As the stars are there
I saw the film Nebraska last week. It was superb, beautifully shot in grainy black and white, with wonderful acting and a plaintive score by Mark Orton. What’s it about? An elderly man, who receives one of those Readers Digest type letters telling him he is in [...]
The One Red Leaf
Here is one of my favourite poems by Jane Hirshfield - Three Times The World Has Opened It has many striking images and ideas but the reason I am drawn to it now is that I am working on my new play which has religion as [...]
Time and light are kinds of love
In his poem ‘The Word’, Tony Hoagland addresses the reader with a to-do list of practical tasks. The poem feels a bit like a love letter to someone, reminding them of what matters in life. I’ve been under the weather, and also, under the weather. A winter [...]
Causes for carolling
photo: Sarah J. JamiesonHere’s a mid-winter, end of millennium poem by Thomas Hardy, The Darkling Thrush. It’s a good one for anyone who feels ‘fervourless’ at this point of the festive season. Christmas, tick, New Year, tick. Now what?We've had wet, windy weather for weeks [...]
He took off his spectacles and fiercely kissed me
Christmas Eve, I’m just back from another neighbours’ gathering. Another mince pie. Walking up the road, I see I got off lightly in last night’s storms – there are broken fences, trees and branches down everywhere. I chat with people I haven’t seen since last [...]
The whole pile is slipping
This morning I woke very early and drafted some poems sitting on the sofa while the rain pattered on the deck and a solitary bird chirrupped in the pre-dawn. In spite of the cloud cover, there was a silvery moonlight and the now bare sweet [...]
