Wallace wears a Bakerboy Cap ...

We would count the gold coins before the tide turned -

Learning my numbers -

Holding the coins in my hands - 

Our two courses marked - 

The islands we would discover - 

The treasures hidden on white shores -

You wearing your Bakerboy's cap - 

Your promise of years - 

December 2022

Afternoon in The Cosy Club ...

The year ending -

Only three more days -

Remembering reading Cavafy -

Here, in The Cosy Club -

The cobwebs in my hair -

The fringed lampshade, that sad painting -

All I see and feel -

That spire, the shapes of words on my tongue -

Pushing away shadows -

Finding that golden thread -

Holding it tight - 

Opening my eyes 

December 2022

The Cosy Club

Salisbury 

Wallace called my name ...

Steam filled the twisting valley - 

Moorlander carried joy across a chill land -

The bright river ran over stones - 

Wallace called my name - 

Sorrow left the world - 

The trees were green again -

December 2022

Grosmont

Yorkshire 

Amongst the marvels ...

The great house was a nest of dreams -

Satined courtiers danced -

A giant bellowed in a noble hall -

Slim witches beguiled green boys - 

Marble pillars supported an airy dome - 

Strange blueness crept across a painted wall - 

A jewelled feast was set out in a shining room - 

Here, amongst the marvels, I heard the world had changed -

Castle Howard

December 2022

Air filled with stories ...

Wallace had hot chocolate in the magic cafe -

We walked back through the windswept streets - 

There was a mysterious sky above us - 

The air was filled with stories -

December 2022

Scarborough 

There was still Broadway ...

The wind from the sea stung our faces -

Anne sang the words whilst she danced -

I remembered all our gaudy nights -

All those smoky kisses -

The trombones shone -

The song cast its spell -

There was still Broadway - 

There were still bells ringing out for Christmas Day -

Scarborough 

December 2022

The gift of his smile ...

Logs smoulder in the northern fireplace - 

Outside, lampposts glimmer in icy streets -

Snow falls on white hotels - 

Villas are dark behind frozen laurels -

A green star hangs from the Christmas tree - 

Wallace brings me the gift of his smile -

17 December 2022

Scarborough 

A white sun came down from the sky ...

Mulled wine scented the air -

I read a few pages of Dance, Dance, Dance -

There were bare poplar trees across the river -

Dreams waited for me -

A white sun came down from the sky -

The Granary

Wareham

December 2022

How do you like your blue-eyed boy?

I saw the battered annual in a Sue Ryder -

Its thrilling pages were half hidden behind sad shirts - 

I remembered a pale sky - 

The laconic student teacher - 

The quiet children from the farms -

Annick's smile, her bronze bracelet -

e e cummings' poem -

buffalo bill's defunct - 

I'd gone on to see Annick's blue-eyed boy -

I'd heard his story -

I'd seen the arms around his neck -

The words from the poem still haunted me -

How do you like your blue-eyed boy Mr Death?

Dorset 

December 2022

Under the bridge ...

Under the bridge were reefs of books - 

Hoodied booksellers sipped takeaway coffees -

An Uber boat swept down the river -

I found a foxed Waugh -

I breathed London air -

The magic of thr evening still clung to me - 

South Bank 

London

November 2020

Magical light ...

I walked past The Masala -

Magical light fell on the stone pier - 

The choir sang their songs - 

I remembered the women singing in the fragrant bay -

The air scented with resin - 

For a while we were all beautiful - 

Brown from the sun -

Salt in our hair -

December  2022

Swanage 

South Bank ...

I ate a fiery curry on the South Bank -

I was still hungover from the red in The Royal  Sovereign -

I turned up the collar of my tweed -

Walked by the timeless river -

Saw shining towers -

The thin shards of a cathedral - 

South Bank

London

November 2022

Shadow tree ...

Looking up, I saw a shadow tree -

I stood in the courtyard -

Clouds like torn feathers drifted across the sky - 

A shadow Branch touched an attic window -

I had my own shadow, too -

It would follow me into the cathedral -

I would feel its breath against my neck -

My dark twin, whispering my name -

Knowing every secret - 

Every corner of my heart - 

Salisbury 

November 2022

So much love ...

Jake holds up an Autumn leaf -

The newness of the world shines in his gaze -

So much wonder -

So much love - 

Salisbury 

November 2022

Joy so deep ...

I remembered the day of the wedding - 

I wore a suit the colour of the sky -

Dizzy with joy in this gracious room - 

Joy with me now in the blue of my grandson's eyes - 

A joy so deep, I could never reach its end -

Red Lion Hotel 

Salisbury 

November 2022

Each slender branch touched heaven ...

I walked through the mist -

The white field was a silent world - 

The winding path took me to the birch trees -

They held me in the memory of that afternoon -

I felt their slow heartbeats -

They shared their long dreams - 

Here I walked with those who were invisible - 

I heard their voices still - 

This was my immanent grove - 

Each slender branch touched heaven -

December 2022

East Stoke 

Dorset 

in Acoustic ...

I paid for a flat white in Acoustic -

I'd walked past exquisite shops -

I'd seen an Eden in a florists - 

A sleek bravo in a Turkish Barbers -

I sat under mannered decorations -

A courtly waiter bought my flat white in a beautiful cup -

A Hugo spoke softly to his friend - 

Already my heart was racing -

I sipped the coffee -

It was getting dark -

Soft rain rain fell on Church Street - 

November 2022

Church Street

London 

Bright hours falling from the sky ...

I saw clouds and sky through the lantern roof - 

Ken sat near me, almost made of air - 

 Last night, I'd held his hand - 

We remembered the apple trees around the lake - 

The underground city - 

The white columns above the sea -

Moonrise -

Memory had held us close - 

I'd looked up to see stars through the roof -

Bright hours falling from the sky - 

A smile only I could see ...

Jay wore his hat - 

He would play electric piano - 

One who knew my gentle river would hold my hand - 

A smile only I could see would make me young again - 

November 2022

London 

Lifted to cloud and memory ...

I walked down a winding path under dripping trees - 

There were broken columns amongst sad greenery -

Veiled urns and lichened angels -

Here, by the path, was the name of Margaret Graham, written on new stone - 

The colour of the sky she crossed - 

High above the tangled city - 

The balloon lifting her to clouds and memory -

November 2022

Abney Park Cemetery 

London 

More dancing, more love ...

Emmy took my hand -

My heart raced whilst we danced -

I held her as we danced -

She held me too - 

Three dances - 

My heart racing, Emmy smiling -

Her hair - 

Her smile, the music - 

She had stood behind me whilst I was listening to the music - 

Watched me dancing by myself -

Came up to me and took my hand - 

We danced three times, closer and closer -

The music ended -

She said you can dance -

I wanted to hold her still - 

For there to be more dancing, more love -

November 2022

The Royal Sovereign 

Stoke Newington 

Summer's ghosts ...

I walked past winter's trees - 

Each tree cast a slanting shadow upon the pristine square -

They dreamed their green dreams - 

Summer's ghosts -

November 2022

St George's Square

Salisbury 

The warmth of their glowing leaves ...

Soft rain fell on Japanese Maple -

We walked through the silent park - 

In the house, there was a room bedecked with Spanish Leather - 

Wide stairs led upstairs to shadows -

A gallery hung with dark oils - 

Twilight came -

The silence deepened - 

I carried with me the gentle light of the trees -

The warmth of their glowing leaves - 

November 2022

Kingston Lacy

Il tempo e ignoranza ...

I'm reading Treacle Walker -

The story will stay with me, embedded in my heart -

The whitened step -

Seeing, yet not seeing -

The two gifts chosen from the shimmerings -

The music played on bone beneath the hill -

The glamourie in the eye -

The hawthorn tree -

The bird in the sky -

The whirligig in the river -

The beauty -

The strangeness - 

Il tempo e ignoranza -

November 2022

The Old School House

East Stoke 

Dorset

Remembering Gaza ...

I ate Cajun Chicken in Rob's Filling Station -

The air smelled of fiery spices and diesel - 

Tas Qureshi remembered Gaza -

The lights flickering in the operating theatre - 

The beautiful poisoned sea - 

November 2022 

Rob's Filling Station

Poole

Dreams would spill from the sleeping Cathedral ...

Worn stone hid pious bone -

November light filled the Cloisters - 

I thought of M R James -

Night would come - 

Dreams would spill from the sleeping Cathedral -

November 2022

Salisbury Cathedral 

Choristers sharpened their spears ...

Choristers had sharpened spears in his classroom - 

Here was his heart of darkness -

The head on a stick -

The horror in a boy's skin - 

November 2022

Salisbury 

Living ...

I'm sitting in the bar of The Rex -

In a moment, I'll see Bill.Nighy in Living -

Severe pinstripe will hide a wounded soul -

Days like pale leaves will fall from a white sky - 

14 November 2022

The Rex

Wareham 

The Emperor's Tomb ...

I found The Emperor's Tomb near a reef of Wisdens -

A wrought iron spiral staircase led me upwards to a room choked with thrillers -

In one corner, there was a literary deckchair -

An Enid Blyton still cast its creepy spell -

We lost all track of time amongst the foxed Penguins, the sinister Arrows -

I found a shelf of Wheatleys -

The Ka of Gifford Hillary -

Unholy Crusade -

Forbidden Territory -

The love of lurid prose momently consumed me -

Downstairs, I paid for The Emperor's Tomb in small coins -

Next to the till there was a strange brass lumpen creature -

I read the tag which was tied to its neck -

Please do not feed the homunculus it read -

7 November 2022

Wild And Homeless Books

Bridport

A paradise of hats ...

Two men wearing yellow waistcoats left the hatters - 

One was barefoot - 

There were dazzling fedoras -

Sombre bowlers - 

Snappy trilbies - 

A paradise of hats - 

Neil glanced upwards -

Famous in two hemispheres he read -

7 November 2022

Bridport 

Watching the dazzling air ...

The rockets hissed past the pines - 

I remembered another bonfire - 

The yellow flower of the flames - 

White feathers of breath from my mouth - 

The cold eye of the moon - 

My eyes open to the hidden world - 

Finding the key amongst the grass - 

Placing it on my tongue - 

My heart racing - 

Watching the dazzling air - 

5 November 2022

The churchyard 

East Stoke

Dorset