A poem which isn’t the one I had hoped to write

Selected poems

This is Not the Poem I Had Hoped to Write

This is not the poem I had hoped to write
when I sat at my desk and the page was white.
You see, there were other words I’d had in mind,
yet this is what I leave behind.

I thought it was a poem to eradicate war;
one of such power, it would heal all the sores
of a world torn apart by conflict and schism.
But it isn’t.

Lovers, I’d imagined, would quote from it daily,
Mothers would sing it to soothe crying babies.
And whole generations would be given new hope.
Nope.

I had grand aspirations. Believe me, I tried.
Humanity examined with lessons applied.
But the right words escaped me; so often they do.
Have these in lieu.

A poem for David Attenborough’s 100th birthday

Selected poems

Life of a Naturalist

it’s his birthday
and the sloths are up early for once
the flamingos line up in pink, long-legged salute
the birds of paradise parade in their finest
the elephants blow their trumpets
the blue whales gush with joy
the gorillas act out stories of his visits
the lions lay off the wildebeest for one day
and stand together on the Serengeti plain
the lyre birds sing his voice in tribute
the seals cannot stop clapping
and the ostriches urge us
to listen to him
and not bury our heads in the sand

2026 shows – low ticket alert

News

Much to my surprise, some of my shows this year are on the verge of selling out. You may need to get your rollerblades on if you plan to come to any of the following, which have fewer than 50 tickets remaining:

9May: FILEY Literature Festival
3 June: LEEK Arts Festival
4 June: CHESTER Literature Festival
8 Oct: DEAL Astor Theatre
10 Oct: COLCHESTER Arts Centre
14 Oct: LOUGHBOROUGH, MMC
7 Nov: BELLAGHY, Seamus Heaney HomePlace
13 Nov : HELMSLEY Arts Centre
14 Nov: POCKLINGTON Arts Centre

Shows in Bristol, Bury St Edmunds, Exeter, Leeds, London, Norwich and Stirling are also selling quickly.

For a full list of events, plus links to tickets, go here: https://brianbilston.com/events

*End of low ticket alert*