‘ANIMALS, birds and man in concert.’

Jim Emerton’s second book of poetry could have adopted this title, lifted from one of his musings on nature, the universe and everything. For inside, is a heady mix of all three, a cocktail of the lively Yorkshireman’s take on life.

Following on from his first, thought-provoking, entertaining tome published earlier this year, the book, named simply ‘More Pieces of Jim Emerton’, delivers a further helping of sharp, evocative poetry and prose.

Again nature and the outdoors feature prominently, with colourful, vivid descriptions in language that is observant, insightful and at times quite beautiful.

‘Wilderness’ is typical of his ability to transport the reader to another place.

‘Ice crystals cling to my face

The foaming tide, fluffed with salt,

Creeps around my feet

Seals calling from lonely sandbanks

Of the North Sea washes.’

On animals and birds he is particularly astute. He gets firmly under the skin/fur/feathers of the creatures upon which he turns his pen. Having once been ferociously attacked by black swans while eating my lunch in a London park, I particularly liked his labelling of them as ‘devil birds that swim in satanic majesty.’

Though my favourite has to be ‘The Cat’, of which he correctly observes:

‘You cannot probe his furry depths

The cat upon the concrete steps.’

True, we cannot hope to understand this ‘cool and aloof’ animal.

The former Bradford College student and Mensa member’s mind often jumps to another level - his musings in the chapter on philosophy ponders such brain curdling subjects as God or Darwin, the delusion of human dogma and what we know of the cosmos.

There is much to exercise the great matter in this 97-page paperback.

Jim combines the wider fields of philosophy and spirituality with personal insights. ‘December in my garden’ references nature on his doorstep and ‘Barcelona International’ provides a nod to his lifelong passion for pigeon racing.

With wit and insight, he explains the different faces of man, with his a bizarre line up including the poseur, the recluse, the chav, the call girl and the eccentric. The latter could be Jim himself, as I am sure he is well aware:

‘Free from constraints and tethers

The eccentric beats a singular pulse

Sweet music orchestrated by himself.’

In the tiresome mass of conformity.’

Jim’s mind is a whirlpool of knowledge, deep-thinking and fun. He presents and comments upon a diverse array of topics in an interesting way.

Simple lines make an impact: ‘I went for a walk today, to kill the ghosts of yesterday.’

He devotes 20 lines to the meaning of life, concluding that ‘we are all less than specks of dust, mere minnows in what is in here and what is out there.’ He refers to inner spirituality and mysticism, which he possesses in bucketloads.

The many pieces of Jim Emerton are laid bare in this book, and I suspect there will be many more pieces, slices, fragments - call them what you will - from this prolific writer.

*More Pieces of Jim Emerton is published by Mereo Books and is available from Amazon.