To the edge of the world ...

These were his bones - 

They were taken from under the high hill -

Next to his sword a chalk spindlewhorl -

I'll follow where he walked -

Through the wildwood -

Over flint and iron to the edge of the world -

Dorset Museum 

Dorchester 

February 2023

Africa clinging to the pages ...

I climbed the narrow stair, past stilled carriage clocks -

The book waited for me -

The two glorious elephants -

Africa clinging to the pages -

My boyish dream to be an explorer -

Tracing rivers across beguiling maps -

Marvelling at the names of deserts -

Longing to see different stars -

February 2023

Salisbury Antiques Market 

Scent of boyracing ...

I smelled spilled petrol in the museum -

The scent of boyracing -

A Silk Cut  hung from my lips - 

Dorset Museum 

Dorchester 

Beautiful ghosts ...

We saw the deep blue of The Little Sea -

The dunes sheltered us from the wind - 

Birch trees were beautiful ghosts -

Studland 

February 2023

His hawklike gaze ...

I'll read John Cowper Powys in this wood panelled room -

I feel his hawklike gaze - 

I'll stand with him on the ancient hill -

Learn of mysteries hidden in the windswept grass -

February 2023

Dorset Museum 

Dorchester 

The four deckchairs ...

The deckchairs faced the sea -

I felt the beautiful loneliness Edward Hopper painted -

The pale blueness of the sea and sky -

I remembered a sentence in a book I loved - 

Time isn't deep, it is already around us -

February 2023

Studland 

Dorset 

There is still more love ...

The air darkens now - 

Yet there is love - 

There are still angels walking unseen -

There is still more love -

February 2023

Smoke ...

When I heard the news, I could not believe it - 

Smoke had come to you, as it had to me - 

That night of dancing -

Your smoke was already there -

February 2023

I remember Albion Hill ...

I remember Albion Hill - 

Playing darts in The Walmer Castle -

There was music -

Angels walked in Kemptown -

I read The Master and Margarita -

White hotels faced the sea -

Anything was possible -

I was in awe of you -

Your grace and beauty - 

Your fearless gaze - 

February 2023

Good people ...

These are good people -

Their hearts are often broken -

They see young bodies torn open -

They know the cruelty of roads -

They enter sad bedrooms - 

They count heartbeats -

They know the long hours before light -

They hold us close -

These are good people - 

They will know our names -

Wareham Ambulance Station 

February 2023

A radio sang softly ...

I'm in Bonds, waiting for the scissors -

Last night, I woke at one -

I thought about Doctor Sleep -

What final memories would I have for him -

Lee folded his arms in a framed photograph -

A radio sang softly -

Driving a blue car with fins -

A field next to a river -

Fervent kisses - 

Hearing my name - 

Bonds 

Wareham 

February 2023

Little Bindon ...

I came here when I was made of smoke -

I followed this path through the thorns -

I found a garden hidden in a wood -

A house with arched windows -

Birds sang - 

Sunlight fell upon the mossy lawn - 

Now the house is abandoned, given to the brambles -

The gate is locked -

Yet if I close my eyes, I can see that moment - 

Entering the garden, becoming unafraid - 

February 2023

Little Binton

Lulworth Cove

Bright wings ...

We saw bright wings in the air -

Young gods above the hill, carried by the sea wind -

Circling the bay -

Quick silvered and daring -

Longing for the sun above the clouds -

February 2023

Ballard Down

The exhibition at the Russell Cotes ...

Three figures on the decorous lawn -

The delicate parasol -

The cool gaze of the artist's naked wife -

Her severe cap of hair -

The last stand of Major Wilson -

The taste of dust -

A torn white gown -

The surgeon not knowing he will paint ruined faces -

Judith desired by Holofernes -

The knife waiting for the unfaltering strike -

February 2023

Russell Cotes Gallery

Bournemouth 

My heart became a house of sorrow ...

The singer from Brittany sang She moved through the fair -

She closed her wild eyes -

When she sang, her voice came from far away -

My heart became a house of sorrow -

Dorchester 

February 2023

Listening to Itchycoo Park ...

We're in Billy Winters -

The dudes are back from Morocco - 

I'm tempted by shakshuka -

By thoughts of sly bottles - 

Of Emmy dancing -

The radiogram is playing Itchycoo Park -

When I look out the window, I can see the bay -

My past self an island on the water -

Bright, yet briefly glimpsed -

Brought closer by the song - 

February 2023

Billy Winters 

Portkand

Watching Babylon ...

I heard wild jazz in the gentle streets

Babylon was near 

I saw the beautiful body of a doomed starlet

The troubled eyes of a Mexican boy 

Roadsters were driven by handsome gods 

A monstrous city grew overnight in the desert 

There were wounded souls

Movie cameras filmed lovers as the sky went dark  

February 2023

The Rex

Wareham 

An end to my small pilgrimage ...

We saw the Chapel on the hill - 

The dark stone against the sky -

I felt the wind from the sea against my face -

The presence of the Saint on the hilltop -

Prayers were still left for her inside her house -

Here would be an end to my small pilgrimage - 

February 2023

St Catherine's Chapel 

Abbotsbury 

The moon caught in a yew tree ...

Embers are still glowing in the grate -

Above my head, low ceilinged rooms -

The air smells of woodsmoke -

A window looks out upon the narrow street - 

Houses of honey coloured stone wait for summer - 

Ale shines in the glass -

Stories are told here - 

The moon caught in a yew tree -

Ships with torn sails - 

The Saint upon the hill - 

February 2023

Abbotsbury 

The truth of his voice ...

His guitar knew his song - 

Its rough  hewn heart - 

The bright flame of his words - 

The truth of his voice - 

January 2023

Weymouth