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