Another cure for melancholy

Another cure for melancholy -

Being with Wallace in Filey -

Wallace driving the ball down the fairway -

A warm sea wind through the trees -

The scent of the grass -

The gentle sky -

Wallace handing me a club -

You'll need a putter, chief -

I no longer think of my sleepness nights -

Of what I may be told -

Filey

April 2026

Early morning in Scarborough

Awakening trees in Royal Avenue -

Salty sunshine -

Stroppy gulls -

In Ramshill Sainsburys, a gaffer who smells of iron filings -

Buying a pristine Yorkshire Post -

Deja Brew just opening -

Remembering the dancing greybeard I saw yesterday -

Dancing in a cloud of weed -

A morning ahead of me with two of my darlings -

Each day precious -

Like holding water in my cupped hands -

Scarborough 

April 2026

The Italian Gardens

I followed a winding path to the Italian Gardens -

Sunlight fell on blossom and bright greenery -

White pillars framed a view of the sea -

A young naked god faced the blueness of the sky -

The air was warm -

Full of memory and dream -

As though I were at last awake -

Opening my eyes to what I had never seen -

The Italian Gardens 

Scarborough 

April 2026

In Woodend

A flat white in Woodend -

The murmur of creatives' voices - 

Pristine spaces -

Exquisite ceramics -

The painting of Edith Sitwell -

The dew falling on her eyes -

The glimpses of the white hotels through the floor to ceiling window -

The pale northern sky -

Woodend 

Scarborough 

April 2026

He's just hanging around

Sitting in the garden of Number 53 -

Gulls weaving between the chimney pots on salty wings -

Dazzle of blossom above my head -

Chilled Carling in my glass -

Remembering playing pool with Wallace -

The Stranglers on Spotify -

Hugh Cornwall singing he's just hanging around -

Scarborough 

April 2026

My spirit as light as his

I play table tennis with Wallace in the attic room -

Below us, salty roofs face the sea -

Hitting the ball with a lurch of my bat, I  wish that I was younger -

My hair no longer white -

My spirit as light as his -

My eye as pure -

Scarborough 

April 2026

The bed

Birdsong -

Sunlight through the trees -

Sleepless hours -

The bed where I found no comfort -

Woodhall

April 2026