A Published Poem

I’m going to start off in slightly self-congratulatory fashion by mentioning that I had a poem published this week on poetry blog Poetry 24, which I have to say I’m quite proud of, and it is also an encouraging start to the year.

They publish a poem a day, the theme of which is a recent news item which has got the poet thinking. I think often it is what we hear in the news or read in the papers which most fires our imaginations and emotions. The blog is one that I have only recently come across, but I think it is a great concept and a great outlet for those of us who find ourselves reacting poetically to the world around us

Anyway, I had recently read about the huge amount of food that is wasted every year, around 2bn tonnes of it, and I was shocked and disgusted. Some food doesn’t even get harvested as the supermarkets don’t consider it good enough to sell, so it just stays in the ground. Perfectly good food, for want of a different colour or different shape, that could still be eaten. It is moments like this that you realise how corrupt , lazy and selfish we have become here in the western world.

Here is a link to my poem Food for Thought.

On a more personal note we had our second baby scan last week, and happily everything looks normal. The way the baby was lying makes it look as if it will be very supple. Perhaps a future gymnast? Or maybe I’m getting way too far ahead of myself!

The most fascinating thing to see was the little heart beating away, and at one point you could even see all four chambers. If anything these scans give you a wonderful insight into anatomy and would be a great thing to see if you were studying biology at school. Pictures in textbooks are all very well but when you see something that is alive and moving it gives you a much greater context.

We are now going through the process of looking at slings and reusable nappies, so if anyone has any advice it would be gratefully received. To use the words of my wife, it is very much a jungle out there, and so any navigational aids would be useful.

We plan to make a trip to Hackney Flower Market this weekend, which happens on Sunday mornings and if you’ve never been I greatly recommend it. It’s always fun listening to the various calls of the traders in any market, the variety of accents and the different ways in which each one will sell. You also get a wonderful array of different flowers, plants and herbs in all their colours and smells.

The shops running down both sides of the street are also interesting and when I am there I always long for a garden of my own, for another avenue with which to explore some creativity.