David Atkinson
@davidatkinsonpoet.bsky.social
(he/him) Belfast/Coleraine poet. Black Eyed Peace, is available as free eBook from Wordpress, inc. the Pushcart nominated Hunting for the Aurora. MA student at MMU - davidatkinsonpoet.wordpress.com
A lovely evening in Stormont (possibly the poshest venue I will ever perform in).
Congratulations to Ewen and Rhonda - great poems 😊
Delighted to receive this.
And such a joy to hear the kids reading their poems - the next generation
#poetry
#amwriting
#ulsterscots
Congratulations to Ewen and Rhonda - great poems 😊
Delighted to receive this.
And such a joy to hear the kids reading their poems - the next generation
#poetry
#amwriting
#ulsterscots
November 10, 2025 at 11:07 PM
A lovely evening in Stormont (possibly the poshest venue I will ever perform in).
Congratulations to Ewen and Rhonda - great poems 😊
Delighted to receive this.
And such a joy to hear the kids reading their poems - the next generation
#poetry
#amwriting
#ulsterscots
Congratulations to Ewen and Rhonda - great poems 😊
Delighted to receive this.
And such a joy to hear the kids reading their poems - the next generation
#poetry
#amwriting
#ulsterscots
On 13th January 1915 HMS Viknor sank of the coast of Tory island, Co Donegal. All hands were lost, 295 Royal Naval officers and men, including my grandfather’s cousin, Samuel Gourley.
We will remember them.
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#remembranceday
#lestweforget
We will remember them.
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#remembranceday
#lestweforget
November 9, 2025 at 10:37 AM
On 13th January 1915 HMS Viknor sank of the coast of Tory island, Co Donegal. All hands were lost, 295 Royal Naval officers and men, including my grandfather’s cousin, Samuel Gourley.
We will remember them.
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#remembranceday
#lestweforget
We will remember them.
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#remembranceday
#lestweforget
I love the juxtaposition of the ‘big’ things the speaker hasn’t done to the ‘small things they have’. Then in the final stanza, that turning inward, that reflection on ‘what it does to you’.
‘It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does to You’ by Simon Armitage, from Zoom!
#poetry
#poemoftheday
‘It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does to You’ by Simon Armitage, from Zoom!
#poetry
#poemoftheday
November 8, 2025 at 12:41 PM
I love the juxtaposition of the ‘big’ things the speaker hasn’t done to the ‘small things they have’. Then in the final stanza, that turning inward, that reflection on ‘what it does to you’.
‘It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does to You’ by Simon Armitage, from Zoom!
#poetry
#poemoftheday
‘It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does to You’ by Simon Armitage, from Zoom!
#poetry
#poemoftheday
I'm still feeling the spirit of autumn
In this Lucille Clifton poem — the leaves’ fall becomes a metaphor for trust, surrender, and acceptance.
Faith is not clinging on, it's knowing when to let go 🍂
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
In this Lucille Clifton poem — the leaves’ fall becomes a metaphor for trust, surrender, and acceptance.
Faith is not clinging on, it's knowing when to let go 🍂
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
November 7, 2025 at 10:17 PM
I'm still feeling the spirit of autumn
In this Lucille Clifton poem — the leaves’ fall becomes a metaphor for trust, surrender, and acceptance.
Faith is not clinging on, it's knowing when to let go 🍂
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
In this Lucille Clifton poem — the leaves’ fall becomes a metaphor for trust, surrender, and acceptance.
Faith is not clinging on, it's knowing when to let go 🍂
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
Some thought provoking advice from Charles Baudelaire "Be Drunk” (Enivrez-vous)
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
November 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Some thought provoking advice from Charles Baudelaire "Be Drunk” (Enivrez-vous)
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Be drunk, be continually drunk. On wine, on poetry, or on virtue...
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Very excited about this and looking forward to next Monday evening, in Stormont, no less!!
Congratulations to the other winners and highly commended poets
#poetry
#ulsterscots
Congratulations to the other winners and highly commended poets
#poetry
#ulsterscots
November 5, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Very excited about this and looking forward to next Monday evening, in Stormont, no less!!
Congratulations to the other winners and highly commended poets
#poetry
#ulsterscots
Congratulations to the other winners and highly commended poets
#poetry
#ulsterscots
Mrs A often complains the poetry I read/write/share is serious, gloomy, & downright depressing...
She may have a point, but to prove I'm not a one trick pony...
Just back from a forest walk, kicking through drifts of leaves - reminded of this by Brian Bilston
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
She may have a point, but to prove I'm not a one trick pony...
Just back from a forest walk, kicking through drifts of leaves - reminded of this by Brian Bilston
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
November 4, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Mrs A often complains the poetry I read/write/share is serious, gloomy, & downright depressing...
She may have a point, but to prove I'm not a one trick pony...
Just back from a forest walk, kicking through drifts of leaves - reminded of this by Brian Bilston
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
She may have a point, but to prove I'm not a one trick pony...
Just back from a forest walk, kicking through drifts of leaves - reminded of this by Brian Bilston
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#autumn
#fall
November 3, 2025 at 6:14 PM
There's a lot going on in this short poem - the play on words in the title, the cricket metaphor, and the complexity of language - wrapped up in tight little Ars Poetic
'Anglish' by Zaffar Kunial, from England's Green
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'Anglish' by Zaffar Kunial, from England's Green
#poetry
#poemoftheday
November 2, 2025 at 11:34 AM
There's a lot going on in this short poem - the play on words in the title, the cricket metaphor, and the complexity of language - wrapped up in tight little Ars Poetic
'Anglish' by Zaffar Kunial, from England's Green
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'Anglish' by Zaffar Kunial, from England's Green
#poetry
#poemoftheday
The understated tone of the title, the stillness and calm of the opening lines; belies the horror of the final couplet
'Meeting the British' by Paul Muldoon, from Meeting the British
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#antiimperialism
'Meeting the British' by Paul Muldoon, from Meeting the British
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#antiimperialism
November 1, 2025 at 2:53 PM
The understated tone of the title, the stillness and calm of the opening lines; belies the horror of the final couplet
'Meeting the British' by Paul Muldoon, from Meeting the British
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#antiimperialism
'Meeting the British' by Paul Muldoon, from Meeting the British
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#antiimperialism
For the day that's in it...
'All Hallows' by Louise Gluck - has a deep sense of loneliness and loss, that shifting between the seasons, and the final lines where the veil between this world and the next becomes thin
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Halloween
'All Hallows' by Louise Gluck - has a deep sense of loneliness and loss, that shifting between the seasons, and the final lines where the veil between this world and the next becomes thin
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Halloween
October 31, 2025 at 8:22 PM
For the day that's in it...
'All Hallows' by Louise Gluck - has a deep sense of loneliness and loss, that shifting between the seasons, and the final lines where the veil between this world and the next becomes thin
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Halloween
'All Hallows' by Louise Gluck - has a deep sense of loneliness and loss, that shifting between the seasons, and the final lines where the veil between this world and the next becomes thin
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Halloween
There is a tenderness in the ordinary, the acute noticing eye of the poet. But there something in the line break and the short penultimate line that carries us into the weight of the poem in the final line
'Every' by Wendy Cope, from Serious Concerns
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'Every' by Wendy Cope, from Serious Concerns
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 30, 2025 at 7:54 PM
There is a tenderness in the ordinary, the acute noticing eye of the poet. But there something in the line break and the short penultimate line that carries us into the weight of the poem in the final line
'Every' by Wendy Cope, from Serious Concerns
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'Every' by Wendy Cope, from Serious Concerns
#poetry
#poemoftheday
I must be feeling romantic...
Following from yesterday's poem today we have a quote from Lee Seong-bok reflecting on love and parting and the importance of rythmn in poetry
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
Following from yesterday's poem today we have a quote from Lee Seong-bok reflecting on love and parting and the importance of rythmn in poetry
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
October 29, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I must be feeling romantic...
Following from yesterday's poem today we have a quote from Lee Seong-bok reflecting on love and parting and the importance of rythmn in poetry
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
Following from yesterday's poem today we have a quote from Lee Seong-bok reflecting on love and parting and the importance of rythmn in poetry
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
October 28, 2025 at 6:09 PM
A couple of weeks ago I had a poem placed 1st in the Frances Browne Festival Poetry Competition, a festival mutually celebrating #gaeilge and #ulsterscots
Delighted to see the poem in print, together with the other winners, in the Finn Valley Voice ❤️
#poetry
#poem
#amwriting
Delighted to see the poem in print, together with the other winners, in the Finn Valley Voice ❤️
#poetry
#poem
#amwriting
October 27, 2025 at 7:56 AM
A couple of weeks ago I had a poem placed 1st in the Frances Browne Festival Poetry Competition, a festival mutually celebrating #gaeilge and #ulsterscots
Delighted to see the poem in print, together with the other winners, in the Finn Valley Voice ❤️
#poetry
#poem
#amwriting
Delighted to see the poem in print, together with the other winners, in the Finn Valley Voice ❤️
#poetry
#poem
#amwriting
The use of short lines and couplets does something very clever to the pace of this poem, and the metaphor of the bridge is wonderful.
'We've learnt that falling is inevitable'
'After Closing Time' by Mark Pajak, from 'Slide'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'We've learnt that falling is inevitable'
'After Closing Time' by Mark Pajak, from 'Slide'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 26, 2025 at 9:20 AM
The use of short lines and couplets does something very clever to the pace of this poem, and the metaphor of the bridge is wonderful.
'We've learnt that falling is inevitable'
'After Closing Time' by Mark Pajak, from 'Slide'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'We've learnt that falling is inevitable'
'After Closing Time' by Mark Pajak, from 'Slide'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
This poem is written by Neda (11).
She takes part in a sporadically occurring online class in Afghanistan, where she learns English as a second language.
I am not offering any opinion or commentary, just the poem
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Afghanistan
She takes part in a sporadically occurring online class in Afghanistan, where she learns English as a second language.
I am not offering any opinion or commentary, just the poem
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Afghanistan
October 24, 2025 at 5:30 PM
This poem is written by Neda (11).
She takes part in a sporadically occurring online class in Afghanistan, where she learns English as a second language.
I am not offering any opinion or commentary, just the poem
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Afghanistan
She takes part in a sporadically occurring online class in Afghanistan, where she learns English as a second language.
I am not offering any opinion or commentary, just the poem
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#Afghanistan
I love this image, but also the idea that your clenched fist is the same size as your heart
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I love this image, but also the idea that your clenched fist is the same size as your heart
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'When have I ever not loved the pain of love'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Was chatting to someone about that old familiar piece of workshop feedback 'do you need the first/last line' and tonight I came across this from 'The Fragment' (Electric Light)
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
October 21, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Was chatting to someone about that old familiar piece of workshop feedback 'do you need the first/last line' and tonight I came across this from 'The Fragment' (Electric Light)
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
#poetry
#quoteoftheday
#amwriting
My youngest child was born by cesarean. She was given to me while my wife was taken to recovery. That first wee while was just us. It was a precious time.
Damian Gorman captures the feeling perfectly in 'On the night that you were born' - from 'As If I Cared'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Damian Gorman captures the feeling perfectly in 'On the night that you were born' - from 'As If I Cared'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 20, 2025 at 6:11 PM
My youngest child was born by cesarean. She was given to me while my wife was taken to recovery. That first wee while was just us. It was a precious time.
Damian Gorman captures the feeling perfectly in 'On the night that you were born' - from 'As If I Cared'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Damian Gorman captures the feeling perfectly in 'On the night that you were born' - from 'As If I Cared'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
I think what work best in this poem is the restrained understatement. The knowing, helpless voice of the child.
'Reading' by Maria McManus, from her collection 'Reading the Dog'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'Reading' by Maria McManus, from her collection 'Reading the Dog'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 19, 2025 at 9:07 AM
I think what work best in this poem is the restrained understatement. The knowing, helpless voice of the child.
'Reading' by Maria McManus, from her collection 'Reading the Dog'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
'Reading' by Maria McManus, from her collection 'Reading the Dog'
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Thinking about the resurgence of Nationalism and flag waving I am reminded of this poem by Ada Limón 'A New National Anthem'
‘my bones are your bones, and your bones are my bones’
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#LoveKnowsNoBorders
#PeopleNotFlags
‘my bones are your bones, and your bones are my bones’
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#LoveKnowsNoBorders
#PeopleNotFlags
October 18, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Thinking about the resurgence of Nationalism and flag waving I am reminded of this poem by Ada Limón 'A New National Anthem'
‘my bones are your bones, and your bones are my bones’
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#LoveKnowsNoBorders
#PeopleNotFlags
‘my bones are your bones, and your bones are my bones’
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#LoveKnowsNoBorders
#PeopleNotFlags
This beautiful little poem by Doireann Ní Ghríofa plays cleverly with English and Irish,how words shift in meaning and emotional resonance
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#gaeilge
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#gaeilge
October 16, 2025 at 5:52 PM
This beautiful little poem by Doireann Ní Ghríofa plays cleverly with English and Irish,how words shift in meaning and emotional resonance
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#gaeilge
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#gaeilge
A masterclass of a 'what if poem'. A succession of remarkable and unique images coupled with a deep sense of grief / loss / consequence
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 15, 2025 at 6:18 PM
A masterclass of a 'what if poem'. A succession of remarkable and unique images coupled with a deep sense of grief / loss / consequence
#poetry
#poemoftheday
#poetry
#poemoftheday
Oh, the end stop in the penultimate line and the caesura in final line...
How it slows you down, how it makes you think
#poetry
#poemoftheday
How it slows you down, how it makes you think
#poetry
#poemoftheday
October 14, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Oh, the end stop in the penultimate line and the caesura in final line...
How it slows you down, how it makes you think
#poetry
#poemoftheday
How it slows you down, how it makes you think
#poetry
#poemoftheday