A while back, my poem, Our Book Brethren, was published by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) Scotland in support of their #LibrariesAreEssential campaign. Then, at the start of summer and in the turmoil of my dad dying, CILIP asked if I would write a blog on poetry writing in support of National Poetry Day and Libraries Week. I was flattered and then flummoxed. What would I write? Could I do their blog justice? And ... could I even have the mindset to write at this time? With some breathing space and encouragement from my inner self, and Kirsten MacQuarrie from CILIP, I wrote. And I think my dad, who was a regular library user, would have wanted me to. You can read my blog post, and my poem, on the CILIP blog .