Walk

Walk softly into the night

You do not have to wake me
But have a care for the rain
It is cold this time of year
And of sentiment; beware!
Pretend I was never there
Leave me asleep amid dragons
Or in the darkness return
And we may watch stars
Wonder of the great things
Till the sky again lightens
And the dark heavens fall

Jewels

But still the jewels of a northern street

Are the grubby kids with nowt much to eat
The social don’t care; they don’t give a spank
That's why mum's gone to the local food bank
Clothes are not so neat and manners quite bad
I blame Apple not giving the poor a free iPad
They're freezing the benefits and saving money
But they've got lots of bombs; isn't that funny?
All these poor kids will grow up in such need
And all they'll see is our short-sighted greed
It's tough at the bottom so they always say
Especially when it's done the Lancashire way

Sugar

As caramelised sugar yielding to the spoon

The leaves will crack and shatter underfoot
Till the hasty western showers come tonight
To run down the flowing slivers of moonlight
Shafts of silver breath that pierce empty branches
Onto blanketed foliage laid upon sleeping world
So I will walk softly into the moistening night
Leave you to slumber among the warm dragons
Of sentiment beware; but was life ever so sweet
In the shadows with my thoughts watching stars

Creation

Not one more piece of wood

Nor bracket or screw
My creation is complete
And I shall rest a little
Then I shall raise my henge
With its heels to the east
And let the sun walk upon it

Salt

Out in a salty bay there are no flowers

To grow in water the colour of earth
No reassuring land would be under trepidous feet
That now walk upon the luminous pearl mussel shells
Dropped by gulls onto stony ground like bombs
Crack open these eggshells of the sea and dine
And I small blob of organics in this inlet of time
Cracked apart by the inequalities of ignobleness
Take tea at the Midland hotel at quarter to three
Soft, fruited scones and mugs of hot, steaming tea
But through window what vistas arise on the other side
Rolling English hills stumble like drunks into the sea
Mountains rise like titans into dense clouds of grey
There is no snow yet to cape the rocked shoulders
Of these Cumbrian middle earth sentinels that ward us

Dray

Above the ground in tall, tall Beech

Where neither wind nor rain may harm it
The dray sits upon high as a leafy turret
Sphere in woody filigree, touching clouds
A keen eye may linger in awe over it
Now the leaves have left for earth
And in the fastness of its kingdom
The squirrel sleeps dreaming of its spoils

Song

 Summers screen now pulls back on autumn

Leaves fall; reveal the empty filigree vistas
Wooded casements without a green drapery
But then softly a twittering murmur comes
Wanders and flutters to ears; the notes of pleasure
Upon naked branches, yellow and blue is still seen
And the Blue Tit sings its optimistic song still
For joy is ever in the world no matter the season

Druid

Would that a Druid might come

Walk with me under leafy Oaks
Between solstice and equinox
Along the invisible ley lines
We'd gather mistletoe and wood
From the apple tree boughs
Talk of the divination of sunlight
And we would raise a henge
To be our talisman and protector
Not of stone, but of wood
And retreat within its circle
And wait withal until spring

Winter

What may winter do?

When it comes soon
Sweeping down brown vales
With icy, silver teeth
To gnaw upon its sibling's remains
Warmth shall desert us
Hope shrink in fading light
For a little time we are bereft
But this arc of intemperance will pass
For nothing may have totality
Not you, not I, not kings or queens
And if I lived in a deep cave
In arrogance thought to hide
I would feel winter descend above
For if it is a state of the soul
What winter may do; is renew us

Sardines

Of rock and sea on Cornish coast

Where fishermen return and sardines roast
In cabled woollens from fairest hand
Is the signature for the corpse
That makes it back to land
So I leave soon for the deep, green sea
If I never return set a light for me
Of dreams and hope we'll say no more
All was ended behind wedding door
This land is beauty in all its days
But my heart is the sea
In all its watery ways

Dare

Breathing out cold dread

As a dragon's winter fire
Blown from frosted lips
Tales telling disaster come regularly
From the last of a withering seed
So then let them wither chattering
But let us dare to hope
And let us be finally at peace

Pairs

 

The gentle Jay in rushing flight
Hides by day and sings by night
Lives its life without most cares
And always seen in mated pairs

The raucous magpie in hopping dance

Is always looking to take a chance
When seen alone sorrow will come
But see a pair and good fortune is done
 
The black night sky upon his wing
Guttural crow never learned to sing
Often he can seem to be all alone
But always close his mate does roam
 
The carrion birds of town and field
Omens tell of the fear they wield
Seen about in all kinds of weather
And always they are seen together

Autumn

Autumn has come forward as heir
Queen of rot and discolouration
Leaves swarm about her feet
Settle and roll unto the wind stills
As she walks upon dwindling grass
Autumn begins her reign of ruin
And all that moves flees to home
Or else dies upon her frosty touch

Rainbow

The black void of celestiality lies above us

From out night airs fountains of colour appear
A slow animation drawn of rainbow sparks
Pyrotechnic canvas in celebration of triumph
Or would that it should seem that way to us
Lest we forget its true meaning; its merciless loss
Of the last man to enter parliament with integrity
Though misplaced it was sincere in its dark belief
And now on November the fifth of each year
Four nations celebrate the redemption of the king
Where within each realm a quarter of Guy Fawkes resides

Ingenuity

When ingenuity and a sense of justice fail
Slips into miasma of familiarity and comfort
To diminish progress for a thousand years
Or that progress stifle and shall never reappear
Still birthed by our ancient traditions of greed
Till we are fashioned futile indentured shadows
Puppet men stringing bow from empty quiver
And love has all but left the world for me
Then (only then) will I cry the world is unfair

Autumn Colour

Tulip Tree leaves

Subterranean

But there is no light underground

Deep below the Yorkshire Moors
No scared flame or flickered match
To shoulder awe and wonders catch
Water was the fuel of enlightenment
To smoulder away the toughest rocks
By slow drip and flow of millennia
Shape cathedral vaulted catacombs
And if a liquid can carve such marvel
Though none could see its work
Then my efforts are not wholly vain
For when you have read these words
Trickles of prose may remain behind

 

 

Stump Cross Caverns is one of Britain's premier show caves, located in Nidderdale on the border of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. We are a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and is home to some amazing natural formations...

Parthenon

This is no Parthenon I build here

No libations or offerings shall I bring
To lay with its colonnaded serenity
Deities will shun it; other will mock it
But I shall marvel and take joy in it
Though its true be false to the eye
For this was built of my cunning
And to me it a wonder of my world