Poldark

What may a man see from a coast?

Where the timbers still land
From long gone galleons
Now sailing a shifting seabed
And if we could dare to look
What else is cast from sea?
A mermaid with auburn hair
Under the gaze of such a man
In a three-cornered hat,
Unfurling brown, crescent, curls
Laced around grey-green eyes
And a flowing voice of copper
And what he may see from the coast
She espied from the sea long ago
And ever thus loved
Cornwall's Heathcliffe
And became his Demelza

Wasps

We are the winged sharks of the air

We take well above our insect share
And only by our determined stealth
Are you guaranteed harvest wealth
To pollinate the pretty flowers is fine
But upon destructive bugs our young dine
And without us the flowers cannot be
And then there would be no loved honeybee

Civilisations

Twas a world of baths and vanity

That sits under watchful eye
Of the lost memory of Atlantis
For is not this Greek tragedy
Only a game of civilisation
That Rome trumped and bettered
Till the volcano took the prize
While Titus watched from Rome

Herculaneum

Pompeii

 

Villa Cimbroni Ravello

Where green meets blue
And coasts are guarded
By marble sentinels
Fashion a vista of awe
An eyrie of relaxation
Clinging to the very air
Seamless and timeless
Infinity captured in grace

Amalfi and Capri

Nothing may come here

And be unmoved
To visit Italy
Is to wish to stay
To wish to leave
Is to feel nothing

Herculaneum

Colours of ancient history

Still sharp as fire
Blue and ochre, gold and pomegranate
In Herculaneum
Under the shadow of fading cone
Who painted the frescoes?
And did they know
They would be seen
Two thousand years from now
Like the brush just left the wall

Sorrento

The greater heat

Is closer now
Sheds warmth
Illuminates softness
On butterflies wings
From volcanic soils
Surges green veils
And out of history
Are living tales
This is Italy

Beat

A flower bloomed to fade

Petals spent on slowing skin
Drums in the darkness
Progressive, flowing, throb
Taut, supple, heartbeats
From rhythm to silence
To weaken in the heat of night
And summer begins
After temperate wait
To begin on the beat of growth

April Colour

Small

The world is small at 3 o' clock

When I wake upon matressed dock
Ache and discomfort may stir a man
When age reveals its painful plan
But learn to enjoy the sojourn at night
The stumble and fall to reach the light
Disturb the dog and make the tea
Wonder if this happens only to me
Bring needed rest to my wearied soul
To sleep through night is my dear goal

Records

 

A vinyl revival is reported today
For some of us it never went away
We cut adulthood upon this black stuff
It was just about music; and it was enough
Formats changed and the world moved on
The noise of scratch and pop, long, long gone
Modern music is not really for me
The digital WAV and the dreaded mp3
I need something physical to actually touch
Mechanical and analogue we can love so much
And soon the young may come to understand
Why pay to see a masterpiece only on demand
When you can hold the original in your hand
Music's commerce was always pretty shameless
And format wars proved very good for business

Dance

The lily pad grows upon watery field

Sits atop the glimmer and highlight
And the fly dances over these vapours
Skims pearlescent water like a kamikaze
He does not lament any lack of frogs
For he is safe to try acrobatics unhindered

Secrets

What secrets some keep

In vaults buried deep
Perhaps jewels of history
With new owners of mystery
And the necessity of needs
Sprouts from bitter seeds
What we covet and desire
Lights an insatiable fire
And of a loss you may weep
For things never yours to keep
But nothing can ever be secure
While the world has its poor
Always the truth must be told
That life is still worth less than gold

Pondlife

A fluid skin unpierced by wind
Immobile sheen reflecting blue sky
The pond is hushed now
Silent as a watery grave
Nothing stirs, nor croaks
And where are you?
Amphibious changelings
Flippered mermaids of muddy margin
Winter was kind; spring benign
What malignant threat ensued?
The pond is silent now
Its spring ambassadors absent
And my head argues calm
But the heart is ill at ease
Lest the world is running down
And each new spring is made smaller

Ghost

I saw a ghost today
In the dimness
I thought it was you
But in another time
And it read my thoughts
To know where to stand
So when I look around
It always catches my eye
To remind me
Honour my memories
Before I go to sleep
Lest it part from shadow
And terrorise the gloom

Easter Pictures

Robbie being braver than normal

 

 

Wide shot of bridge and dapplement

 

I lay here in the garden looking at the sky the other day

 

 

The first peacock on the heather

 

Moss cushions greening for spring

Robe

 

And slow comes the sunny elven bride

The world is not dressed for spring
Morning robed bare in misty layers
Wefts of night linking slender saplings
But in robes of gold and royal blue
Enfolded about in green elven cloak
She enters radiant as the first morning
To sing to us of her wondrous growth
Even if spring, she is awakening late

Easter

Easter comes early but not too soon

Mighty music to fade and wither
To sing to us of wondrous growth
Yet the world is awakening late
Under the cool April skies
Bees still sleep on in peace
Food reserves now almost gone
Frogs remain deep in the mud
Carousing and spawning on hold
Their pearls do not like the cold
 No clouds lie upon smoothest sky
The flat blue sweeps away darkness
Onto the shelf of April day
And the morning mist covers all
Like a curtain before a show
Today reveals the magic of creation

Rage

 

Exit the hive cloud
Decamp to unwilling earth
Buoyed by swirling wind
Swarming droplets
With icy barbed, sting
Rage upon glass as rain
Then dissipate into night
To burrow into eager earth