Full Description
'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.
Contents
Acknowledgements 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
