Category My Poems

A poem from earlier in the year, reflecting that whilst we in the North may have had our historic differences, we have so much more in common than those down in the ‘south’ espoused by certain politicians. Northern Echoes Somewhere…

A poem after Denise Levertov. Her classic question and answer poem about Vietnam was a start point. My subject however, was a reflection on my walking from Seville to Santiago and my writing of that experience, in Show Me The…

This poem takes me back to Winter Sunday evenings in my mid-teens. My mother seemed to have a love affair with health food and natural ingredients and used seaweed based agar agar as a setting agent. I was the eldest…

The Empire Strides Forward Everything has become silent................

50 years ago on the 31st August, I was one of around 600,000 people who spent a glorious weekend on the Isle of Wight in the company of such legends as; Free, Emerson Lake and Palmer, Judy Collins, Leonard Cohen,…

I created a black out poem as part of an exercise within a Writing Group I am involved in.I used Page 184 from SHOW ME THE WAY TO SANTIAGO and managed to create a Love Poem.Here are the words that…

So, you want to go back to normal when this is all overWhere our NHS is underfundedAnd under-prepared for what is neededYou want a normality that seesKey workers on zero hours contractsOr paid the minimum wageYou want to take for…

I wrote this with tears of both sorrow and anger in my eyes!

Encouraging the dog to bark Social distancing in the park Going out on my bike for a ride Acting like I’ve something to hide Setting off on a gentle run With my gloves and face mask on plans go well…

I spent time with Alyson Rhodes, as part of a workshop looking at inspiration for writing that can be derived from a cemetery (Bingley Cemetery on this occasion). The second of the two workshops was cancelled due to Coronavirus. However,…

Great night from many splendid poets from near and far at HEART in Headingley. Thought I'd post one of the three poems I read tonight, entitled Where has all the truth gone.........

This poem was written in memory of a dear friend, who struggled with depression and anxiety for many years. Sadly he is no longer with us.