This weekend our daughter moved out. We were excited to see her begin a new chapter, but there is also the parental instinct of wanting to be there for her, to hold her hand I still remember that 1st time, as a child, when I reached for her hand and she shrugged it away #poetry #poemoftheday

There is something in the brevity, the short lines, & the line/stanza breaks that amplify the impact of this poem. There is vulnerability in writing about the vulnerability of writing. The repetition of the word tremble & the notion that words on a page can tremble #poetry #poemoftheday

There are many layers to this poem. It is a metaphor for grief & how the dead remain part of our lives. That grief walks behind us, follows us wherever we go, but cannot speak. The poem builds to that brilliant final line - ‘They are victims of love, many of them’ #poetry #poemoftheday

There are two lessons in this poem by Heaney - listen to your wife & admit when you are wrong & no better way than by writing her a sonnet I love the comparison to the biblical miracle I wonder did owner of the house like his skylight as much as Heaney? #poetry #poemoftheday #seamusheaneysunday

When our son was little we said if he had been an animal he would have been a dung beetle Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so judgemental. Sometimes we just need to roll up our dung and go back home Maybe being a dung beetle isn’t such a bad aspiration #poetry #poemoftheday

On the day that Harry returned to the UK and Meghan was nowhere to be seen this poem came to mind It is full of wit and irony and such clever images, and I know it’s not about that infamous royal wedding but the connection in my mind made me smile #poetry #poemoftheday

I love the ambiguous meaning in Collette Bryce's poem Almost as much as I love the description of the spider & the Marcel Marceau reference is brilliant The final line hints at point of view – reading it from the perspective of the writer or spider gives 2 different poems #poetry #poemoftheday

Tonight I was honoured to be invited to attend a World Poetry Movement Event 'Putting Out the Flames War' We shared words about wars past and ongoing. We remembered the victims and their families This poem by Em Berry perhaps best reflects the evening #poetry #poemoftheday #Gaza

A beautiful elegy for poet Noelle Vial A woman not defined by traditional expectations A woman who believes in love & finds truth in ordinary life, who refuses to be silenced Irony in the title challenging those who disagree May we live in a world full of Dangerous Women #poetry #poemoftheday

Today is International Kissing Day Do you remember your proper first kiss? The emotions in the lead up to it and then THAT moment. No other kiss ever quite comes close to that one. Read Sara Teasdale’s poem & go kiss someone like you mean it #poetry #poemoftheday #InternationalKissingDay

A landmark of my childhood journeys from Belfast to Portrush, now a slip road off the main road The tunnel of leaning firs, the moss stretching for miles on either side. Heaney captures the landscape perfectly – ‘you drive into a meaning made of trees’ #poetry #poemoftheday #seamusheaneysunday

On the 250th anniversary, this poem unsettles what an anthem is supposed to sound like. It reframes the past and leans toward a notion of what else we might be; that interdependence is more important than sovereignty Perhaps, today, this is more vital than ever #poetry #poemoftheday #US250

Yesterday was the anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act 1964 I still find it incredible how recent this was, within the living memory of many Legislation does not change hearts & minds. Much work remains 62 years later This poem needs no introduction #poetry #poemoftheday

This poem by Dan Albergotti feels like a manual, a self-help guide A metaphor for what it feels like to be trapped Rather than an escape plan it focuses on how the mind adapts to the situation by creating routine inside chaos, by trying to make sense of the extraordinary #poetry #poemoftheday

Remembering today my great uncle Robert killed at the Somme This poem by Longley juxtaposes his father’s war memories with a killing from the Troubles Remembering too, Robert’s brother Tom who came home & never spoke of it – ‘dying for King and Country, slowly’ #poetry #poemoftheday #LestWeForget

Yesterday's moon poem takes us, by way of this poem, to International Asteroid Day Here we have the moon’s magnetic field as a metaphor for a relationship. The enduring influence of an ancient celestial impact continuing to shape what remains. #poetry #poemoftheday #InternationalAsteroidDay

On the eve of the full Rose Moon this poem by Helen Ivory takes natural phenomena and weaves in myth & folklore A halo around the moon traditionally signals a storm, but here it is more omen than meteorology I love that haunting final line, it gives me goosebumps #poetry #poemoftheday

I read this yesterday Today I went for a hike in the Antrim Glens & the were lots of fields with sheep What would people have thought if they saw me lying in the field? Would my act of existential contemplation have created a ripple resulting in a poem? #poetry #poemoftheday #seamusheaneysunday

Late June 1914, just a month before the outbreak of war. This, written in January 1915, is an acute observation holding a fleeting moment of the peace & tranquillity in counterpoint to the horror that is to come It is an elegy for an England, and a world, changed irrevocably #poetry #poemofthday

Recently I've had the pleasure of organising & judging a poetry competition Tonight is the shortlist & the winner announced on Sunday It's been a joy unwrapping the poems, noticing how they caught us & where they've taken us Eager for the next poem. Like this by Dana Gioia #poetry #poemoftheday

The heatwave continued. Today was the hottest June day on record for the UK. Now, outside, the first spots of thundery rain are starting to fall. This poem, by way of prayerful incantation, invites us to be grateful for the whole of life rather than perfection. #poetry #poemoftheday #UKHeatwave

In the midst of heatwave this came to mind That irrational feeling of being so deeply in love the entire world seems transformed by it There are some really unusual images sitting alongside the more obvious But more that I love the breathlessness of the unpunctuated stanzas #poetry #poemofday

‘Good things come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle’ - Lincoln Lemn Sissay is saying the same but more poetically That decision that you have been pondering, is today the day to resolve it? Don’t be satisfied with the crumbs left by hustlers #Poetry #poemoftheday

22 June 1948 the Windrush arrived at Tilbury docks Benjamin's recipe for a melting pot acknowledges the diversity that makes Britain great But a recipe isn’t just ingredients, it’s how it is put together, how it is served. I miss his poetry, wisdom, & courage #poetry #poemoftheday #WindrushDay

This is how I spent Father's Day weekend Metallica - Two Day - No Repeat - Weekend It was immense

The restrained emotion in this poem is reflective of Heaney’s taciturn father. His father’s hands more often used to manual labour turn to weaving words unspoken and a lifetime of memories into a harvest bow. ‘the end of art is peace’ #poetry #poemofheday #seamusheaneysunday #FathersDay

On World Refugee Day I'm sharing this sonnet by Damian Gorman that is filled with the most touching images. But of greater importance it contains a truth that can be easily forgotten. ‘our worth is more than the weight we put upon the earth’ #poetry #poemoftheday #WorldRefugeeDay

This poem is more than a poem about a dog. It is about loyalty & estrangement, trust and language, family and forgiveness It hinges on a few lines in the middle stanza... And a dog that does what humans struggle to do #poetry #poemoftheday

Today I was proud to take part in a panel discussion sharing my story about being the parent of a trans child I love this poem by Jay Hulme. It is about grace & belonging It's about the possibility of being loved exactly as you are & accepting this truth. #poetry #poemoftheday #Pride #LoveIsLove

The repetition of ‘here’, and even the missing word in the title, in Collette Bryce's poem speaks of absence. The enjambment & line endings fill the poem with thoughtful hesitation. I love the unusual similes too – ‘like discs in a jukebox’ #poetry #poemoftheday #NationalLonelinessWeek