Terry Collett
Terry Collett Poems
He loves to watch her sleep.
Likes to hear her breathe in
And out; see her breasts rise
And fall like sleeping giants.
...
I am in a wheelchair on grass
outside the hospital
I hear birds sing and distant traffic
...
Martha was shown
into a parlour
inside the front door
of the mother house
...
You rode bikes with Milka
to the bridge over the river
and stood looking down
at the flowing water
...
On the way home from school
you and Helen stopped
and looked in the window
...
Jane sat on her haunches
and opened her hands
to show the butterfly
she had just captured
...
The grief will lessen,
the pain become
a mild ache, some said,
after the death
...
I want a bath
but nurse Kavel says
sorry Grace the stumps
of your amputated legs
...
It's wintry
the woods are damp
the undergrowth is dull
and few birds sing
...
I wake up in a panic,
but it is still darkness
my blind eyes see,
having dreamed I saw
...
The sisters(nuns)
at the school
are not happy with you
Mary's father said
...
Una lies in the bed
in the spare room
she can hear movement
in the bedroom next door
...
Terry Collett Biography
Terry Collett was born in London in 1947. He has been writing since 1971. He lives in Sussex in England with his wife and three of his eight children. His eldest son died from sepsis in 2014 aged 29.)
The Best Poem Of Terry Collett
Her Beautifulness.
There's an empty cottage
at the end of this lane
Jane said
and there's a large apple tree
in the garden
and no one goes there
so maybe we can look
through the windows
and see what's there
sounds good
you said
and she smiled at you
in her shy manner
and brushed her fingers
through her long black hair
and breathed in
the summer air
and there were birds
flying overhead
and a small brook
running along side
the lane
and you felt happy
being there with her
looking at her profile
at the way her eyes
looked about her
and her flowered summer dress
she said her mother made
and the way she swayed
her hips as she walked
and you sensed her nearness
her just being there
just a fingertip away
and when you came
to the empty cottage
she ran ahead and peered
through the windows
and you came along beside her
and looked through the glass
at the emptiness within
and she said
let's see if the doors are locked
and she ran to the door
and pushed but it was locked
and she said
just a chance we could have gone in
and pretended it was ours
and imagined where
we could have put our furniture
and we could have gone up the stairs
and looked out and pretended
it was our bedroom
and we had just married
and then she was silent
and you stood behind her
and touched her arm
and said
let's go pick some apples
and you can pretend
you're going to cook
an apple-pie
for our dinner instead
and she smiled
and gently pressed her lips
on your cheek
a small wet warmness
entered you
and oh
you thought
as she ran to the tree
that she would always be here
just the summer sun
and she in her beautifulness
and 13 year old me.
Terry Collett Comments
I have read your poem 'Together Forever'. It's touching.
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
6/7/2025 5:09:32 PM # 1.0.0
Terry Collett is one of the most astonishing, accomplished poets on this site. His work is always like a micro stage play where in a few lines the characters pop out at you and grab you by the throat. They are real and raw; reflective of their times, But don't expect any recognition for your praise; he won't talk to you. He won't discuss motivation, or make any personal comments. But it doesn't matter, I'll just keep enjoying being jolted by a new poem from Terry most mornings.....Marianne Larsen Reninger