Matthew Stewart
@roguestrands.bsky.social
Weaving ways through poetry. Second full collection, ‘Whatever You Do, Just Don’t’, a Poetry Society Book of the Year 2023, available from HappenStance Press.
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Matthew Stewart
@roguestrands.bsky.social
· Dec 15
As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more.
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
November 25, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
The Last Carry, a poem by Matthew Stewart
YouTube video by Matthew Stewart
youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
The Last Carry, a poem by Matthew Stewart
YouTube video by Matthew Stewart
youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
November 25, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Here's a video of me reading The Last Carry, now up on my YouTube channel...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
youtube.com/shorts/W3oTH...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Ten consecutive defeats - that's Aldershot Town's recent record. On reflection, choosing to support my local team back in the 1980s was perfect prep for becoming a poet.
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
November 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Ten consecutive defeats - that's Aldershot Town's recent record. On reflection, choosing to support my local team back in the 1980s was perfect prep for becoming a poet.
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more.
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
December 15, 2024 at 11:24 AM
As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more.
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
A perfect gift for the poetry lover in your life this Christmas. Or for your lover who mistakenly thinks poetry's not for them!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
November 23, 2025 at 12:21 PM
A perfect gift for the poetry lover in your life this Christmas. Or for your lover who mistakenly thinks poetry's not for them!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
Ten consecutive defeats - that's Aldershot Town's recent record. On reflection, choosing to support my local team back in the 1980s was perfect prep for becoming a poet.
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
November 24, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Ten consecutive defeats - that's Aldershot Town's recent record. On reflection, choosing to support my local team back in the 1980s was perfect prep for becoming a poet.
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
The experience of rejection after rejection, just like loss after loss, makes the eventual acceptance or victory so much sweeter!
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
The poem is sitting opposite you, watching while you read it through...
roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
The poem and you
The poem is sitting opposite you, watching while you read it through. Once you raise your eyes from the page, it catches your glance. Takes ...
roguestrands.blogspot.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:21 PM
The poem is sitting opposite you, watching while you read it through...
roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
roguestrands.blogspot.com/2025/11/the-...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
An only child, I often feel I write as an act of commemoration and remembrance, as an attempt to stop the memories of my family from escaping, given that I have no close relatives left to remind me of them...
Certain numbers accompany us through our lives, connected to our memories of people and places, of significant events. What numbers remain with you decades later? And why?
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
November 21, 2025 at 7:39 PM
An only child, I often feel I write as an act of commemoration and remembrance, as an attempt to stop the memories of my family from escaping, given that I have no close relatives left to remind me of them...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Copy by copy, every hard-earned sale of a poetry collection is an act of trust, a contract between the poet and the reader that reaches far beyond cash. This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about Whatever You Do, Just Don't.
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...
August 20, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Copy by copy, every hard-earned sale of a poetry collection is an act of trust, a contract between the poet and the reader that reaches far beyond cash. This is why I refuse to shy away from reminding you about Whatever You Do, Just Don't.
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy for you...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Poetry as an anchor for the poet. To places. To moments. To people.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals ia reader's anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals ia reader's anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.
As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more.
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
November 16, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Poetry as an anchor for the poet. To places. To moments. To people.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals ia reader's anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.
Poetry that then implicitly reveals ia reader's anchors. That casts those anchors in a different imaginative light. That layers them with fresh nuances. That renews them in the reader's heart and mind.
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Poets, if they're lucky, end up having signature poems. But they don't choose them for themselves.
Instead, certain poems take on lives of their own once they're published. The Last Carry is one such example. When I first posted it here, I didn't have a clue it would reach so many people...
Instead, certain poems take on lives of their own once they're published. The Last Carry is one such example. When I first posted it here, I didn't have a clue it would reach so many people...
As parents, we're supposed to remember the first time we did stuff with our kids, but the last time is equally as significant, if not more.
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
September 27, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Poets, if they're lucky, end up having signature poems. But they don't choose them for themselves.
Instead, certain poems take on lives of their own once they're published. The Last Carry is one such example. When I first posted it here, I didn't have a clue it would reach so many people...
Instead, certain poems take on lives of their own once they're published. The Last Carry is one such example. When I first posted it here, I didn't have a clue it would reach so many people...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is for anybody who's had to clear a house, who's found objects that must have had significance for someone no longer here to tell their story....
October 28, 2025 at 6:48 PM
This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't is for anybody who's had to clear a house, who's found objects that must have had significance for someone no longer here to tell their story....
A perfect gift for the poetry lover in your life this Christmas. Or for your lover who mistakenly thinks poetry's not for them!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
November 23, 2025 at 12:21 PM
A perfect gift for the poetry lover in your life this Christmas. Or for your lover who mistakenly thinks poetry's not for them!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
Drop me a DM and I'll sort out your signed copy...!
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
A book is an inanimate object till it finds a reader. But that's when it comes alive...!
I only want a single pair of hands to stretch my spine and open me at last...
September 21, 2025 at 8:44 PM
A book is an inanimate object till it finds a reader. But that's when it comes alive...!
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
I only want a single pair of hands to stretch my spine and open me at last...
September 21, 2025 at 11:07 AM
I only want a single pair of hands to stretch my spine and open me at last...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
What's it like to return to your home town years after leaving?
This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't finds that nothing's changed. But then everything's changed too...
This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't finds that nothing's changed. But then everything's changed too...
November 2, 2025 at 11:13 AM
What's it like to return to your home town years after leaving?
This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't finds that nothing's changed. But then everything's changed too...
This poem from Whatever You Do, Just Don't finds that nothing's changed. But then everything's changed too...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
My endorsement on the back cover of Christopher James' new pamphlet...
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
November 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM
My endorsement on the back cover of Christopher James' new pamphlet...
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
My endorsement on the back cover of Christopher James' new pamphlet...
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
November 22, 2025 at 8:00 PM
My endorsement on the back cover of Christopher James' new pamphlet...
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
‘In The Ice Sonnets, Christopher James tells the story of Shackleton’s expedition via a collage effect of juxtaposing exquisitely drawn pen portraits, drawing out the group dynamics that develop in extreme conditions.’
An only child, I often feel I write as an act of commemoration and remembrance, as an attempt to stop the memories of my family from escaping, given that I have no close relatives left to remind me of them...
Certain numbers accompany us through our lives, connected to our memories of people and places, of significant events. What numbers remain with you decades later? And why?
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
November 21, 2025 at 7:39 PM
An only child, I often feel I write as an act of commemoration and remembrance, as an attempt to stop the memories of my family from escaping, given that I have no close relatives left to remind me of them...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
Certain numbers accompany us through our lives, connected to our memories of people and places, of significant events. What numbers remain with you decades later? And why?
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
September 11, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Certain numbers accompany us through our lives, connected to our memories of people and places, of significant events. What numbers remain with you decades later? And why?
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
This poem is taken from Whatever You Do, Just Don't (HappenStance Press, 2023), my second full collection...
Reposted by Matthew Stewart
The guided tasting (with matching dishes) that I'll be giving in Cáceres next Tuesday...
November 20, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The guided tasting (with matching dishes) that I'll be giving in Cáceres next Tuesday...
The guided tasting (with matching dishes) that I'll be giving in Cáceres next Tuesday...
November 20, 2025 at 1:29 PM
The guided tasting (with matching dishes) that I'll be giving in Cáceres next Tuesday...