Poems of the Decade - poems

Please Hold - Ciaran O'Driscoll

Satirises the 21st century society and the rise of modern, digital technology.

History - John Burnside

Lyrical enquiry into the human condition, reflecting an innate tension between the innocence of our natural selves and the complexity of modern lifestyles.

On Her Blindness - Adam Thorpe

An autobiographical account of the anguish of physical handicap and the suffering experienced by his mother.

A Minor Role - U.A.Fanthorpe

Despite laying bare the misery of what appears to be terminal illness, the poet refuses to be fatalistic.

Effects - Alan Jenkins

Autobiographical reflection of the emotional and generational distance between him and his mother.

From the Journal of a Disappointed Man - Andrew Motion

Poses fundamental, existential questions about the nature of contemporary masculinity and the human condition.

Look We Have Coming to Dover! - Daljit Nagra

Uses plasticity of language to represent the literal and figurative journey of Eastern immigrants in the UK.

To My Nine Year Old Self - Helen Dunmore

Writes with semi-autobiographical nostalgia to address her younger self and the process of growing older.

The Lammas Hireling - Ian Duhig

Dramatic monologue hinting at a cautionary tale of the folklore and superstitions of Celtic culture to recount a story of murder.

Giuseppe - Roderick Ford

Allegorical reflection of how individuals can become complicit in immoral acts of collective inhumanity.

An Easy Passage - Julia Copus

The figurative tension of being in childhood on the brink of adolescence by describing a physical moment of tension.

The Furthest Distances I've Travelled - Leontia Flynn

First person, semi-autobiographical account of her travelling days has a confessional, nostalgic quality.

The Deliverer - Tishani Doshi

The human tragedy behind the politics of gender in the developing world.

Genetics - Sinead Morrissey

Reflecting on the memory of her parent's divorce by using the human hand as a symbol to explore the physiological and genetic bond between her and her parents.

The Gun - Vicki Feaver

Juxtaposition of the remorseless symbol of death channelling the primal thrill and exhilaration of the hunter-gatherer.

Out of the Bag - Seamus Heaney

The eponymous bag offers itself as a metonym, symbolising mythopoeia and the miracle of new life.

Metonym = a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept.

Eat Me - Patience Agbabi

Sinister exploration of gender and exploitation with an arguably satirical twist.

Material - Ros Barber

The hanky becomes a metonymic symbol of the past and the poet's relationship with her mother as well as how the passage of time imprints on the material world.

Chainsaw Versus the Pampas Grass - Simon Armitage

The themes of the violent, destructive nature of manhood in contrast to the enduring, regenerative power of femininity.

Ode on a Grayson Perry Urn - Tim Turnbull

Lyrical ode to both satirise and celebrate the works of Keats and Grayson Perry in a parody of working-class culture in modern Britain.