Becoming smoke

Suddenly standing at the edge of the world - 

The four pine trees - 

The still sea - 

The memory of summer - 

 

Hearing those words - 

Becoming smoke -

South Beach

Studland 

December 2023

Remembering sand in my hair

I'm watching David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia - 

I remember seeing the film with my dad - 

The mad beauty of Aurens -

The burning sky - 

Stumbling, later, down from the balcony - 

Out into the small streets, sand in my hair - 

December 2023

Steeped in moonlight

Soon it will be dark -

Night falling on the bare tree -

The house is silent - 

Each room listening - 

I'm reading Norwegian Wood -

I'm steeped in moonlight - 

December 2023

DIzzy with love

There was the toy train - 

The long necked dinosaur - 

The garden beyond the window -

I still saw his smile - 

How blue his eyes were - 

Making me dizzy with love - 

The Old School House

East Stoke

December 2023

Boxing Day in Swanage

Jane wore her long coat - 

Charlie held Jake's hand - 

I heard the laughter of Boxing Day swimmers - 

The Town Crier's bell -  

My heart beating - 

The gentle voice of the quiet sea - 

December 2023

Swanage 

The Police Chief's Gaze

She shaped bronze with her magic -

Water dripped from her wild curls - 

Here there was terror and beauty - 

The anguish of the fugitive -

The pitiless gaze of the police chief - 

The nakedness of his prey - 

Elizabeth Frink Exhibition

Dorset Museum

December 2023

His generous glass

We drink Amontillado in the kitchen -

There's delicate guitar - 

Pistachios -

Jane remembers Christmas Eve in Karabortlen - 

The scent of the pine trees -

Stories of Africa - 

Mr Singh - 

Ken, laughing, holding his generous glass -

East Stoke

December 2023

 

Vigil

There had been birdsong in your garden - 

Your mother's smile -

You came from where there was a different sky -

Your friends remember you - 

They stand here, in this cruel place -

We carry the shame -

Portland 

December 2023

Driven by joy

Jake reaches out to the radio -

He leans forward, smiling, towards the windscreen - 

The car is driven by joy - 

Salisbury 

December 2023

Sand in the streets

I'm reading The Sheltering Sky -

Some words there take me back to the city of rose red walls - 

The desert between the city and the ocean - 

How I felt watching swallows in the twilight sky -

Walking through the tangled greenery of the garden - 

The brown bodies in the pool - 

The square with the card players -

The boy in the second hotel - 

Toujours l'ennui - 

The words in the book - 

Sand in the streets, a few palms, hot sun, sadness always -

December 2023

Years falling from the sky

I wore my long red scarf -

The wind stirred the poplar trees -

Winter had taken their leaves - 

I heard their slow heartbeats - 

Fish dreamed in the river - 

Words flew through the air - 

I felt the years falling from the sky - 

A small hand in mine -

The shape of a smile -

The buttons of a coat I'd never fastened - 

Wareham

December 2023

They kill poets

I shall fly a kite - 

I shall look up to see your name -

Look for you amongst the angels -

Your words were beautiful - 

You knew what would fall from the sky -  

I shall breath you in and shout your name - 

December 2023