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