Once more in Greeneland

I've been once more in Greeneland -

I've kept close a secret hurt - 

Crossed borders at midnight - 

Seen malice shine in a policeman's eyes - 

I've woken, still anguished from a dream - 

Seen a bleak landscape from the window of a train - 

Felt my tongue stilled in my mouth - 

Known the moment I'll be betrayed - 

August 2023

My first cigarette ...

There were no chess players today - 

No lean rogues slyly vaping whilst watching police cars - 

A willowy girl sat in silence with a pale boy - 

The owner put on some fado - 

Bright greenery caught my eye - 

I thought of buying a louche trilby - 

I sipped a small americano - 

I opened the foxed Penguin -

The past is a foreign country I read - 

I smelled the yellowy page - 

My first cigarette was in my mouth - 

August 2023

Crooked Book 

Boscombe 

Bournemouth 

The kaptan welcomed us ...

It was just before midnight -

Volkan had driven us from the village -

The rivers were dry -

Burnt trees were charred shadows -

The kaptan welcomed us -

Two bright masts touched a starless sky -

Marmaris

May 2023

Waking early ...

Waking early - 

Still half in dream - 

Naked - 

Looking out at the bay -

New sun above the hills - 

White yachts moored close to the shore - 

Anne already swimming -

Her clothes waiting for her skin - 

May 2023

Off the Lycian coast

Turkey 

It would soon be dark ...

I sipped Yasmine's exquisite coffee -

It would soon be dark -

I would sleep on the divan - 

I would dream that I was eating mulberries -

A fountain cooled the garden -

I would hear a voice I loved - 

May 2023

Kizilyaka

Turkey 

A different moon ...

I'll read some Murakami whilst listening to Coltrane -

I'll welcome strangeness - 

There will be a different moon in the sky -

August 2023

Waiting for you in Java ...

Waiting for you in Java - 

My heart racing - 

Your smile - 

Your slender hands - 

August 2023

For those moments ...

For those moments I was made of air -

When you held me, we flew above town -

You asked me if you could hold me -

Yes I said yes -

Love you you said - 

August 2023

The Simoom in his cropped hair ...

I thought of Lawrence when I saw the dangerous chrome -

Boanerges carrying him away from memory - 

The black car in the green lane - 

The quiet fields - 

The pale stone saying the hour is coming - 

The wind caught in the sleek metal - 

The Simoom in his cropped hair - 

Dorset 

August 2023

Eating salty blackberries ...

We ate salty blackberries - 

Egrets haunted the mazy reed beds - 

We'd swum here -

Hung our clothes on tree roots exposed by the tide -

Watched clouds - 

Forgot time - 

Shipstal Point

Arne

August 2023

On reading No Country For Old Men ...

Each page took me further into darkness -

I dreamed of a blood soaked Plymouth Barracuda - 

I heard a voice from beyond the edge of the world - 

Every moment in your life is a turning and every one a choosing -

August 2023

Breathing the fragrance of flowers ...

I left Anne and Jane in the Anatolia Cafe - 

I walked in the bright morning -

Sunlit alleys led to the yachts - 

Greenery cast delicate lines of shadow - 

I forgot the dark shapes of the night - 

I breathed the fragrance of flowers - 

Old Town

Marmaris

May 2023

A lizard's tail ...

Olives ripened on the ancient trees -

Silence and heat fell from the sky - 

I turned to glimpse a lizard's tail -

A flickering whip under the prickly pear -

Kaunos

May 2023

Lost in a deep blue mirror ...

We walked from Kaunos to the lake -

Left the ghosts to their stone - 

We swam in the cool water -

Lost ourselves in its deep blue mirror - 

Lake Koycegiz

Turkey 

May 2023

Our skin still salty ...

I'm listening to David Bowie singing let's dance -

I wear my skin like a magic coat - 

I dance again with the choir - 

We dance barefoot - 

Our skin still salty from the wine dark sea -

August 2023

Lizzie drinks her glass ...

Lizzie drinks her glass -

She and Dante dream of a haunted wood - 

There an angel waits for her - 

Pale trees will cast their glimmering light - 

She'll wear a dark blue dress -

Her golden hair will fill her narrow bed - 

Tate Britain

August 2023

House of Eyes

Reading The Republic of Trees - 

Like cruel dreaming - 

The House of Eyes -

August 2023

Here, I might read of miracles ...

The cool gaze of ancestors followed me through the house - 

Its library would have delighted Sepulchrave - 

Those ancient volumes - 

Those exquisite maps - 

Here, I might read of miracles -

Hear a poet sigh - 

Feast my eyes on Piranesi -

A lean philosopher would whisper in my ear - 

The library 

Holkham Hall 

Norfolk 

July 2023

Waiting for Anne ...

I read of Spitfires, barefoot and salty from the sea -

Pulled my gansey on - 

Curled up on the cushions - 

Lazy and sunburnt - 

Waiting for Anne - 

Water still dripping from her tawny skin - 

Off the Lycian coast

Turkey 

May 2023

Your gentle gaze ...

Waiting for Fin, I remembered the sunlight on the esplanade -

The bright sea -

Your smile -

You were wearing a white tee shirt - 

In the cafe, I'd held your hand for a moment - 

I lost myself in your gentle gaze - 

July 2023

The sunlight fell in dazzles ...

There were cool bottles - 

Shade - 

A gentle radio - 

The sunlight fell in dazzles upon the water - 

Bozukkale 

May 2023