If you are not into poetry, this book may change your mind. Like many people, I was put off poetry at school - over 50 years ago now - by a teacher who threatened (and carried out) ‘the slipper’ to any boy who could not recite his favourite poem off by heart. Having gone through life never realising or understanding the sweet nuances of poetry, I missed out on a whole raft of literature. It took my terminal illness to make me understand that, through poetry, one can have the imagination stirred to such a degree, that your whole view on life can be change in an instant. Climate change, poverty, homelessness. Illness, and now pandemic, are all part of life today. Also, to have a Faith can change one’s attitude to life. The poems in this book highlight the cruelty and compassion of life, the wonder of creation. If we don’t do something pretty quickly, we will lose it… But also to laugh at life can be a great tonic. To put faith and trust in a ‘Higher Power’ will help get us all through it.
Peter Phillips