Drifts of windfalls

Drifts of windfalls on the lawn -

The long afternoon ending -

The sweetness of the apples a joyful surprise -

Like moments of happiness -

Like hearing a bird's tender song -

Knowing it was sung for me -

East Stoke

August 2026 

The house he'd shared

When he spoke, I saw the house he'd shared -

The mirror in the lounge -

The sofa where his mum had sat -

The clothes still hanging in the wardrobe -

Swanage 

August 2026 

Letting go

I said I can tell you everything -

We were laughing -

Still brimming with joy from the waves and wind - 

Swanage 

August 2026 

Haunted

There were cracks in the walls -

A garden in shadow -

A bedroom door kept closed -

Steyning 

August 2026 

I carry my secret

I carry my secret across the sand -

Each memory of you -

Each moment of joy -

Ferring 

August 2026 

Falling to earth

I thought of the angel in Wings of Desire -

Bruno Ganz playing Damiel -

Peter Falk playing himself -

I will drink my coffee -

Feel the warm sunlight on my face -

I will swim with you and afterwards hold your hand -

.

Ferring 

August 2026 

Like a scapegrace jackdaw

Jake sips a babychino -

He shows me his Lightning McQueen sunglasses -

Picks up new words like a scapegrace jackdaw -

Harnham

Salisbury 

August 2026 

Gentle words of wisdom

In the garden there was a labyrinth -

Inside the house I heard gentle words of wisdom -

Each word entering my heart - 

My eyes becoming bright with tears -

Swanage 

August 2026 

I wanted this afternoon to never end

I wanted this afternoon to never end -

Swimming with you -

No thoughts other than how lovely you were -

Swanage 

August 2026 

The scent of past summers

We ate blackberries walking back -

Each tree we saw had its long memory -

The woodland path was fragrant with the scent of past summers -

Creech

August 2026 

Joyous as scapegrace boys

We were swept downstream by the current -

Above us, shining greenery and glimpses of burnished sky -

Flickering scales of light on the cool water -

Coming to rest in a deep pool -

Joyous as scapegrace boys -

Holmebridge 

August 2026 

Watching Father Brown

Watching Father Brown -

The splendid Bunty Windermere in her roadster -

Murdered followed by Mrs McCarthy's scones -

August 2026 

Looking at a self portrait of Samuel Palmer

Your dark eyes -

Your beautiful sadness -

You loved one who spoke with angels -

August 2026 

Waiting for the eclipse

Waiting for the eclipse -

Looking for angels in the tree -

The return of my lost darlings -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

August 2026 

Swimming with you

Swimming with you -

Turning to look at you -

Telling you, my heart singing - 

I'm filled with happiness -

Swanage 

August 2026 

A passport to a distant country

I found my Observer's Book of Birds -

A passport to a distant country -

I remember the happiness I had there -

When I remember that happiness, my eyes fill with tears - 

August 2026

Jake draws his house

Jake draws his house - 

My home he says- 

There's Charlie, there's Tess -

I wish I were years younger -

So I might have more time to love him -

August 2026 

Two houses

I live in two houses -

My own, with a seared garden -

My words heaped up like treasured pebbles -

Your house, with its paintings -

The echo of your husband's music -

Your beautiful shadow -

The kitchen where you held me -

Saying love you -

Swanage 

August 2026 

Sheps Hollow

Swimming at Sheps Hollow with Anne and Penelope -

The steep stair hidden in salty greenery -

My heart racing -

Knowing you swim here -

Sheps Hollow

Swanage 

August 2026 

As though my name were Ransom

Walking barefoot on the seared grass -

Gathering apples fallen from the tree -

As though my name were Ransom - 

White lions basking in the garden -

The Old School House 

East Stoke

August 2026 

After the Jazz

I can still feel your arms around me -

Your kiss on my cheek -

Your hand stroking my back -

You let go -

Then held me again -

You were wearing a geometric dress -

I felt the tenderness of your arms -

The kindness of your mouth -

Showbar 

Swanage 

August 2026 

Sea blue eyes

John has the lean face of a mariner -

Closely clipped beard -

Sea blue eyes -

Swanage 

August 2026 

Her dangerous smile

Fiona wears a red dress -

Like a wild west saloon girl -

Smiling her dangerous smile -

Swanage 

July 2026 

Katie reads her poem

Katie reads her poem -

Smiling her shy half smile -

Her words like bright birds -

Swanage 

August 2026

Suddenly

Suddenly you ringing me -

The joy of you wanting to see me -

Sitting with you in Java -

Wanting to say what I cannot say -

Java

Swanage 

July 2026

In Gullivers Bookshop

The beautiful smell of new books -

The gentle women in their summer skin -

The promise of each page - 

Gullivers Bookshop 

Wimborne

July 2026 

As if his glamour would never leave him

I'm reading London Triptych -

Thinking of Geoff -

How I first saw him -

At some party with Rich, one young summer -

 Wearing a flying jacket - 

Not dancing - 

Even then, that air of louche melancholy  - 

Later, reading the diary he kept of his travels -

The words he scrawled -

Pages still scented by the bidis he smoked -

The rides hitched with the American girl -

The months in Tehran -

The stony fields - 

The tea house gardens in seared villages -

The kisses of the tribesman near Kandahar - 

I remember him casting coins -

A white moon above our house -

The night air scented by ripe apples - 

Candles lit in the low ceilinged room -

Someone had put on Ricky Lee Jones - 

Geoff saying he'd cast The Well -

Wind over water -

He knew the names of birds -

In Yorkshire, he'd skinned a rabbit, made rabbit stew -

An icy stream ran past a field of thistles - 

We drank red wine listening to the rain -

*

Geoff rolling his bravura joints in the Sunbeam Rapier -

Guiding me through the wicked streets -

Parking outside a discrete door -

I was a wide eyed boy, knowing nothing -

I remember the dinner -

The laughter and the stories -

The glistening bottles -

Hardly knowing how I drove back -

Dazed by it all - 

 

Geoff inviting me to yet one more party -

This time with Anne, my new wife - 

My life then one of dizzying kisses, gaudy nights -

Wild swimming in summer rivers -

Arriving at the London house -

Girls wearing dresses made of cobwebs in the narrow hallway -

Geoff's boyfriend upstairs -

A dancer, dark and slender -

Music in every room - 

This last bright memory of him - 

When we were all beautiful -

Before years fell from the sky - 

Geoff dancing as though he were in a story -

As if his glamour would never leave him -

August 2026

Ward B3

I saw Mel in Ward B3 -

 I knew those beds, those stairs -

I remembered the gentle surgeon -

The joy I'd felt when waking -

Poole Hospital 

July 2026 

After Mavis had gone

Four jigsaws -

Hot Wheels -

The sadness of toys -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

July 2026 

I still think I'll see you

I still think I'll see you -

Your bright face -

Hear your voice -

I remember stroking your hair -

Refusing to look at my watch -

Saying I love you very much -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

July 2026 

Their bright hearts

Watching two of my darlings on the mega slide -

Whooping and whirling -

This sky -

Their laughter -

This moment with their bright hearts -

Too soon a memory -

Mega slide

Corfe Mullen

July 2026

When I saw you

When I saw you, I longed to hold you -

You were wearing a green dress -

I'd not seen you wearing a dress before -

I said how lovely you were -

I wanted to say far more -

And, later, we sat in a cafe with another -

And I was silent, looking at you -

Feeling guilt and love -

Java 

Swanage 

July 2026 

An excellent young golfer

I followed Wallace and Peter from green to green -

I felt the cool wind from the bay -

The shape of a memory forming in my hand -

Wallace's smile, his graceful drive -

Peter's words -

The brightness of the sky -

Purbeck Golf Course 

July 2026 

Anne swimming in the river

Anne swam upstream, barely stirring the water -

It was late afternoon -

The river flowing past gardens shaded by old apple trees -

The sun still hot in the cloudless sky -

Swallows flying above the water meadows -

Church bells ringing in the gentle town -

Abbot's Quay 

Wareham 

July 2026 

The bluest of heavens

Mavis listens to me reading The Tiger Who Came To Tea -

Her eyes widen -

They are as blue as the bluest of heavens -

The Old School House

East Stoke 

July 2026 

Wild joyous cricket

Sophie's gang play wild joyous cricket in the garden -

Wallace bowls a bouncer -

Paul hits a six into the churchyard -

Long shadows fall across the grass -

Later there will be a crescent moon -

A white curved bone in the twilight sky -

The Old School House 

East Stoke

July 2026 

Chilling with Wallace

Chilling with Wallace -

Watching The Chase -

Jodie's incredulous smile when she wins a grand -

The Old School House -

East Stoke

July 2026 

Implacable hoods

Jake and Otis were implacable hoods -

Enforcers for Bugsy Seigel -

Cornering me in the garden -

Drenching me with icy water from their pistols -

Washing away my years -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

July 2026 

A Brio King

Jake is a Brio King -

A Play-Doh Michelangelo -

A joyous whirlwind -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

July 2026 

Dancing in the wedding marquee

Dancing in the marquee -

The band playing It Must Be Love -

The wedding guests singing the words -

It must be love, love, love -

Imagining dancing with you -

If only for a moment -

Your arms around my neck - 

The two of us dancing to the song - 

Both of us singing -

It must be love, love, love - 

Tolpuddle 

July 2026 

Last looseners

Last looseners in The Samson Inn -

Tyneside Blonde -

Northumbrian Gold -

Alyson laughing -

Julia wearing a pale blue dress -

Remembering smoking on the dance floor -

Our younger selves sitting with us -

Martin with his German girlfriend -

Myself with flowers in my hair -

The Samson Inn

.Gilisland 

July 2026 

Harebells

I saw harebells -

Delicate pale marvels -

They were somehow rooted between the stones -

Stirred by a cool wind -

Beautiful and fragile -

Like precious memories -

Hadrian's Wall 

July 2026

Time falling on me

Standing by the Wall -

Touching these dark lichened stones -

Walking across a beautiful lonely land -

Time falling on me from the sky -

Hadrian's Wall

July 2026 

As though I were waiting to drink with the consul

Sitting at my window in the Beaumont Hotel -

Hearing the traffic hiss on the wet street - 

Rain fell suddenly on the town -

I was drinking spiced coffee when the first drops fell -

Listening to mariachi -

As though I wore a linen suit, waiting to drink with the consul -

Little Mexico 

Hexham

July 2026 

In Olive

I read The Yorkshire Post in Olive -

There is gentle piano music -

Widows murmur over their focaccia -

A slender siren of a barista deftly crafts a cortado -

Olive

Scarborough 

July 2026 

The Italian Gardens

The air was still in the Italian Gardens -

A cool wind blew in from the sea -

Trees shaded the quiet paths -

Above was a sky of heaven's blue -

I looked for my ghosts near the stilled fountain -

They came to me, one by one -

The Italian Gardens 

Scarborough 

July 2026 

Whitby Abbey

The dark stone was lapped by windswept grass -

Soaring arches held up a roof of sky and cloud -

Swifts flew through the high windows -

I glimpsed the timeless blue of the sea - 

.

Whitby Abbey

July 2026

Robin Hoods Bay

Once more losing myself in this salty mazy tangle -

Walking up Tommy Baxter Street -

Two herring gulls brawling on a rooftop -

Robin Hoods Bay 

July 2026

Perhaps remembering me

I follow Wallace down the fairway -

I see the man he will be, wearing now a boy's skin -

Tall, kind, with a gentle heart -

Perhaps remembering me if he walks here -

Under these trees, not far from the sea -

Filey

July 2026 1m

Scarborough Monopoly

We play a wild game of Scarborough Monopoly -

Wallace cannily planting hotels -

Otis tumbling the dice like a Mississippi gambler - 

Scarborough 

July 2026 

The white cafe

I wore a blue shirt patterned with flowers in the white cafe -

There were sculpted trees in the dazzling square -

We sipped exquisite cappuccinos -

Concept 30

Malaga 

June 2026 

Forgetting everything

You kissed me on the cheek -

Then hugged me, gently stroking my back -

I said I love seeing you -

You said I love seeing you too - 

You looked at me - 

We were both silent -

I wanted to be in your arms again -

My heart melted with tenderness -

I thought of how brave you were -

How my heart races seeing your lovely body -

How I forget everything when I'm alone with you -

Husbands, wives, everything -

July 2026 

Sultry bedrooms

High above us whilst we drank Vermouth -

Those wrought iron balconies -

Apartments touching the hazy sky -

The opened windows of sultry bedrooms -

Malaga 

June 2026 

Thinking of J G Ballard

Along the beach were white villas -

When I saw them, I would think of J G Ballard -

Those seared lawns -

Those emptied swimming pools - 

de Torre Benagalbon 

June 2026 

In the courtyard after swimming

We would sit in the courtyard, salt in our hair - 

Shaded from the sun -

Shards of Manchego on our tongues -

de Torre Benagalbon 

June 2026

June 2026

Palacio de Vilallon

Memories of the Museo -

From sunlight to shade -

A quiet courtyard -

Slender arches -

The echo of a proud name -

The grace of the stone -

June 2026 

After the exhibition

Nibbling a meringue as light as air -

Glimpsing creatives in crumpled suits -

Dazed still by what I'd seen -

The woman with a yellow blouse -

The smooth face of a tyrant -

The strangeness of a painting in blue -

Archipelago 

Sunol Soler Collection 

June 2026

My body felt the movement of the waves -

I saw fish of all kinds on icy beds -

Glistening coils of octopus -

Sad gangs of monkfish with drooping mouths -

Silvery pyramids of anchovies -

Swordfish, tuna -

Tangles of sardines -

Under the high roof, I smelled the sea -

My body felt the movement of the waves -

The Fish Market

Malaga

June 2026 

This last afternoon

This last afternoon -

Remembering the white gate -

The turquoise sea -

The sky -

The fragments of the shell I found on the beach -

Smooth against my fingers -

Safe in my hand -

June 2026 

Beguiled by the names we found

There were lime trees shading the square -

The air was scented by flowers -

There was birdsong -

Water fell from a fountain -

We were in a village in the dry hills -

Beguiled by the names we found -

Calle del Sol -

Plaza de Flores -

June 2026 

Deep Song

Such anguish - 

Such yearning - 

So much pain and beauty in those voices -

Wrenching my heart -

Deep Song -

From the soul laid bare -

Teatro Flamenco Malaga Club

June 2026 

Walking after sunset

A crescent moon in a dark blue starless sky -

Waves breaking upon the empty beach -

Earlier, just before sunset, I'd seen swifts -

Beautiful whirling shapes in the air-

I could smell woodsmoke -

Still feel salt upon my skin -

Torre de Benagalbon 

June 2026

At Casa Kiko

After the Vermouth, sardines and anchovies -

Breathing salty air -

Glimpsing the warm sea -

Wearing my faux borsalino -

Remembering the drive here in the taxi -

The dark trees shading the pavements -

Hearing Anne ask for the quenta -

The joy of being alive under a dazzling sun - 

Casa Kiko 

Rincon de la Victoria 

June 2026 

Swimming before breakfast

Swimming before breakfast -.

Walking across the fine dark sand -

Joyous in the warm silky sea -

June 2026 

Lavazza above the clouds

Sipping Lavazza above the clouds -

Listening to the engines singing -

Glimpsing a parched land from the blueness of heaven - 

June 2026 

Dreaming of jets

In the night, I'll dream of jets -

White shapes in the dawn sky -

Circling above me -

My body made of air -

.June 2026 

Listening to Radio 4 Extra in the Dacia

Paul Temple and Steve dancing in a night club -

Steve saying darling - 

A roadster driving over gravel -

Gunshots, the hiss of a soda siphon -

The louche notes of a saxophone -

June 2026 

Forgetting the creaking stair

Delaying facing the night -

Watching the young football playing gods -

Forgetting the creaking stair -

June 2026 

Neill remembers reading Dennis Wheatley

Neill remembers reading Dennis Wheatley - 

Those shameless Arrow paperbacks - 

Their covers showing sneering obergruppenfuhrers - 

Parachuting heroes with savage names - 

Terrified women with wild manes of hair -

Laughing his dry splendid laugh - 

I was fifteen he says -

The Bear 

Wareham 

June 2026 

Gill and Frances

The tin of Rover Assorted Biscuits on the dining table -

The comfy lounge -

The pristine Renault on the drive -

June 2026 

Exquisite ghosts

Pete smiled his languid smile -

Maire cast her slim shadow -

They were like exquisite ghosts in our house -

Reminding us of gaudy nights -

The window overlooking the square -

The pier casting its light on the sea -

June 2026 

Casting its savage gaze

Shading my eyes in the sunlit garden -

Glancing upwards from an artful page -

Seeing a red kite, scything the air above me -

Outlined against the flawless blue - 

Casting its savage gaze upon the world -

East Stoke 

June 2026

With Jake

Jake paints a picture of an extraordinary cat -

Hurls himself joyously around in Jenny's Soft Play -

Hides a pound coin in his sock -

Steals my heart each time I see him -

Salisbury 

June 2026 

Splashing blue

Splashing blue on the page -

Painting with Jake -

My light in the darkness -

Salisbury 

June 2026

Being Lafcadio

Reading The Vatican Cellars -

Being Lafcadio for an hour -

Having no heart -

Being beautiful -

Writing in my Russian note book -

Gave him twelve strokes -

Knowing the thrill of murder -

Knowing when it was time to launch the ship -

June 2026 

The weight of dreams

Counting the hour -

Longing for sleep -

For the weight of dreams -

June 2026 

The first cherries

The first cherries on the tree -

Ripening half hidden -

Shy gifts -

A memory of my birthday -

The two sisters in the garden -

The sunlight after rain -

June 2026 

White as bone

I'm reading The Drought -

I wake to see a bitter shore -

A sky white as bone -

June 2026 

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 

Reading Imperial Bedrooms in Salisbury

The curtains were drawn to keep the room cool and dark -

 I was reading Imperial Bedrooms -

I imagined LA sunlight fell on Salisbury -

I held a tumbler of Grey Goose in my hand -

My face showed nothing -

I wondered what else was not real -

Salisbury 

May 2026 

Watching Mulholland Drive a second time

I was beguiled once more -

Spellbound, helpless -

Dizzy with unease -

Caught in a net of dreams -

May 2026

A cobweb of memory

A small hand touched mine as I turned the pages -

I saw my name, written many times -

The classroom a cobweb of memory -

May 2026 

Dark birds

Anne says there'll be a thunder storm -

The air is still -

Dark birds fly over the pine trees -

East Stoke

May 2026

Waiting

Waiting for the story my blood will tell -

Now breathing different air -

Becoming smoke -

A pale shape in the summer garden -

May 2026 

I know you said

I was the first to leave the sauna -

Darting across the sand -

Past bright pedalos -

Sunbathing dads -

Swimming in the Bank Holiday sea -

I turned to see you follow -

You were with Amanda, one of your dearest friends -

I swam up to you -

All I knew was your smile and the joy of the waves -

This is wonderful I said -

I know you said -

Studland 

May 2026 

Low tide at South Beach

Walking towards the sea on ribbed sand -

Low tide -

Seaweed curling round my ankles in the shallows -

Pine trees above the green shore -

The joyous shock of the waves -

Afterwards, the warmth of the guernsey -

The memory of your voice -

South Beach 

Studland 

May 2026

The darkening garden

Birdsong in the darkening garden -

A gentle wind stirring the leaves of the apple tree -

A crescent moon in the flawless sky -

The Old School House 

East Stoke

May 2026 

A gift from heaven

I read Gore Vidal's Julian in the Lizzie Gardens -

Jake launches hot wheels down a slide -

Sun tanned nanas push grandchildren in swings -

Long legged girls out of school beguile awkward boys -

A bright river is shaded by shapely trees -

I wear a dark blue shirt -

I put down the book -

Jake's laughter is a gift from heaven -

Salisbury 

May 2026 

Watching Heart

Watching Heartbeat - 

 

The clever, kindly, Rowan -

Oscar narrowing his eyes -

Ventress smoking a sly Woodbine -

A London villain in Aidensfield -

The comfort of 1960s singles -

Don't play with me -

Cause you're playing with fire -

The Old School House 

East Stoke

May 2026

Paul as my Ancient Mariner

Pirates circling a former Russian ice breaker -

Dour Siberians -

A young man walking home a thousand miles from the Eastern Front -

Tahiti -

A five week voyage in the south Atlantic -

Strange stars -

Pitcairn Island -

Harold Wilson's bodyguard -

Paul as my Ancient Mariner -

Myself a wedding guest -

Java 

Swanage

May 2026

So much sadness

There are new lines of sadness on his face -

This gentle postman -

He tells me about his wife -

Now no more than a whisper of bone -

I briefly hold his hand -

So much sadness -

Swanage 

May 2026 

In the long night

In the long night I'll remember walking the green path -

Glimpsing the river -

Following my winding way through cow parsley -

Blue bells amongst banks of ferns -

Finding the birch grove -

Being close to those I've lost -

East Stoke

May 2026

The wind from the sea -

The steep hillside was yellow with buttercups -

Walking the high path, I heard skylarks -

I saw yachts with bright sails in the bay -

Gulls were flying over salty fields -

Earlier, we'd seen a bride enter the Saxon church -

The air was scented with mayblossom -

On the hilltop, I was above the world -

The wind from the sea carrying the names of those I loved -

Ballard Down 

May 2026 

When I walked for a while in paradise

Inside the subway, I breathed air smelling of weed -

There were wild faces spray painted on the concrete walls -

A mural of magic mushrooms -

A reminder of when I saw jewelled birds -

When I walked for a while in paradise -

Boscombe

May 2026 

Losing ourselves in the gentle story

Reading Mogg The Forgetful Cat with Jake in The Boston Tea Party -

Losing ourselves in the gentle story -

A waitress sashshaying past us with a cappuccino -

The Boston Tea Party 

Salisbury 

May 2026 

Waiting for the moon

Barefoot -

Under the apple tree -

The grass newly wet with rain -

Waiting for the moon -

For invisible people -

To hear them say my name - 

East Stoke

May 2026

inside the Emporium Cafe

Clint Eastwood glowered above me -

A distressed radio played a Dusty Springfield song -

Beyond the labyrinth of antiques, a barefoot man wore a beret -

A sign said more downstairs -

Swanage 

May 2026

The artist

I imagine him -

A haunted boy - 

His wild eye - 

Painting his fervid dreams - 

Swanage 

May 2026

There were still blue bells

There were still blue bells -

Birdsong -

The fragrance of may blossom -

New leaf on old trees -

The yellow shimmer of buttercups in a quiet field -

Sand martins dancing above the river -

Sunlight -

The silence of the sky -

Your name somehow there -

.

East Stoke 

May 2026

The barbers

The barbers with their Assyrian beards -

Their dark eyes - 

Their memories of wounds -

Wareham

2026 

Returning to Greeneland

The midnight train leaves the capital -

I've a hairlip -

Counterfeit notes in my pocket -

Cruel stars filling the sky - 

May 2026 

Your photograph

I saw your photograph -

You are becoming smoke -

Soon you will be air -

I remember your kindnesses -

Your laughter -

The music at your wedding -

Salisbury 

May 2026 

Outside the Emporium Cafe

Wearing my sunglasses -

Hiding my eyes -

Trying not to show how much I longed to see you -

Your husband telling me about acid jazz -

Emporium Cafe

Swanage 

May 2026

In Boscanova

A drowsy piano in Boscanova -

A girl with red hair and piercings -

A single tulip in a vase -

Boscanova

Boscombe

Bournemouth 

May 2026 

In Chococo

Ordering a flat white take out in Chococo -

Bank Holiday visitors watching the deft barista -

A young man with a prophet's beard -

His beautiful girl adorned with mysterious tattoos -

Chococo

Swanage 

May 2026 

The more precious

Reading Leonardo Sciascia in the garden -

The lawn newly mowed -

Birdsong -

The fragrance of cut grass -

Warm sunlight - 

The more precious because of the lateness of the hour -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

May 2026

Walking by the sea

Walking by the sea -

I imagined the dark eyes looking at you -

The long journey -

The teeming bodies -

The memory of the ashram -

Your younger body in some pose -

I thought how brave you are -

I said you are precious to me -

Swanage 

May 2026

Those long hours

Remembering the sleepless night -

Wearing those long hours -

Even now, in the bright day -

May 2026

A boy made of joy

Like a carefree whirlwind in the soft play -

Leaping like a hare from the slide -

A boy made of joy -

Lighter than air -

Jenny's 

Salisbury 

April 2026 

In the garden

Late evening, not yet dark -

Beguiled by the scent of lilac blossoms -

Cool grass underfoot - 

Barefoot - 

Looking up at the starless blue sky -

The pines -

The white moon -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

April 2026 

Reading The Power and the Glory

I play billiards with the jefe -

I drink from the bottle -

I can smell betrayals -

The lure of seven hundred pesos -

Tomorrow they'll shoot the priest -

Just one moment of pain -

April 2026

Number 40

I took the Number 40 back to Wareham -

An old excitement filled me -

Riding the top deck -

Gazing out like a proud captain -

Number 40 Bus

April 2026

Leaving my darlings

Leaving my darlings -

Sleepless that last night - 

The train carrying me away -

TransPennine Express

April 2026

Another cure for melancholy

Another cure for melancholy -

Being with Wallace in Filey -

Wallace driving the ball down the fairway -

A warm sea wind through the trees -

The scent of the grass -

The gentle sky -

Wallace handing me a club -

You'll need a putter, chief -

I no longer think of my sleepness nights -

Of what I may be told -

Filey

April 2026

Early morning in Scarborough

Awakening trees in Royal Avenue -

Salty sunshine -

Stroppy gulls -

In Ramshill Sainsburys, a gaffer who smells of iron filings -

Buying a pristine Yorkshire Post -

Deja Brew just opening -

Remembering the dancing greybeard I saw yesterday -

Dancing in a cloud of weed -

A morning ahead of me with two of my darlings -

Each day precious -

Like holding water in my cupped hands -

Scarborough 

April 2026

The Italian Gardens

I followed a winding path to the Italian Gardens -

Sunlight fell on blossom and bright greenery -

White pillars framed a view of the sea -

A young naked god faced the blueness of the sky -

The air was warm -

Full of memory and dream -

As though I were at last awake -

Opening my eyes to what I had never seen -

The Italian Gardens 

Scarborough 

April 2026

In Woodend

A flat white in Woodend -

The murmur of creatives' voices - 

Pristine spaces -

Exquisite ceramics -

The painting of Edith Sitwell -

The dew falling on her eyes -

The glimpses of the white hotels through the floor to ceiling window -

The pale northern sky -

Woodend 

Scarborough 

April 2026

He's just hanging around

Sitting in the garden of Number 53 -

Gulls weaving between the chimney pots on salty wings -

Dazzle of blossom above my head -

Chilled Carling in my glass -

Remembering playing pool with Wallace -

The Stranglers on Spotify -

Hugh Cornwall singing he's just hanging around -

Scarborough 

April 2026

My spirit as light as his

I play table tennis with Wallace in the attic room -

Below us, salty roofs face the sea -

Hitting the ball with a lurch of my bat, I  wish that I was younger -

My hair no longer white -

My spirit as light as his -

My eye as pure -

Scarborough 

April 2026

The bed

Birdsong -

Sunlight through the trees -

Sleepless hours -

The bed where I found no comfort -

Woodhall

April 2026

Watching Die Hard

Bruce looks like a half naked bloodied angel -

Barefoot, he slays henchmen -

The sneering villain wears a beautiful suit -

Flames devour policemen -

Bruce aims his unfailing gun -

Welcome to the party he says -

April 2026

How he whoops

When I'm in darkness, I think of Jake -

How he fills my life with joy -

How he whoops when he catches balloons -

April 2026

Rise in Glory

I heard them; outside The Boston Tea Party - 

Clasping bibles, fervent tongued -

Rise in Glory -

Death is not in the end -

Salisbury 

April 2026

I had lost the key

I was unable to enter the beautiful house -

A door barred my way -

I had lost the key -

April 2026

Watching The Night of the Demon

I imagine seeing a panther in a library -

The yellow eyes in the darkness -

The cruel shape of Karswell's smile -

The slip of paper twisting in my fingers -

April 2026

My boat snared by coral

Half awake -

My boat snared by coral - 

Far from land -

April 2026

Violets

Walking towards the heath, we saw violets -

Delicate stars by the side of the lane -

Birds were singing amongst coppiced hazel -

Opulent clouds filled a gentle sky - 

Coombe Heath

Dorset

April 2026

Your gift

Your gift was your smile -

Your words -

The way you held me -

The glimpse again I had of you -

The water pearling on your skin -

Swanage 

April 2026

Driving the heavy Cavalier

I've just read London Fields -

I've seen the moon red as blood -

The low sun in the sky -

Dripping its light -

I've drunk porno in The Golgotha -

I've heard Keith say you don't never show disrespect to the darts -

I've driven the heavy Cavalier -

April 2026

Jake in The Boston Tea Party

Jake in The Boston Tea Party -

Amongst the young Salisbury creatives -

The courtly tweed -

The dark panelling -

The knotted beams -

Snapping the Mobilo pieces together -

Dreaming of Hotwheels -

Salisbury 

April 2026 

That moment

Looking up -

Dizzy with scent of cut grass -

Walking barefoot -

Seeing apple blossom on the tree -

Remembering you kissing my cheek -

The shape of your neck -

Your breath against my face -

Wanting that moment never to end -

Swanage

2026 

After the jazz

After the jazz - 

The yearning clarinet -

Lizzie -

Tipsy with the red - 

Zinging with mischief -

Swanage 

April 2026

 

Primroses

Walking to Highwood we saw primroses -

Each pale flower like words spoken in tenderness -

Remembered years afterwards -

The April sun was low in the sky -

Young trees cast slim shadows -

Later, the moon would fill the sky -

Highwood 

April 2026

Invisible voices of joy

We had two teas from Joe's -

Anne still zinging from the sea -

Easter visitors unfurled deckchairs -

A greyhound tiptoed through the waves -

We'd walked on Nine Barrows Down -

It was Easter Sunday -

Skylarks were invisible voices of joy -

Studland

April 2026

Browsing in Black Pug Books

Leafing through a foxed Fontana -

An early Poirot -

Malice in art deco mansions -

The Belgian smiling his fastidious smile -

Wimborne 

April 2026

Water Lane

I imagine living in Water Lane -

The river flowing past my house -

Gentle ghosts on its steep stair -

Exquisite paintings on the walls -

I'd walk there from the cathedral -

Past quiet doorways -

Heating music from gracious rooms -

Remembering joyous afternoons -

I'd imagine you -

Beautiful and smiling -

A clock slowly ticking -

Sunlight falling on a shaker chair -

Water Lane 

Salisbury 

April 2026

Lizzie Gardens

Trees in new leaf in Lizzie Gardens -

Blossoms falling on the grass -

Playing sharks with Jake -

His smiles a promise of summer -

Salisbury 

March 2026

He'd once commanded hawks

Brian returns -

I've been in hospital he says -

Shivering on his mobility scooter -

His heart failing -

His beard longer -

He'd once commanded hawks -

Been a friend of bees -

Been gifted honey -

The wind that waits will blow him away -

As though he were shaped out of fallen leaves -

Swanage 

March 2026

Wearing my chinos like Prufrock

Eating a Cornish pasty on the seafront -

The dinosaur roaring above the Pirate Golf -

Gulls swaggering -

Breathing salty air -

Wearing my chinos like Prufrock -

Swanage 

March 2026

You may not be aware, but you know

Peter gave me The Messiah's Handbook -

I thought of you -

How brave you were -

How beautiful -

There was only one question to ask -

March 2026

With every word

Walking by the river -

Under the plane trees -

Listening to you telling me about your life -

Loving you more with every word you said -

London 

March 2026

Wanting the march to never end

Being part of this vast joyous crowd -

Hearing songs and wild exultant drums - 

My feet urged to dance -

Reading the brave words on banners held up by faithful hands -

Filled with the desire to turn the world upside down -

No longer just one voice -

Or a mute tongue -

Being with you, my comrade, in this city of memory and dream -

Wanting the march to never end -

London

March 2026

,

Two memories

Seeing Marylyn in The Bear, I remembered Porchy -

Marylyn's quiet voice when speaking to some wild dad -

My years there -

Wearing a dark suit -

Two memories -

Coming to me as I listen to her - 

Cappuccinos being taken to our table - 

Waiting for the frangipane -

Mark Raven White swollen with banjo fury -

Wanting to sort out Pollit -.

The shining faces of Year Seven boys -

The gentle Mike Winkworth saying you can only do your best -

The Bear 

Wareham 

March 2026 

At the Baptist Church Playgroup

Jake sculpting an orange worm from play doh -

Volunteer nanas serving coffee -

Small hands burying monster trucks under sand -

Mobilo -

A plucky grandad -

Young mums wearing leggings -

Singing the wheels on the bus go round and round -

The Welsh Baptist minister re-telling the Parable of The Loaves and the fishes -

The boy who shared his sandwiches -

Salisbury 

March 2026

Jane's flowers

Jane's sent us flowers -

I remember the Birthday Weekend -

The tipsy dinner in The Bear -

Rob's story about the winter -

The terrifying cold -

Jane planning a trip to Rome -

The affogato -

Anne wearing her green dress -

I wrote in her card you are the commissar of kindness -

I thought of her first wild kiss -

We'd just met in a Brighton drenched in summer -

Jane's flowers summoned memory -

I remembered the garden -

Its perfumed air -

How beautiful we were naked -

The flower she wore in her hair -

March 2026 

This magic hour

Golden light on the church tower -

This magic hour -

The river running through gentle fields -

The catkins, haloed in heaven's light, hanging from the tree -

March 2026

East Stoke

Dorset

Saying my name

I'm thinking of Chekov -

How each story stayed with me -

Like the memories of kisses I'd once had -

Of beautiful moments never forgotten -

Of hearing you say my name -

March 2026

Each year a white shell

We walked listening to the sea -

There'd been a low spring tide -

There were hoofprints in the pale yellow sand -

Small clouds were scattered across the hazy blueness of the sky -

The dunes hid their secret kingdoms -

We saw a naked man, walking with a clothed woman -

A boy ran towards the sea -

It was as though the beach would take us to the edge of the world -

Both of us silent -

Leaving our years behind us -

Each year a white shell, left on the sand -

Studland 

March 2026 

Already thinking of us meeting

Reading Chekov's story The Beauties, I thought of you -

How I gaze at your hair, your eyes, your smile -

Sitting next to you in Java -

Longing to see your beautiful body again -

Holding your hand for a moment -

Feeling how warm your hand is, how it clasps mine -

You saying we must meet next week, catch up -

How all I can do is say yes, yes -

Already thinking of us meeting, of what we might say - 

Of being close to you -

Java, Swanage 

March 2026

Words were spoken in an unknown tongue

I heard a beautiful lament -

Haunting music -

Words were spoken in an unknown tongue -

My hair was scented with cologne -

Ŵareham

The Turkish Barbers 

March 2026 

Falling upwards

I'm listening to Rock the Casbah in Billy Winters -

I've ordered sardines -

It's low tide -

Gulls swagger on sandbanks -

A kitesurfer dances over the bay -

A salty wind blows in from the sea -

The sky above is cloudless -

I imagine falling upwards -

Lost in the blue - 

Billy Winters 

Portland 

March 2026 

The welcome of their doors

Spring sunlight on white blossoms -

 The blueness of the sky -

 The quiet of St John's Hill -

The gentle histories of its houses -

Their low ceilinged rooms -

The welcome of their doors -

Wareham 

March 2026 

Watching Vera

Vera frowns -

She's had no sleep - 

On CCTV the suspect looks like a malign ghost -

March 2026

The apples he ate in Alma Ata

I drink coffee with Peter amongst his books -

He talks about Russia -

The circus in Moscow -

Pushkin -

The Field of Mars -

The apples he ate in Alma Atta -