Publisher's Synopsis
This is a collection of completely unconnected verse. It ranges from the serious to the ridiculous.
We Are The Women was written as a song cycle in 2001 for soprano, mezzo soprano and piano, and performed as British military involvement in Afghanistan began in the wake of the 11 September terror attacks in the US. The poems looked at the First World War, although the feelings could be attributed to any war situation at any time in history. It is written from the perspective of the wives and mothers left behind, with the first song being a description of the fervour and patriotism of the young soldiers having taken the King's shilling, marching with enthusiasm and the pride of their womenfolk. The cycle moves through the various phases: confident letters home, the taunting of young men in the street with the white feather, the ghastly effects of shell shock, the letter from the officer telling of the young soldier's death and, finally, the disillusionment of those now left in "their own No Man's Land".
Some of the verses have taken the poetry of "proper job" poets, like Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Burns, Tennyson and Byron and turned their masterpieces around, creating a scurrilous take on the originals. Some poems have been set to music (alas, not included), some are a bit strange, some are a bit sad and some should warm the heart a bit. There is a small collection of "Bristols" - limericks written when the writer was living in Limerick Road, Bristol, and these may have some small resonance for those Bristolians counted as friends. And there is the poet's swansong. Maybe...
