Nowadays, everything seems to be about what you can buy. There’s little or nothing, that’s not being packaged for purchase. Love, health, well-being, spirituality… all offer ‘premium’ versions for those who are willing to pay for better quality. Entrepreneurs are so clever at taking a human need and turning it into a profit-making business. In …
The quest for meaning has long been the bedrock of human existence, often entwined with our perceptions of divinity and cosmic order. While many people find solace in the intentions and plans of a higher power, others, myself included, wrestle with this idea, seeking an alternative framework that might marry a more ‘existentialist’ approach with …
It’s amazing how settings can trigger a sort of chain reaction in your thoughts, leading you from the tangible details around you to grander themes like love, safety, and the spectrum of human experience. This happened to me a while back after I went to sit by a lake and spend an afternoon relaxing, watching …
Exploring Love, Life, and Illusions: A Reflective Poem Read More »
I wrote this poem several years ago – actually many years ago. I remember sitting in my car at the top of a windy Pennines hill to write it. In this poem I look at the monotony and grind of daily life that juxtaposes itself on the beauty that exists within those seemingly mundane moments. …
So, this morning I took my wife to Newcastle (Upon Tyne), our nearest big city, to visit a school where she is shortly to begin a placement as part of the training she must do for her Post-Graduate Teaching Certificate. While she was visiting the school, I sat in the car and watched the world …
On this sunny late-summer’s day, the grass feels warm beneath me, and the air is filled with the melodies of birds, the fluttering wings of butterflies, and the persistent hum of bees. Above, the sky stretches in a vast expanse of blue, punctuated by the occasional cloud drifting north. Such an idyllic scene poses a …
I like words to be clear and simple. Depth-of-meaning can be sought using simple words accessible to everyone. A poem shouldn’t require long convoluted sentences made up of rarely-used, acculturated words to experience a moment of deep connection with nature. It’s not just the well-read intellectual who can experience the beauty and depth of a …