Falling upwards

I'm listening to Rock the Casbah in Billy Winters -

I've ordered sardines -

It's low tide -

Gulls swagger on sandbanks -

A kitesurfer dances over the bay -

A salty wind blows in from the sea -

The sky above is cloudless -

I imagine falling upwards -

Lost in the blue - 

Billy Winters 

Portland 

March 2026 

The welcome of their doors

Spring sunlight on white blossoms -

 The blueness of the sky -

 The quiet of St John's Hill -

The gentle histories of its houses -

Their low ceilinged rooms -

The welcome of their doors -

Wareham 

March 2026 

Watching Vera

Vera frowns -

She's had no sleep - 

On CCTV the suspect looks like a malign ghost -

March 2026

The apples he ate in Alma Ata

I drink coffee with Peter amongst his books -

He talks about Russia -

The circus in Moscow -

Pushkin -

The Field of Mars -

The apples he ate in Alma Atta -

Watching Colombo

Colombo chews his green cigar -

Narrows his crinkly eyes -

He's questioning the murderous sheikh -

You may have something there he says -

I have to ask some questions -

March 2026

Each branch a promise

Rob plants the cherry tree -

He digs with a shining spade -

Each branch a promise -

A sweetness waiting for my tongue -

East Stoke 

March 2026 

Top boy

Rob still has the swagger of a top boy -

That bounce in his walk -

The brilliant mischief of his eye -

East Stoke 

March 2026