{"id":94,"date":"2024-02-01T22:15:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T22:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/?page_id=94"},"modified":"2026-09-08T11:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:34:30","slug":"poetry-samples","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/","title":{"rendered":"Poems"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Portrait<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You notice the nose: webbed veins spritzed
with little flicks of red, purple blotches
daubed with a palette-knife, broken ends
where blood-vessels gave up the ghost.

You see the waistcoat bristling
Harris Tweed, the label peeking out just so
we know, and, picked out in gold, a tiny
little compasses-and-square combo

glints in his lapel. You don\u2019t see
the earthy animal smell of the jacket,
the whiff of stale whisky on the breath
where he\u2019s tried to overtake 

the Dylan Thomas record. You can\u2019t see
his wife\u2019s face, worn like an overused
tyre, or his children\u2019s eyes blanking
out when his voice is raised.

You only catch a little of the scenes
where he rolls up in the early hours,
hammers on the door with a balled-up
fist, demands a final drink as a nightcap. 

He always drives himself home, festering 
in a bath of booze;  the picture doesn\u2019t show
his kneeling wife, praying for a swerve, a skid, 
the sudden emancipation of a brick wall.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Published in Ink Sweat & Tears<\/em>, 2026 <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/nairn-kennedy-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Polar Bear<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The warders drag you off, then life dissolves
to mists of butterflying in and out of druggy dreams,
framed by rumbling slams of roller doors in vans,
until you surface here, and wish you hadn\u2019t.

The days in hell are longer than the nights 
are longer than the days.  Eternity plods on 
in steel and rough cement, guards jangle up and down 
the corridors               years pass                  snow falls.

No trials, no judges, no appeals.
Despair drops in at night while sanity\u2019s off-shift,
lops one or two at random,
never those who ask.

My pelt\u2019s a rotten yellow
from sleeping every night on filthy stone.
Just tell me what I did                    tell me
what I did.
<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Published in To Make Us Real: Winning Poems from the Winchester Prize Anthology, <\/em>2024<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Dictator Expounds on the Cultivation of Fruit Trees<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Before they take you on as gardener,
cultivate the trees with care, seek
their support, eat the fruit they give,
drink the juice to make you strong.

When you get the job, patrol the orchard, 
wave the loppers, brandish secateurs
and saws, just enough 
to make them think.

Keep them neat. Trim off extra growth,
abolish adventitious shoots, chop
whatever spoils the uniformity
of all your ordered rows.

If you dislike lemons, rip
them off, but never compost them
until they\u2019re squeezed down
to the last pip.

Obstinate trees must go. 
Keep an axe at all times
under the bed. Let Sycamore Gap
be your friend.

Brick walls and barbed wire 
will keep the orchard free
from windblown wildflower seeds
and stop the trees from wandering.

I\u2019m sorry to have left so suddenly
for Cuba, and I assure you that my mansion,
private plane and yacht are necessary
for social, leisure and alcoholic purposes.

I enjoyed the gardening while it lasted
but if I ever had to do it again,
I\u2019d remember that chopping off the flowers
is in the end a fruitless enterprise.


<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
One of the winning poems in The Poetry Archive WordView 2025 Competition. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
See: https:\/\/poetryarchive.org\/collections\/poetry-archive-now-wordview-2025-winners\/<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Siege<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The postman\u2019s lobster hands
clack letters though the box
sharp words with fierce serifs

I flush them down the loo
to cleanse and blunt them
into shining mackerel

I know the phone\u2019s tricks
screaming at all hours
like a plastic weasel

speaking with the voice of a man
saying he\u2019s a psychologist
wanting just a little word

he can tangle in his tripwires
which I know not to answer
that fixes him

the door shakes with rage
against the men in chequered hats
who say they\u2019re police 

come out they say
it has to end
and it will 

when the last can of tuna
runs out.
<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Published in The Hippocrates Prize Anthology, <\/em>2024<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Outfoxed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a jester capering on the lawn,
flashing white and orange motley 
at the sun.

Loki, Harlequin, jackanape, he flounces
his brush, struts on two legs,
waltzes tenderly with a dead rat.

At his desk in the shrubbery
he scribbles elegies for chickens, dreams
of a pamphlet with Foxy and Foxier.

Turns out he\u2019s published everywhere:
a foxtrot track of paws denting
the douce gravel,

skittled bottles on a concrete doorstep,
ravaged bins splayed across the pavement
and all around, that scent of musk.

Coming home tonight, my senses
sharpened up to needle tips, I see my house,
alien in the purple sunset; 

the desk lamp\u2019s shining in the study,
my ears prick out the tapping of a keyboard;
in the dusk, all the door locks smell brand new.
<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Published in the Live Canon Anthology, <\/em>2024<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Portrait You notice the nose: webbed veins spritzedwith little flicks of red, purple blotchesdaubed with a palette-knife, broken endswhere blood-vessels gave up the ghost.You see the waistcoat bristlingHarris Tweed, the label peeking out just sowe know, and, picked out in gold, a tinylittle compasses-and-square comboglints in his lapel. You don\u2019t seethe earthy animal smell of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-94","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nPoems - Nairn Kennedy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Poems - Nairn Kennedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Portrait You notice the nose: webbed veins spritzedwith little flicks of red, purple blotchesdaubed with a palette-knife, broken endswhere blood-vessels gave up the ghost.You see the waistcoat bristlingHarris Tweed, the label peeking out just sowe know, and, picked out in gold, a tinylittle compasses-and-square comboglints in his lapel. You don\u2019t seethe earthy animal smell of …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nairn Kennedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-08T11:34:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/poetry-samples\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/poetry-samples\\\/\",\"name\":\"Poems - Nairn Kennedy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-01T22:15:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-08T11:34:30+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/index.php\\\/poetry-samples\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Nairn Kennedy - Poetry\",\"description\":\"-Poetry\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a32dcad6843b2e38118a53e8979b5fc2\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a32dcad6843b2e38118a53e8979b5fc2\",\"name\":\"Nairn Kennedy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg\",\"width\":544,\"height\":969,\"caption\":\"Nairn Kennedy\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2024\\\/02\\\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Poems - Nairn Kennedy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/","next":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/2\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Poems - Nairn Kennedy","og_description":"Portrait You notice the nose: webbed veins spritzedwith little flicks of red, purple blotchesdaubed with a palette-knife, broken endswhere blood-vessels gave up the ghost.You see the waistcoat bristlingHarris Tweed, the label peeking out just sowe know, and, picked out in gold, a tinylittle compasses-and-square comboglints in his lapel. You don\u2019t seethe earthy animal smell of …","og_url":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/","og_site_name":"Nairn Kennedy","article_modified_time":"2026-09-08T11:34:30+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/","url":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/","name":"Poems - Nairn Kennedy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-02-01T22:15:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-08T11:34:30+00:00","inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/poetry-samples\/"]}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/","name":"Nairn Kennedy - Poetry","description":"-Poetry","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a32dcad6843b2e38118a53e8979b5fc2"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/#\/schema\/person\/a32dcad6843b2e38118a53e8979b5fc2","name":"Nairn Kennedy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg","width":544,"height":969,"caption":"Nairn Kennedy"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-20210416-WA0000-1.jpg"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":77,"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":994,"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/94\/revisions\/994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nairnkennedypoet.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}