Description
Book Synopsis'Talisman for the Soul' is an immersive and illuminating collection that expresses a powerful intensity of emotion, exploring overarching themes of human interaction, as well as the human need to transform and adapt as individuals. Written by a poet of rare descriptive power, the poems speak to a world of increasing disconnection, one that is careering towards climate breakdown and ecological destruction. The poems seek to reconnect with the mystery and sacredness of human life by exploring the foundations of human identity through themes that touch us all: love and loss, humour, beauty, joy, relationships, and the natural world.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements vii Introduction ix Quotation by Ben Okri xiv THE INNER POET 1 Aspirations of a Young Poet 2 How to Read a Poem 4 Finding the Way to Go 6 Keeping Afloat 9 Taking Flight 11 Surrender to the Muse 13 Thanks 15 Unlocking Poems 17 Writing 19 ENCOUNTERS WITH MOTHER NATURE 21 Doing Nothing 22 Pigeon 24 Loss 26 Source of Joy 28 Snapshots of Summer 30 Crenelated Tower 32 House Martins 34 Rooks 36 Viper 37 Swans 39 Bedtime Stories 40 Dawn in the Paddock 42 FAMILY AND OTHER RELATIONSHIPS 43 Touch 44 The Letter 46 Someone I may have known 50 Beyond Appearance 52 Waking up on Earth 54 Time to Go 57 The people I don’t know 58 Released 60 School Photo Shot 61 Lost Causes 62 Our Ukraine A message from Kyiv 64 Why are we here? 66 Words Within Worlds 68 Old Flame 70 God Speaks 71 Taking Stock 73 THE FURTHER REACHES 75 Touching the Void 76 What we do to God 77 Passing on 78 Being Human 79 Brahman 80 Going Back Home 82 Having Been Born 83 Holding Fast 85 Letting Go 87 Morning 90 Rapping Home (after Kate Tempest) 91 Return to the lost Planet 94 Say What You Mean 1 96 Say What You Mean 2 97 Soul Searching 99 Dialling Down 101 The Word 102 Transformation 104 View from the Window 105 What I Am 107 What I Have Come to Know 108 Freewheeling 111 HAVING FUN 113 Terminal 9 114 Mr. Verity 116 Election Fever 118 Imagine 120 Ode to the Door Key 122 Smart 123 HAIKU 125
