Jackie Kay’s poetry corner: ‘Couples who’ve never lived together before Covid might appreciate this poem’

I imagine lots of couples, who’ve never lived together before Covid, and who are now getting under the covers for the duration, might appreciate this poem.

In these times, when people are in lockdown, the only salvation is communication. In Philip Larkin’s poem, the couple are not able to really communicate; it’s difficult for them to find kind words.

Last week, my 89-year-old mum appeared on the iPad that I had sent her. Well, half her face did! “Jackie, my advice to you is stay indoors and have sex.” I wasn’t quite expecting that.

Anyway, I think everyone should have a go at writing a Bed Poem.

Talking In Bed, by Phillip Larkin

Talking in bed ought to be easiest,

Lying together there goes back so far,

An emblem of two people being honest.

Yet more and more time passes silently.

Outside, the wind’s incomplete unrest

Builds and disperses clouds in the sky,

And dark towns heap up on the horizon.

None of this cares for us. Nothing shows why

At this unique distance from isolation

It becomes still more difficult to find

Words at once true and kind,

Or not untrue and not unkind.