The best two poems I've written this year

An end of year poetry round up...

Hi again,

At our last poetry circle we shared some of the poetry that we were proud of writing this year. Afterwards, as is often the case, I was still thinking about the poems for days.

And I had meant to follow up with a wider invitation to share a poem. Or the line of a poem. To take a moment to recognise our writing in the year just gone.

Whether that be, I wrote three poems, or I wrote three hundred. Whether that be, I managed to develop a consistent writing habit or I managed to allocate odd slots to my creativity. Whether that be, I shared my first poem / spoke a poem out loud for the first time, or I published a book.

Because I know for a fact that we all did our best, with what we had and within the circumstances we found ourselves in. Sometimes those circumstances won’t have been easy. Sometimes life will likely have swept us up.

And yet here we are. Still, in the words of Natalie Goldberg, ‘writing down the bones’. Still reading poetry. Still trying to make sense of the world. Still trying to tenderise the torments. Still trying to put our biggest feelings into words. Still benefitting from listening to our poems landing on the page. Listening to each others poems arrive in the world. Still rejoicing in the moments when another human being is able to hold out a hand via a verse - those poems that hit like the last high note in the finale of a musical, that clear, that pure. Anyone else find it completely addictive.

So be proud of your writing this last twelve months. Whatever you’ve written this year it is exactly what you were supposed to write. Recognise that with immense kindness and love. And be sure to carve out time to celebrate it.

As poets we turn up with our hearts on the outside of our bodies, willing for our depths to be swam. It takes guts.

And the poetry you’ve read - well we all know from experience that someone has sat and grappled with the exact placement of those words for hours, that someone has deleted and re-written and deleted and walked away and cursed a few times trying to make a certain rhyme flow or an agitated metaphor sit peacefully. I think that’s why I am so overwhelmingly grateful for great poetry. I know the work it takes.

And why I’m so thankful for the poetry created within this community. It’s a big deal to share your words. Especially when those words are deeply personal or an early attempt (it’s not easy to share those), when you’re not a best-selling poet with millions of super fans praising you daily.

Anyway, for a change I’ve got all soppy about poetry and poetry community building.

If you fancied sharing something from the year that has just been (a favourite poem, a reflection, a celebration) with us in the comments (whether you’ve already done so or not) I know I for one would love to hear.

And here’s to being braver.

A little more of that next year? Building upon a strong start?

Here’s the one I read at the poetry circle, one of my favourites of the year. And a shorter one, which I wrote for my youngest daughter. This one means a lot.