John Alcock – Poet
Praise to the hawthorn on the boundary of Chandos Street car park
Those moments when you open
to this morning’s blue and its retreating clouds
this symphony of sparrows endless
fluttering of feathers of feeding.
Those moments when under your shade
a baby is soothed in her mother’s arms
school kids scoot skateboard trudge
office workers balance coffee-to-go
croissants under heavy or light shoulders
hearts gay weary counting days to
weekends. And above pigeons like angels
almost suspended skilled at drifting
at dozing in your branches after gorging
on blossom. And Paul asleep in his tent
under the ticket machine water bottle parked
on top of his unfinished thriller smell
of his last smoke. All this being breath
non-breath this earthiness this sky
this mix
and you a part of it.
This poem won John Alcock Award 2019
I owe a lot to John and to the many other writers who have inspired and encouraged me to write. When I shared my first pieces with John and other tutors, comments were positive – the work was not good. It can take years to learn how to craft a poem or a novel. It is very easy to dismiss an aspiring writer and John didn’t do that. As a result I have enjoyed reading and discovering poems and poets, and developed my own work. Perhaps more importantly, I have met other writers who have become friends. What better gift?
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