Inspiring writer

I have been reading Iona, a book of poems by Kenneth C Steven. In fact I took it away with me when I was on retreat. His poems are a beautiful representation of nature. The words he uses to describe scenes are surprising and I find that I am inspired to get writing myself.

It has been a long time since I wrote much nature-inspired poetry but Kenneth's visual portrayals of Scotland's desolate shores, communities and nature are so breathtaking that it made me think. Having been on retreat and walked the country lanes in Surrey where virtually only the farmer and the post van visits, I came across God's abundant nature in a big way and found beauty in odd things like the stumps of sawn trees and reflections in puddles. I had written a few short poems mainly about the sheep field (I was so drawn to those sheep!) but I hadn't written anything about the lanes I had walked. This morning I sat down and remembered what I had seen and ended up with a poem I am pleased with. It's possible that I wouldn't have even written it if I hadn't been so absorbed by the poetry of Kenneth C Steven. I don't think I can emulate him and wouldn't want to because we all write in our own way but he has made me think about my writing and that there are more poems to be written about my experiences over the retreat days.