Love Listen
Let’s love, listen, take time
when time is all we have.
Let’s be unafraid to be kind,
learn to disregard the bad
if the good outweighs it daily.
Let’s make a gift of silence,
the day’s hushing into dark,
and when we hold each other
let’s always be astonished
we are where we want to be.
Let’s hope to age together,
but if we can’t, let’s promise now
to remember how we shone
when we were at our best,
when we were most ourselves.
Ann Gray
from The Guardian
Published by Anthony Wilson
I am a lecturer, poet and writing tutor. I work in teacher and medical education at the University of Exeter. My anthology Lifesaving Poems was published by Bloodaxe Books in 2015. In 2012 I published Riddance (Worple Press), a collection of poems, and Love for Now (Impress Books), a memoir, about my experience of cancer. The Wind and the Rain, my sixth collection of poems, is available now from Blue Diode Publishing. My current research project, funded by the Foyle Foundation, is Young Poets' Stories: https://youngpoetsstories.com/. This blog is archived by the British Library.
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Anthony Wilson 
I want Ann to know how much I treasure this poem (“Love Listen”) – I read it most days when I reflect on my marriage to John (25.6.2011) and it conjures up warm and happy memories, even though John’s illness casts a cloud on things. I keep the poem in a handy spot and share it with others. Thank you. Gail
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Dear Gail Thanks so much for commenting on my blog post. I will email Ann your kind thoughts. Thanks for reading! With good wishes Anthony Anthony Wilson http://www.anthonywilsonpoetry.com http://www.lovefornow.posterous.com
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I chose this to read at my sister’s wedding. Not having previously known about Ann’s poetry, I bought At The Gate and The Man I was Promised. What a powerful and moving voice.
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Thank you so much for getting in touch.
Ann is a star and a lovely person to boot.
I’m so pleased you found her work.
With good wishes
Anthony
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Ann Gray is a Star.I look up at the sky while memorizing one of her poems and even in daylight hours I can see her shining the poetry is so human. I would love to get her book of poems At The Gate.
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Beautiful!
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Yes!
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So happy to now know this poem. Thank-you.
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That’s great, thank you. Her recent pamphlet with Smith/Doorstop I Wish I Had More Mothers is seriously amazing as well.
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