Just One Who Sees

Here are Douglas Harding’s poems: engaging, passionate, quirky and original. They are selected from those he wrote in his last months, a late flowering of his remarkable creativity. All his life Douglas had imbibed poetry, from the King James Bible to Hopkins, Yeats and Frost. Lines committed to memory were quoted enthusiastically and incisively in conversation. Poems touched him deeply and he owned them. Finally, in those last months, he fell upon a form - free, unpunctuated, pithy - into which he could pour his essential heartfelt concerns in a fresh and playful way. He loved the process: mulling over an idea (“marinating” was his word) and finding the exact expression. And then, with a captivating intensity, he would share his work with visiting friends. Happily, now that this selection is available, the circle of those appreciating Douglas’ poetry will widen. Colin Oliver