Most Secret

It’s no secret that when children like poems or songs they’ll willingly give their approval. They are refreshingly ingenuous and will no doubt like some of this silliness. It’s sometimes harder for adolescents and adults to reveal their personal preferences, for fear of criticism or exposure. Although they may identify with some of the expressions of thought, observations or emotions in this book, they will at times keep their opinions secret.
Most Secret offers enjoyment, interpretation, debate, as well as provocative and evocative thoughts across a range of age groups.
Can you be trusted not to share the contents of this book with others?

Moments of Melancholy

Silent, moonlit nights, gently drifting autumn leaves, a hint of perfume sparking a memory and the various shades of grey on a gloomy day are just some of the moments infused with the pain of an aching heart that inspired the words in Moments of Melancholy. These are poems for the tender-hearted, the sorrowful souls and the phoenixes who rise from the ashes of lost loves. This collection of 34 poems deals with the deepest of human emotions and draws examples from the greatest role model of all time: nature.

Each poem can be read as a standalone piece, or the collection can be worked through as a journey of a heart breaking, and healing, and learning to love and live again. After many years of writing and collating, these poems are being published in the hope that readers find comradeship and comfort in the words Misabel shares, as well as a genuine enjoyment and appreciation of her novice but nevertheless heartfelt poetry.

Moments of Joy – Moments of Darkness

Anthony knows about depression because he lives in it; he understands about nature because he was brought up surrounded by it. His poetry is a culmination of them both. They sometimes merge perfectly in his body of work spanning nearly a decade, he writes mainly about his depression. Some capture the complexities of his life, some the simplistic nature of nature and some the joys he finds. Each poem reveals a little more of what he suffers through day to day, moment to moment. He handwrites in little pink notebooks, because he loves the colour pink and putting pencil to paper.

Moments of Joy – Moments of Darkness will enable the reader to journey with Anthony through his depression, as he battles his daily demons, most times it’s a losing battle, but sometimes there’s a crack of light and nature shines through to create a happy moment. As the book unfolds the reader will see how he learns about himself to combat his depression and sometimes how to find peace in the simplest of things: a cup of tea to a cloud in the sky.

Moments of Joy – Moments of Darkness are a culmination of his poems written over these years.

Moments as They Come

What happens when all of your children move out? This collection of poetry is a healing journey in self-discovery. It takes the reader through various stages of grief, insight, hope, and new beginnings. A poignant, inspired, and assured debut collection which transfixes the reader while resonating deeply.

The authenticity of these poems reveals the real experiences and raw emotions one feels when their child has moved on. The writing is emotive and powerfully beautiful in its expression of the truth and confrontation one feels about having an empty nest.

Momentary Insights

An eclectic mix of emotion, with themes of love, loss, despair, fear, anxiety and hope, where the catharsis of writing whilst in the therapeutic senses of nature brings the momentary insights of truth.

Truth…

“Though seemingly momentary, the ideal is of abiding eternal,

‘Tis the essence of our being, in every light and all nocturnal.

Freely exposed cognitions, bared naked in thought,

Given freely at no cost… priceless.

Now… Feel clothed in the warmth,

Of what in all of us is sought.”

Modern Iraqi Poetry: Abdulwahhab Al-Bayyati: Poet of Diaspora

‘Abdulwahhāb Al‑Bayyāti was one of the triumvirate of poets who dominated modern Iraqi and Arabic poetry of the mid-1950s. Following the pioneer female poet Nazik Al-Mala’ika, he moved away from the tail-end of the romantic period of Arabic poetry, with its reliance on classical verse style.
These modern poets introduced new subjects, both social and political, employing a more psychological approach. They used direct language, free from the traditional figures of speech, but enriched with cultural connotations.
This is the fifth book of translations by ‘Adulwāḥid Lu’lu’a to be published by Austin Macauley. The first in the ‘Modern Iraqi Poetry’ series, showcasing the work of Abdulrazzāq ʻAbdulwāḥid, was published in 2018.

Mettle & Flesh

‘I realise with quite a fright
this page is now my portal
for as you read the words I write
I become immortal’

Mettle & Flesh is a collection of poetry encompassing observations on life, and how we see ourselves within it.
Born from personal experience, the poems span across topics ranging from love, loss, ageing, trust, bad dates, and the inner thoughts we usually keep to ourselves.
The poems range from contemplation to rage, from disappointment, to questioning the status quo. Within them, you will find a personal connection as you hear your own inner voice echoed on the page.
Mettle & Flesh is a representation of the inner strength we build through experience, and the pain and joy that our flesh can bring.

Mental Health Matters – Volume 2

Mental Health Matters – Volume 2 will give you an insight into mental health through poetry.

My own mental health battles have been difficult, I hope to grow as a person and make people believe in themselves. I also want people to relate because at some point we all struggle with mental health.

Mental health can make you feel like you’re living a constant nightmare that will never end. But things do get better, I’m living proof of that. I hope to share my poems with you because life is precious and, most importantly, you are precious. Sometimes in life we just survive instead of living. If you ever feel like this. I hope you realise how beautiful a place this world is. Remember. it’s raining but eventually the sun will rise.

While in the darkest of places, I found poetry a beautiful way to express emotions. so give it a go and read some of my poems: some happy, some deep. Whatever it is you’re looking for – a poem to cheer you up, a poem you can relate too – this book has it all.

Mental Awakenings

This book details the meaning of spiritual essence and courage to survive and strive. It is a journey of daily writings which can be used to help other people’s experiences of mental strength all while still trying to figure life out. Take from this book what you will...

Memories and More

The basic idea of this book is to share life experiences, and thereby give comfort and encourage smiles, by showing my own and others’ reflections on different life-situations. I am sure that many of them are comparable to those that occur in your life, or to others around you. By sharing experiences, we all learn something. Women are probably sharing thoughts more often than men. Many of the events in this book have also been discussed in female groups. They have not all been personally experienced by me but are the consensus from these fruitful discussions. Now I am pleased to share them with you. Among the experiences discussed in this book: heartbreak, the #MeToo movement and my own experiences, divorce as its complication as a parent, and my own thoughts about the pandemic. I also share with you my thoughts about the aging process that we all must endure, if we are lucky enough to live that long, since life is still a gift given to us all. We ought to remember that and enjoy the journey.

Memoirs of the Village Idiot

‘How is it possible that life, for the life of it, could be painful and joy-less? Yet it has survived for ages?’…

Is the ability to see the world in its most unflattering state, without reason nor rhyme, a gift or a curse with a pinch of mental instability?

Meanwhile Back at the Nest

Only through dialogue with nature and the animal kingdom can we hope to fathom the human condition. Such conversation enables us to establish a fresh benchmark by which to gauge the significance of what it takes to be human in a truer sense of the word. This collection of poems represents the findings of a man who is still very much a work in progress!

beyond observer’s books

and climbing boys

there nests a bird

that only takes

to wing

to prey

on feeble-minded men

designed for toil

and useful days

but who stand too long

and gaze

gathering sunlight at its tail

it swoops unseen

and strikes

with song caresses

ear and mind

while talons grip

the heart

and choke all talk

this bird

part nightingale

part hawk