pickThe timeline gives the sense of sensual love suddenly lost, followed by deep grief and longing that hints at obsession, although Benton eventually reveals the years spent with his lover, and this makes it easier to understand the months spent pining away for her.
I found the poetry impressive, the sequence of events well-defined through verse, and the emotion of it all powerfully conveyed.
pickThe poems bring us into a the middle of a passionate relationship, revealed through meditations upon the lover's body using images of nature, the changing seasons and cityscapes, then through break-up and a wistful longing after the lover has gone and another (less satisfying?) partnership entered into.
Benton uses sexual imagery to better effect, I think, than Kate Tempest's recent offering, "Running Upon the Wires".
"I need love more than ever now ... I need your love,
I need love more than hope or money, wisdom or drink
Because slow negative death withers the world - and only yes can turn the tide"
This Is My Beloved | 
