I was quite horrified when I realised how long it has been since I last posted. The world and its mother seems to have intervened. So I am quite relieved to be here  now.

time is moving on and my indolence disturbs me. But, but the good news is that I am going to launch my first poetry collection on 11th November 2025 in The Teachers Club starting at 5.30 pm. It also happens to be my 80th birthday and I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

Below is the first taster of the book. So, read, enjoy, share, and send me feedback. 

The Majesty of the Ancient Oak

It stands at the end of a dry ditch, beside

a modern driveway, through an old estate.

Ancient, perhaps by hundreds of years,

predating the estate itself, lower branches

held aloft by modern engineering.

Tendrils of thick branches climb to the sun,

yield a blanket of acorns in season, crackling

underfoot. We are mere premis, babes leaning

against its massive trunk, feeling the vibrancy

streaming along our spines, refreshing, remaking.

Forty years, we have pilgrimmed

weekly to be restored by its flowing

energies, drawn from Middle Earth.

We are blessed among the ages.

Peter Clarke