Nicola Grove writes:

Heather Trickey is a Quaker, a social science researcher at Cardiff University, a mother and a poet. In 2020 she had a cancer diagnosis and her treatment coincided with the long lockdown. This experience has given rise to a series of poems which are by turns wry, despairing, reflective, incisive, uplifting, all leavened with humour and a sensitivity to the beauty lurking in the mundane.

Claire Crowther (who is also a Quaker poet) discovered her when browsing through new poetry publications. Heather’s work stood out as original and moving but also brave in the face of major life problems. She sent this poem to Nicola Grove who was going through a difficult patch with an ill grandchild.

ALL SHALL BE WELL

and
all shall be well
and all shall be all shall be
allshallbe all shall be allshall allshall
oh well oh well allshallbe awful awful awful

oh well oh well allshallbe awful oh bloody hell
allshallbe all shall be allshall allshall
and all shall be all shall be
all shall be
and

Aside from this subversive and thought-provoking take on Julian of Norwich, amongst our favourites are Creation, which ends so beautifully with an unmatched pair of socks, and In Case of Breakdown, which shows (graphically) the two sides to depression, trying to cope and allowing yourself to feel the hurt.

And all Friends can enjoy this one:

CAREFULLY CONSIDERED LIST OF REASONS TO SUPPORT MY APPLCIATION FOR MEMBERSHIP OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (QUAKERS) AFTER MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF ATTENDING QUAKER MEETINGS

still here

Buy this collection. Read it. Give it to a Friend and a friend.

Sorry About the Mess is available here