In Darren Beaney’s ‘drop in’ last week he explained that his intention in writing Honey Dew (Hedgehog Poetry Press, 2020) was to produce a series of poems about his relationship with his wife, Jo, without being ‘too schmaltzy or soppy’. There’s no doubt that he succeeds, for Honey Dew is a collection that explores the many-faceted nature of love in ways that the reader can readily connect with.

All the positive phases of a love affair are here. The first awkward meeting and initial attraction (Let Your Heart Dance); the dates when this attraction grows into affection as they get to know each other (Playing Banjo on Brighton Beach, First Date Merry-Go-Round); the thrill of falling in love (Let’s Start Something We Won’t Want to Finish, Finding the Fit of Each Other, Now it Make Sense, Still Falling in Love, And She Said); the decision…