Ancient crafts by the lake ...

The sculptor carved runes in the flawless stone - 

He was a carver of ritual stones - 

I watched him chisel magic - 

Nearby was a spirit of fire cast in metal - 

A girl shaped exquisite bowls - 

There was a pool like a dark mirror - 

A lake reflected clouds and sky - 

I stood in awe of these ancient crafts - 

Before my eyes I saw beauty being born - 

13.29

Wednesday 30 May 2018

Pallington 

The same wine dark sea ...

So soon our new world was dear to us - 

We sat together after dark, no longer strangers - 

We'd seen each other's skin - 

We walked the same high paths - 

We swam in the same wine dark sea - 

May 2018

Sunset 

A cure for melancholy ...

Swimming, as ever, was a cure for melancholy - 

We shed our clothes as though they were memories to forget - 

The gentle sea held us up under the bright sky - 

We swam towards the white yachts - 

I felt as if each wave would wash away my years - 

I would stretch out on the sand as a boy again - 

Another sun would shine above my head - 

Those who were gone would be with me once more - 

I remembered the stone house, the cool floors of the high ceilinged rooms - 

I heard the bells ringing in the evening - 

The moon and the stars were newly made - 

A soft voice in my ear drove away all darkness - 

11.00

Monday 28 May 2018

South Beach 

Studland 

Dorset 

 

Adil's song ...

Adil put down his cigarette -

We listened to his song - 

All his strength, all his longing, were in that song -

He stood before us, his soul open to our gaze - 

19.55

Saturday 12 May 2018

Kapikargin

The Monaghan Jig ...

Walking in the twilight garden, I heard the music of Irish whistles - 

The swallows fell from the sky - 

The air was still and golden - 

Jane and Katie were playing The Monaghan Jig - 

For a moment, I felt the soft rain of Kerry against my face - 

Waves broke upon the ancient shore - 

I saw three bright fish upon the dawn grass - 

Thursday 17 May 2018

Karabortlen 

Remembering swimming at Winspit ...

New born lambs explored their green world - 

We breathed air scented by Elderflower blossom - 

A deer watched us with gentle wary eyes - 

A yacht sailed on the calm pale sea - 

Winspit lay below us - 

A cool breeze stirred the bright flowers - 

I remembered swimming here, slipping off the rocks into the water - 

I'd looked back at the land, then up at the twilight sky - 

11.00

Friday 25 May 2018

Winspit

Dorset 

Richard's flying to Manila ...

Richard's flying to Manila -

He's reading the noble verses of an imprisoned poet - 

The Air China stewardess offers coffee - 

Rain is falling upon the wounded city - 

Fragile children sleep on its pavements - 

The dangerous islands are beautiful - 

The lights of the city net the stars -

May 2018

The first sentence ...

I'm back once more amongst my friends - 

I run my fingers down their spines - 

I read the first sentence of a book my father loved - 

In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains - 

19.51

Wednesday 23 May 2018

The Old School House

East Stoke

Dorset 

English sunlight ...

I woke up in English sunlight - 

Beyond the window were fields of buttercups, a quiet wood on a hill - 

Under the hazy sky there was a church tower - 

Birds sang amongst tender rooftops - 

I lay with Anne upon the high bed -

She wore her brown skin unaware of its beauty - 

Around us were wonders - 

A young Alexander rode naked into legend - 

A minotaur pushed against a mirror, searching for a golden thread - 

A lute waited for the touch of subtle fingers - 

The white walls of each room had been blessed to keep out sorrow - 

This deep valley was a place for dreams and gentle magic - 

09.32

Tuesday 23 May 2018

Compton Martin

Waiting at the gate ...

We're in the airport - 

I'm looking down at shuffling humanity - 

Russian boys with shaven heads offer up their passports - 

Exit visas are stamped with a weary flourish -

Polish girls linger in duty free - 

The beautiful jets wait for us outside the terminal - 

The sky is full of stars - 

22.31

Monday 21 May 2018

Dalaman Airport  

Leaving the garden ...

I looked for the crescent moon in the warm night sky - 

There it was, above the marble house - 

The silent garden was planted with darkness - 

The mountains were hidden from my sight - 

Light spilled from the kindly rooms - 

So many memories walked the fragrant paths that I could not count them - 

I heard again the welcoming greetings - 

I felt once more the warmth of sudden laughter - 

I knew that I would leave a portion of myself within this garden - 

My wonder at its beauty - 

My sorrow at our parting - 

19.22

Friday 18 May 2018

Karabortlen 

Picking loquats ...

We walked through the grove of orange trees - 

Dark greenery cast fragrant shadows - 

In the well house, the circle of water mirrored our faces - 

We took the loquats back to the gracious house - 

I walked barefoot on the warm marble of the terrace - 

Each moment was another pearl of memory - 

09.44

Saturday 19 May 2018

Karabortlen 

The baker's wife ...

We stopped for bread in the village - 

Anne bought four loaves - 

I remembered how I'd wake up in the small house on the hill - 

I'd walk down the steps to the awakening street - 

I'd hand over my worn coins for the newly made bread - 

Six years had passed -  

Yet the baker's wife still greeted Anne with the same gentle smile - 

13.11

Wednesday 16 May 2018

Karabortlen 

Oleanders and clouds ...

I'm sitting in the shade of oleanders - 

The beautiful garden drowses in the sun - 

A red dragonfly settles on the marble path -

I have no need for the watch I wear - 

I will tell my time by the movement of clouds - 

I will measure my green years by the flights of swallows - 

16.54

Thursday 17 May 2018

Karabortlen

 

Swallows ...

We shared the pool with swallows - 

I watched them fly through the joyous air - 

They left their names written in the water - 

Their wings were shaped like an angel's smile - 

16,42

Tuesday 15 May 2018 

Karabortlen 

Balli gozleme

I'm about to eat balli gozleme in Akyaka market - 

Unshaven bravos guard 15 lira tee shirts -.

Ancients sleep in white plastic chairs - 

Village women sell purslane and fennel - 

Pine cones fall from scorched branches - 

I phones chirrup - 

The waiter smiles - yabangis he thinks - 

He brings us the gozleme - 

Honey gilds my tongue - 

12.07

Wednesday 16 May 2018

Akyaka