Decision to lear ancient language
Especially considering where he was placed
Festooning his place with words
Glorifying his home
He wrote Sanskrit greetings to guests....
Thursday, 31 December 2015
Friday, 25 December 2015
SWIRLING DERVISHES
swirling dervishes
emblematic of her stay
unsure what to make
does she have to send photos
with daring explanation?...
A GAME SHOW
unruly game show
boys throw masks at each other
compere grimaces
but the ratings are higher
manager smiles in his box...
A CHRISTMAS MARKET
a Christmas market
with its stalls packed all together
blue stripes mainly
and hype mixed up with carols
we won't miss it when it's gone...
Saturday, 19 December 2015
MRS ACORN
Luke Acorn planted oak trees in a dell
and called to his mother to see,
but Mrs Acorn had other things to do.
She had cakes to bake
and shirts to make
for Luke Acorn on the go.
She had songs to sing
and plans to make,
and constant brewing tea....
DECEMBER CAROLS
december carols
sing out in the cold night
somewhere, shepherds shiver...
Saturday, 12 December 2015
I HAVE SUNNED
"Father... I have sunned."
The priest had an image of sunny fields,
and knew Christ would forgive....
GREEN ORGAN PIPES
green organ pipes, too
the not waiting to understand
but seeing them shocked her...
Wednesday, 9 December 2015
THE DEVIL AT CHRISTMAS
devil at Christmas
he wouldn't mind a mince pie
Santa confuses
he is out of place
among all the shopping rows
horns are not for sale
...
Tuesday, 8 December 2015
SLEEPING SHEEP
The ornament was called
"Sleeping Sheep",
but as far as I know
ornaments don't sleep.
It lay there, eyes closed
on green baize,
but no dreams were there;
no trembling as in fear.
A sightless shepherd
stood nearby,
for ornaments don't see
from eyes, though nice they be....
Saturday, 28 November 2015
Monday, 23 November 2015
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
A GIANT SANTA
A giant Santa
with eyes this way and that
and pointing finger,
scaring children
who only come to play....
SOULLESS, THE BUILDING
Soulless, the building
of a hundred floors
looked out over the river
Sharpe, the builder
regarded his creation
restlessly
He wished he could
give it soul
as he looked up from the Thames...
Thursday, 12 November 2015
A PORTRAIT
painting a portrait
in the upper end of town
the lower end can wait...
Monday, 9 November 2015
SUGARED MOMENTS
Yesterday is sour puss,
And tomorrow's a cloud,
So enjoy the sugared moments
Of an only today.
Last week is where is she?
And next week is all wet.
Enjoy the sugared moments
Of an only today.
Last month is dead pussy
And next year's a drag.
Enjoy the sugared moments
Of an only today....
GINGER ROAD
Ginger Road is all about with mud.
It goes far into the distance
up to the sign of a cart -
a broken sign, destroyed,
but something to see;
It's tangible
and welcome
in this
land....
Sunday, 8 November 2015
BELA BARTOK
Bela Bartok
If you like him you don't rock
His bust is in New York
But it is not exactly 'talk'...
Friday, 6 November 2015
PAPER AEROPLANES
in the peachtree street
paper aeroplanes are flying
ain't that enough for you?...
Saturday, 24 October 2015
STAR-GAZING
Stargazing is beautiful in southern night.
The heavens partake in wondrous light.
Some of the stars appear shy.
Behind clouds they lie.
...
Monday, 19 October 2015
AMAZED BY TURQUOISE
Amazed by turquoise
in the street lights,
playing out again in tiny puddles.
There they are, on each side of the road.
Why the turquoise, Council?
But don't answer -
they're amazing...
Holy turquoise, holier than thou....
Saturday, 17 October 2015
SILVER BROOCH
silver brooch on back
clasp claiming our attention
light splits it in two...
Thursday, 15 October 2015
Saturday, 3 October 2015
CLOUDS OF DDT
Playing to clouds of DDT
the children ran screaming into it -
hurried playtime in the mist...
Ten minutes of forbidden fog,
forgetting that it was forbidden...
Glorious, thickened, smoky smog....
Thursday, 1 October 2015
Wednesday, 30 September 2015
GREEN MEMORIES
green memories start
from lowered eyes as a child
grass is not the road...
WIND CHIME
Note the notes from chime
and like them,
but hear Christ in your heart.
Christ's voice is subliminal,
and with the wind chime chiming,
your day will perfect start.
Note the words from Christ,
hear them,
and to your Bible, go.
Read the Word of God inside it
and listening to the wind chime,
let Christ's words stay in your heart....
GREEN MOUNTAIN
From the green mountain
I see the grey clouds,
but they are in distance, far.
From the green mountain
I watch stately ships.
I presume they are going to war.
Further and further towards cloudy day
are these ships that
are going to war,
but the sailors don't notice -
their thoughts on great battle,
while on the green mountain I pray....
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
KINGS TO TALK TO QUEENS
Kings to talk to queens,
and when they do,
they will tell them
how it was to be a prince
in foreign land.
Queens to talk to kings,
and fair princesses
will have their long hair behind them,
and tied in bows and roses
and all the beauteous things that made them desirable.
They will love each other then,
and realize, that growing up
was what they missed seeing in each other
and they are the shell
of...
Monday, 28 September 2015
A COLANDER
I wish I could show you
the World's Fair at night...
The photo shows
a 'colander' on its side.
It's so striking
and 'out of his world'
as if a colander
is what we need.
A colander to drain the world
free from its problems
of drugs and disease
and to teach it to have joy....
SUBITO
A demijohn, with alcohol -
so tempting to a passing man
who took it to his bedsit, subito.
He drank it fast,
and demons came to bedsit,
subito.
Drunkeness was subito,
and the man we saw just now in passing,
passed out....
ROUNDABOUT HORSES
Little children on a
roundabout in Ulster...
No one bothered
that the horses were quite sad.
The horses, they were tired
of going round and round
and hearing cheap-jack music
from a stand.
They counted the hours
on the clock next to the peep-show,
and were happy when the owner
declared end....
AN ICE-CREAM CORNET
an ice-cream cornet
sold from a dark blue trailer
spoon was given free
I gave it right back
for why would I need a spoon
lickin' my way free...
Thursday, 24 September 2015
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
RELAXATION
Spider in under-croft
with all the hours to linger
day loosens gently
for Marianne in morning
stretching her long arms in bath...
Friday, 11 September 2015
MASTER CLASSES
Master classes were held in East Sussex
and the Sussex girl played tune
with ease to her master.
She played the grand piano all the day
and the master hummed along,
time barely noticing.
People thought they were having an affair,
as nobody else took part
in the lessons grandly....
THE TASTING MENU
The Tasting Menu
was slapped all over the dining trays,
so, so much for freedom.
We did not want to sit for three hours wading
our way through exotic foods
and burping.
Our waitress was nice, though,
if men avoided catching her eye...
Was she on minimum?
Her mini mum was there -
not PC to call her dwarf.
I think she beefed up the menu....
Saturday, 5 September 2015
STILL, THE KOLK
Still, the kolk
in the Old Zyds
in Amsterdam.
Russet houses bide their time.
One day, they will be pulled down,
but not just yet...
For now, the boats go on their way
and somewhere a mother calls.
She tells her family it's time for tea,
and out they look at old canals
from russet house.
Such symmetry!...
LAST IN THE GREEK CLASS
Dunce does not suit him
Everyone says, though
Failure at all
Going to cry...
A Greek 'angel' approaches....
Friday, 4 September 2015
THE FACTORY CHIMNEY
The factory chimney, white,
was many meters tall,
and in that light,
it seemed to have a stripe.
Only a trick, of course.
There was no stripe;
just glazed bricks
sideways on and beautiful.
How it soared!
And if you craned your neck
you would not see
its sterling end....
Wednesday, 2 September 2015
CALMING ETRETAT
The cliffs of Etretat
look pale blue in certain light...
They sweep down to the sea.
Seagulls are there
and some are fighting
over the wet fish.
I might go bathing
in this blue light,
or I might not.
I might stay to watch the seagulls
or start to paint the cliffs
of calming Etretat....
Saturday, 22 August 2015
Thursday, 20 August 2015
RED APPLES
The woman with red hair
Flings her arm up to an apple...
Red apples hang from every tree.
The artist thinks of Eve,
but we all see a loose woman -
Red tears drop down a sexy dress.
No Eve, she, but another woman,
Ready to eat an unreal apple
From an unreal, china tree....
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
OLIVES
I was born under an olive tree...
The branches swayed when I was born.
My mother said olive oil
helped her feeding me
but I would not know.
She said she sipped some olive oil
just before my feed,
and slipped a towel
around her shoulders ready,
and fed me in the sun.
I was weaned under an olive tree,
and my mother tempted me
with the green fruit.
She later mixed it with the black
from northern...
Monday, 17 August 2015
Copenhagen, Denmark, has Kafe Kys, or Kiss Café
************
KISS CAFE
I would like a kiss in Kiss Café
and show it off in Selfie.
I will bring my boyfriend here in time,
and ask "kiss me?" over coffee.
There are many couples so engaged,
and lots of us are staring.
Whether out of work or on a wage,
they give a kiss 'fore leaving....
Sunday, 16 August 2015
THE COLD, COLOURED SQUARES
The cold, coloured squares
led to a deep pool
where Paul swam.
He took the diving board most times,
or jumped from the uneven side.
I cannot believe Paul wanted to drown,
but he always talked about it
before he went to the pool.
He took the diving board most times,
or jumped from the uneven side.
The autopsy was not good...
Let it be said that I always jump
from the even side,
and that I do not...
Friday, 7 August 2015
A TURQUOISE STATUE OF LIBERTY
A turquoise Statue of Liberty
holding arm aloft
is how I saw it
in access to a photo.
The buildings were turquoise,
and the sky, a darker tone.
America the Perfect?
People's home....
Tuesday, 4 August 2015
RED ROCKS
From the quiet Simplicity House,
Séon could see the red rocks in the sea.
Around the rocks swirled always the white water...
The sea itself was green.
I haven't checked...
Did Séon have a daughter?
She too would have admired the view.
(A Wiki check to know.)
I haven't checked...
Did Séon have a son?
He too would have admired the sea
around the Ile de Bréhat....
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
Monday, 20 July 2015
DEAD FISH MOSAIC
Dead fish mosaic -
hundreds of them in a makeshift square,
and it's "seeing is believing".
Eyes look at you from strange angles -
strange rainbow eyes
and mouths agape.
Late for work, but I can't help it,
and I swear the eyes will be remembered -
saucer eyes that only dead fish know....
Saturday, 18 July 2015
MY IMPRESSIONIST FLOWERS
My impressionist flowers
take up the canvas,
but towards the edges
they are not like flowers at all.
I make them white streaks
with no cohesion,
and the stems
barely join at all.
My impressionist flowers
are large in number
and if you count them sleepy,
you will never count them all....
Friday, 17 July 2015
Wednesday, 15 July 2015
BUMPS IN THE SAND
I see bumps in the sand...
I wriggle my toes in ten of the bumps,
and feel them burn.
Turning over,
the sun scorches my back,
and I am sleepy.
"In a little while, Sally!
Give me some peace
on this sandy beach..."
But Sal insists,
and I must walk on lots of bumps
back to the hotel and salad lunch....
Tuesday, 14 July 2015
POT PLANTS ON WHITE TILES
Pot plants on white tiles
arranged in zigzags.
If I skimmed my eyes,
they made me dizzy.
In them, geraniums
from mom's shop,
and Daz arranged them
fancy-style.
I loved those little pots,
and in the morning,
when Daz had taken out the flowers,
the pots still made me stare....
Thursday, 9 July 2015
Wednesday, 8 July 2015
I'VE NEVER HAD A 4TH JULY
I've never had a 4th July;
never seen the flags with stars and stripes.
I sit in this boat by Bartholdi's monument...
The Statue of Liberty wants me to arrive.
I'll live in New York and eke existence
while waiting to climb up greasy pole.
Then will be a a June and then July,
thus one, two, three, a fourth.
On the 4th, I shall wave my flag to you,
and be on the highest skyscraper known to man.
I'll...
Tuesday, 7 July 2015
MOSAIC GIRL
A mosaic girl
coming down mosaic steps
to greet him,
and it wasn't them there glasses.
He took them off,
just in case it was,
but she was stunning,
surely?
A mosaic face
with a mosaic mouth
to ravish and to kiss
this Sunday morning.
...
HEAT
The sun full-blazing on the bristling shore.
People have started to go home.
A burning skin is not what they have come for.
Brief tanning only, in their needs.
Spoiling the day before it is half-done.
Motors are hot in the densely-filled car-park.
Black gulls are on them for a lark...
Kids are crying for their mothers now, indeed.
Go... before the fat car-park clerk*
Collects his too big, irritating...
ALL IS WELL
Cattle graze in yellow pasture
and the hills are awash with buzzing bees.
All is well in the land of heroes that come after...
All is well for me.
Fishes swim in clear-strung river,
and valleys are attuned to birds that sing.
All is well in the land of heroes that come after.
All is well for me. ...
Sunday, 5 July 2015
DO MELONS GROW IN JAVA?
Do melons grow in Java,
and do poems grow as well?
Do you see them line by line?
I must come to Java soon...
There we will eat melons
and you can read your poems.
You must read them to me,
line by wicked line.
Then we will go swimming
in your pool shaped like a melon.
You always were unpractical,
but I adore your long love lines....
TENEBRISTAS
The painting had darkness
in immensity - three-fourths.
There might have been bats,
but we could not see them.
We only saw the exit from the cave...
Here were jagged lines depicting rock,
and an emerald sea beyond....
Saturday, 4 July 2015
THE CLOUDS, LIKE DRAGONS
The clouds, like dragons,
were in front of the etched moon.
I adored that copper scene!
The black sea slithered
under my boat,
while I cast off all my fears....
Muffled Drums
Muffled drums were at the funeral,
and black horses stood still.
The watery sun
made brief appearance there
and was, just as quickly, gone.
The Queen
looked dignified,
in the way that rulers have...
Still we listened to the drums.
Still, we were inordinately sad....
Thursday, 2 July 2015
FORTUNE TREE
From a strong spout,
water falls into a trough.
People come to cool themselves
and dip clammy hands into the water.
I come to tell their fortune,
but people don't believe me.
I'm under what's called Fortune Tree.
The council erected it for me....
Monday, 29 June 2015
LAWNS
Lawns, light green, in preference,
Accompanying gated homes
With great magnificence.
Nicely irrigated...
Silence in this heat....
Sunday, 28 June 2015
LEOPARDS
Leopards in Livorno
Must miss their nature way;
No hunting in their cage
Or walking place...
Zoos were not made for thi...
PARD
A leopard cage
marked "Pard",
and Pard
was waiting for his lunch.
A man in blue
came up with meat
in large tin bowl,
and Pard devoured meat hungri...
TUESDAY
A foreign guest
Pouring over papers,
Not knowing how to fill his day.
Maybe he will hire a car
or go on a ramble.
He knew that coming here
Was a foolish gamble.
What was there?
A dairy farm;
A butterfly farm
that closed on a Tuesday.
His spirits sunk
At the thought of all
The Tuesdays yet to co...
Friday, 26 June 2015
A SHEPHERD
The only shepherd seen
was from the train,
in pouring rain...
I knew him by his crook...
"Oh look!"
One moment, then,
a proof to me that
shepherds do exist,
although few in number
near that track of tra...
THE MANGER
Moment of glory for the manger -
That it is part of the range
Of tales about Christ...
Now it has returned to the stall
Humbly, forgotten outside of the Bible.
Moment of glory for the manger -
Its link with "to eat" -
A French-learning feat...
Now we rarely think of the manger
Except for the carol, "Away in ...
BLUE MADONNA
I need to see a certain pueblo blanco,
and go in the white, high church to pray.
They have, by all reports, a blue Madonna...
I will kneel by the blue Madonna,
and pray for all the people - every one.
I'll pray they'll have good fortune in the pueblo;
that their Madonna, blue Madonna,
will see them safely Hom...
Wednesday, 24 June 2015
THE SEXAGENARIANS
This is the first wedding
for a hundred years
and they have brought out
the centenarian from her home.
She'll watch the sexagenarians
on their wedding day.
There will be no sex in their marriage,
but nonetheless we'll honour them.
There will be no children to run
to the centenarian; no babies,
but in their cottage tonight,
the sexagenarians will hold han...
Monday, 22 June 2015
Sunday, 21 June 2015
Friday, 19 June 2015
BY THE LONG CANAL
By the long canal,
the larch leaves were turning yellow.
The look of them seemed
to melt into canal.
A long line of trees was on the left,
and if you followed them,
you would reach eternity,
or so it seemed.
Anyhow, I enjoyed myself;
had a picnic by the larches;
saw the birds,
and identified a f...
Wednesday, 10 June 2015
"Take, if you must, this little bag of dreams", wrote W. B. Yeats. My poem makes use of the last four words.
****************************************************************
ONE SMALL POEM
Beryl had a little bag...
It was white and full of
precious dreams
to make you think and think
The opening was small -
enough to let one small poem out a day
Closing it was done with
silky ribbon.
It...
Monday, 8 June 2015
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Sunday, 31 May 2015
I ONLY SAW HIS BACK
I only saw his back
as the man went from the shore;
his tee-shirt was a turquoise blue
Such wide shoulders -
a turn-on for any girl,
and a firmness in his step
His hair was thick;
and now, my dear, I'm struggling,
for I only saw his back
I will him to have children,
that man whose back I saw...
many children, who will run across the shore...
Sunday, 24 May 2015
IN THE SWEATSHOP
Working for peanuts,
Peta was sewing,
knowing her garments
would grace Princess Grace
Working, still smiling,
the dollars weren't piling
up in her piggy bank
down at the bank
Working for peanuts,
but she wasn't a monkey
Shame on the 'monkeys'
without shame on their fa...
Thursday, 21 May 2015
TRICK PLAY
Not yesterday,
but days further, far far back,
but even then I could be wrong,
for memories trick play
Not tomorrow,
but way, way ahead in time,
but even then I could be wrong,
having no use for crystal ball
Not today,
for you do not know me,
and privacy is guarded
like a mink coat given sudden...
SUSAN'S NECK
Susan's neck was like a swan's -
the first you noticed...
white and tapering,
with a white necklace.
Sometimes you found yourself
looking at her neck
instead of eyes or mouth.
It was strangely done!
You soon lost the drift
of what she said,
for her neck had a life of its own,
shifting, not trusting you or anyone...
Tuesday, 19 May 2015
IN THE CRAZY CANTEEN
In the crazy canteen,
people threw plates
and let off steam...
The real canteen was somewhere else.
That one was an oasis of calm,
and people ate from plates quietly.
It was a place to talk to the boss
and hint at maybe, rises.
But in the crazy canteen,
the bosses did not go.
It was just for workers evidently,
throwing knives and for...
Thursday, 14 May 2015
THE CAMPUS
The campus spreadeagled
a long, long way,
and students would lose
their bearings
Paths short shrifted
all the telling signs
Islands of trees and meadow flowers
thought to smooth the worried brows
of newer students
mishmashing timetables
and forgetting
why they had come
Checking mobile phones
to see if dad had sent the payments,
and walking the long way round
to low-built dormitories
under...
Thursday, 30 April 2015
Stormy
"Through a glass darkly",
(referencing St. Paul),
and the glass was darker
than I imagined really.
In long voyages, through portholes,
I thought of the glass again,
and wondered how the sea,
the greyish sea, would look.
I bet stormy!
The gloomy glass
would go overboard on stormy,
and make us all afra...
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