Poems, written as footnotes on life as it unfolds.
Calling back
When you turn around and find yourself lost Somehow wandered too far outward or too far inward to places dark and tangled having roamed so far out or been stuck, curled up, frightened in one of the many corners of the world. When things have turned sour and you find...
Who are you when you are not?
Chances are, if you are an adult, then you are many things now that you did not have to be as a kid. Perhaps you got to be whatever you dreamed about becoming when you were growing up. The pilot, the farmer, the nurse, the hairdresser, the explorer, the writer, the...
Kisses on the verge
They gave me a nod bundles of flailing bright catching me off guard from my head clouded from hours of kissing sorrows cheek someone planted these bundles of light on the verge unaware of their distant cousins on hillsides of white clean air these ones are witness to...
These words come out imperfect
One year ago I called on my courage and put out a blog post for the first time. In days since I've noted little phrases or moments of curiosity in amongst mundane day to day living. All the while these curiosities and intrigues simmer and percolate within me, until at...
re-wilding
Picture by a friends' 6 year old son Valentines Day 2021 Valentines day 2021a 6 year old sits at his small wooden table plucks out a felt tip penWhat does his hand choose to draw this day?He scribbles what his heart tells him to,what love would be.Love would be a 2...
Three fields
Back along I lived among the fields. In that first lockdown when we all of a sudden felt obliged to take a walk a day whether we wanted to or not. Those days were spring days. But also troubled days and so I found myself taking something to the fields. I came to...
Curved
I hold in my heart the women I have known, my dear friends, my colleagues I've worked with, those I've learnt alongside. I call to mind my mentors who've listened and walked along side me. I remember the women I've read who've spoken exactly what needs to be said. I...
Rolling Tide
The year came in like a rolling tide, in pounding waves that would not subside. So much so we could not fight it or hold it back. All we could actually do in the end was to take the surest and firmest position and stand resolutely in the sinking sand beneath our feet,...
This Simple Thing
This was penned first of all in December 2020. Now re-worked in 2024. It is dedicated to my friends who are missing their loved ones, whose pain cannot pause because it is parties and presents. Whose precious ones, whether very young or much older, will always be gone...
Thresholds
I am not a fan of the penultimate. It is my least favourite time, the moment when you are about to cross a threshold but haven’t done so yet. The feeling of being about to step onto a rickety bridge between two cliffs, trying not to look down. Occupying the space...
Parting gifts – part five/5 – hello
This image is the first in the book 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse' by Charlie Mackesy. This image is the final one in my series of five posts of parting gifts. Notes to myself about what I've learnt working in the NHS and indeed a fellow human. Hello When...
Parting gifts – part four/5 – weather fronts
Weather fronts Generally you have to pack for all weathers in this kind of work. You never know what weather front is coming in to the life in front of you. What was a sunny day last week may be a great storm, or what was weeks of bleak grey drizzle, the skies have...