In The Poetry

Missing You was written mostly in the second year after [her husband] Peter’s death, and it is about bereavement.

Missing You

4

The rainbow is not enough,
nor the flood

My eye can’t see enough,
nor my ear absorb sufficient silence

January is not enough,
nor June

Books are not enough,
nor the El Grecos

Christianity is not enough,
nor Judaism

China is not enough,
nor India

Good luck is [...]

At several times in my life I’ve suffered from depression – I’ve found that giving the depression an identity helps to deal with those feelings of loss and desolation. It’s a case of naming your enemy in order to fight your corner more powerfully. I call depression a thief.

Thief

He will steal it, whatever you possess.
Whatever [...]

Another ride in the time machine takes me back about ten years to my daughter’s teenage years, as she stepped out of childhood.

Outgrown

It is both sad and a relief to fold so carefully
her outgrown clothes and line up the little worn shoes
of childhood, so prudent, scuffed and particular.
It is both happy and horrible to send [...]