Ordering drinks in Spanish

We are at the flat. Everything has worked out fine: the journey, our connections and now amazing sense of space. We … More

Packing to leave

‘Passport?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Flight info?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Euros?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Underpants?’ The book glares at me. ‘What do you take me for?’ ‘It … More

The book has had a fall, and now we are sitting in a waiting room, waiting to be seen. This … More

We have left the house. At first our walking is clumsy, comical, even. The book is three yards ahead of … More

I am at a thing. Canals are there. Sunlight on them, the last tourists, a shifting of the seasons. ‘Soon … More

I am delighted to have a new poem, ‘Sunlight’, for my dear friend Peter Carpenter, published at The Stare’s Nest. … More

because of the words and because of the books because of the woman in the anorak at the swimming baths … More

It’s hard to describe. One day your are fine, not quite the same (age will do this to you), then … More

I am delighted to have a new poem, Some More Strategies for the End of the World, published today at … More

The book and I are passing each other messages through a third party. Neither of us bothers with the niceties … More

Days Each one is a gift, no doubt, mysteriously placed in your waking hand or set upon your forehead moments … More

Hamlet The buzz subsides. I have come on stage. Leaning in an open door I try to detect from … More

I am visiting the book. We have already been through a lot together, including the part where I killed it and … More

The Secret Two girls discover the secret of life in a sudden line of poetry. I who don’t know the … More

Reading Arthur W. Frank’s astonishing At the Will of the Body recently has given me pause to reflect on the relationship … More

I have murdered my darling. Like a bird of a certain blue vintage, it is ex, dead, kaput, finished. The … More

One of my personal, private highlights of last year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival was a Sunday morning breakfast hosted by The … More

I found two blog posts especially moving in the aftermath of last week’s attacks in Paris, both by the same … More