Tuesday 23 November 2021

I heard what my heart said ...



I walked in silence -

The river was a darkening wing of silver -


I heard what my heart said -

I watched the sky change above the leafless trees - 


23 November 2021

East Stoke 
Dorset




Oh, the humanity ...



Margaret knew these mazy Northmoor Streets - 

We posted flyers through savage letter boxes - 

A vizsla watched us from a two garage home -

Gnomes gathered on a tiny lawn -



Qashqais basked in the winter sun - 

Cold callers were warned off - 

Speckled hands reached out for grab rails - 

Oh, the humanity I thought - 


22 November 2021

Northmoor 
Wareham 

Largo ...




Largo's died -

I knew his mysterious shadow - 


He was one of Pete Harris's gang - 

Pete, Largo, Shoulders, Twiglet - 


Shoulders eyeballing someone in a dive -

Pete growling by the bar - 


I never met Largo -

I only imagined him -


I saw him in a Brighton street -

His lean shadow -


Largo -

I was never meant to meet him face to face -



21 November 2021

The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset

Years fell from the sky ...


I tasted Autumn -

I heard its music -


I saw leaves make beautiful ragged dresses - 

Years fell from the sky -


20 November 2021

Moreton
Dorset 

Sunday 21 November 2021

My young gods ...



I remembered Sunday afternoons in Palmyra Road -

Heroes in flying jackets - 

The Ferguson glowing in a corner of the lounge - 


The names of my young gods -

Dirk Bogarde - 

Michael Redgrave -

Anthony Steel -


19 November 2021

The Old School House
East Stoke 
Dorset 

She deserved a golden frame ...



I'm reading The Big Issue - 

The gentle Roumanian girl stood outside Sainsburys -

Women drove by her in their Qashqais - 


She looked as if she'd stepped from a painting -

She deserved a golden frame -


17 November 2021

Wareham 
Dorset

The edge of my world ...



Margaret and I sipped take out lattes -

The quiet river flowed past us -

Swans were elegant bullies - 

I remembered my mum's words - 

They can break your arm Tizzy -

Suddenly I was seven again - 

The edge of my world was the Post Office in San Diego Road -


15 November 2021

Wareham 
Dorset 


Saturday 20 November 2021

Dragons would shield us with their wings ...



Wallace told me he'd seen Captain Blackbeard in Grosvenor Road -

There were seafaring men drinking rum in The Italian Gardens -


I needed a new hook -

There were powder stains on my coat -


Wallace held up a map -

There was a temple lost in a jungle -


We'd sail from Scarborough town -

Dragons would shield us with their wings -


15 November 2021

The Old School House 
East Stoke
Dorset 

Finding the unsayable ...




The young curate, Solveig, spoke of the need for love -

Her grandparents had seen terrible things -

There was a white poppy pinned to my long tweed -


We marched through the town behind pipers -

The people clapped in the Sunday streets - 

We lay wreaths and looked out at the sea - 


I thought of my grandad, my mum's dad - 

Crossing the ocean with the captive horses -

Finding the unsayable under a riven sky -


14 November 2021


Swanage 
Dorset 


Blue light fell from the sky ...



I took refuge in Blaze -

I watched spooky footage of UFOs - 


Men in Black drove shadowy Pontiacs -

Hybrids were born in Lynchian suburbs -


Abductees lost time -

Blue light fell from the sky -


13 November 2021

The Old School House 
East Stoke 
Dorset 

Wednesday 17 November 2021

I'd wear his memory around my wrist ...



I felt again the slow spell of time -

This clock with its dark figures -


I remembered wearing my first watch -

I heard my young laughter - 


Now I would wear my father's watch -

I'd wear his memory around my wrist - 


5 November 2021

The Red Lion
Salisbury 

Their names written in the November air ...



Mud splashed flyers had entered this yard - 

Horses had steamed in lantern light -

Travellers had warmed themselves before a fire of sea coals - 

They'd brushed winter from their coats - 

Left their ghosts in these ensuite bedrooms - 

Their names written in the November air - 


5 November 2021

The Red Lion 
Salisbury 

The Scaffolding Kings ...



The Scaffolding Kings swaggered up the drive - 

They smoked roll ups - 

Their worn t shirts barely contained their barrel chests -

They carried with them memories of dangerous rooftops -

They built their nests in the sky - 

They knew the secrets of chimneys - 

The siren call of the air - 


11 November 2021

The Old School House 
East Stoke 
Dorset 

Tuesday 9 November 2021

Each word would carry love ...



I ate seared sea bass with teriyaki noodles in The Cosy Club -

Tess sipped lemonade - 

I was tempted by Merlot -

Our waitress wore a long red skirt - 

Each moment bought the next day closer - 

I would read aloud my heart - 

Each word would carry love - 


5 November 2021

Salisbury 

We were all in their story ...



Tess and Charlie danced - 

The room was filled with light - 


For a moment, we were all in their story - 

Dancing with them, casting their light - 


6 November 2021

Salisbury 

Blue sky of summer ...



Somewhere, there was music - 

The moon over the cathedral -


Tess smiled her dazzling smile -

I held on to this precious story - 

I held it close to my heart - 


I felt the ice around me melt -

I saw the blue sky of summer - 


5 November 2021

Salisbury 

Thursday 4 November 2021

A sky blue suit ...


Soon I'll wear a sky blue suit - 

Love will flood my heart - 

I'll wear shoes made of air - 


4 November 2021

The Old School House
East Stoke 
Dorset 








Few walkers came this way ...




Few walkers came this way - 

The garden led me to this place - 

I could sit here, in the company of ghosts - 

Peter Quint might walk down this winding pathway - 

Fallen leaves were beneath my feet - 

I'd see the governess waiting by the fountain - 


October 31 2021


The Walled Garden
Moreton
Dorset 



Wednesday 3 November 2021

I wait for a ship ...



I'm listening to John Dowland's Melancholy Galliard -

I picture myself wearing black velvet - 

I see my face in a cobwebbed mirror - 

I hold an hourglass in my hand - 

I watch the sand fall - 

I hear sad viols in a long gallery - 

I wait for a ship to the edge of the world - 


2 November 2021

The Old School House 
East Stoke 
Dorset 



Tuesday 2 November 2021

The clocks whisper in the house ...




The apple tree will soon be bare - 

Its branches will net the winter moon - 


The wind shakes the pine trees - 

Rooks wait for nightfall - 

The clocks whisper in the house - 


31 October 2021

The Old School House 
East Stoke
Dorset 


Monday 1 November 2021

Taking refuge in Lewis ...



I'm taking refuge in Lewis -

There are bags under his kindly eyes - 

Hathaway bristles in a college garden - 


Oxford sunlight falls from watchful sky - 

Morse's ghost stalks into the Bodliean - 


1 November 2021

The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset