StewartConn by scottishbookawards
Stewart Conn: The Breakfast Room from Neil Astley on Vimeo.
Extract
Carpe Diem
From my study window
I see you
below in the garden, a hand
here pruning,
or leaning across to snip
a wayward shoot,
a daub of powder-blue in a
profusion of green;
then next moment, you are
no longer there –
only to reappear, this time
perfectly framed
in dappling sunlight, with
an armful of ivy
you’ve trimmed, topped by
hyacinth blooms,
fragrant survivors of last
night’s frost.
And my heart misses a beat
at love for you,
knowing a time will come
when you are
no longer there, nor I here
to watch you
on a day of such simplicity.
Meantime let us
make sure we clasp each
shared moment
in cupped hands, like water
we dare not spill.
Reviews
“Characteristically restrained, subtly lyrical and filled with gentle humour … a beautiful and moving collection.” — The Sunday Herald
“[Conn] writes particularly well about music, pondering the fragility of special things – a camellia house demolished on St Valentine’s Day, a flowering cherry salvaged – and the transience of ordinary pleasures. — Times Literary Supplement
“The Breakfast Room is a quiet triumph of poetic elegance and wisdom undercut by wryness with the lightest of touches.” — The Orcadian
Links
Read a piece Stewart wrote exclusively for Scottish Book Awards.
