Poem of the week: Behind the Scenes: Empire by Arthur Symons
A shivering chorus line prepares behind the curtain in a London theatre in this poem by Symons, a symbolist poet and dance fanBehind the Scenes: EmpireThe little painted angels flit,See, down the...
View ArticlePoem of the week: No Hands by Carol Muske-Dukes
Capturing the headlong descent of a cyclist – and his daughter – this anxious and moving poem almost gasps with fearNo HandsHe rode “no hands,” speedingheadlong down the hill nearour house, his arms...
View ArticlePoem of the week: The Quilt by Abigail Parry
A life’s trials, tribulations, lovers and lessons are stitched together in this week’s poemThe quilt’s a ragtag syzygyof everything I’ve been or done,a knotted spell in every seam,the stuff that pricks...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Old Poem by Anonymous, translated by Arthur Waley
The bare scene that greets an old soldier returning from long service is understated but deeply affectingAt fifteen I went with the army,At fourscore I came home.On the way I met a man from the...
View ArticlePoem of the week: a small alba by Harry Gilonis
An elegant variation on the ‘dawn-songs’ of Provençal troubadours introduces its themes of time and loss with great delicacywhite the moonwhite the wineContinue reading...
View ArticlePoem of the week: They (may forget (their names (if let out))) by Vahni Capildeo
A brilliantly energetic and inventive sonnet bounds into the mind of a not entirely domesticated pet dogpetcitement incitement of a pet to excitementpetcitement incitement into the excitementof being a...
View ArticlePoem of the week: The Straight and Narrow by Simon Armitage
A school visit by a careers adviser is the occasion for an unexpected epiphany and some ‘West Yorkshire magic realism’The Straight and NarrowWhen the tall and bearded careers advisorset up his stall...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Husk by Margot Armbruster
A strikingly accomplished work from a 16-year-old poet reflects on the resonances of anorexia with religious fastingHusk How did we ever get here? I have been measuringmy worth in etched wrists for so...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Leaving home at 10 by Harry Garuba
In this story of a boy’s departure to boarding school, the author remembers leaving behind not only his family but a whole linguistic worldLeaving home at 10 It was an old Peugeot 403They don’t make...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Poem for Professor Frye by Nausheen Eusuf
A playful appropriation of some deliberately clunky metaphors manages to find startling life in themPoem for Professor Frye… ‘the pale dawn of longing’, ‘the broken collar-bone of silence’, ‘the...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Typewriter by Matthew Francis
A fond recollection of obsolete technology reveals a meditation on an old-fashioned way of weighing wordsOne day I’ll fetch the Smith Corona from the cupboard,set it on the desk and unclasp its blue...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Us by Zaffar Kunial
An only apparently informal riff on an only apparently straightforward concept of identity finds some sparky complications Us If you ask me, us takes in undulations–each wave in the sea, all insides...
View ArticlePoem of the week: from The Gododdin by Aneirin
From an ancient set of Welsh eulogies and elegies, these verses on the impact of war remain potent – and very readableXXIThe men went to Catraeth; they were renowned;Wine and mead from golden cups was...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Animal Planet by Ana Blandiana
A plainly spoken reflection on a violent, guilty world adds up to a kind of ‘anti-prayer’ that does not rule out beliefAnimal Planet Less guilty, though not innocent,In this universe whereThe laws of...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Prison Camp Violin, Riga by Robert Sheppard
Refracted around an instrument held on to in dire times, this is a tribute to the spirit that keeps it playingPrison Camp Violin, RigaA brittle fiddle someoneTurns this on a latheContinue reading...
View ArticlePoem of the week: His Secret Daughter by SA Leavesley
An adult child reckons with the very ambiguous legacy of her father His Secret Daughter His mug handle is the first thing she brûlés. The gold melts away like chocolate, cools smoother than...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Lapstrake by Ross Cogan
A hymn to the unassuming skill that brings humanity into graceful sync with nature may be a lesson learned too lateLapstrakeHere you can walk across mudstone and mudflat, through sedge into a river...
View ArticlePoem of the week: R Alcona to J Brenzaida by Emily Brontë
Although set in the young author’s fantasy realm of Gondal, there is a maturity to the portrait of grief here that is a long way from juvenilia R Alcona to J BrenzaidaCold in the earth, and the deep...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Song at the Beginning of Autumn by Elizabeth Jennings
The first intimations of a change in the seasons prompt a lyrical reflection on what is being named Song at the Beginning of Autumn Now watch this Autumn that arrivesIn smells. All looks like Summer...
View ArticlePoem of the week: Spathes by Loretta Collins Klobah
Etymology invites the imagination to a host of new places as the poet explores the rich possibilities of a botanical termI gather now dry-leaf spathesthat boys spear-waveand sword-cross, floatinto...
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