Cargos

With his new collection of poems and stories David Powley invites you to savour the many cargos brought home from his voyages into memory and imagination.

Leap with him from rock to rock in pursuit of love and dodge the sudden fall-out from a volcano. Ride with the captive Cassandra to the foot of Agamemnon’s palace steps. Celebrate acts of kindness, moments of grace and our powerful connections with moon and sea. As tales of rivers and seas wind their way through this book you are invited to dance with stoats, fly with owls and geese and wonder at the wisdom of cats.

And what is the significance of all those spiders in Penny Lane? How was it that a young woman gave birth in a sepulchre? What happened to the last firework on a drizzly day? And discover the importance of Grandma’s cake.

Powley doesn’t labour the issues involved but makes clear his concerns about climate change, as ice melts and sea levels rise, as plastics and sewers pollute both seas and rivers, while delighting in the mysterious migration of a pool of pale blue harebells.