Walking with my younger self

We walked across Russell Square -

Behind us, the dark reef of the hotel -

Plane trees shaded the path -

The fountains were stilled -

This was the heart of my city of memory and dream -

I'd stretched out here on the summer grass -

I'd held a book open in my hand -

Looked up, between shining leaves, at a flawless sky -

Now I walked with my daughter and grandson past serene facades -

I knew each door, each gracious window -

Following us, invisible and slender, my younger self -

Close to me, almost touching, murmuring in my ear, still beautiful - 

Russell Square 

London 

August 2025

Waking to love

Anne was first in the river -

I watched her swim, her body dear to me, barely stirring the water -

Poplar trees touched the summer sky -

I remembered seeing her swimming from a windswept beach -

Standing afterwards on the sand -

Throwing back her hair -

Behind us were orchards, churches in quiet villages, a sunlit room -

The thought that every morning we would wake to love -

Salisbury 

August 2025

Playing bar football with Wallace

Spinning the players - 

Both of us laughing -

Wallace leaping as he spins - 

The tiny white ball whirling into my goal -

Wallace looking up from the tangled players -

Love flying into my heart with his smile -

Purbeck Sports Centre 

Wareham 

August 2025

My eyes as blue as his eyes

Jake says he wants to touch the sky -

Higher and higher on the swing -

 When I push him, years fall from me -

I see the world made new -

My eyes are as blue as his eyes -

My bones as green - 

Victoria Park 

Salisbury 

August 2025

Words fall upon me

Anne follows Jake into the river -

She tucks up her dress, baring her legs -

I know her body, its shape and skin -

I have a memory of her kiss -

The sky is reflected in the water - 

Words fall upon me from the air -

Salisbury 

July 2025