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