NIgel's dreadlocks

I miss Nigel's dreadlocks -

His bright clever eyes -

How he wore shorts even when the air was icy -

Rescued donkeys -

Could quote Berkman -

Got up at dawn to walk the salty lanes above the bay -

Thin body casting a trickster's shadow -

Sharing his stories -

The anarchists in Budapest -

Picking apples for dizzying cider in Britanny -

Being a roadie for the young Ian Drury -

Showing his scars from The Battle of the Beanfield -

Now living in his van somewhere in Scotland -

A sly angel with a beguiling tongue -


November 7 2026 

As though an angel had heard my voice

The branches of the apple tree caught stars -

A pine tree in the churchyard held the moon - 

The air was still - 

It was as though an angel had heard my voice -

Knew all the secrets of my heart - 

November 6 2026

How few years left

Darling Sophie rings -

I hear her voice in the bright kitchen -

How few years left to love her -

November 5 2026

The day slowly becoming night

The louche bookseller smiled his slow unsettling smile -

He had jet black hair -

He tapped the cover of Kolyma Tales, then that of a Poppy Z Brite -

Interesting he said -

They came in today -

I'd seen a worn Eliphas Levi -

Dogma and Ritual of High Magic amongst a nest of lurid Sci Fi -

I ordered a cappuccino -

Turned icy pages, then steamy ones -

Watched creatures go by -

Felt the day slowly becoming night -


The Crooked Book
Boscombe
Bournemouth

November 4 2026

Breathing that empty air

Mel laughs -

Remembering Cook at the football -

A booming Dagenham laugh -

For a moment I forget his fall -

The white stairs to the ward -

Breathing that empty air -

November 4 2026 

Any moment a call may come

I look at my phone -

Its bland screen, like a courtier's face -

Any moment a call may come -

November 2 2026 

When Jake smiled all care left the world

When Jake smiled all care left the world -

There were joyous leaves on the trees -

The wind carried songs from heaven - 

Salisbury 

November 1 2026