“[On Love After Love by Derek Walcott] I read this poem often, once a month at least. In the madness and mayhem of modern life, where every man seems committed to an endless search for the approval and esteem of his fellows and peers, no matter what the cost, this poem reminds me of a basic truth: that we are, as we are, "enough". Most of us are motivated deep down by a sense of insufficiency, a need to be better stronger, faster; to work harder; to be more committed, more kind, more self-sufficient, more successful. But this short poem by Derek Walcott is like a declaration of unconditional love. It's like the embrace of an old friend. He brings us to an awareness of the present moment, calm and peaceful, and to a feeling of gratitude for everything we have. I have read it to my dearest friends after dinner once, and to my family at Christmas, and they started crying, which always, unfailingly, makes me cry.” PoetryEmotionPoemReviewDerek Walcott Author:Tom Hiddleston
“Derek Walcott's poems tidy up a distressed mind. Lyrical and full of breath, they dance to the rhythms of their own coherence. One of the greatest minds of the 20th and 21st centuries, who had an unending and sizzling romance with poetry! His 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature was well anticipated by the rest of us and was well received by the St. Lucian poet, who painted poetry with incandescent colours of supreme authority.” Derek Walcott Author:Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu