It's a bit of a stretch putting this page in the 'professional' section. It is widely accepted that very few people make any money from poetry and a lot of those that do have to wait until after they're dead. It's also widely rumoured to be at the same time one of the most oversubscribed forms of writing and extremely difficult to be any good at. Having said all that, it fits comfortably alongside my other pages on various forms of writing, so here is where it stays.
I have vivid memories of hatred towards poetry when I was at school. There isn't much that I can honestly say I hate. I try to avoid such negative emotions where possible, but back then I really did hate poetry. The writing of it, that is. My pathetic efforts to string together a paltry four lines and squeeze and force and twist them until, screaming, they reluctantly rhymed, filled me with embarrassment and shame. I was supposed to be "good at English" but poetry found me out and I always felt uncomfortable with things I was no good at.
Reading it though - that was a different matter. I always enjoyed reading it. I even managed to learn some. 'Cargoes' by John Masefield was one I had to learn for a poetry reading competition and I still remember my teacher instructing me to imbue the last stanza with as much grit and force as I possibly could.
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days...
Wonderful stuff. Dear old John Betjeman's "The Village Inn" was a favourite too.
So ancient, clean and free from sin
I wouldn't dream of suggesting that any of my stuff stands up next to luminaries such as these, and I certainly don't entertain any aspirations to become Poet Laureate, but notwithstanding that, here is a selection from the forty-odd poems I've written since 1993.
All these poems are my own original work. Please respect my copyright. Any copies you make for any medium whatever (web, print, etc) must include an attribution to me as author. Please also include a link to my website.