From suicides to sunsets, paedophiles to cathedral aisles, dementia to desire, paranoia to perfection and perhaps, more significantly, torment to tranquillity. This collection of poetry, in a somewhat random order, is very much the debris inside my mind and simultaneously acts as first aid for my soul. The poem, 'My first one', was written as an exercise to confront a traumatic subject that had been the catalyst of my nightmares for many years; the rape and murder of a 14 year old child. Following the penning of this poem, my nightmares ceased, though it should be noted that the reader is spared many of the sanguine details. Cathartic in the extreme, this set me on the road to write numerous poems and expel further debris from inside my mind. This deep traumatic subject matter is hopefully balanced by other poems of a soft and gentle nature, together with light hearted stories in rhyme. Exhilaration and pleasure sit alongside horror and senselessness, but ultimately countenance that love and hope can overcome despair.
About the Author: Keith Terry was born in 1955 and married in 1978. Recently celebrating his 37th wedding anniversary Keith has two children in their late twenties and his wife Louise is a professional musician and piano teacher. Keith joined the police service in 1976 and had a varied and exemplary 37 year long career. Keith has worked in many departments, from plain clothes to traffic, including nearly ten years performing accident reconstruction and investigation into serious and fatal collisions. From pushing panda cars on inner city estates to performing VIP escort duties in London. From walking the beat to anti-terrorist duties. Keith completed his final years of service as an instructor, training high speed and pursuit driving along with VIP national protection anti-terrorist courses, before being forced to retire with a back injury. During his service he has seen, in his words, "too much shit and gore". This is reflected in his poetry, much of which is written in Montalivet southwest France where he has a small "bolthole" to escape the rigours and pressures of modern day life. Keith has found writing poetry cathartic and stress relieving. Many of these poems were conceived and written, as you may have realised, either at, or with, his bolt hole in the Gironde region, at the forefront of his mind. Others were perhaps written at Monta for no other reason than he just happened to be there, and it is such an inspiring and relaxing place. Keith makes no apology for this small book of poems having, perhaps, a slight Gallic bias.