fbpx

Category: Poetry

Comfort from autumnal poetry

‘Come autumn’s scathe — come winter’s cold — / Come change — and human fate! / Whatever prospect Heaven doth bound, / Can ne’er be desolate.’ The seasons are changing… but we can find hope and comfort in poetry.

Read More »

Finding beauty in the moment

‘Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!’ From a William Wordsworth sonnet, inspired by a moment of reflection and connection he experienced during a visit to London and written 218 years ago today…

Read More »

Taking inspiration from the poet Rilke

‘Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other…’ I love poetry, its ability to capture and convey a sentiment in so few words; and for me, the more lyrical, the more beautiful. That is why I love the poems of Rainer Maria Rilke.

Read More »

The blind hero: finding hope in adversity

I am writing this in darkness, but for a lamp by my desk. It is only four o’clock in the afternoon, but already in Ireland darkness has fallen. Everything feels different now the sun has set. I can make my home cosy with candles and lamps and firelight, but what if I could not? What if I were trapped in the darkness?

Read More »

On sudden inspiration, and ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’

‘Inspiration strikes’ is a common term, and as a writer, I understand why. Once you let writing into your life, your imagination is always active, always open, and sometimes out of nowhere an idea comes to you, like a bolt from the blue. Invariably, this happens when you are doing something completely unrelated to writing – cooking, bathing, walking.

Read More »