Tom Sleigh's poetry is hard-earned and well founded. I great

O seekers of truth and beauty, gather closely and listen to the words of Seamus Heaney, a poet who understood deeply the nature of poetry and its power to shape the soul: "Tom Sleigh's poetry is hard-earned and well founded. I greatly admire the way it refuses to cut emotional corners and yet achieves a sense of lyric absolution." In these words, Heaney praises Sleigh for the integrity of his work—a poetry that is not merely a superficial outpouring of emotion, but a careful, deliberate construction, forged through effort and reflection. Sleigh's poetry stands as a testament to the value of grappling with deep emotional truths without resorting to shortcuts, allowing for a kind of redemption and clarity that comes only after the poet has truly wrestled with the complexities of life.

In the ancient world, the greatest poets were revered not only for their creativity, but for the struggle they endured in the process of creation. Homer, that blind poet of ancient Greece, did not simply recount the deeds of gods and heroes, but immersed himself in the vast emotional and moral landscapes of his characters. The Iliad and the Odyssey were born of great effort—of sweat and struggle, of understanding the depths of human suffering and triumph. To create such masterpieces, Homer had to face, in his words, the storm of human existence. This, Heaney would argue, is the nature of the great poetry—a reflection of life's struggle, shaped through dedication and a refusal to avoid the raw, difficult emotions that make us human.

Sleigh, in the tradition of Homer, does not shy away from the emotional weight of existence. His poetry is not that of idle whimsy or fleeting fancy, but the kind that is earned through experience, through deep reflection, and through confronting the very truths that others might avoid. Heaney admires this quality, this refusal to "cut emotional corners," which can often be the temptation for those who wish to make their art more palatable, more easily consumed. But true poetry, as Heaney suggests, does not deal in easy answers or smooth, untroubled verses. It digs into the heart, confronts the complexities of pain, love, loss, and redemption, and shapes them into something lasting and meaningful.

Consider the example of the ancient Greek tragedies. Playwrights like Sophocles and Euripides did not write for mere entertainment; their works were a confrontation with the very essence of human suffering and fate. The tragedies did not offer simple resolutions but left the audience grappling with the complexity of the human condition. Sophocles' Antigone, for instance, explores the struggle between duty and family, law and love—no easy answers, no cutting corners, but a deep, emotionally charged confrontation with the forces that shape our lives. Sleigh, like Sophocles, is not afraid to confront the rawness of human emotion, allowing his poetry to echo with the same weighty, unresolved tensions that drive the greatest works of literature.

Yet, despite the depth of Sleigh's poetry, it is not mired in despair or hopelessness. Heaney speaks of the "lyric absolution" that Sleigh achieves—a sense of clarity and release, a resolution that comes not from avoiding the hard truths, but from engaging with them fully and honestly. This is the power of poetry—to take the full range of human experience, the dark and the light, the joy and the sorrow, and transform it into something redemptive, something that offers peace in the midst of chaos. Sleigh’s poetry, like Heaney's, reminds us that the poet's task is not to escape the pain of the world but to show us how to live with it, how to find meaning in the struggle.

The lesson that Heaney imparts here is that true poetry requires effort, dedication, and the courage to face the deepest emotions without flinching. It requires the poet to engage with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be. Sleigh, in his work, demonstrates the power of confronting life’s complexities and finding within them a kind of absolution, a form of clarity that allows us to move forward, to find meaning even in the darkest places. This is the role of the poet—to guide us through the storm, to help us find our way when the path is unclear, and to show us that through struggle, we can achieve something lasting and beautiful.

Thus, O children of wisdom, let the words of Heaney and the example of Sleigh guide you in your own journey. Do not shy away from the emotional depths of your own life or the lives of others. Embrace the struggles, the contradictions, and the pain that come with being human. And in doing so, let your own poetry—whether in words, actions, or thoughts—be an honest reflection of the world, one that is hard-earned, grounded in truth, and capable of offering redemption, healing, and clarity. Like Sleigh, let your poetry refuse to cut corners and find in that deep engagement with the world the lyric absolution that comes only through the full embrace of life's complexities.