To Be Published

Poetry should paint a picture. Don MacLean’s Vincent for example, is a series of poetic verses, set to the melody of a song, about the artistic genius of Vincent van Gogh. In just a few lines, this emotionally-worded poem, paints the image of an extraordinarily talented young artist; largely unrecognized in his time, who becomes a despairingly haunted man. A brilliant set of verses, given wings to fly on a heartfelt melody, thus painting an absorbing picture, enough to fire the imagination of any listener.

Maree, the Imogi, and Me, is a collection of poems which paints those imaginative pictures for the reader; pictures which are grounded in inspirational moments from one person’s Tree of Life, over the past 40 years or so. They deal with life’s experiences and wide-ranging travels, dating back to the 1970s, when the first of the poems was penned, literally written by hand into a small book, continuing on through to just a week or two ago, when the last set of verses was thought through, then saved on my laptop.

I have to be motivated to write poetry. By that, I don’t simply mean needing to feel up for it on a certain day - it’s more than that - there needs to be an emotional drive (positive or negative), something which triggers those elusive mind-waves to enable me to think and write effectively on a singular topic. This motivation, this emotional involvement, comes in many ways and from various directions, which can include profound changes to myself, or my surroundings.

Travelling has provided a great impetus for many of the poems, drawn from a wide range of countries, including Australia, England, Kenya, India, and Italy. Then somewhere towards the other end of the spectrum, serious illness on the home-front, caused me to think and write more deeply about life.

I hope that most of the poems convey a positive feel: contemplating love for people and environments that have been my companions at certain points in time, but there are a few darker compositions, usually brought about by a specific trauma or challenge, such as getting older, or losing a loved one.

In addition to the main themes of relationships and travel you will also find another type of poem, which has more to do with unpicking an issue or a philosophy that has impacted on my mind. These are probably the works I love most - both in terms of writing them and later, when reading them – because they often contain the most original ideas, and concepts.

Looking back to those initial thoughts, scribbled with pen on paper: lots of crossings and deletions, before the final form was committed to a rather unassuming A5 booklet. That was the way I did it for many years, forming a compendium of almost 100 poems, some of which I am now more pleased with than others. But I value them all in their own way: each tells a story which reminds me of a part of my life. The little book is still with me now, and in fact was invaluable when I lost the digital version in a robbery, back in 2017.

Maree, the Imogi, and Me will be published later this year, and available from the publisher and Amazon, as well as major high street book outlets.

Duncan Gregory
Malindi, Kenya
July 2026.