When I saw you

When I saw you, I longed to hold you -

You were wearing a green dress -

I'd not seen you wearing a dress before -

I said how lovely you were -

I wanted to say far more -

And, later, we sat in a cafe with another -

And I was silent, looking at you -

Feeling guilt and love -

Java 

Swanage 

July 2026 

An excellent young golfer

I followed Wallace and Peter from green to green -

I felt the cool wind from the bay -

The shape of a memory forming in my hand -

Wallace's smile, his graceful drive -

Peter's words -

The brightness of the sky -

Purbeck Golf Course 

July 2026 

Anne swimming in the river

Anne swam upstream, barely stirring the water -

It was late afternoon -

The river flowing past gardens shaded by old apple trees -

The sun still hot in the cloudless sky -

Swallows flying above the water meadows -

Church bells ringing in the gentle town -

Abbot's Quay 

Wareham 

July 2026 

The bluest of heavens

Mavis listens to me reading The Tiger Who Came To Tea -

Her eyes widen -

They are as blue as the bluest of heavens -

The Old School House

East Stoke 

July 2026 

Wild joyous cricket

Sophie's gang play wild joyous cricket in the garden -

Wallace bowls a bouncer -

Paul hits a six into the churchyard -

Long shadows fall across the grass -

Later there will be a crescent moon -

A white curved bone in the twilight sky -

The Old School House 

East Stoke

July 2026 

Chilling with Wallace

Chilling with Wallace -

Watching The Chase -

Jodie's incredulous smile when she wins a grand -

The Old School House -

East Stoke

July 2026 

Implacable hoods

Jake and Otis were implacable hoods -

Enforcers for Bugsy Seigel -

Cornering me in the garden -

Drenching me with icy water from their pistols -

Washing away my years -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

July 2026