There was a lot of strong poetry published this week that covered a number of topics, all quite serious in tone yet keeping the intelligent perceptive the poet often keeps. Two weeks after the bombings in Boston, the new was stilled filled with sad stories about the three fatalities and the questioning behind the attack. Emily Rebecca Adams wrote the poem Boson Reminder as a kind of photographic reminiscence of the terrible incident. ‘Nothing beautiful can ever stay,’ she writes. A poignant look at the event, made real with the graphic descriptions. I suppose, even after two weeks, we shouldn’t really forget.
Malala by Graham Robinson was about Malala, the 15 year old Pakistani schoolgirl activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating education for girls. Angelina Jolie honoured the ‘Malala Fund’ which will fund education for 40 girls in Pakistan. The poem shows, in rhymes, the determination and bravery of this girl.
By mid-week we had an obituary poem for Woodstock icon, Richie Haven. Legend, written by Luigi Pagano, is a poignant look at a small part of the man’s life which is greatly lauded as the ‘Opening artiste at Woodstock.’
On Thursday we published Blood Red Dress by Angela Finn. This was about the news story of Primark giving aid to the families of the victims of the the warehouse collapse, one of Primark’s suppliers in Bangladesh. The poem is filled with a sense of guilt symbolised in a ‘scarlet dress.’ The blood image of the dress is seen to be made in Bangladesh while ‘You hear the next day’ about the disaster.
Empty Vessel by Mari Maxwell was about the murder of April Jones and the trial against the accused that may last up to seven weeks. The angelic imagery the poem begins with rots into a dark description of earwigs and maggots. It’s a sad poem filled with powerful wording and reaches a state of anger. There something haunting even in the beginning: ‘I saw the golden halo of your / long, curled tresses. / And I gazed into your sprightly soul.’
Saturday we published Carolyn Cornthwaite’s Bachcha. This was about the arrest of a man over the rape of a 5 year old girl in India. Again, a powerful poem, which seeks to show the anger and sadness all at once. The powerful line ‘Childhood / torn from tiny fingers’ is especially evocative.
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Michael.
