Incredibly saddened to hear of Edwin Morgan's death today, one of the best British poets of the 20th century. This poem doesn't lose its effect, no matter how many times I re-read and re-re-read it. One of my favourite poems of all time by one of my favourite poets.
Strawberries
There were never strawberries
like the ones we had
that sultry afternoon
sitting on the step
of the open french window
facing each other
your knees held in mine
the blue plates in our laps
the strawberries glistening
in the hot sunlight
we dipped them in sugar
looking at each other
not hurrying the feast
for one to come
the empty plates laid on stone together
with the two forks crossed
and I bent towards you
sweet in that air
in my arms
abandoned like a child
from your eager mouth
the taste of strawberries
in my memory
lean back again
let me love you
let the sun beat
on our forgetfulness
one hour of all
the heat intense
and summer lightening
on the Kilpatrick hills
let the storm wash the plates.
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Digging around in some back issues of Ambit magazine, I found a piece he wrote called 'Notes on the Poet's Working Day', which I thought would be nice to share. The following extract is taken from these notes which Morgan opened with when speaking at a symposium entitled 'The Poets Life- 1972 Style'.
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Notes on the Poet's Working Day
'...But here's a sample day from earlier this week:- Alarm goes off at 8o'clock. While I'm having my tea and toast and rice krispies I'm listening to the radio and when I get to the last cup of tea I look through the papers- never quite relaxed because I'm always thinking about what's going to come up during the day and I'm by nature an anxious sort of character. I don't usually have to leave the house till about half past nine. There's generally a good deal of mail and I like to go through this before I leave. This day there's a couple of invoices which I add to a large clip marked DAMNED BILLS; there's an invitation to read my poetry at a school in Dumfriesshire and I spend some time looking up timetables to see how possible it would be to get there; and there is also Part 26 of the dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, from Naturall to Nyxttocum, which I know it would be fatal to start dipping into.'
Published 1973- Ambit Magazine.
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Read tributes here.
''Don't let your work and hope be other than great'. That epithet must surely apply to Edwin Morgan himself.'
-Alex Salmond, first minister of Scotland.