In response to Horses Graze by Gwendolyn Brooks @deborahrosereeves.bsky.social remarked on its similarity to The Piece of Wild Things by Wendell Berry Thank you 🙏 'I feel above me the day blind stars waiting with their light' #poetry #poemoftheday

Continuing (almost) with the horse theme This, from Layli Long Soldier's 'Whereas', is stark, brutal, and sobering in its narrative. The searing collection addresses the wholly inadequate 2009 Apology to Native Americans, considers the definition of nativity #poetry #poemoftheday

Continuing with my reflection of horses, in Horses Graze by Gwendolyn Brooks there is a fierce contentment, an invitation into a moment of stillness, a longing for simplicity and peace. ‘that creature feet may press only on a few inches of earth at a time’ #poetry #poemoftheday

This was immense Been a long time since I have seen a crowd reaction at a gig as intense as this, and an artist as visibly moved and motivated by the response ‘I have never been happier, chest against the barrier’ Kae Tempest - Vicar St. Dublin #poetry #poem

Beneath the cinemascope feel of this poem there is an acuity of observation, a connection with nature, a sense of love and loneliness. It has some beautiful metaphors - ‘her long ear that is as delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist’. The Blessing by James Wright #poetry #poemoftheday

Buzzing about this The last 2 years has been the best of times I could go back and do it all again. Thank you Mrs A for your support and encouragement along the way ❤️ Kim Moore, Jean Sprackland, Andrew McMillan - you were amazing ❤️

A lovely evening in Stormont (possibly the poshest venue I will ever perform in). Congratulations to Ewen and Rhonda - great poems 😊 Delighted to receive this. And such a joy to hear the kids reading their poems - the next generation #poetry #amwriting #ulsterscots

On 13th January 1915 HMS Viknor sank of the coast of Tory island, Co Donegal. All hands were lost, 295 Royal Naval officers and men, including my grandfather’s cousin, Samuel Gourley. We will remember them. #poetry #poemoftheday #remembranceday #lestweforget

I love the juxtaposition of the ‘big’ things the speaker hasn’t done to the ‘small things they have’. Then in the final stanza, that turning inward, that reflection on ‘what it does to you’. ‘It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does to You’ by Simon Armitage, from Zoom! #poetry #poemoftheday

I'm still feeling the spirit of autumn In this Lucille Clifton poem — the leaves’ fall becomes a metaphor for trust, surrender, and acceptance. Faith is not clinging on, it's knowing when to let go 🍂 #poetry #poemoftheday #autumn #fall

Some thought provoking advice from Charles Baudelaire "Be Drunk” (Enivrez-vous) Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue... #poetry #poemoftheday

Very excited about this and looking forward to next Monday evening, in Stormont, no less!! Congratulations to the other winners and highly commended poets #poetry #ulsterscots

Mrs A often complains the poetry I read/write/share is serious, gloomy, & downright depressing... She may have a point, but to prove I'm not a one trick pony... Just back from a forest walk, kicking through drifts of leaves - reminded of this by Brian Bilston #poetry #poemoftheday #autumn #fall

Some wisdom from Leonard Cohen #poetry #poem #quoteoftheday

There's a lot going on in this short poem - the play on words in the title, the cricket metaphor, and the complexity of language - wrapped up in tight little Ars Poetic 'Anglish' by Zaffar Kunial, from England's Green #poetry #poemoftheday

The understated tone of the title, the stillness and calm of the opening lines; belies the horror of the final couplet 'Meeting the British' by Paul Muldoon, from Meeting the British #poetry #poemoftheday #antiimperialism

For the day that's in it... 'All Hallows' by Louise Gluck - has a deep sense of loneliness and loss, that shifting between the seasons, and the final lines where the veil between this world and the next becomes thin #poetry #poemoftheday #Halloween

There is a tenderness in the ordinary, the acute noticing eye of the poet. But there something in the line break and the short penultimate line that carries us into the weight of the poem in the final line 'Every' by Wendy Cope, from Serious Concerns #poetry #poemoftheday

I must be feeling romantic... Following from yesterday's poem today we have a quote from Lee Seong-bok reflecting on love and parting and the importance of rythmn in poetry #poetry #quoteoftheday #amwriting

'Seeds' by Paula Cunningham, from Heimlich's Manoeuvre #poetry #poemoftheday

A couple of weeks ago I had a poem placed 1st in the Frances Browne Festival Poetry Competition, a festival mutually celebrating #gaeilge and #ulsterscots Delighted to see the poem in print, together with the other winners, in the Finn Valley Voice ❤️ #poetry #poem #amwriting

The use of short lines and couplets does something very clever to the pace of this poem, and the metaphor of the bridge is wonderful. 'We've learnt that falling is inevitable' 'After Closing Time' by Mark Pajak, from 'Slide' #poetry #poemoftheday

This poem is written by Neda (11). She takes part in a sporadically occurring online class in Afghanistan, where she learns English as a second language. I am not offering any opinion or commentary, just the poem #poetry #poemoftheday #Afghanistan

I love this image, but also the idea that your clenched fist is the same size as your heart 'When have I ever not loved the pain of love' #poetry #poemoftheday

Was chatting to someone about that old familiar piece of workshop feedback 'do you need the first/last line' and tonight I came across this from 'The Fragment' (Electric Light) #poetry #quoteoftheday #amwriting

My youngest child was born by cesarean. She was given to me while my wife was taken to recovery. That first wee while was just us. It was a precious time. Damian Gorman captures the feeling perfectly in 'On the night that you were born' - from 'As If I Cared' #poetry #poemoftheday

I think what work best in this poem is the restrained understatement. The knowing, helpless voice of the child. 'Reading' by Maria McManus, from her collection 'Reading the Dog' #poetry #poemoftheday

Thinking about the resurgence of Nationalism and flag waving I am reminded of this poem by Ada Limón 'A New National Anthem' ‘my bones are your bones, and your bones are my bones’ #poetry #poemoftheday #LoveKnowsNoBorders #PeopleNotFlags

This beautiful little poem by Doireann Ní Ghríofa plays cleverly with English and Irish,how words shift in meaning and emotional resonance #poetry #poemoftheday #gaeilge

A masterclass of a 'what if poem'. A succession of remarkable and unique images coupled with a deep sense of grief / loss / consequence #poetry #poemoftheday

Oh, the end stop in the penultimate line and the caesura in final line... How it slows you down, how it makes you think #poetry #poemoftheday

This Michael Longley poem (my 2nd favourite) is often misread as the end of the conflict. But even getting to the point of cessation requires courage. Hoping the current cessation in Gaza has more longevity than Longley's Troy #poetry #poemoftheday #Gaza

Delighted, and a wee bit shocked, too have been placed 1st in the Frances Browne Festival Poetry Competition (Ulster Scots). This is a festival that holds a special place in my heart for it's mutual celebration of #gaeilge and #ulsterscots Thank you to the judges ❤️ #poetry #amwriting

Cherry Smith's 'Famished' should be on the national curriculum. Not just for English Literature, but History & Politics too. 'They made us underdogs, then shot us if we barked' #poetry #poemoftheday #racism #irishfamine #antiimperialism #ireland

One of the things I love about poems is that you can read the same poem on a different day and it can have a different heart This poem, today, beats differently than the last day I read it 'The Last Toast' - Anna Akhmatova #poetry #poemoftheday

There is such poignancy in that single end-stopped line that opens the poem 'Just Once' by Anne Sexton #poetry #poemoftheday

The gifts from our kids we cherish most are those they put their heart into. I have a jar of pebbles with words written on each, Kate Dempsey has this 'It's what you put into it' from her collection 'the space between' #poetry #poemoftheday

I am going to need a bigger boat... #poetry #amwriting #quoteoftheday

I have spent the last couple of days with 'Chic to be Sad', the brilliant second collection by @mollytwomey.bsky.social If you haven't read it, read it. If you have read it, tell others about it. If you haven't read 'Raised by Vultures', read it first ❤️ #poetry #poemoftheday

After listening to Jay Bernard sing ‘Songbook’ every time I read it now I sing it too. At 6:12 on the link below, but you really should listen to it all – they will give you goosebumps #NationalPoetryDay #poetry #poemoftheday #13deadnothingsaid #NewCrossMassacre youtu.be/_ANbixVTnU4?...

This by @weekathy.bsky.social for National Poetry Day 'Highs Gone Low' A powerful performance, goosebumps listening to this #poetry #nationalpoetryday www.facebook.com/share/v/16f8...

This is my favourite Langston Hughes poem. He says so much in 4 lines, and the weight of the word 'perhaps' in the last line does not go unnoticed. Posting on the 1955th day since George Floyd was murdered. Little has changed, things are probably worse #poetry #poemoftheday #BlackHistoryMonth

I was chatting to a friend tonight about how, as children, we would lie on the grass and look up at the clouds and the sky. We should do this more. Reminded me of this poem by Mary Oliver #poetry #poemoftheday

This poem builds beautifully. I think we have all been here, beside this bed. For me it was my father, an ice cube in gauze rather than pineapple... 'To A Friend Who Does Not Believe In God' - by José A. Alcántara #poetry #poemoftheday

'Music' - Percy Bysshe Shelley #poetry #poemoftheday

Sometimes you read a poem and the first couple of lines are so good you don't want to read any further. Here... the first line... and then the second... Oh my! But read on, the rest is great too #poemoftheday #poetry

There is something hauntingly beautiful in this juxtaposition of sadness and hope 'Although the wind' - Izumi Shikibu #poetry #poemoftheday

On the day I found out I have two poems shortlisted for the Frances Browne Poetry Competition (Ulster Scots), just taking a moment to reflect on all minority languages. This poem by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill says it better than I can #poetry #poemoftheday #language #ulsterscots #gaeilge