Carl Peach

Biography

I am 55 years old. I took a degree in Communication Studies at Sunderland Polytechnic and was set to do a masters degree in journalism when I discovered that my father was dying of cancer. At that point, I put his writing ambitions on hold for over 20 years until I began to write poetry and short pieces of prose following the break-up of my marriage. I began performing his poetry live in 2017 and my first poetry anthology Man Up appeared in time for my 55th birthday in June 2019. Much of my work is "dark" as it tackles subjects that include separation, loss and unrequited love. However, I do occasionally pen a few lyrical pieces that delight in the power of language to describe what many regard as routine and mundane. Many of these pieces are short and punchy especially since I like to promote them on social media channels where brevity is vital. My full-time job is producing copy for websites, video scripts and press releases. I love sport, music, literature and film and have flirted with running, attending the gym several times a week. I live in Kettering in the UK and have two grown-up daughters who are both talented writers.

Samples

2009 Never ending darkness and ice Branches of skeletal fingers With puffed-up crows like musical notes That sound a funereal dirge Punctuated with silent nights 2009 Season sprung with daffodils On a Green Hill far away Graves decorated with tatty paraphernalia Pagan rites and wicker men As hopes springs eternal Soul Limbo and Sunshine's band Trumpet forth light and colour Birdsong, willow's whack and wedding belles But light fades from June Until finally stumps are drawn Fields are barren, sheaths gathered Stair-rod rain batters leaves Reds, yellows and browns, pirouette to the ground Floundering in sorrowful puddles And a cloak of sadness descends Sadness Please banish my sadness A scintilla of comfort, compassion Goodbye dagger to the heart Did I hold you too hard? Drain too much life, meaning From our final time together? Was it a single word, a look? Or the stench of vulnerability From this fragile leaky vessel? Pain and pleasure have meaning Yet a hollow barren emptiness Rends wounds that will not heal

Publications

Man Up (2019) - An Anthology of Poetry and Prose ISBN ISBN-10: 1092964533 ISBN-13: 978-1092964531

All poems are copyright of the originating author. Permission must be obtained before using or performing others' poems.