Cycling with friends recently, I suddenly gripped both brake levers, skidded sideways on the dry smooth seal, then released the brakes to...

A young man’s view of death. Dylan Thomas was a Welsh poet, and this is his most famous poem. The poem follows the structure and rhyming...

Advice to those who criticise the work of others. Alexander Pope was 23 years old and suffering from tuberculosis in his spine when he...

There is only so much I can do, and must let go of the rest. This poem is from NZ poet Sarah Broom’s second collection, Gleam, published...

Haiku to capture a moment Haiku are like snapshot pics to the video of a longer poem. They are a great place to start when getting into...

As if it was really simple! After the Fall After the bath with ragged towels my Dad would dry us very carefully; six little wriggly...

Metaphors for Resilience I learnt this short poem at school, and although I can still recite it from memory, I have no idea of its title...

The mystique of the medicine man What do kids make of us doctors? What magic do they ascribe to our tools of the trade? What do they...

Illness as transformative experience Apparently, we rate states of poor health or disability differently, depending on whether we’re in...

Farewell to an old patient The police phoned me at home one weekend. Could I complete a medical certificate of cause of death? My...

In an earlier column, I introduced William Carlos Williams, often considered the most influential 20th century American poet. Williams...

Hospital Property Because I am alone in this cold room, because the Siemens Somatom EmotionDuo CT scanner is about to talk to me again...

Tell all the truth but tell it slant – Tell all the truth but tell it slant – Success in Circuit lies Too bright for our infirm Delight...

New Zealand writer and poet, Rachel McAlpine, recently celebrated her 80th birthday by publishing a book of poems, How to be Old. Here’s...

High Country Weather Alone we are born And die alone; Yet see the red-gold cirrus Over snow mountain shine. Upon the upland road Ride...

William Carlos Williams is considered one of the greatest American poets of the 20th Century. He was also a general medical practitioner....

O world of spring and autumn, birth and dying! The endless cycle of idea and action, Endless invention, endless experiment, Brings...