In terms of the inspiration for my poetry, at the moment I would say I have four main inspirations or themes that inform what I write. One is the experience of loss; the loss and breakdown of my relationship with my parents; the loss of faith in God and the church, the loss of my son, the loss of my marriage. Yet the converse of loss is the experience of grace. I have written of the exquisite tenderness of life; there is the grace of my relationship with my
daughters and grandchildren and the pride I have for them. There is the grace of beauty in the opening flower, in the sunset. The third theme is that of love, its light and shade, its longing and desire and its arousal and consummation. The last theme is the amazing gentleness and depth of silence and how we can convey silence and stillness without too many words.
I generally hold the view that to write good poetry about emotions, including love there needs to be a fermentation process similar to making good wine. I need to allow distance between the event that caused the emotional reaction and my writing of it. There needs to be time for the emotions to crystallise and for the essence of the situation to be clarified. This does not mean I do not feel the emotions when I write it just means I can write without being overwhelmed. However, I have to admit I have not followed by own view recently. Continued page 40
Your poems have a soulful quality exploring the nature of Love, is this the most relevant theme to you at the moment?