Full speed through the morning dark

Full speed through the morning dark
by Matthew Tierney
September 2004
88 pages | ISBN: 0-919897-97-5
$15 | Click Here to buy this book

Matthew Tierney captures beautifully the solitude of the watcher, the one alone in a crowd, looking through windows; the push and pull of countries and of the past; the limits to our connections. This is a haunting and hopeful collection.- Leslie Greentree

Matthew Tierney’s debut collection of poetry is full of trains and visions. From Japan’s subtle intricacies to the harsh realities of the Trans-Mongolian Express, Tierney captures the experience of movement and the freedom and dislocation of the traveller with potent imagery and persuasive verse. Whether searching for his own history in his grandfather’s past in Wales, or stumbling through a Japanese lesson, Tierney’s poetry pulls you into the experience, and through to the other side with a new appreciation of the moment. A strong debut collection from an energetic new poet.


Night watch

In the building across from me
the man in white underwear
is doing his sit-ups.
Behind him the television flickers
like a candle near the end of its wick.
The area of his six tatami mats
the same as mine, only his.
Futon lies unmade
closet door ajar
bottle of wine on the nightstand.

Evening music
floats through screens all over Tokyo.
I’m sure if we stretched
window to window
we could grasp hands.

More information about Full speed through the morning dark

Reviews

• Review (Melanie Maddix, PoetryReviews.ca, 04/09/2006)
• Book Reviews (Richard Joines, Southern Humanities Review, 3/1/2006)
• Review (Black Coffee Poet, 10/03/2011)

Interviews

• Interview with Black Coffee Poet (Black Coffee Poet, 10/05/2011)