2020 was a rough year, globally. For me, I felt that was true from a creative standpoint as well. Yet, looking back at what I manged to make, I am glad I made the effort to make myself keep writing. I have a number of poems I'm very proud of, and I adored getting one final live performance in February before things began to change.
2020 will always remind me of a few things. I managed to hand in my thesis, do my corrections, and finally pass my doctoral degree. As such I had to start looking towards the future. The stress and uncertainty is reflected in a number of my poems for this year. Additionally, Covid-19 caused a worldwide pandemic, and much of my poetry during the first lockdown reflects that since I couldn't think of anything else. It led to me travelling a lot locally, and a lot less travelling beyond that which I could cycle.
2020 will always remind me of a few things. I managed to hand in my thesis, do my corrections, and finally pass my doctoral degree. As such I had to start looking towards the future. The stress and uncertainty is reflected in a number of my poems for this year. Additionally, Covid-19 caused a worldwide pandemic, and much of my poetry during the first lockdown reflects that since I couldn't think of anything else. It led to me travelling a lot locally, and a lot less travelling beyond that which I could cycle.
More than any other year, I look back at my poetry in 2020 and I see who I was reflected in it. Here are the 10 I want to most remember.
Written as my first response to the pandemic. There is optimism in this poem that I still want to hold myself to. It is odd to think that the world is going through a historic change - we are often prone to hyperbole, so sometimes it feels like we are *always* going through world-changing times. I was still writing up at this point, so my thesis still held a lot of my focus and attention. The sheer impact of things wouldn't hit me until later.
As the pandemic went on, you saw every hot take imaginable. Fresh perspectives became hard, particularly ones that were actually useful. As such, I am very proud of this poem. We all lost privileges we had taken for granted in order to keep others safe, and so we were closer than we had ever been before to many in the world.
It feels odd that this was written in February, but this pre-Covid poem about the wonders of electronic communication captures a lot of the feel of 2020. We learned how limited our energy was, despite how easy technology made it for us to stay in touch. And, as such, how vital it was we used well the energy we had.
I found myself doing a lot less of my classic hip-hop-y style this year. Maybe it's because I've been taking life a bit slower. However, it's still my favourite style to write in and I do life both the rhythm and theme of this poem. The first of a fair few end-of-the-world style poems.
A short, sweet poem about optimism in the face of uncertainty. Can't think why I was inspired to write this poem in this of all years.
I like poems that help me express my philosophy on a subject more clearly, and this was certainly one of those times. The idea of peace as a harmony rather than silence is very appealing to me, and a concept I'd like to hold myself to.
7. The Mountain
I wrote a lot of poems about future jobs and prospects, but this is the imagery I like the best. I was fed up with CVs, and trying to big myself up. Seeing us all as climbing a mountain - and realising that just looking at the people highest up the mountain can be misleading - was a refreshing way to view the struggle.
8. How to Rest
A big theme for my year, and one I wrote a lot of poems about. How to make myself rest again after being tuned so high for so long. Not a new theme for me, but for when this poem was written I think it'll still hold a special place.
Speaking of rest, I ended up doing a *lot* of cycling this year. This is a short, silly, and quite sweet poem that I really enjoyed. Sometimes the only thing on your mind is the pain in your legs, and so that's what you write about.
10. Stretch
A final one, from a theme by a friend. We all are feeling a little cooped up this year. Remembering to stretch - in all the ways you can stretch - has been a useful thing. And a nice thing to end on.
Honourable mentions: Matchsticks, a lovely poem about the different forms of human potential; The Early Bird Gets the Worm, a re-telling of a very popular idiom; and Sport is a Fantasy, a concept I really liked that I may revisit at some point in future.
