Eggshell Flesh – A Poem for National Poetry Day
Happy National Poetry Day! This year’s theme is ‘Vision’, which put me in mind of one of my most popular poems, ‘Eggshell Flesh’.
Day Trip Philosophy – a Poem for Dad
Day Trip Philosophy is a poem that remembers my Dad. It focuses on the memory of a day trip to Gliffaes Country Hotel, where we would often go for tea. The grounds were vast and seemed full of stories. There was a little wooden hut, where people could take pause before heading down to the…
We Speak – a Poem for Parents
‘We Speak’ is a poem for mums and dads. As parents, our days are already tightly bound by routine – early starts, healthy meals at sensible intervals, drop offs and pick ups, not so early bedtimes and middle of the night calls . . . Since lockdown and the closure of schools, our time has…
Lost Summer – Poem
The sea is more than foam and see through water. It is memory and it is living. Although I live quite far away from the sea these days, I carry both its sparkle and its raging turbulence – I have seen all of its moods and when I come back into its presence, I think…
This Quiet House – a Poem for Galway 2020
There are ghosts in this quiet house. I pause under John Wayne’s arm . . .
For Dylan – a Poem on Dylan Day
You of the spiral-shell curls; the sea-chained voice. No wonder the waves made a play for your soul . . .
In Bloom – for Poetry Day Ireland
When I heard that this year’s theme for Poetry Day Ireland was ‘There will be Time’, I thought of this poem. ‘In Bloom’ is a poem of childhood – the stage of life when we think we have so much time, when time seems to open up before us. For me, it opened up as…
Body of Sound – Poem for U2
and the drums make a song of our heartbeats, lead them to stronger rhythms . . .
Leaping Fairy – A Poem for Good Friday
I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Cottingley Fairies. At the age of seven, the thought of two girls managing to capture images of the most illusive of creatures was sustaining. If there could be proof of magic, there could be proof that life was extraordinary and I would continue to believe. Some…