Book of Matches. Losing none of the exuberance which
has become a hallmark of Simon Armitage's poetry, these poems
are more personal. The book is divided into three sections -
the "Book of Matches" which are sonnets, "Becoming of Age" and
"Reading the Bans", a series of poems about Armitage's marriage.
CONTENTS
My party piece:
I strike, then from the moment when the matchstick
conjures up its light, to when the brightness moves
beyond its means, and dies, I say the story
of my life -
dates and places, torches I carried,
a cast of names and faces, those
who showed me love, or came close,
the changes I made, the lessons I learnt -
then somehow still find time to stall and blush
before I'm bitten by the flame, and burnt.
A warning, though, to anyone nursing
an ounce of sadness, anyone alone:
don't try this on your own; it's dangerous,
madness.
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