48. Richard C. Bower

A much lauded Nottinghamshire poet who has read at a rockstar's funeral and on the pitch at Mansfield Town Football Club

Richard C. Bower is a celebrated writer and journalist. Accredited by UNESCO Nottingham City of Literature, he's the Poet Laureate of Mansfield, and a member of the prestigious Authors' Club (as was Oscar Wilde et al). 

Originally from Mansfield, Richard was celebrated as part of the very first Nottinghamshire Day. His work has been translated into the national language of Bengal, whilst being critiqued in classrooms around the world; being compared alongside the esteemed work of Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore.

Richard’s poetry was enjoyed by rock musician Damo Suzuki, at whose funeral in early 2024 he read We Are Made Of Stardust

There is a lovely online interview with him on the Big Bearded Bookseller Website

Poems

On the Rocks
A Moments Enjoyment
The Power of the Mind

On the Rocks

Standing upon an outcrop of rock
Lost in thought
Isolated and apart
At the ground, one looks steadfastly
With an air of intensity 
As the strangeness of darkness
Of sky and sea
Allude to a battle with voices
When one is tempted
One is destitute, afflicted, tormented
But as I stand on these rocks, I seek clarity
And to rejoice
As liberty is only a stone's throw away

<<< 

A Moments Enjoyment

I walk out into a dazzling sun-filled day
And contemplate life
Spirit and atoms sustain their fragile play
As they all intermingle
On a mission of hope and potential
I think defiantly
Of positivity
Of faith in existence
Of courage and truth in human experience
As a breeze ripples across the lawn
I sense a great wave of elation
Birds caw
And trees seem to burst from the ground
Upside down
All for my own enjoyment
On this cheerful day 
As the world continues wildly upon its way

<<<

The Power of The Mind

Through synchronised flashes of activity
The mind swings extraordinary
The pen ink bleeds
Exploring transient dreams
That merge and disperse
And flow in different streams 
Writing, while climbing
From one existential tree to another 
On a pathway of causation
Each moment follows the other
From an inner exploration
To another dimension 
As the mind is harmonised
With the universal flow
Of space and time

<<<