The Bee-keeper’s Apprentice by David Coldwell is a glorious collection, dripping with rich, vivid language. The poems are closely observed, revelling in the use of all the senses.
Coldwell appears to live and breathe as one with the countryside he inhabits, and being familiar with this stark and wonderful landscape, I found myself swiftly transported back there by his words. Coldwell extols the vivid beauty of nature in all its forms, effortlessly conjuring up the spirit of the West Yorkshire moors, their darkness and light, their fierce beauty, just as he brings them to life in his equally marvellous paintings.
Yet his poems are family stories too, filled with the ache and yearning, the hope and joy of unconditional love.
‘We hadn’t seen you for weeks and to throw
our best dish onto the lino
seemed a strange way to say hello.’
A poignant and beautiful collection.
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