Suffolk Holiday

 

 

The Holiday

 

Soft dawns and green Suffolk expanse

Long golden beaches of corn stubble

Below the azure skies of August days

A Marabou Stork and rhino horn

Herons fly as a reminder of prehistory over...

Round, turreted church towers

Formed of flint from the Saxon land

While wine flowed and food followed

On the yielding lawns of Satis House

For half a century of perfect grace

Cromer crabs may dress for the tourists

But sartorially fine tourists dress for locals

A holiday is always over before it begins

But memories; well they may last a lifetime

 

 

 

 

Kestrel

Weak

Frailty is its own reward

So I am weakened
But sometimes it is strength
For this gentle inflection
On deep oceans of hope
Keeps me afloat
When the rains come

Laughter

Laughter is the rainbow

Arcing over a teary sky
Beauty at tempest's end
But fleeting and uncertain
Yet wondrous to behold
Dictators hate laughter
It troubles obedience
And it cannot be stopped
Once it has begun
For freedom is unconditional

Wind

The wind has torn away yesterday

Filtered through cracks like a spectre
Weaved on dusty floors like a serpent
Shredding our dreams in lieu of today
No soft servant now of a hot summer day
But fearless samurai scything the trees
And our tomorrow is renewed in liberty
For when a storm comes the world changes

Dorothy

Lion, witch and no wardrobe

Tis not munchkin's I'll warrant
Or scarecrows and tin cans
Upon this road of yellow
And I am no Dorothy in gingham
But this is surely the Land of Oz
And it is not as green as supposed

Footstep

The creative plan of time is rich in promise

It moulds the soul into gentle compliance

If we but take its inclination to be at peace
And make of the day what it wills for us
If we wait we may watch a day unfurl

There is always sun hidden within clouds

Seize its favour as it unfolds its embrace

Sleep

Now the wind has passed

The birds have flown south
A thousand beating wings
That harbour longing to stay
I shall sleep perhaps awhile
Take ease in the fading days
Till the spring awakens me
And the birds return to home

Sweetness

 

This bitter stain at last undone
Sugared blood in rivulets form
On a warming steel
Sweetness bursts forth in heat
And I harvest the light of summer
To feed my long, cold winter
For jam tomorrow is labour today

Circle

So I trace a circle on the white space

It is the only thing that makes sense
That doesn't make my gentle head hurt
It is whole and perfectly in completion
Like the evolution of humanity in a dream
Secret whispers finally reveal the truth
We are at perpetual war with everything
Though we are no longer sure of what

Titan

The last open door creaks slowly shut

Or so it would seem in these days
But there is still strength in you
It is the bedrock we stand upon
So if we do not see you then remember
It is only because we do not look down
But you my special one need to look up
Stand up high; like the Titan you are
And let us fall so you can be at last free

Catalyst

We will follow our hearts

They create a catalyst for love
And if they then lead us to ruin
What sweet desolation awaits
Even if the world tastes bitter
True loves flower blooms briefly
But it matures within our hearts
And that fading flower is eternal

August Garden

First pine cones on one of the conifers (20 years waiting) - large ones too, they're hanging off the tree like bunches of bananas

A Courgette (zucchini flower)

 

The Hosta flower

 

Blue Hydrangea and Corkscrew Hazel

Peace

Harmony is imprinted in our hearts

Deliver it with human empathy
Speak no more in angry tongue
Nor with a sophistry of regrets
Talk only of our understanding
When the children are now laid
Within death's timeless vault
It hardly seems to matter anymore
Who of us was first; or was at fault?
And unless we are truly made of stone
What say you now; to a new peace?