At the Rotunda ...

Fossil hunters in their tweed and beards had once gathered here -

They'd traced the shapes of primeval continents -

 Pangaea -

Gondwana -

They'd measured the wicked wingspans of pteranodons -

Placed their pince nez in fussy pockets -

Celebrated their achievements in decorous marble prose -

11.29
Sunday 10 March 2019

The Rotunda Museum
Scarborough

Better try Bri ..

I read the words -

Seen something you'd like to buy - 

Better try Bri -


I pictured Bri -

Adept at his creepy art -

Stitching skin -

Inserting a glittering eye -


Perhaps his lair was hidden under this salt rimed rooftop -

I'd hear his footsteps on narrow stairs -

I'd see the instruments in his hands -


15.13
Monday 11 March 2019

Scarborough

The head of the poet ...

I asked to see the bronze head of the poet -

There it was -

Beautiful -

Wounded -


I thought of his words -

True poets must be truthful -


I thought of promise cut short -

Windswept sands -

A pale sea -


There it was -

The bronze head -

Cradled in northern light -


11.24
Tuesday 12 March 2019

Art Gallery
Scarborough
Yorkshire

A room for each day of the year ...

I climbed the still opulent staircase to wander the high ceilinged corridors -

I felt the nearness of the invisible guests -

Perfumed women from the demimonde -

A gloved hand upon a marble boy -

Bearded squires with dazzling cuffs -

An immaculate orchestra playing on the terrace -

Exquisite ices -

A never ending summer -

A room for each day of the year -


13.44
Monday 11 February 2019

The Grand Hotel
Scarborough
Yorkshire

Olympia Leisure ...

We sheltered from the rain inside Olympia Leisure - 

Bright machines swallowed greasy coins -

Screens pulsed in time to electro pop -

A robot in a booth promised a drawing worthy of Leonardo -


10.42
Sunday 10 February 2019

South Bay
Scarborough
Yorkshire

Hendersonville ...

I heard bluegrass in Woodend last night -

There were three sad guitars -


I saw the moon above the river -

My daddy's picture in a frame -


I heard a lament for Johnny Cash -

I got on a train for Hendersonville -


I felt the windblown dust against my face -

The phone slept in my hand -


Saturday 10 February 2019


Woodend
Scarborough
Yorkshire 

His last piece of England ...

The poet had known these sands -

He'd sat in his turret room, above Queens Parade -

He'd worn his khaki in the town -

Here was his last piece of England -

Villas above the sea -

Footsteps on a winding stair -

Lamps lit on the platform -

The train on time -

Words going out in the dark -


14.35
Friday 8 March 2019

North Bay
Scarborough