When I began to recover from my treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006 this lovely article about Nick Drake’s Northern … More
Tag: Presence
Lifesaving Poems: James Schuyler’s ‘June 30, 1974’
June 30, 1974for Jane and Joe HazanLet me tell youthat this weekend Sundaymorning in the countryfills my soulwith tranquil joy:the … More
Why it’s called Love for Now
Love for Now did not begin with an idea but an illness. As I have written elsewhere, there wasn’t a plan. I … More
On disappearing
I wrote recently about poets who disappear from view, specifically Susannah Amoore, from Faber’s Poetry Introduction 6. My point is far … More
Lifesaving Poems: Galway Kinnell’s ‘Saint Francis and the Sow’
Saint Francis and the SowThe budstands for all things,even for those things that don’t flower,for everything flowers, from within, of … More
8 great books about dying
The chances are, more of us are mortal than have multiple orgasms -Violet Weingarten, Intimations of Mortality When I was diagnosed … More
Lifesaving Poems: Mark Strand’s ‘A Morning’
A MorningI have carried it with me each day: that morning I tookmy uncle’s boat from the brown water coveand … More
Lifesaving Poems: Brendan Kennelly’s ‘May the Silence Break’
May the Silence Break Because you do not speakI know the shockof water encountering a rock. Supremacy of silence is … More
Lifesaving Poems: Andy Brown’s ‘Prayer/Why I am Happy to be in the City this Spring’
Prayer/Why I am Happy to be in the City this Springfor creepers etched across a wall like the marble veins … More
Miracle Fair -by Wislawa Szymborska
This week saw the death of poet and Nobel Laureate Wislawa Szmborska. She was 88. Her compatriot Czeslaw Milosz described … More
In Memory of Emily Riall
Last week I posted a blog about entering remission after treatment for cancer. For me this moment will forever be … More
What I have learned about remission
In February I wrote a blog post on the anniversary of my diagnosis of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), a cancer of … More
Lifesaving Poems: Mandy Coe’s ‘Let’s Celebrate’
Let’s Celebrate the momentswhere nothing happens.The momentsthat fill our lives.Not the field bright with poppies, butthe times you walked, seeingno … More
Lifesaving Poems: Mark Halliday’s ‘The Missing Poem’
The Missing PoemIt would have been dark but not lugubrious. It would have beenfairly short but not slight. It … More
Lifesaving Poems: Tomas Tranströmer’s ‘Alone’
Alone I One evening in February I came near to dying here. The car skidded sideways on the ice, out … More
Love Listen -A new poem by Ann Gray
Love Listen Let’s love, listen, take timewhen time is all we have. Let’s be unafraid to be kind,learn to disregard … More
Lifesaving Poems 