During Covid when I could be alone and quiet I finished writing ‘After the Blossom’ and at that time thought that everyone should write their memoir.
We all come with our own story of events that shaped us and of attitudes we were inculcated with that determined how and why we lived our lives.
But choosing a title for that book and for the following four Collections of Poems was the hardest thing. But it was fun.
Poetry helps me find my bearings as a writer and it is my refuge. It is my companion and what I do at the kitchen table, with the computer, printer and reams of typing paper, which is now my 'Writing Space'.
People ask me what my poems are about and I say:
“just a collection of cuttings from my busy life, spinning images of youth, happy days and unblessed moments, the grounded qualities of pilgrim strangers I met along the way and all the colours of the sun and wind woven in the loom of memory and memories of times and places I have known and a bit about my faith - but no politics - I don’t do that.”
As a Blesma widow, my faith and my capacity to empathise and relate to a whole range of trauma has deepened. I have as a result, decided to donate all royalties from sales of my work to Blesma – the Limbless Veterans.
I hope you like my collections of reflections and that you can immerse yourself in the words and in silence, and recognize places you have been to and times you may have known, and that it gives you hope...
See you next time,
Janet Wilkes
