James Garratt – A life lived and recorded in ink since 1992
My name is James and this personal website is an attempt to archive my writing which predominately is (under a loose banner) poetry
I started writing things down at the age of 17 in 1992, initially with no other idea of plan then to keep a record of my thoughts and feelings. Given my growing up experiences it felt like the perfect way to apply some self help therapy
but death
is a violent nudge,
a reminder
that something remains.
The majority of people
have standardised views
standard issue uniforms
I hear it,
turning over and over in my mind,
and we are there,
together,
all those years ago.
the world
is full of people
telling me what to say,
what to say,
and even what to feel.
I need to
wake up,
and stretch
to get going,
and I need to move further forwards.
I am in life,
and I am on a difficult mountain pass
when my toxicity
became a disease
and then an urgent task.
We are not so insecure
that the condiments of our life
taste a little less pure.
Some environments
drip,
with a kind incompetence
that is difficult to believe.
when the years were much less,
we would sit around and hope for the future,
suckling on checklists.
“I was always just middle sets —
not the best,
but average…”
The Boy Behind The Glasses. Poetry and Writing 