3 poems by Matthew Stewart



Extranjero

Ten years on and perfection’s lost
its distant lustre. My accent

seeps away. Every few minutes
I let some vowels tug me back home,

back towards the cadence of who
I am or was or was or am.


Dad On The M25 After Midnight

Even before the front door’s shut,
I’m in first gear – up past Tesco,
third exit from the roundabout
and onto the slip road at last.
I overtake a Polish truck;
it wobbles as the driver shaves.
Tarmac reassuringly growls.

This is where the housework and kids
recede, junction after junction.
I could head west, then north, then east
- all with a millimetric nudge
of the wheel - but I hold a lane,
perfecting this nightly circle.
It closes back in on my name.


San Fairy Ann

Wit amid blood and Belgian mud,
Nan invoked you daily. Your time
on our tongues and in dictionaries
might be running out, but I’ve passed
your syllables on to my son
in return for his slang from school.


Matthew Stewart works in the Spanish wine trade and lives between Extremadura, Spain, and West Sussex, England. His poetry has appeared in many U.K. magazines and Happenstance Press will be bringing out his pamphlet in 2010/2011. He blogs at Roguestrands

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Montale's 'Il Balcone'

Image
This week I'm really pleased to be able to reproduce Ben Wilkinson's version of Eugenio Montale's short lyric 'Il Balcone'. The poem is a favourite of mine and one which I've tried translating before, though never as well as this. The Balcony after Eugenio Montale Remember those nights I’d linger below as you stood in the stars and we’d talk of leaving, as if auditioning for the part of Romeo and fluffing my lines as usual? Now on the opposite side I lean smoking and think on that handful of chances. The latticework of some distant tower block a chessboard that’s cleared after stalemate. Somewhere beyond a long flight’s expanses you spark a Zippo and light one up. Here it starts raining as I hang in the moment, turn towards this window’s squaring of dark. © Ben Wilkinson, reproduced by permission of the poet Ben Wilkinson was born in Stafford, Staffordshire in 1985. He read English and Philosophy at the University of Sheffield, and was awarded an MA in Writing
Read more

Carl Rogers: A Theory of Therapy

A THEORY OF THERAPY, PERSONALITY, AND INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS, AS DEVELOPED IN THE CLIENT-CENTERED FRAMEWORK CARL R. ROGERS University of Wisconsin Introduction 2 The soil of the theory 2 Some basic attitudes 4 The General Structure of Our Systematic Thinking 7 Definitions of constructs 9 A digression on the case history of a construct 14 I. A Theory of Therapy and Personality Change 22 Conditions of the therapeutic process. 22 The process of therapy 25 Outcomes in personality and behavior 27 Comments on the theory of therapy 28 Specification of functional relationships 29 Some conclusions regarding the nature of the individual 29 II. A Theory of Personality 30 Postulated characteristics of the human infant 30 The development of the self 31 The need for positive regard 31 The development of the need for self-regard 32 The development of conditions of worth 32 The development of incongruence between self and experienc
Read more

List of UK Poetry Magazines Accepting Email Submissions

Well, it's a start. I'll add others as and when I hear about them. Check back from time to time and please send me the names of any literary/poetry magazines and journals that accept email submissions that you know about. Many magazines still prefer postal submissions and will get pretty pissed off if you email them so check before. Some magazines on the list that accept email contributions also operate submission windows. Ambit Envoi Magma New Walk Magazine New Welsh Review Other Poetry Shearsman The Wolf Agenda (trial period) Weyfarers The Cadaverine (under 30) If you're submitting to U.S. journals, Blogalicious has an extensive list that accepts online submissions.
Read more