To what extent is Owen Sheer's Skirrid Hill a collection defined by separation?

Owen Sheers' Skirrid Hill is defined by separation, to a degree. Fundamentally, the Welsh title 'Skirrid Hill' foregrounds ideas about separation translating to 'shattered' and 'split'. This initial theme is explored further in poems such as 'Keyways' and 'Valentine'. However, equally in 'Valentine', and in other poems such as Winter Swans, Sheers explores small moments of connection and intimacy despite an overarching theme of separation.

Specifically, in 'Valentine', Sheers maintains the theme of separation in three vignette stanzas to explore memories of a fractured relationship. In the first stanza, Sheers uses the metaphor 'water torture of your heels' to emphasise a sense of pain and distance in the relationship. Moreover, in the second stanza, the 'swing of the tassels on [her] skirt' develops the sense of separation with the poetic voice positioned at a distance where he can notice these intricate details. Despite the initial adherence to theme of separation Sheers denotes a juxtaposing moment of connection with the image of the couple 'holding each other on the hotel bed'. Nonetheless, in the final stanza the couple are 'washed up on the shore' and 'uncertain in their exhaustion' showing a fundamental fragility to their relationship. Empirically, themes of separation are at the core of Sheers' poem 'Valentine' with only a fleeting moment of connection and intimacy.