Any Common Desolation

Any Common Desolation can be enough to make you look upat the yellowed leaves of the apple tree, the fewthat … More

Another Loss to Stop For

Another Loss to Stop For Against such cold and mercurial mornings,watch the wind whirl one leafacross the landscape,then, … More

Empathy and New Year A notion like that of empathy inspiresgreat distrust in us, because it connotesa further dose of … More

Bike You, who have borne three sonsof mine, still bear my weightroutinely, transporting me. An odd pair: your classic … More

after Shawna Lemay Write a poem about the rain. Or the wind.Write about what you learned at university.Or did … More

after Mark Halliday Because of the writing days. And becauseThe discovery will not happen on its own, unprompted,Not even … More

A line that has really been haunting me recently is ‘Horses turned out into a cold field have it’ from … More

Waiting for the BarbariansWhat are we waiting for, assembled in the forum? The barbarians are due here today. Why isn’t … More

Going There is an evening coming inAcross the fields, one never seen before,That lights no lamps. Silken it seems at … More

I am deeply honoured to have my poem When The Holy Spirit Danced With Me In My Kitchen used as a … More

‘So I was thinking,’ the book says. ‘Going anywhere nice for Christmas?’ ’Do you want a lift somewhere?’ I say. … More

Here are my most frequently-read blog posts of 2018, according to my WordPress stats. First, from the Lifesaving Poems … More

I have been writing recently about going deeper, not wider. Listening to music I already possess, reading the books already … More

As I was saying the book that I bought and then did not read and which caught my eye recently is Now … More

The Curtain Falls Suddenly a life is over – Ends with such serious charades The Dean makes lame quips … More

Poem Without Sleep All the things that could happen to the baby came to me last night as I … More

It is odd to speak of missing someone you never met, but this is how I feel about the American … More

Reading Frank O’Hara in the Hospital 1 The IV drips its slow news. So long, lean and turbulent morning! … More