My Guest Writer this week is a special friend of mine and a very talented poet. It gives me great pleasure to welcome Gill Hawkins. As it’s near Christmas, she’s sharing a festive poem with us. It’s my favourite poem of hers. I hope you enjoy it.
THE LONELINESS OF SNOWMEN
BY
GILL HAWKINS
You made me what I am,
I stand with heavy middled pose,
a perch for blackbirds, robins;
a borrower of hat and scarf,
an old clay pipe and nose.
A dull shaped garden sentry,
I watch, as silent as the night,
frosted like the winter sky,
lit up by gems of frozen stars
and moon of silver light.
But at dawn, when sunlight
sends ice shards dripping, dripping;
it tilts my hat, my carrot nose,
my pipe and scarf all follow me
earthwards, slipping, slipping.
Unconcerned that I have gone,
you look skywards in suspense,
as giant settling flakes arrive
you start to build another me,
all white and innocence.
This poem is featured in Gill’s wonderful collection of poems, Of Little Infinities. I’ve read it and every poem stands out for different reasons. It’s a book I turn to again and again.
Cover image credit: Bill Oxford on Unsplash
Here a little more about Gill:
Gill Hawkins has been writing for as long as she can remember. She comes from a working class background and did not attend university, so doesn’t have a degree in English like many of her contemporaries. Her poetry comes from the heart, and an innate ability to find the right word for the right place. Her poetry is inspired by everyday life and the stunning countryside of her home county, Dorset, where she lives with her husband Graham.
She’s always had support from friends, family, writing and poetry groups. Entering local competitions gave her confidence, and she’s been featured in Writing Magazine many times over the years. She’s inspired by Roger McGough, John Betjeman, Robert Frost, and more recently, A E Stallings.
Her poetry collection ‘Of Little Infinities’ brings together observations on a wide range of subjects, from the smallest speck to largest idea, from the mundane to thought provoking.
The Loneliness of Snowmen has been published in Writing Magazine, and the Poetry anthology Perfect Bindings.
Of Little Infinities is published on Lulu and is also available on Amazon.
If you’d like to be included in my guest writer slot, please get in touch: estherchilton@gmail.com. Poems can be up to 60 lines and prose 2000 words. If you’d like to add a short bio and photo, then great.
Esther Chilton 
Leave a comment