More footsteps

Wind in the birch trees -

Fox gloves amongst bracken -

Water lilies in a dark pool -

Glimpsing a deer's delicate head, its gentle eyes -

Coming at last to the silent beach -

More footsteps behind me on the winding path -

Arne 

June 2026

See the history of our friendship in your face

I'm thinking of Richard -

How he's still part of my life -

How I hope he will forgive me for being silent -

I remember the glasses of Sancerre in The American Bar -

The poetry in The Square Tower -

Watching John Agard roll a joint in Joe Jackson's house -

The crates of Gales HSB in the boot of the MG Magnette -

Standing by the jukebox in The Red White and Blue with the lost boys -

All his adventures -

Moscow, Vientiane, Zanzibar -

And the years like a wave coming down  -

The scans, the vast hospital -

I must see you -

See the history of our friendship in your face -

June 2026 

In Jenny's soft play

Anne reads The Smiley Shark to Jake in Jenny's soft play -

Young mums sip coke -

There's bland boppy music -

A girl wearing a hijab brings french fries -

Rain falls on the five rivers -

The cathedral spire touches the clouds -

Salisbury 

June 2026

When there were no more songs

Whilst Pili sang, I watched you listening to her passionate voice - 

You were wearing a blue scarf -

Your smile when you saw me filled my world -

When there were no more songs, we held each other -

You stroked my back -

Love you you said -

June 2026 

Threads of air

Feeling myself become threads of air -

Staring at the dark window -

Lost in the dark -

June 2026 

Rain after the long hot days

Rain after the long hot days -

Paving stones cool and glistening in the garden -

Raindrops pearls on the leaves of the apple tree -

June 2026 

Hearing a blackbird sing

Hearing a blackbird sing in the garden -

The moon like a delicate jewel -

The song floating over the churchyard -

No sadness, only the beauty of the song -

Garden of the Old School House 

East Stoke 

May 2026