Joyous fish danced across the carpet ...

Paul was reading The Shark in the Dark -

Wallace listened, eyes wide, eating rice cakes -

Paul's reading carried Wallace to the bottom of the sea -


A shark with a mouth full of daggers swam into the room -

A wise octopus summoned a whale, chasing away the shark -


I saw joyous fish, dancing across the carpet -

I heard Wallace laughing -

I danced too, a fin in each hand -



Friday 13 March 2020

Scarborough

Taking comfort in mushy peas ...

We ordered  four medium cod four medium chips in the Ramshill Fisheries -

We remembered to queue against the range -

Here, we could warm ourselves -

Hear kindly voices -

Forget the wind waiting to blow through the streets -

Take comfort in mushy peas -


Thursday 12 March 2020


Ramshill Fisheries
Scarborough

Artemio in Woodend ...

I'm reading The Death of Artemio Cruz in Woodend -

I can hear languid saxophones -

I sip coffee from a fragile cup -


There's an exhibition of gentle posters -

Scarborough, the tonic holiday -


A penguin holds up a yellow parasol -

A golden couple loll on the perfect sand -


I look once more at the yellowy page -

There was a moonflower -

Artemio rode across the river -



Wednesday 11 March 2020


Woodend
Scarborough

Here, I might write my words -

The winding river flowed through the forest -

Catkins danced above the water -


Here, there were trees and ancient names -

Dry stone walls and hawthorn -


The air was empty of messages -

The wind from the sea carried no fearful auguries -


Here, I might write my words -

Take my joy from my grandson's smile -



Tuesday 10 March 2020


Dalby Forest
Yorkshire 

Oliver Francois Xavier Sarony ..

I gazed at the white reef of the Victorian stucco -

Here, the photographer had bedazzled his mutton chopped sitters -

He'd sported a beard and a tasselled smoking cap -

Conning the golden guineas -

Thrown upon the shore by a wild sea -.

Trying to save a lordling -

The icy rope torn from his hand -

The musicians still playing in the gilded ballroom -





Monday 9 March 2020

Scarborough

Waiting for sunset ...

Mazy alleys led us past salt rimed doors -

Gulls flew above attics shaken by winter winds -

I caught glimpses of small parlours through sash windows -

We climbed winding stairs towards The Square -


I imagined waiting for sunset in The Mariners Tavern -

I'd fill my glass with Dark Horse -

My clothes would smell of smoke from driftwood fires -

The moon would rise above the sea -




Sunday 8 March 2020


Robin Hood's Bay
Yorkshire

Half of my heart ...

I make a fire to warm my daughter's house -

My grandson sleeps above my head -


Half of my heart is here, by the northern sea -

The other half, where five rivers meet -




Friday 7 March 2020


Scarborough