Once ensconced in my new abode high above Basildon town centre (was this a metaphor for the way I viewed the town, looking down on it and its inhabitants?) my next move was to make friends. In my past where had I found friends? At school – but those days were long gone. At theContinue reading “A momentary muse upon a Muse meant soon I would meet my Muse”
Category Archives: poetry
Love her or hate her you have to recognise Sylvia Plath’s poetry
Sylvia Plath, the tortured poet of the mid 20th century, has been dead for almost twice as long as she lived yet, almost 60 years after her death, the very mention of her name can start a literary war. Plath is is as close to Marmite woman as you can get. There are very fewContinue reading “Love her or hate her you have to recognise Sylvia Plath’s poetry”
Heaney: a taste of nature
Seamus Heaney could turn a moment’s thought into a naturalistic poem of pure joy. He may be an acquired taste but he’s worth it. Oysters by Seamus Heaney/ Our shells clacked on the plates, My tongue was a filling estuary, My palate hung with starlight: As I tasted the salty Pleiades Orion dipped his footContinue reading “Heaney: a taste of nature”
Poetry Please because poetry always pleases
I have a large collection of books, even some going back to the 1800s. and amid them are many poetry books. Some I inherited from my father, school prizes won by him and by his sister, Dorothy, who died very young. There is Longfellow, Yeats, Elizabeth Barrett Browning – running on to Rossetti, to whichContinue reading “Poetry Please because poetry always pleases”
Love – a many splendour’d thing but very personal
Love is a very personal thing and is not always full of sweet moments. Three poets can look at love and even if they are close, with similar backgrounds, each will have had a different experience. If you lose the love of your life, no matter what the reason, it can be painful but theContinue reading “Love – a many splendour’d thing but very personal”
Tonight at Noon
(for Charles Mingus and the Clayton Squares) by Adrian Henri Tonight at noon Supermarkets will advertise 3p EXTRA on everything Tonight at noon Children from happy families will be sent to live in a home Elephants will tell each other human jokes America will declare peace on Russia World War 1 generals will sell poppiesContinue reading “Tonight at Noon”
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayaam: LXI – XC
LXI For let Philosopher and Doctor preach Of what they will, and what they will not – each Is but one Link in an eternal Chain That none can slip, nor break, nor over-reach. LXII And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky, Whereunder crawling coop’t we live and die, Lift not thy hands toContinue reading “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayaam: LXI – XC”
Poetry: so much more than just words on a page
I love poetry. I loved poetry since before I loved Shakespeare I have loved poetry since before I can remember. It is highly likely my first poem was actually a nursery rhyme. Maybe “Hickory Dickory Dock” or “Ring a’ring of Roses”. By the time I reached primary school I was already reading poetry from booksContinue reading “Poetry: so much more than just words on a page”
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam XLI-LX
by Omar Khayyam translated by Edward Fitzgerald XLI Oh, plagued no more with Human or Divine, To-morrow’s tangle to itself resign, And lose your fingers in the tresses of The Cypress-slender Minister of Wine. XLII Waste not your Hour nor in the vain pursuit Of This and That endeavour and dispute; Better be merry withContinue reading “Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam XLI-LX”
Tears of sorrow for a Welshman in exile
My time as a journalist in Basildon was not all politics and crime, although I did spend a lot of time in the council chamber and the magistrates’ courts. The Arts Centre, just off the town square, was a cultural centre for the district and, as well as hosting concerts and professional entertainment, it providedContinue reading “Tears of sorrow for a Welshman in exile”
Robin's Nest 