Clouds

 White vapour wings are flying east

And we watch them like we are birds
Hawks of day hovering near to shore
To hunt truth in all its soft precision
Grey clouds strafe rapidly over the sky
They take away the last of the snow

Winter Solstice

On the hallowed winter solstice rejoice

Sun shall rise like a shrunken potentate
Disappear away so soon to night like regret
Yet the war is over but for the reparation
And with their bluestone heels to the east
See light walk upon the Stonehenge monoliths
And so is wound the great clock of antiquity
And the king now renewed begins to ascend
Ready for summer among his beloved Sarsens

The Plan

To have a to-do list; then to carry it out

Good intentions alone are not what it's about
If you value your work than make a plan
Back it up now before the poo hits the fan
I have written for weeks of all I was able
Now all is lost surely as though it were fable
So now on file I shall keep my spidery hand
Till all my work is safe just like I had planned

Vanguard

Clouds roll in from the sea; the first vanguard of change

They break upon land unseen but who would be sentinel here?
To witness this vision coalescing under the high sundered layer
And none may now ascend to it and study the retreating waves
That fall back under a swift setting sky to leave the west in ruin

Howl

Inside the dreaming

The dog howls
Opens his throat
To airy nocturnal song
Like a nightingale
Lost in the gloom
And for me what hurts
It is always in darkness
When he is alone

Colossus

The colossus of an endless length

Size is the guarantee of strength
The immovable fixed within space
Ancient monolith of timeless grace
And all its windows of empty light
Kiss the world in transparent might

Swans

Swans flow across glass lawns

They shimmer in winter sunlight
Icebergs gliding upon a frozen lake
To fade distant with a fleeting grace  
Transitory as snow falling on water

What

The tall tree of hope clad in a bark of ages

That now fissures and shreds down to earth
Like gulls that catch stale bread on the wing
Or a windmill entrapping the world's breath
Then of what may exit and what may stay
When dreams begin to cut upon the edge of day
And all I wish is to take my leave to a pardon
Like an unwilling debt, years of neglect harden
When night gives way again to yet more light
Who will kiss the wind and say goodnight

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