It is that time again for the yearly repost of my trans Valentine's Day poem: poets.org/poem/exclusi...

New York City, 1959 by US photographer Vivian Maier #womensart

On the road right now to Birmingham for @vervepoetryfest.bsky.social and super super excited!!

The most gorgeous of love poems, the absolute number one in my #Valentine’s countdown, mid-air from The Air Year by @carolinebirduk.bsky.social #poem #poetry #lgbtq

No. 7 in my unconventional love poems countdown is this gentle and hopeful passage; from Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan @faberbooks.bsky.social

No. 8 in my #Valentine’s poetry countdown. I was looking mainly for unconventional poems/poets, but this one reminded me of when I first came across Philippe Jaccottet, late at night in a the uni library, when I was homesick and supposed to be writing science essays… Distances, transl. Derek Mahon.

Very behind on my Valentine’s poetry countdown but here is no. 9 in my unconventional love poems search: One Life is Brief, from Singular Bodies (Anhinga Press) by Ruth L. Schwartz #poem #LGBTQ #Valentine’s

Unconventional love poems, Valentine’s countdown no. 10. Yes, by Tess Gallagher.

Unconventional love poems, #Valentine’s countdown no. 11: Assurance, by the trailblazing Emma Lazarus. Did you know the Statue of Liberty poem, the ultimate American zeitgeist poem “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses…” was by a queer female Jewish activist 💪? I didn’t… #poem #LGBTQ

Unconventional love poems Valentine countdown- I’m having a jaded cynical day today so here’s ‘Casanever’ at no. 12, by @nicaubury.bsky.social #poetry #Valentine

Nights draw in. I think of you, Planting one thousand crocus bulbs In a rented garden. #smallpoemsunday @tomsnarsky.bsky.social #poem #love #spring

Unconventional love poems Valentine countdown: No. 13, the luminous Story of a Hotel Room. More about the poet, Rosemary Tonks, here: www.theguardian.com/books/2014/m...

Unconventional love poems Valentine countdown no.14, coming in hot- look away now if you’re squeamish for this is ‘Poem while Reading Miroslav Holub in the Genito-urinary Clinic Waiting Room’ by Rich Goodson… #poem #valentine #LGBTQ+

Quack!

Just to let you all know, henceforth I shall be ending all conversations with a gnomic look and the utterance ‘I think you are now covered by snow’.

I’m on the hunt for the perfect poem for the wedding of two unconventional, strong and beautiful women. All thoughts appreciated! If only this brilliant looking anthology was out already… www.foyles.co.uk/book/somethi... @picadorbooks.bsky.social #poetry #poem #queer #wedding

It’s the eleventy billionth of January today. FML.

I needed this today

A lot of things happened in the world today, not all of them obviously good. This evening, let someone else look after our dreams for a moment.

Are you a White-liver'd Son of a Fleet-street Bumsitter, begot upon a sedan Chair at Noonday?, or did you just walk past the wrong lady with the wrong face on you? How to swear like an actual 18th century Billingsgate fishwife, from Sounds & Furies by Jonathon Green (@littlebrown.bsky.social) 🤩❤️

Sharing a bad night’s sleep and a new morning with Anna Akhmatova, translated from the Russian by DM Thomas. From Evening, written in 1909.

For some reason, this is the poem that speaks to me today, in the dark, wintry weather we’re having. Tracks, by Tomas Tranströmer, translated from the Swedish by Robin Fulton

Heeelp! I’ve been ask to read a poem at the partnership ceremony of two amazing, beautiful, strong, spiritual but non-religious women. I am so excited and I love both them so much that my mind has gone utterly blank! Please send me ideas!!

Wrestling with taxes, but deciding to go high…

In January 1947, the editor of The Poetry Review from @poetrysociety.bsky.social, one Hugh Wilgus Ramsaur, was in a splendid grump, accusing the older authors submitting to their competition of ‘experimenting’… Of all the things to do with a poem!

Fresh, powerful words to start the year with: ‘With my back to the world, 1997’ by @victoriachang.bsky.social ‘The best thing about emptiness is if you close your eyes in a field, you'll open your eyes in a field.’

Something soothing, for the heart and mind frayed and frazzled by being home with all relatives in situ… ‘Nothing Is Too Small Not to Be Wondered About’, by Mary Oliver, from Felicity (pub. Corsair Poetry)

All time best Christmas Day poem? ‘King John was not a good man -- He had his little ways. And sometimes no one spoke to him For days and days and days...’ If I can persuade someone to read this aloud to me on the day, I don’t need any presents www.thereader.org.uk/featured-poe...

Famous Seamus: a beautiful one for thinking towards the New Year. Anything Can Happen, from District and Circle.

Educating myself in someone else’s library today. Crow Frowns, from Crow by Ted Hughes. ‘His footprints assail infinity With signatures: We are here, we are here.’

Are you ready yet for a glorious happy chubby Christmas poem? Yes you ARE! ‘Summon the spirits of bumpo and hot buttered rum’ and ‘a bishop bearing the orb of a clove-spiked orange’… every good Xmas party needs a drunken bishop… @mfrancispoet.bsky.social from Wing, pub. @faberbooks.bsky.social

“thank you for sending this piece in - sorry not to be able to select it - but I found a number of the thoughts in it quite startling.”… This rejection at least made me laugh out loud!

Someone loves me!

Submitting a poem for other people to see for the first time

Today my spirit animal is heron-going-Christmas-shopping, inspired by Paul Farley…

A soothing, introspective, surfing-the-aftermath morning to you. Wonder, by Tuvia Ruebner, translated from the Hebrew by Rachel Tzvia Back #poem #poetry

A beautiful Monday to you.

Utterly depressing news … please do write to Wes Streeting & your local MP. Things are becoming ever more challenging for the trans community, despite the government’s ‘aim’ to make trans lives easier …I feel like the marginalisation of my kind is something few care about apple.news/A_L5vwVZsR06...

Happy Friday- here’s an accidentally beautiful article on aging and shared cultural heritage within the natural world. The whole thing reads like a poetry prompt to me: www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The first recorded lines of poetry in Dutch, in an 11th century manuscript: ‘Hebban olla vogala nestas hagunnan hic enda thu wat unbidan we nu?.’ ‘Do all of the birds have nests, but for you and me; well, what are we waiting for?’ From @pcevans.bsky.social Grand Larcenies @carcanet.bsky.social

A haiku for poor beleaguered Gregg Wallace Middle class women of a certain age it seems caused all the trouble… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Good morning.

Today, the happiest of accidents: my introduction to poet Lisel Mueller (via someone I don't think is over here yet). As I wrote when sharing this on Twitter, this poem is a 'breath-catching stunner' – a lyric poem to shock and awe in the best ways.

It’s gone and done a Monday again, all over again, and I need daydreams to deal with this. So, ‘Midsummer, Tobago’ by Derek Walcott… ‘Broad sun-stoned beaches…’

HAHAHA you bet they did! You do not mess with the menopause mafia, underestimate us at your peril… www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Rate my bedside book pile! Wobbliness 11/10, time to build shelves…

Anyone out there got good recommendations for books ABOUT poetry? Got @ruthpadel.bsky.social’s 52 ways of looking at a poem and it’s brilliant, I want more!

Happy hump day, let’s smile magnificently and do a nope on absolutely everything… Trolley Man, by @julianstannardpoet.bsky.social

Good morning to this beautiful work, Loop, by Maria Taylor in the Forward Anthology 2011-2020. ‘Light returns from exploded stars.’

Ten minutes till Monday is over and I can go back to being a pyjama’d sofa gremlin!