Reflections

Reflections is a compilation of poems, both introspective and retrospective, presenting a rich tapestry of personally intimate, spiritual, and worldly issues, across a broad spectrum of environmental, political, and social themes, which mirror the deep concerns and topics of today’s virulent social fabric. Grappling with the themes of the aged, death, loneliness, and the perpetual human quest for answers, they nevertheless maintain an underlying spark of ‘hope and faith’ for the continuance of human existence.

Reach for Your Star

In Reach for Your Star, the author takes readers on a journey through life using the art of poetry. With pieces that range from humorous to serious, these poems capture the many facets of the human experience and the ways in which we express ourselves. Whether through the arts, sports, academics, charity work, or dedication to a cause, we all seek out paths that allow us to be our authentic selves. This collection of poetry is a celebration of the unique journey that each of us embarks on as we strive to reach for our own star.

Raised on Songs and Stories...

What many of us find challenging in life is to reach an understanding of existence. We search around for meaning in the strangest of places. Clare O’Reilly started with words and when the poems and images came, she was grateful. Often sad and sometimes tumultuous, her poems represent snapshots of her own experience and observations.
This evocative and diverse collection portrays the fragility of the human condition and our complex emotions. By sharing her insights. Clare has managed to turn some of her dreams, longings and disappointments into one big positive, finally achieving the self-empowerment she has long hoped for.
In the words of Allen Ginsberg, the American poet: ‘Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private.’
Clare’s hope for Raised on Songs and Stories is that readers will find much to absorb them, allowing reflection and understanding to continue in earnest at some distance past the final page.

Pseudo Poetry

A collection of thoughts I was unable to articulate. From the happy to the grim. From the abstract to the clear-cut.
Art without words is just expression. Words without art are just information.
Disclaimer: you will not find this book informative.

Princess Ice Cream and Other Verses from the 1970s

“Majestic, stately, self-possessed,
A fashion plate divinely dressed.
Miniskirts and summer blouses,
Knee-length boots and winter trousers.
Tiaras, diamonds, royal crowns,
Pyjamas, swimsuits, evening gowns.
Cotton, satin, wool, or lace,
She wears them all with equal grace.”
From the poem “Princess Ice Cream”

Welcome to Michael McAllen’s collection of witty, opinionated and technically assured poetry written during that strange decade, the 1970s. It includes poems about love lost, gained or never-quite-achieved, Hollywood and the British theatre scene, along with vers d’occasion, pop song parodies, political diatribes from both sides of the Atlantic, and portraits – not always flattering – of various celebrities of the time.

Pretty Flowers In the Snow

Enter a world of dream and reality.  Where the afterlife and our world meet. Where the beginning is the end and the end is the beginning. Where death, horror, the surreal, reality and pain meet. Gothic and surreal overtones are just some of the ideas that permeate this collection of poems.  
Pretty Flowers in the Snow is the second book of the ‘Poppy’ trilogy, revealing that the world Lilith entered is full of flowers, smothered by snow. The flowers are a reflection of her and the torment she is in.

Postcolonial Metaphysics

Postcolonial Metaphysics is a debut poetry collection with a difference. The poems in this collection deal with contemporary political issues like colonialism, classism, migration, racism and social justice. This poetry collection includes introspective reflections about the philosophy of mind and the mind-body problem which draw on the author’s rich inner life. Other poems address the nature of mental illness to shed light on experiences which are often subject to stigma and misunderstanding.

Each of the poems in this collection engages with its audience and encourages readers to challenge their cherished beliefs and open their minds to new ways of perceiving the world. Overall, this powerful and moving debut poetry collection hopes to spark real change in the hearts and minds of its readership. The powerful poems in this collection are written to inspire the imagination of the readers and provide unique insights into the globalized and hyperconnected world we live in.

Poems from Poems

These poems are a response to a wide range of well-known poems from across the ages. They are written in the same poetic form as the originals and offer a modern perspective on their central themes. The reader is invited to look up the original – perhaps to re-read a loved poem or to explore unfamiliar ones – and see how far attitudes have changed over time. The environment is a particularly poignant topic, as so many older poets were consoled by its seemingly enduring beauty in troubled times. Another theme is the belief in the afterlife, which was central to many of the earlier poets, and the contrast with our own largely sceptical age. There are also, of course, universal themes such as love, death, change and parting.

The tone aims to echo each original, with satire and humour mixed with more serious and reflective moods.

Poems from Paintings

These poems were inspired by works of art, chosen across place and time for their intrinsic power and the challenge they present to provoke thoughts and feelings in the viewer.

Ideally, readers should find a reproduction of the painting – easily available on the internet – to contemplate, before reading the poem. The hope is that readers might become aware of previously unnoticed aspects of the work and be interested in seeing how their own responses match or indeed conflict with those of the author.

Thus, the collection aims to offer an invitation to contribute to an ongoing dialogue between the artist, the poet and the reader. All art forms open a window into other lives and ways of seeing; this interplay between the genres provides an opportunity to reflect upon much that lies beyond one’s own immediate experience.

Phoenix Ablaze

My heart bled into these pages,

Soaking them up

With all the rainbows and rages

Of thought-filled nights

And ill-thought actions.

My heart bled

Into your hands.

So, hold it close,

With all the rainbows and rages.

Hold it dear for the entire ride.

Outside Looking In

“A characteristic of autism can be a difficulty using speech to express thoughts, feelings, and experiences. However, there is often an eloquence in self-expression using the arts, including poetry. Clare’s sensitive and engaging poems provide an insight into her mind and her autism.”
Professor Tony Attwood, author of The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome.
What if you were given a life-altering diagnosis at 57? One that meant you aren’t who you thought you were? But one that explained everything?
These poems vibrate with intensity and curiosity about life, and because she came to this knowledge so late in life, many of Clare Smith’s poems focus not so much on what it means to be autistic, but on what it means to be human.
Throughout her life, as she struggled to fit into a world that to her was utterly strange, she poured her hopes, her joys and at times her despair into words.
She trained as a journalist, taught to cut out all emotion from her reporting, but her private writing is different – she created poetry that spoke to her deepest needs. There, exposed in her writing, is her yearning to belong, her astonishment at the physical world, her knowledge – decades before the doctors confirmed it – that she is different.
She’s spent a lifetime trying to make sense of her life – a journey that many of us, whether autistic or neurotypical, are on, and one in which we all face the same questions.

Out Of 2020

2020 was different for all of us. It may have been difficult but if we look at it through a different lens and see how we can grow then it becomes a new experience – a way “Out of 2020.”

It is only when things become a challenge that we learn to grow and evolve. The last few years have become the start of a new revolution towards an experience we all need to achieve our purpose.