I heard what my heart said ...

I walked in silence -

The river was a darkening wing of silver -

I heard what my heart said -

I watched the sky change above the leafless trees - 

23 November 2021

East Stoke 

Dorset

Oh, the humanity ...

Margaret knew these mazy Northmoor Streets - 

We posted flyers through savage letter boxes - 

A vizsla watched us from a two garage home -

Gnomes gathered on a tiny lawn -

Qashqais basked in the winter sun - 

Cold callers were warned off - 

Speckled hands reached out for grab rails - 

Oh, the humanity I thought - 

22 November 2021

Northmoor 

Wareham 

Largo ...

Largo's died -

I knew his mysterious shadow - 

He was one of Pete Harris's gang - 

Pete, Largo, Shoulders, Twiglet - 

Shoulders eyeballing someone in a dive -

Pete growling by the bar - 

I never met Largo -

I only imagined him -

I saw him in a Brighton street -

His lean shadow -

Largo -

I was never meant to meet him face to face -

21 November 2021

The Old School House

East Stoke

Dorset

Years fell from the sky ...

I tasted Autumn -

I heard its music -

I saw leaves make beautiful ragged dresses - 

Years fell from the sky -

20 November 2021

Moreton

Dorset 

My young gods ...

I remembered Sunday afternoons in Palmyra Road -

Heroes in flying jackets - 

The Ferguson glowing in a corner of the lounge - 

The names of my young gods -

Dirk Bogarde - 

Michael Redgrave -

Anthony Steel -

19 November 2021

The Old School House

East Stoke 

Dorset 

She deserved a golden frame ...

I'm reading The Big Issue - 

The gentle Roumanian girl stood outside Sainsburys -

Women drove by her in their Qashqais - 

She looked as if she'd stepped from a painting -

She deserved a golden frame -

17 November 2021

Wareham 

Dorset

The edge of my world ...

Margaret and I sipped take out lattes -

The quiet river flowed past us -

Swans were elegant bullies - 

I remembered my mum's words - 

They can break your arm Tizzy -

Suddenly I was seven again - 

The edge of my world was the Post Office in San Diego Road -

15 November 2021

Wareham 

Dorset 

Dragons would shield us with their wings ...

Wallace told me he'd seen Captain Blackbeard in Grosvenor Road -

There were seafaring men drinking rum in The Italian Gardens -

I needed a new hook -

There were powder stains on my coat -

Wallace held up a map -

There was a temple lost in a jungle -

We'd sail from Scarborough town -

Dragons would shield us with their wings -

15 November 2021

The Old School House 

East Stoke

Dorset 

Finding the unsayable ...

The young curate, Solveig, spoke of the need for love -

Her grandparents had seen terrible things -

There was a white poppy pinned to my long tweed -

We marched through the town behind pipers -

The people clapped in the Sunday streets - 

We lay wreaths and looked out at the sea - 

I thought of my grandad, my mum's dad - 

Crossing the ocean with the captive horses -

Finding the unsayable under a riven sky -

14 November 2021

Swanage 

Dorset 

Blue light fell from the sky ...

I took refuge in Blaze -

I watched spooky footage of UFOs - 

Men in Black drove shadowy Pontiacs -

Hybrids were born in Lynchian suburbs -

Abductees lost time -

Blue light fell from the sky -

13 November 2021

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

I'd wear his memory around my wrist ...

I felt again the slow spell of time -

This clock with its dark figures -

I remembered wearing my first watch -

I heard my young laughter - 

Now I would wear my father's watch -

I'd wear his memory around my wrist - 

5 November 2021

The Red Lion

Salisbury 

Their names written in the November air ...

Mud splashed flyers had entered this yard - 

Horses had steamed in lantern light -

Travellers had warmed themselves before a fire of sea coals - 

They'd brushed winter from their coats - 

Left their ghosts in these ensuite bedrooms - 

Their names written in the November air - 

5 November 2021

The Red Lion 

Salisbury 

The Scaffolding Kings ...

The Scaffolding Kings swaggered up the drive - 

They smoked roll ups - 

Their worn t shirts barely contained their barrel chests -

They carried with them memories of dangerous rooftops -

They built their nests in the sky - 

They knew the secrets of chimneys - 

The siren call of the air - 

11 November 2021

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Each word would carry love ...

I ate seared sea bass with teriyaki noodles in The Cosy Club -

Tess sipped lemonade - 

I was tempted by Merlot -

Our waitress wore a long red skirt - 

Each moment bought the next day closer - 

I would read aloud my heart - 

Each word would carry love - 

5 November 2021

Salisbury 

We were all in their story ...

Tess and Charlie danced - 

The room was filled with light - 

For a moment, we were all in their story - 

Dancing with them, casting their light - 

6 November 2021

Salisbury 

Blue sky of summer ...

Somewhere, there was music - 

The moon over the cathedral -

Tess smiled her dazzling smile -

I held on to this precious story - 

I held it close to my heart - 

I felt the ice around me melt -

I saw the blue sky of summer - 

5 November 2021

Salisbury 

A sky blue suit ...

Soon I'll wear a sky blue suit - 

Love will flood my heart - 

I'll wear shoes made of air - 

4 November 2021

The Old School House

East Stoke 

Dorset 

Few walkers came this way ...

Few walkers came this way - 

The garden led me to this place - 

I could sit here, in the company of ghosts - 

Peter Quint might walk down this winding pathway - 

Fallen leaves were beneath my feet - 

I'd see the governess waiting by the fountain - 

October 31 2021

The Walled Garden

Moreton

Dorset 

I wait for a ship ...

I'm listening to John Dowland's Melancholy Galliard -

I picture myself wearing black velvet - 

I see my face in a cobwebbed mirror - 

I hold an hourglass in my hand - 

I watch the sand fall - 

I hear sad viols in a long gallery - 

I wait for a ship to the edge of the world - 

2 November 2021

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

Dorset 

The clocks whisper in the house ...

The apple tree will soon be bare - 

Its branches will net the winter moon - 

The wind shakes the pine trees - 

Rooks wait for nightfall - 

The clocks whisper in the house - 

31 October 2021

The Old School House 

East Stoke

Dorset 

Taking refuge in Lewis ...

I'm taking refuge in Lewis -

There are bags under his kindly eyes - 

Hathaway bristles in a college garden - 

Oxford sunlight falls from watchful sky - 

Morse's ghost stalks into the Bodliean - 

1 November 2021

The Old School House

East Stoke

Dorset