At the time of writing this, towards the end of summer 2023 I am 57 years old. Just four months ago, if you had asked me ‘what I was’ I would probably have answered (depending on the context) that I was some combination of…

… a university lecturer (of oceanography and meteorology)
… a manager/leader (of my university department)
… a supporter (of my students and my colleagues)
… a scientist (of relatively little merit and wide interests)
… a problem solver (of anything that comes my way)
… a husband (of 31 years)
… a father (of two now grown-up daughters)
… a runner (of marathons and ultramarathons when possible)
… a football fan (of Plymouth Argyle Football Club)
… a cricket fan (of Somerset County Cricket Club)
… a walker (of miles)
… a nature lover (of trees and birds especially)
… a puzzle solver (of crosswords, sudokus, jigsaws etc.)
… a reader (of books of all kinds)
… a writer (of various unpublished stories and pieces of prose)

and if I was in a reflective, self-critical mood …

… a procrastinator
… a perfectionist
… a worrier
… an over-thinker

Then, all of a sudden, albeit after years and years of internal grasping and churning and fighting and yearning, something rather weird happened and I discovered that I am all of the things listed above (and more)…

… and a poet!

So I find myself, now almost 58, with a bunch of poems that need a home and the very strong likelihood that there will be more to follow. This website is that home and I truly hope that whether you have come here deliberately or arrived by accident* you stumble across something that you enjoy or find interesting or thought-provoking or helpful or anything else for that matter. [*but was it really an accident?]

You should probably just dive into the Poems and see what you make of them, but if you want to read a little more about my journey into poetry then you can take a look at the first entry on this site: And A Poet? [I should probably warn you that if you know me in real life there may be a few surprises in that piece.]

Read away, comment on the poems/posts if you feel moved to (all comments are moderated) and feel free to contact me via the Contact page too.

Tim O’Hare, September 2023