We said goodbye

We said good bye to the kindly Baptist nanas -

To the sand tray, the play dough -

The singing in a circle -

The cup cakes -

The Welsh boyo of a minister with his parables -

The gentle grandad with his wispy beard -

The young mums fluttering round their buggies -

My heart was full -

One precious chapter ending -

Goodbye Jake they said -

Goodbye  -

Salisbury 

September 2026

After the A Train

I woke up thinking of you -

How you wore a long red dress -


How I kept looking at you -

Unable to look away -


Your arms were bare -

Your smile was my world -


When we hugged each other I said how lovely you were -

When you asked if I would still swim with you I said yes yes -

Swanage 

September 2026 

Leaves falling from a golden tree

The quartet is playing Bye Bye Blackbird -

It's slowly getting dark -

The notes of Rob's saxaphone are  like leaves falling from a golden tree -

The Mowlem 

Swanage 

September 2026

A thread of love

We held a thread of love -

Remembering the young beautiful god -

Saying his name -

Writing it in our hearts -

Weymouth 

August 2026 

The Play Park

Tattooed dads watch their children on the swings -

Nanas hunch their shoulders against the wind -

The slow river winds past the Leisure Centre -

Clouds cover the sky -

5 Rivers

Salisbury 

August 2026 

Sunday with Jake

Still dizzy from the roundabout, Jake heads for the slide -

He calls out I can do it myself -

Whooping as he slides down -

He's wearing his spiderman sliders -

His world is young and full of joy -



5 Rivers

Salisbury 

August 2026 

More love

Walking barefoot in the garden -

My shirt wet from the rain -

Picking up windfalls -

I remembered all my summers -

How more love will cure a broken heart -

The Old School House 

East Stoke 

August 2026 

Beyond the bijou estate

Walking past a house called Tamarisk -

Pristine Volvos -

Beyond the bijou estate, the deep blueness of the waves -

 The ribbed sand -

The white bone of the hill above the bay -

Ballard Estate, Sheps Hollow 

Swanage 

August 2026 

Peter had heard the saint

Peter had heard the saint -

He'd told him my name is Cuthbert, this is my land -


I remembered the sand of the Pilgrims' Path -

The island, lapped by the rising tide, made beautiful and strange by prayer -

Swanage 

August 2935

Another precious Thursday

Jake chirruped with joy in the beach pool -

Later, there'd be Jenga -

A babychino -

The gift of his smile -

Another precious Thursday -

Five Rivers Leisure Centre 

Salisbury 

August 2026 

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