My silence here has been partly related to the workload of my MA in Professional Writing, and partly due to taking some time for self-care. I couldn’t let World Poetry Day pass me by, though.

As I wrote on Twitter earlier:

Thought I would also share a poem I wrote in November.

Words on the loss of a friend

I undertook my own ice bucket challenge
The moment I heard the news
No bucket, no ice
Cold water down the back nonetheless

A searing soul scream
Born of knowing
That the world in which I woke this morning
Will never be quite the same again

Once graced with his presence
It now smacks of his absence
Abruptly, though expected for longer
Than any would care to admit

We mark his moments in our lives
Our triumphs that he cheered
His triumphs that we cheered
We now mourn his absence

Even as we cheer his freedom.

If you have enjoyed my small celebration of World Poetry Day, check out Stones in the Road: Poems of Grief  and Growth. Just £1.50 a copy, raising money for stage IV breast cancer.