First There is a holiness to exhaustion is what I keep telling myself, filling out the form so my TA … More
Tag: Lifesaving Poems
Ourselves again
Tollund That Sunday morning we had travelled far. We stood a long time out in Tollund Moss: The low ground, … More
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
Autumn
Autumn One night goes on longer than the rest, never so long, whiled away. Then dawn. Goodbye, insects. Hollow casings … 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
The most popular lifesaving poems
Earlier this year my Lifesaving Poems blog enjoyed something of a milestone. Not as momentous as Jimmy Anderson taking his … More
Lifesaving Poems: Margaret Avison’s ‘Twilight’
Twilight Three minutes ago it was almost dark.Now all the darkness is in theleaves (there are no morelow garage roofs, … More
Lifesaving Poems: Sean O’Brien’s ‘Before’
BeforeMake over the alleys and gardens to birdsong,the hour of not-for-an-hour. Lie still.Leave the socks you forgot on the clothesline.Leave … More
We never keep to the present
We never keep to the present. We recall the past; we anticipate the future as if we found … More
Living in the layers
The Layers I have walked through many lives,some of them my own,and I am not who I was,though some … More
On the Edge
On the Edge After your mother dies, you will learn to liveon the edge of life, to brace yourselflike … More
Struggling
Struggling I haven’t had time to stand and fart recently,and you’re wanting me to work on a relationship? That silence … More
Schoolchildren
The Schoolchildren Like leaves startled by a gust of windthey peel away from the tight-knit group,one child, two, another, more,taking … More
We have to have great meals
Simply Lit Often toward evening,after another day, afteranother year of days,in the half dark on the way homeI stop … More
Practice
Practice To weep unbidden, to wake at night in order to weep, to wait for the whisker on the face … More
Lifesaving Poems 