Addressing the loss of the poet’s mother – as well as themes of motherhood, birth, death, and the natural world – Scenes from Life on Earth explores how we grieve and remember those we love. Simmonds continues to write through the prism of her faith, offering insights and wisdom on the circuit of life, of life’s endings, and the promise of reconciliation.

‘In poems that are searching, though not solemn, Kathryn Simmonds is attentive to the everyday while conveying the unspoken and the mysteries of life and death with which we live. In “The Night I Died”, she reveals astonishingly: “I touched the cavity / where my heart had been, white ceramic like a soap dish splashed with blood”. A deeply thoughtful and captivating collection.’ —Moniza Alvi

‘The ecstatic language of Kathryn Simmonds’ poems moves shadow-cast creatures and sombre conditions into the sun until light radiates through and around them, and finally onto the reader. These inquiring poems celebrate the living, the dead and life itself.’ —Kathryn Maris

‘Kathryn Simmonds has an uncanny knack for finding human resonance in just about everything.’ —Roger Robinson