Christopher Reid Poetry

Christopher Reid, born in Hong Kong and raised in England, helped start “Martian” poetry by making everyday things seem strange. Later, he wrote the tender elegy ‘A Scattering,’ winner of the Costa Book of the Year. Reid’s work joins playful detail with clear feeling, engaging readers in many settings.

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‘Blessed by the indifference…’

In ‘Blessed by the indifference…’, facing the loss of his wife, the speaker tries to distract himself from the looming presence of death.

This poem featured in Reid's 2009 book 'A Scattering', with which he won his first poetry prize. While this poem does not put particular emphasis on Reid's formative poetic style of Martianism, there are still traces of its existence throughout. Reid combines his past style with a more traditional style as he discusses a serious and sorrowful topic. This poem and the book within which it appears are the truest reflection of the poet, as they cover the death of his wife, Lucinda Gane, and his own journey through grief.

'Yours more or less for the asking.

Of course I accept your paltry currency, your small change

of days and hours.'

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