm kiss on their brow. For the longest time I thoughtThis must be a plot imperative.Of course there must be an absenceTo trigger the …
Questions
We commiserate so oftenAbout all the questionsOur children askThe constant chorusOf WHY, WHY, WHY? But maybe we shouldThink more about theQuestions they don’t ask. The things they knowAlready are too secretOr too shamefulTo be spoken aloud, The places they pick upOn our uneasy shifting,The averted gaze,The quick distraction; Or worse – the pregnant Pause before …
A Thanksgiving
There are some acts of kindnessSo profound that they go beyondOur ability to ever return the favour.All we can do is pay it forwardIn a spirit of blessed gratitude,Marvelling that the world can beFull of such kindness and grace.And at the very darkest of timesThat spirit of generosity will shineWarming our hands and our heartsAs …
Rosebud
Yes, I see you thereBack arched withLuxurious graceYour thick and feralTail swaying likeA hypnotist’s trick Leading the eyeExactly to whereYou want it:That perfect littlePink puckeringA delicate terminus I envy your shining furYour effortless athleticismAnd your all-seeing eyesBut most of allThat parading bottomOn proud display I hold my milk-stainedChild in my armsAnd think the sacrificeWas worth …
Seeing stories
For Mat Hale A cameraIs a machine, butBehind that machine is theEye of an artistWatching Or seeingThat’s a better wordFor eyes that look deeperAnd find truths thatNeed light But is itPowerful enoughFor the alchemy that goesInto capturing lifeVia a lens I needNew words forTurning vision to language –Maybe silenceIs best A lifeSeeing storiesIs a life …