10 Poems That Define Me

https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/awakened_1251824 My first childhood recollection of becoming aware of the opposite sex https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/uncle_michael_1251117 A defining death of my uncle and surrogate father https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/martha_and_mary_1251647 I am a restless soul and always seeking to be active. I compare and contrast my own traits with the two biblical characters Martha and Mary and their varying abilities to sit, listen and learn at the Lord’s feet. https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/donald_1245667 Donald is a childhood memory from junior school. The child I was then is contrasted with the man I have become. As with all children our sensitivities and empathy towards others is undeveloped. Children can be very cruel. The adult me is therefore reflecting on the child me that I was. https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/three_edens_1243533 Three Edens reflects on three ages. From my earliest in some ways idyllic memories as a child, yet now aware of my parents hardship struggles at that time, through to my own reflections as a father and the distaste for what childhood now offers my children in the digital age. https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/marlino_1247148 This is my adventuresome side and my great love of fishing. This is a long narrative poem which chronicles one of my many exciting adventures https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/my_shadow_1243519 This poem reflects my desire to be authentic. We all wear some form of mask and the inner person never fully matches the one that we allow to be seen. The shadow is a metaphor for that mask, which represents me perfectly and yet also nothing but the flat surface of the outside form. https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/grandads_tiger_cub_1243564 Grandad’s tiger cub is about my love for my grandson. As we get into a senior age we tend to live more vicariously through our offspring and this poem reflects the longing to see him now that we are separated in different countries by covid lockdown. https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/girls_in_my_head_1249398 The memory of sexual encounter is often different to other memories and they don’t seem to fade in quite the same way. They often pester like an annoying fly that one rather regrets having let in the house by opening that window. I muse as to whether those meories are still shared by the ‘girls in my head.’ https://www.poetrysoup.com/poem/three_freedoms_1243560 The body changes with age but the mind does not do so in the same way. As the body fails we can live more from our minds and our memories and this is reflected for myself in this poem.