Be kind

Be Kind Not merely because Henry James saidthere were but four rules of life—be kind be kind be kind be … More

You’ve got to write it all down

The unexamined life’s no different from … More

The Thing Is

The Thing Is to love life, to love it evenwhen you have no stomach for itand everything you’ve held dearcrumbles … More

When I am Asked

When I am Asked When I am asked how I began writing poems, I talk about the indifference of nature. … More

God’s Grief

God’s Grief Great parentwho must have started outwith such high hopes.What magnitude of suffering,the immensity of guilt,the staggering despair.A mind … More

Open letter to Arthur Frank (on reading At the Will of the Body)

Dear Arthur Frank I’m writing to say thank you for your extraordinary book At the Will of the Body. It is … More

Lifesaving Poems: Sean O’Brien’s ‘Before’

To safe and almost universal silence I published How Far From Here is Home? (Stride) a few days before Christmas in … More

Tired, but

I am tired. Though I write from a place of privilege and of safety, I am tired. Tired of feeling … More

Courage

Courage It is in the small things we see it. The child’s first step, as awesome as an earthquake. … More