My poem this weekend contemplates the mystery of those travellers who set out and are never seen again.

On the surface it celebrates the astonishing journey of the West African emperor, Mansa Musa. But there was another journey made: by his predecessor who sailed out across the Atlantic:

There are more extracts from Shimmering Horizons on a dedicated page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book. The poem above is taken from Part III: Into that Silent Sea — a celebration of ten great historic or legendary travellers from every continent of the world. I’m posting one each week for ten weeks.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

“… Behind them lay the terrors of the great Atlantic crossing …”

This week’s poem from my last collection was first published in the anthology celebrating the Austin International Poetry Festival’s 25th anniversary:

There are more extracts from Shimmering Horizons on a dedicated page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book. The poem above is taken from Part III: Into that Silent Sea — a celebration of ten great historic or legendary travellers from every continent of the world. I’m posting one each week for ten weeks.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

My poem this week celebrates a legendary traveller from China’s imperial past. But it also reflects on that moment in any journey when we realise it is time to turn home:

Admiral Zheng He at the Edge of the Known World

This is taken from Part III of my book Shimmering Horizons.

There are more extracts on a dedicated page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

I’m now halfway through posting ten poems from my book on the theme of the journey, the quest, the odyssey. This week’s is the sixth:

The poem above is taken from Part III: Into that Silent Sea — a meditation on legendary travellers from around the world.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

There are more extracts on a dedicated page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book.

Erika Bizzarri responded to this poem by writing her own ‘Helen of the Milk-White Arms’ and posting it here on WordPress at:

Helen of Troy

‘Whatever propelled them, one momentous day / they left, a speck between the ocean and the sky.’

I’m posting a poem each week on the theme of the journey, the quest, the odyssey: taken from my book Shimmering Horizons. Here’s the fifth.

If you recognise the form of this poem you might be interested to hear that I felt a sestina would convey the feeling of time being suspended in the middle of a seemingly endless voyage.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

Here’s a fourth poem from my recent book on the theme of the journey, the quest, the odyssey:

This poem was originally written for a daughter as she set off on her travels. Later I included it in Shimmering Horizons – in Part III which reflects on ten legendary travellers from around the world. I’m posting one each week for a while.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

There are more extracts from the book on a separate page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book.

I am posting a poem each week from my recent book – poems on the theme of the journey, the quest, the odyssey. Here’s the third.

This poem about the great Jewish heroine is taken from Part III: Into that Silent Sea — ten poems about legendary travellers from around the world. Together they explore the emotions at different stages of a typical journey.

There are more extracts from Shimmering Horizons on a dedicated page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

I am posting some of the poems from my recent collection Shimmering Horizons, and here is the second – about the famous Islamic explorer at the point of a momentous decision. The theme of the book is the journey, the quest, the odyssey.

The poem above is taken from Part III: Into that Silent Sea — a celebration of ten great historic or legendary travellers from every continent of the world. I’m posting one each week.

There are more extracts from Shimmering Horizons on a dedicated page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.

I thought I would post some of the poems from my recent collection Shimmering Horizons, and here is the first. The theme of the book is the journey, the quest, the odyssey.

There are more extracts from Shimmering Horizons on a dedicated page of this blog: one poem from each of the seven parts of the book. The poem above is taken from Part III: Into that Silent Sea — a celebration of ten great historic or legendary travellers from every continent of the world. I’m posting one each week for ten weeks.

Shimmering Horizons was published in 2022 by Bennison Books and is available through Amazon at minimal price. In Britain it may be borrowed through public libraries from the National Poetry Library.