To write a poem is to set out on a journey – it might be a wild ride, and you never know where you’re going to end up. Writing a poem is about choosing words so that their music matches their meaning. Some words are just wonderful to say – saying a lovely word is as enjoyable as chewing a caramel.

Poems are pure pleasure – the pleasure of the word in your mouth, the sound in your ear and the meaning in your mind and heart.

I might not know where a word or phrase comes from at the moment I first put it in a poem, but I always know why I leave it there.

Poetry is all about connections.  Sometimes they’re obvious – like a hedgehog reminding you of a conker shell, sometimes you need to give your reader a couple of clues to help them see what you see.