By Y-barton - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Their fates sealed in fire3,500 years beforewe found themat a place we now call Haghia Triadaor 'The Holy Trinity'on the plane of Mesara.I went thereyoung studentjust wanting to see where they'd been found'Dissi-looken! Dissi-looken!' pointed outa helpful local man who spoke Germanbut not English'ME-SA-RA!'He... Continue Reading →
'Like this tired, troubled earthI’ve been reaching since my birth’ - Stevie Wonder, A Place In The Sun Further and further away from homemy travels took me, firstto Manchester’s urban emptinessto deep-dive into verse. I sing the mountains in between always returning to this first scene Then to Newcastle, where I exploredthe ruins of the ancient... Continue Reading →
**Warning: contains strong language and references to the female reproductive system** Chestnuts not roasting on an open firefor fear I may incinerate myself Yuletide carols being sung by a choir trigger my auditory startle response.Everybody knowscold turkey without meds can bea recipe for disaster timebut the drugs don’t work for me right now you seeso I’ll just... Continue Reading →
I hate festive advertising as much as the next person, but if you do plan on giving gifts this festive season, perhaps you will consider gifting a copy of The Anthropocene Hymnal, the poetry anthology designed to raise awareness of the climate crisis whilst raising funds for WWF. The anthology is available from Amazon (and... Continue Reading →
After the success of Halloween Sonnet Sunday, I am excited to announce that the next Seasonal Sonnet Festival will take place on 19 December 2021, and the theme will be festivity! Wherever you are in the world, and whatever seasonal festival you celebrate at this time of year, you are welcome to join in the... Continue Reading →
You come to look for a kingwhy him?Will he melt the ice around your heartif you play your part right? Will you find sweetdelight, gliding across the icefingers frozenheart alight? Light is but a dream(it's all there is)but all's not as it seemsyour breath peals out as mist the scene fades at the seams:Dancing Ice... Continue Reading →
Dear Politicians of My Country,I saw the news today:a new variant of the virus, you saycomply or die. You have no need of terroriststo scare us into submission anymorethis invisible foestrikes fear into our core. Though it will spell the end for some of usit takes the focus off the sum of all fearswhich may well... Continue Reading →
“They seem sad,” he said“like trees in November,like early snowfallupon Wetherlam: "Bent in the wind they are,limbs taut and twistedwiry and strong,how they bend but never break."Are they inspired by the fireon the hillside, where the bracken diedto bronze, lit into copperjust where the sun hits? "Are they enlivened by the crimson combe-heartto which they... Continue Reading →
I should have been writingglued to my desk in darkness butthe Sun calledjust to say‘Can we steal away now:over the mountainsI’ll lead youand nothing more you’ll have to dothan follow your heart’s desire say, wouldn’t you just love to?’ And what was I to do:I, who am so much a fool for winter sunlightthat I’ll brave... Continue Reading →
Back when I lived in Catalunya the people bemoaned the plague of them:Els mosquits - the mosquitoes which had invaded the townin such large numbers thatyou couldn’t go out at middayas within a few minutes, your armsand legs would be full of enough weltsto leave you itching for a month.‘There were never so many,’ one woman told... Continue Reading →
