Treasuring Poetry – Meet poet and blogger Nigel Byng and a review

Posted: July 8, 2026 | Author: robbiesinspiration | Filed under: Book Review, Books, Collection, Interview, Poetry, Review, Treasuring Poetry | Tags: Book Review, Interview, Nigel Jerome Byng, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, The Drifter The Prodigal The Last Son, Treasuring Poetry, Writing to be Read | 36 Comments

A riverbed with stones, water, and grasses. Text: Treasuring Poetry with Robbie Cheadle and KAye Lynne Booth

Today I am pleased to introduce you to prolific poet and supportive blogger, Nigel Byng. In addition, to writing his own poetry and collaborating with other poets, Nigel has a series where he reads poems by poets in the WP community in his amazing voice. They are a real treat to listen to and you can access his reading of one of my poems on his blog here: https://hytsdaily.com/2026/06/13/exploring-poetry-a-weekly-reading-series-ep-22-dressing-for-battle-by-robbie-cheadle/

Welcome Nigel

Tell us a bit about Nigel Byng and his poetry journey

My poetry journey started in the UK, surprisingly. Heartbreak was at the core of every piece I wrote. It was dark, bitter, humorous at some level, and certainly not something I would have ever dared publish. I had given up on poetry for two decades, until Terveen Gill accepted a piece for Masticadores India. Then David Bogomolny invited me to engage with his W3 prompt, and I began to enjoy the weekly writing challenges. I still have a lot to learn about poetry, and I still consider myself primarily a storyteller.

What is your favorite style of poetry to write?

I enjoy a good limerick, but my favorite style would have to be narrative poetry. The storyteller in me needs room to be expressive, and narrative poetry allows me to write with a compelling arc or even have a central character in the piece. Concise writing and ambiguous verses have proven to be a challenge. Hence, I have taken to studying the art form and writing about it for Exploring Poetry. Some people have the gift for it and make it look easy, but it still takes a lot of work to get to that level of writing. I sit back and bask in their supreme talent. I have a long way to go.

What is your favorite of your own poems?

Ghetto Salvation, first shared on Masticadores Philippines, is perhaps my favorite poem. I enjoy my collaborations with the talented authors on WP, but my personal favorite is definitely Ghetto Salvation. For several reasons, the piece just felt like my most profound, emotionally perceptive, and socially conscious piece. It was written in the spur of the moment, and in a language that I think everyone could relate to. I did not want victimhood and depravity to be what everyone felt when they read it; I wanted them to sense defiance, a part of society where culture thrives, where a community was pursuing its own salvation, and so I began the piece with the line, “There is music coming from the ghettos.” A close second would be the central poem in my book, Prodigal.

Ghetto Salvation by Nigel Byng

There is music coming from the ghettos,

rising above poverty and the rumble of hungry bellies.

Of whelping babies hanging from a single-armed warrior

who stirs a pot of rice and beans

to feed an army.

***

A music fueled with resistance.

Of clefs that drift off the page,

and notes that lay siege to a barricaded salient city.

Where children with

swollen bellies,

ashen knees and dusty feet

play soccer to a rhythm only poverty can dance to.

***

Armored cars patrol the slums, armor-piercing rounds

perforate walls,

while shrapnel becomes playthings

of toddlers yet to walk.

Where nightlight

is the ambient glow of distant cluster bombs,

stargazing a hazardous hobby

as missiles create ghostly shooting stars.

***

A single horn blows the sound of freedom

and plastic buckets tap the rhythm of salvation.

Children huddle under the broken light

above the church door

and women swat at mosquitoes

as babies suckle for their very existence

nutrients devoid of sustenance.

***

Here, God has built a poor man’s tabernacle

in opposition to the revelry of neon palaces,

opulence and gluttony,

tempered glass temples to Moloch.

A greed that is impossible to satiate,

they thirst for more, more, and still more.

***

Yet, they smile.

***

Children whose future can be measured in 9mm increments.

Fathers who know not their progeny,

young mothers who know not their fathers,

adolescents, raising boys who dream of becoming soccer stars.

***

One day, the world will applaud them,

and this music will be taken to the synagogues of entertainment.

Gladiatorial servitude to the masses

as these child warriors will be immortalized in their pantheon,

lauded as Gods,

if only for a moment

What was the inspiration for your new book of poems, The Drifter, The Prodigal, The Last Son?

Life sat me down after a freak accident at work, and it was all the inspiration I needed to put pen to paper. On a more personal level, the old lady is 92 this year, and it’s been one of her wishes that her son be a published writer. So she is happy about that.

What’s next for Nigel Byng?

My long-overdue collection of short stories, which should be out next year or before that if I can get all my ducks in a row. Finishing up my project with Melissa Lemay is perhaps the most pressing and time-sensitive project. I also have an illustrated children’s story with my long-time artist, JohnntoMcDaniel, and God willing, and time allowing, a mind-bending, bone-chilling series with Lesley Scoble. Caribbean Folklore is something I wish to add to my portfolio, on a broader and contemporary level. So, there is a lot on my schedule for the next six months.

My review of The Drifter The Prodigal The Last Son by Nigel Byng

Picture caption: Cover of The Drifter The Prodigal The Last Son featuring a white male figure on a rowing boat with its reflection on a grey background

This inaugural book of poetry by Nigel Byng contains some extraordinary and moving poems ranging from the poet’s youth and journey to manhood, the tumultuous years of intense love and lust, difficulties. hurts and losses encountered along life’s path, and building a relationship with God. Poems relating to each of these four phases of life are collected into each of the four sections of this book.

The poet’s use of language is exceptional and truly conveys the strong emotion that inspired the poems. It is not easy to convey the spirit of the language used in any way other than by sharing a few extracts that I especially liked.

From Companion
“When the world hissed and turned against me, You were unmoved,
You have attended to me in every adversity.
Self-loathing greeted me on my pillow,
as the shadow of death lingered by my bedside.
But in every affliction, you were there.”

Little People
“Akin to a uniform horde of solider ants to forage for knowledge
following the sound of an enchanted flute.
What is this bedeviling mysticism
which snatches a child away from the bosom of its mother,
the protection of its father,
only to follow the breadcrumbs to their doom?

If you like beautiful and deep poetry, you will enjoy this book. My only negative is that I could not access the ebook using Speechify or another reading app. I also could not search the book using the search button and the contents page is not linked to the poems so you have to scroll through the entire book if you want to reread any specific poem.

Purchase The Drifter The Prodigal The Last Son from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Drifter-Prodigal-Last-Son-ebook/dp/B0H1987R65/

About Nigel Byng

Picture caption: Author photograph of Nigel Byng

Writer, poet, storyteller, Byng’s words move from quiet domestic moments to global, socially conscious truths. His stories and poems explore love, memory, morality, and the human experience with lyrical precision and emotional punch. Contributor to top anthologies and creator of the Exploring Poetry series, his debut collection, The Drifter, The Prodigal, The Last Son, is one to watch.

About Robbie Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author picture

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

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This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.