Poems greet Kevin Ireland in the morning with a crafty smile, or fly into his kitchen out of nowhere. Some dream themselves into his mind, or twist a bottle-cap and offer to share a cup of friendship. Lively words vie for places in his poems, or catch alight from cheerful thoughts. They are never predictable, because... Incongruity lies at the heart of poetry. Words in verse so often can suggest a kind of double-take on what we think we’ve seen – and aim to open up our minds to the uncustomary. Kevin Ireland’s 27th collection is brimful of poems that do all this and more. Whether he is writing about writing, ruminating on the mixed blessings of ageing, or reflecting on love and other viruses, Kevin’s poems are peppered with wry humour and celebrate a sparkling pleasure in life, with all its contradictions, balls-ups, mysteries, happiness and richness.