Wednesday 1 April 2015

A is for Armitage

Welcome to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge 2015. Having spent the weekend doing quite a bit of research for my poetry theme I hope I have found an interesting selection. I confess I favour modern rather than older 'classic' poetry but hope there will be something for every taste over the coming weeks. Simon Armitage is among my favourite poets (previously reviewed here and here) so it was inevitable that he would be the first port of call for my A to Z of Poetry. So to kick us off I give you Night Shift, which I have taken from 'The New Poetry' (currently out of print) from Bloodaxe Books. It is quite typical I felt of much of his work that I have read, quietly understated but evocative images and just a hint of melancholy.

Night Shift by Simon Armitage


Once again I have missed you by moments;
steam hugs the rim of the just-boiled kettle,

water in the pipes finds its own level.
In another room there are other signs

of someone having just left: dust, unsettled
by the sweep of the curtains; the clockwork

contractions of the paraffin heater.
For weeks now we have come and gone, woken

in the acres of empty bedding, written
lipstick love-notes on the bathroom mirror

and in this space we have worked and paid for
we have found ourselves, but lost each other.

Upstairs, at least, there is understanding
in things more telling than lipstick kisses:

the air, still hung with spores of your hairspray;
body-heat stowed in the crumpled duvet.


(Linking back to the A to Z Challenge)

5 comments:

  1. I love poetry, but I haven't heard of this writer before. It was a beautiful poem. I'm a new fan.

    Good luck with the 2015 A to Z Challenge!
    A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
    http://pensuasion.blogspot.com

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  2. Lovely poem. Looking forward to reading the poets this month on your blog.

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  3. This is a very touching poem, it hit home for me. Thank you!

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

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  4. A perfect choice for A. When there is a loss, it's always the mundane that brings back the memories and chokes us.

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  5. OOhh I like that. Thank you for sharing.

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Thanks for stopping by. Thoughts, opinions and suggestions (reading or otherwise) always most welcome.

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