LAWNS

Lawns, light green, in preference,
Accompanying gated homes 
With great magnificence.
Nicely irrigated...
Silence in this heat.

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JACINTH

Jewellery - jacinth willed to me.
Auntie wired into my appreciation...
(Centred on jacinth years ago.)
Is so adored!
No other jewel can it stand against;
Tops all, and
Heavenly to see.

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LEOPARDS

Leopards in Livorno

Must miss their nature way;

No hunting in their cage

Or walking place...

Zoos were not made for this.

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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 hungrily.

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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 come.

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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 train.

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season's transhumance

sheep are returning from hills

clouds mimic the backs

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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 a".

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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 Home.

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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 hands.

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GRAVES

Graves for mariners,
leaning towards the sea,
a lot lop-sided
as if seasick

Gravely now,
we went towards the graves,
the sea churning,
then marinating green

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On a white horse
she came riding
and the stirrups jangled
like percussion
into Peter's life

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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 few.

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"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 was white and long and as lovely
as the dreams

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An iron cat,

stiff with wondering

down the dusty road

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           Her love knowledge missing,

    no better than if she were in a nunnery,

 with only Devotions to slow-speed the day.

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JOY JARS

Joy jars in a council flat
with not much money
No joy in that...
Joy jars in care in the community

Joy jars in difficult lives
with no prospect of upward promotion.
Annoying little word
teasing by its unlikely presence often

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