Great Regulars: The lines in "Tiny Pieces" are

themselves tiny. I counted 30 single-word lines out of 38, half of which are monosyllables: the longest line is "a pair of thrushes". But their very shortness, emphasised by their separate pagination, insists on attentive reading. The tempo, in music, would be adagio. Words assert their primary meanings, but the silence around them allows us to hear other tones and resonance. So in the next poem, the simple verbs (perhaps imperatives) give the reader memory-room.

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Poem of the week: Tiny Pieces by Billy Mills

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As Michael D Higgins is announced the new president of the Irish Republic, no doubt we'll be told repeatedly that the politician is also a poet. Having read the poem "When Will My Time Come?" I wonder where this assumption comes from.

Admittedly, the opening line "When will my time come for scenery" isn't bad. It's the rest of the poem that's the problem.

After a jerky gear-change it offers a modest joke: ". . . Decades ago I was never able/To get excited/About filling the lungs with ozone/On Salthill Prom." Then we get serious.

from Carol Rumens: The Guardian: Michael D Higgins is no poet

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