“What is the purpose of poetry ?” I ask myself. Sometimes I find this question simple to answer. And sometimes the answer itself is simple. The purpose of poetry is to work.… Continue reading Word Play
Category Spin
I See Everywhere the False
I thought this was true in 2014, when it was written. I did not know then that the truth can become truer.… Continue reading I See Everywhere the False
Counting
This poem seems to follow on a bit from the previous one uploaded here. But whereas I wrote “I Insist my Ribs…” over three years ago, “Counting” has been written in the last few days.
I have a vague idea of what… Continue reading Counting
Might Labour be the Force to Renew UK Politics ?
Our democratic politics isn’t working and, in my view, its dysfunction is one of the major causes of our present national crisis.
In so many ways, our political structures and democratic processes – not just here in the UK, but manifestly in other countries too – are under attack and also in question. We have to… Continue reading Might Labour be the Force to Renew UK Politics ?
The Widow
Here is another poem of loss and it’s called “The Widow” (the title links to it). I wrote it some years ago, in sorrow for the grief of the person concerned, but also in awe at how she voiced her bereavement, the words she reached for, and… Continue reading The Widow
The Deployment of Force
Still on the subject of feet and their deployment, I ask myself this question : where am I to stand in the hallways of The Lie ? Here is my answer : on the hyphen between I and Thou, my surfboard in the endless storm.… Continue reading The Deployment of Force
High Noon is Nearly Upon Us. Where’s the Sheriff ?
Around the world, the hoodlums and outlaws are running amok, in their suits of armour made of lies. By contrast, the sheriffs seem downcast, overwhelmed and on the run. I feel downcast and overwhelmed, too. Might it mean that I’m a sheriff, in disguise ? But there is no star in my cupboard.
The picture I… Continue reading High Noon is Nearly Upon Us. Where's the Sheriff ?
Poems for Public Display
I never stop yearning for good poetry to reach past its traditional catchment areas – those shelves in the bookshop marked “Poetry,” the university literature department, the dedicated arts festival, the shy, solitary and possibly eccentric brain – and find a valid place for… Continue reading Poems for Public Display
The Toad Negotiates with the Underworld
This week Mr Trump (“the American Minotaur”) was in the UK for a meeting of NATO leaders. Then he got the hump because people were laughing at him and he left early.
Not long ago, Mr Johnson (“The Toad”) did a Putin with a… Continue reading The Toad Negotiates with the Underworld