poems

Introduction to Hemlock & Honey

As I approach my three score years and ten I have been thinking back over the past decades and analysing the memorable events that stand out for me most, reflecting on those that have exerted the greatest influence on my life. Indeed, there have been traumatic times, when life was turned upside down and huge changes were forced upon me. On the other hand I now understand, with the benefit of hindsight, that these have encouraged positive changes and led to hobbies, interests and new friendships that have greatly enriched my life. Without the trauma there could not be the rapture! In these poems I have therefore tried to explore both facets of life. Part One details the negatives and Part Two the positives, thus aiming to provide a balanced overview. I do not seek the sympathy card or see myself as a victim, nor do I want to suggest that life now is totally perfect. It’s a case of moderation in all things.

I have chosen the sonnet form in many poems, having always enjoyed writing in form and particularly using sonnets. Recently I took a course with distinguished poet Anna Saunders on writing sonnets for contemporary times, which I greatly enjoyed. This then naturally followed through into my latest work. It has been a huge challenge to write in this concise poetic form that uses rhyme, but to do it in a non-intrusive way. I hope that in some small way I have succeeded and brought the reader with me on my journey. My wish is to demonstrate that despite life throwing us curve balls, with patient determination we can find solutions, coping strategies that enable us to emerge as stronger, more hopeful and better human-beings.

Please join me in congratulating Susan Richardson on the launch of Smatterings of Cerulean published by Dark Winter Press. Susan is not only a poet but also known for the beautiful narrator’s voice in the fabulous podcast A Thousand Shades of Green.

Smatterings of Cerulean is a collection of short poems by Susan Richardson, accompanied by the photographs of Ken Whytock. It is a collection, essentially, about love. In these poems, Richardson explores the trajectory of the human experience, and how in all its shapes, textures and colours, love is at the root of the myriads of internal landscapes people travel. There is darkness and loss in these pages, yes, but there is also strength, fierce feeling, and ultimately, hope. These poems are the fullness of life crafted into small spaces, a blending of intense emotion and compelling images that tell a story of what it means to love.

In the Veins

Courage lives in the veins

Blood nourished earth clad raven

I envy your wings

Susan Richardson

What readers say

‘Susan’s poignant new collection is a journey through grief and the tangle of memory: the loss of loved ones, through to the reality and experience of sight loss, and then to a celebration of love and its power to balance, and to recharge. Short form poetry presents the challenge of distilling complex emotions and memories, often through short moments of observation of surroundings or complex emotional states, and it is a challenge that Susan meets with skill, power, and vulnerable bravery throughout this work. For those who follow her poetry podcast, A Thousand Shades of Green, I found myself reading her words in her voice, her steady, quiet strength underpinning this work from start to finish. Bravo, Susan!’

Mo Schoenfeld – poet, winner of Judges Mention – The Best Haiku Anthology 2022 (Haiku Crush)

‘Oh the delicacy of sight; that seeing what happens in the absence of light, in the memories of love, in the touch of loss that holds the world so much more beautifully than it did before the black and white ink stains and photographic images made their way to the white spaces in Susan Richardson’s latest collection, Smatterings of Cerulean (DarkWinterPress).

She brilliantly binds together visual and verbal forces to imprint us with an unspoken knowing that some words should be left unsaid, some shadows remain forever dark. In this we witness “memory slips from the corner of my eye”, and we find, with certainty, we can hold fast to the promise she makes in this body of work: “One day I will strike colour with a vengeance”. And she does. Oh yes, she does.’

-Karen Pierce Gonzalez, Coyote in the Basket of My Ribs, Down River with Li Po