Intensity. Beauty, Talent. Literary Revelations is thrilled to bring you the poetry of David Milligan-Croft.
Bio
David Milligan-Croft was born in Yorkshire and studied Graphic Design at Jacob Kramer College of Art in Leeds and has lived in England, Scotland, New Zealand, Italy and Ireland working as a Creative Director, Art Director and Writer for the Advertising Industry. He has won over 100 awards for creativity and effectiveness in the field of advertising and design.
David was shortlisted for The Guardian TV Pitch Review for his comedy-drama series, The Bible, II. David was also shortlisted for the Independent on Sunday Short Story Competition in 1997. His short story, Woman’s Best Friend, also appears in the IOS New Stories published by Bloomsbury. His screenplay, of the same name, was optioned by Irish production company Nomad Productions in 1999. He was shortlisted for the Mind Short Story Competition in 2019 with his story Ten Orbits of the Sun.
His poetry has been widely published in Ireland, Britain and the US in anthologies and periodicals such as: The Greenhouse Magazine; The Literary Review, (U.S); Envoi; Cyphers; Electric Acorn; W.P. Monthly; Lifelines 3; The Haiku Quarterly; The Pickled Body and The Amnesty International Anthology, Human Rights Have No Borders. He came 3rd in the CN/SALC micro poem competition in 2013.
David is the author of six feature-length screenplays, six short films, a collection of short stories, a poetry collection, two stories for children, and two novels.
David now works on an acute mental health ward as a Technical Instructor.
Landmine
There is a type of landmine
that only detonates
once you have taken your foot
off of it.
It spares you
instant disintegration –
Instead, it gives you
that split-second realisation
of the impending horror that is about
to ascend upon your hapless body.
Of course, if you are fleet-of-mind,
you may realise the error of your way,
and keep your weight
pressed firmly down on the detonator.
In the hope that someone
might come to your rescue.
That they collect rocks
and sticks and boulders – anything
they can lay their hands on
to replace the downward pressure,
that is you.
And that is how it feels
to be in love with you.
To have two choices:
To wait for you in vain,
or to accept fate
and lift my foot off.
I shall scour the universe
Where did you go? One minute
you were here, the next, you were gone.
There is a hole in the galaxy, the exact size
and shape that you used to occupy.
It is now empty.
Devoid of your presence.
Surely, you are somewhere,
You can’t just disappear.
There is a finite amount of energy
In the universe, of which you are an intrinsic part.
Perhaps you are in the soil, as nutrients
for worms and bugs and fungi.
Or delicate forget-me-nots
luring honey bees to do their bidding.
Maybe you are pollen
carried upon the summer breeze.
You could be anywhere by now.
But I’ll keep searching,
in the trees and in the streams,
in the flowers and on the wind.
I’ll shall scour the universe for you,
even down to the cracks of my hands.
Beautiful poetry. I love both pieces for different reasons. Thank you, David, and Literary Revelations. ❤️
Thank you so much for your kind words and your continuous support. It means so much.
Both poems are so beautifully written but the second one so tragic, it choked me up.
Thank you for your lovely words, they are very much appreciated.
Beautiful, evocative writing!
I am glad you liked it Layla. I hope your summer is going well. xo
Thank you Layla, that’s very kind.
💜💜
Thank you Christine.
Landmine is pure perfection.
Indeed, Nicole. Indeed. Thank you for your support.
Wow! Thank you so much Nicole. I am very flattered.
Both poems are fabulous! Powerful and beautiful. Congratulations to David, and thanks for sharing, Gabriela. ❤️
My pleasure Lauren and thank you for the review of Hidden in Childhood. Your help means a lot and I am most grateful for it. I left a comment on your blog. Enjoy the rest of your weekend xo
You’re very welcome, Gabriela, and thank you for your visits, too. Have a wonderful weekend also. 🩷
Thank you.
Thank you Lauren, I really appreciate your kind words.
My pleasure, David.
Impressive CV, David. Your poems wring tears from my not-quite-ossified heart. <3
My sincere apologies, Jade. That wasn’t my intention. (Or maybe it was!) 🙂 Thank you for your kind words.
<3 You're welcome.
What a wonderful poems David with wonderful food for thought. Deeply penetrating. 💞
Thank you Cindy, your kind words really mean a lot.
You’re very welcome!!! I’m glad to know! ❣️
Beautiful lines💖
Lovely pieces. The first one was very intense and left me wondering where you were going as I have seen this scene in the movies and watching it play out is never good, and then you ended it with that heartbreaking line. Beautiful writing.
Wonderful poems. I had no idea where the first poem was going and thought it might be a metaphor for triggering an incident for a person with a mental illness.
I’ve been following David and didn’t know much about him. I loved the bio and the poems.
Wonderful. Thank you.