Poet Jane Hirshfield said "... the feeling I have about poem-writing (is) that it is always an exploration, of discovering something I didn't already know. Who I am shifts from moment to moment, year to year. What I can perceive does as well. A new poem peers into mystery, into whatever lies just beyond the edge of knowable ground."

I bring a different poem to the writing classes each week, not only to inspire but to introduce new poets to the group members.

The Only Thing Far Away by Kei Miller

In this country, Jamaica is not quite as far 
as you might think. Walking through Peckham
in London, West Moss Road in Manchester, 
you pass green and yellow shops 
where tie-headwomen bargain over the price 
of dasheen. And beside Jamaica is Spain 
selling large yellow peppers, lemon to squeeze 
onto chicken. Beside Spain is Pakistan, then Egypt, 
Singapore, the world ... here, strangers build home 
together, flood the ports with curry and papayas; 
in Peckham and on Moss road, the place smells 
of more than just patty or tandoori. It smells like 
Mumbai, like Castries, like Princess Street, Jamaica. 
Sometimes in this country, the only thing far away 
is this country.

~ from Border Lines, Poems of Migration (Alfred A Knopf, 2020)