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keep yourself warm

for scott hutchison

 

I hope the water was the comfort you craved

as you waded out in to the firth of forth

with no alarm set for the new morning

and that when the pricks of pain hit your heart

as the slate swell embraced you in the way we could not

that you turned up to face the lights

and in that last panicked gasp

you saw the sky falling to meet you

 

we cant take back the ugly things

but we can learn from loss

place your hand where my heart aches

keep yourself warm

◄ crown shyness

what it was ►

Comments

<Deleted User> (18118)

Fri 8th Jun 2018 20:29

Very powerful,
'with no alarm set for the new morning'.
A poem to remember.

Hannah

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Stu Buck

Sat 19th May 2018 00:02

Sorry to hear that Martin. I have been affected by suicide a few times and it is a thoroughly miserable affair. I hope your keeping well and thanks for your support as ever.

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Martin Elder

Fri 18th May 2018 22:30

These words struck a chord with me Stu as I lost someone to suicide only a year ago. As always these are beautifully crafted words.
Thanks for posting

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Stu Buck

Fri 18th May 2018 13:34

glad it moved you hazel, thanks so much. and you are spot on.

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Hazel ettridge

Thu 17th May 2018 06:55

Last two lines had me reaching for my heart. The intimacy of knowing another's pain is a kind of deep love.

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Stu Buck

Thu 17th May 2018 00:07

Thanks ray! As ever, I just wanted to move someone.

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raypool

Wed 16th May 2018 17:44

I feel you have surpassed yourself with this poignant poem Stu. Always original, your work has come down to earth here and then lifted us with its unique quality. "Slate swell" just perfect. POTW surely please.

Ray

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Stu Buck

Wed 16th May 2018 16:33

Thanks so much Ian, I'm really glad it resonated with you. Lovely stuff.

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Ian Whiteley

Wed 16th May 2018 16:02

this is beautiful Stu - as always you hit the mark perfectly - sad, poignent and so well crafted - if this isn't poem of the week there's no justice
Ian

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Stu Buck

Wed 16th May 2018 15:57

Thanks all. I'm glad this has worked for so many people.

Of course POTW would be fab but with so much good stuff up at the moment I'm happy just to have reached the people I already have!

Stay safe everyone, remember to keep yourself warm.

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suki spangles

Wed 16th May 2018 04:56

Hi Stu,

His suicide note ~ unable to cope with whatever demons he had running around and tormenting him ~ not waving but drowning. Those that judge and show no empathy - karma can be a weird thing. It's a cruel world..

I agree with Graham. Your words are poetry at its finest.

Suki

Frances Macaulay Forde

Wed 16th May 2018 03:03

So powerful and affecting, perhaps it will be Poem of the Week.

<Deleted User> (13762)

Tue 15th May 2018 20:21

powerful stuff Stu - the imagining of the physical act of walking into the water in the first verse is masterful.

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Stu Buck

Tue 15th May 2018 17:44

thanks all. im glad you enjoyed the piece. scott hutchison was the lead singer of scottish indie band frightened rabbit. he walked in to the firth of forth last week and never came back. a lot of his struggles mirror those i have gone through and i was desperately upset at the situation. i hope this captures something, whatever that something may be.

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Graham Sherwood

Tue 15th May 2018 17:16

Stu so often (as I have told you in the past) your work impresses me, even if I don't completely understand the world in which you write it.

In this piece there is no such confusion. It it simply perfectly weighted, tenderly crafted and of course has a killer two last lines.

Great Work!

Graham

elPintor

Tue 15th May 2018 12:32

Beautiful.

Frances Macaulay Forde

Tue 15th May 2018 09:56

You have brought tears to my eyes, Stu.

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