Live Performance in Staines – 12 November

Hi all, I’ll be in Staines on the evening of 12th November performing one of my poems at the Laureate’s Lounge Open Mic event. Details are below. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0afgjPfG31wemg8t1DUS4qRvikbhzJs2JGZdMVzFr5YobbyVdySNHhwVyZdGW4rAbl&id=61558521552784 Use the link above to find tickets. General admission is free I think. Hope to see some of you there. Cheers, Richard

Ages of Bark – a poem

Just a quick one. I was out in the woods on Thursday afternoon and saw some very different looking trees. That led to this… Ages of Bark Smooth, firm in youth, To age you may come in truth, What will be your path? Moss-dressed and thriving, A coat of life and giving, Each one forgiving. […]

The Shipwreck of Elisabeth Le Brun – a ballad

Hello all, I’m very happy to present my new poem, which I came up with during a visit to the National Gallery. I should say that this is a work of fiction and not based on any real events. I know nothing of the artist, Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun except for seeing her self-portrait […]

A Chance to Perform

Got the chance to read some of The Ardenna Crossing this evening… to an audience! This was part of the Surrey New Writers Festival which took place today at the University of Surrey. Here I am, expertly photographed by my six-year-old daughter. There were some really talented writers there sharing their work, including some excellent […]

The Pothole – a poem

So, there’s a yawning chasm of a pothole down my road. Every day, I have to remember to go around it in case I drive the car into it and come out in Australia. Anyway, short of other ideas, and with half an hour to spare, I wrote this. Hole in the world, A little […]

Alert – a few haikus

Haven’t written anything of my own for ages. I was really struggling for inspiration and feeling a bit desperate, so I clung on to the only thing I could think of: todays UK National alert text. Sorry I’m advance but I needed to write something, anything. Poised for an alert, A whole nation’s attention, Waiting […]

Getting to Know You – a haiku sequence

Hi everyone, It has been quite a while, hasn’t it? Thankfully, inspiration is never as far away as one would think when it comes to the world of Twin Peaks. There is always someone on hand to shift your perspective and make you see things a slightly different way. Usually for me, that inspiration is […]

Break upon his Tomb – a rispetto

Hi everyone, The form I chose for this week’s poetry video was Rispetto; a short form comprised of 8 lines, 11 syllables each. The form is Italian as you might have guessed. It comes from the 14th and 15th Centuries, in Tuscany. The word rispetto means respect, so I decided to go with a more […]

Dust Gathers – a triolet

Hi everyone, Another poem – this time it’s a triolet. This is a short 8-line stanza poem dating back to 13th Century France. the rhyme scheme is pretty easy to spot. It was done really well by Thomas Hardy when the form reached England in the 19th Century. I decided to write about the dust […]

Solitaire – a haiku sequence

Hi everyone, If there is a Twin Peaks character who sums up 2020 so far, it has to be the reclusive Harold Smith, played so wonderfully by Lenny von Dohlen. I haven’t written any Twin Peaks poetry in a while, but I kept seeing his image pop up on social media and I was compelled […]