“So deeply admire anyone involved in conflict resolution, especially as I can be hugely conflict avoidant. Poetry has been my compassionate therapist, my Pooh Bear, coaxing me into an understanding of how I got here: why my instincts are to hide at the faintest whiff of conflict. And the truth sets us free. Piglet doesn’t always have to be a coward.”
The above paragraph was my response to a prompt question, “How can you think about conflict in your life through the lens of poetry?” Each Sunday Pádraig Ó Tuama posts a deeply reflective piece on his wonderful Poetry Unbound Substack (poetryunbound.substack.com), always including a thought-provoking question, which is inevitably hard to resist.
Writing the poem below has been part of my process – recognising where certain fears came from (and why standing at the sink, washing the dishes is a favourite place).
Sometimes it’s only once we understand where we actually are, that we can truly start to move on…
AFTER DINNER MINTS
Sky rent in two
falling between
soles finding ground
I take my stand in silence.
She hurt beyond betrayal
he haunted and subdued
chasms ripple them apart
pernicious waves of white noise.
History layering upon
itself, unpeeling one from
another, an After Eights messy matter.
No wonder I seek sanctuary
in soap suds and greasy dishes
while fault lines re-form
I mask my aftershocks
my crumbling.
From poetry collection ‘Dear Planet’, published by Fidessa Literary, July 2025.
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