Best known for her award winning novels and, more recently, the memorable novel Lost People, shortlisted for Scotland’s National Book Awards 2024, Margaret Elphinstone’s  latest publication Time Seeds is a collection of poems.

These poems have been written over forty years and, not surprisingly, are wide-ranging covering years of experiences with people, various lands and the fragile beauty in our world. Not shying away from the challenges facing us in unpredictable times, these poems send the message that failure to hope would not help future generations.

Not only that, we shouldn’t, can’t, stand back and do nothing, even if our actions have a limited effect. ‘Greenham Soup’ takes us back to her days at Greenham Common, where ‘We thought we were going to change the world. / I made soup.’

Many of the poems reflect Margaret’s ability to observe the finest details whatever the subject matter. Her sensitivity and compassion whether writing about people, places or the natural world shines through.

There are so many poems I would like to draw attention to, but ‘Resistance’ reminds us how it is the wild flowers who  ‘thrust through rusted iron … infuse bomb sites … bringing ripe colour to our ravaged earth’.

In the poem ‘No one’, we find short, simple lines that carry so much power ‘Why must we be killed / only because we are?’

The notes at the back of the book give the reader added insight into the place, meetings, objects or time that inspired the various poems. Throughout the book, the reader is gifted the opportunity to share experiences in a number of different places in different decades and we get acquainted with memorable characters – not just people but birds, plants animals and, of course, seeds.

The poet’s choice of haiku, kenning and villanelle to name a just a few, shows versatility in the selection of an appropriate form for the different topics. This book shows how poetry can be used to convey so much while using a concise, crafted use of language. There is no verbosity, no superfluous sugar-coating. Images are clear, feelings evident and ideas are portrayed with a deep understanding of the message.

 Time Seeds is a poetry book that will, I think, be enjoyed by those who are not normally drawn to books of poetry. Margaret Elphinstone has produced a book of poems that will entice those who look for words that don’t ignore the troubles of this world but also focus on the beauty in places, wild life and people.

Margaret Elphinstone, Time Seeds, (Wild Goose Publications, 2026), £9.99