World Poetry Day

One of the unexpected side effects of being a writer is that friends and family often approach me to write poems for special occasions. Now, I think people generally assume that writing is just writing. Whether it’s a novel, a short story, or a poem. Allow me to take this opportunity to disagree. I love writing stories. It’s something I’ve pretty much always done, even as a child. I’m also lucky in that I can usually sit down most days and bash out some chapters (or a few thousand words) a day without too many problems. It’s not always easy, but I luckily don’t conform to the tortured author trying desperately to get the words in their head onto the page. Poetry, however. Well that’s a different kettle of fish. It’s bloody hard. Takes an awful long time and, if I’m being brutally honest, it’s not really something that comes naturally to me. So I always experience slight feeling of dread when someone asks if I could ‘just write a few words’ for a special occasion. But I always comply. Because, you know, they’re family and friends. 

So, on the occasion of World Poetry Day 2024, I thought I’d share two of my more successful poems with you. The first was penned for the naming ceremony of the son of two very dear friends of mine. It took me a while, but I’m really quite proud of it. The second was one I wrote a few years ago in response to the seemingly endless number of superhero films that have been churned out in recent years. And the fact that superheroes don’t wear capes. They’re usually ordinary people who end up having to do extraordinary things. People like you, me or even Harry Grimm.