The book's title can be read two ways. Impasse or contraction is one of them. The purging of all but essential matters is another. Each section in this poetry collection covers unique themes. In Canticles,these 'small songs' celebrate the world given back after a life crisis. Wood bleeds where a branch was, then 'ripples a beauty around it'. In Seasons, the grief and birdsong that accompanied our spring lockdown descend into the ground of winter. A surgical glove 'scrabbling in the dust' bears witness to testing times.

With Departures, lost friends are remembered. The writer continues to address them as living. 'Contraction' comes to serve as a language for giving birth. Oraclescovers war, the ecological crisis, loss of insight for the fabulous - these touch wider matters. 'Tongues quick now with a flame within will render dry stone into a speaking thing'. Paul's latest collection of lyrical poetry aims to change consciousness and perception and responds to contemporary issues such as the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. His poem, Waiting Outside, was highly commended in the Bridport Poetry awards of 2022. "This is a book of thoughtful lyrics, grounded in daily life and human warmth.

"John Freeman "This is heart-work, soul-work, for both poet and reader. As Paul Matthews says. 'the manner of our looking / leaves an imprint there' and it is this sensibility that renders the poems both delicate and full with wisdom." Kay Syrad.