Sunday, August 31, 2014

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
 
 
 
 









Friday, August 22, 2014

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

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

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

Monday, August 18, 2014

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

Sunday, August 17, 2014

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

Thursday, August 14, 2014

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

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

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

Monday, August 11, 2014

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

Sunday, August 10, 2014

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

Friday, August 08, 2014

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

Wednesday, August 06, 2014

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

Sunday, August 03, 2014

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

Saturday, August 02, 2014

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?