Ted Hughes

I chose to use a poem by Ted Hughes from his book 'Birthday Letters' which was written for his wife Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide in front of their two children.
I chose the poem 'The Badlands' stanza 6 which says;

'The silence, At least, 
like a cooling incinerator
Was an afterlife. As it cooled
Every clinker inched its shadow wider
and darker
Like a little door. There we camped,
The most inimical place I was ever in.
Too late to go on. I remember.'

I used this because of it's strong sense of loss and the love he had for his wife.

Ted James Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet and children's writer. He is often seen as one of the greatest British poets by many critics. 
He was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.
This is a video of Richard Armitage read Ted Hughes' letter to his wife's parents after her death.

His marriage with Sylvia Plath was difficult and his part in the relationship has become controversial to some feminists and in particular, American admirers of Plath. His last poetic work, Birthday Letters (1998), explored their complex relationship, it was very deep and moving which is why I chose it.
 The poems in this book make reference to Sylvia Plath's suicide, but none of them directly address the reason or way of her death.