The time of the angels ...

Anne's reading The Time of The Angels -

I remembered my time in Iris' world -

The girls with their caps of shining hair -

The youths of singular beauty -

The lovers left to their terrible colliquoy -

The Thameside rectory -

The mermaid's son -

The characters with their wonderful names -

Hugo Belfounder -

Octavian Gray -

Mary Hartley Finch -

Aleph, Moy -

The strange beauty of all I saw -






Friday 15 May 2020


The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset

A debt unpaid...

I'm holding a Waterman pen -

I close my eyes -


I can smell the sea -

I can glimpse the white hotels -


The girl with long black hair -

The seafront, the gaudy pier -


My heart still shamed -

A debt unpaid -




Thursday 14 May 2020


The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset 

The summer moon lighting our narrow moon ...

A pale bowl holds succulents given us by Tito -

I remember the balcony they came from -

The yachts on the warm sea -

The supper he and his wife gave us -

The rich soup, the red wine -

The stories about horses and sicarios -

The summer moon lighting our narrow room -





Wednesday 13 May 2020


The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset 

Mute bird ...

May blossom scents the sunlit room -

A mute bird folds its wings -


Shells murmur their stories -

I remember the warmth of the long hours -


Each breath of rich air I took -

The green path between the trees -


The glimmer of bluebells -

The nowness of every moment -




Tuesday 12 May 2020


The Old School House
East Stoke

Heroes of Telemark ...

Waiting for the Broadcast, I caught the last half hour of Heroes of Telemark -

Kirk with his dimpled chin -

Skis and Nazis -

The simple heroism of the war comics I read as a paper boy -

RAF bombers in the sky -

Machine guns spitting lead -

Plucky Tommies -

Those words which haunted my paper boy's dreams -

Achtung! -

Snell ! - Snell !




Monday 11 May 2020


The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset

The Snow Leopard ...

The Snow Leopard starts with some words from Rilke -

I must have courage for the most strange -


I remember the high places I've walked -

The wind blowing over lichened sheepfolds -


I'll read this book as though I were still there -

The dark valley below me -


The rain falling on the bones of the land -

The ancient names under the sky -






Sunday 10 May 2020



The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset

She's leaving home ...

I sat like Pushkin amongst my books -

Listening to Paul singing -


I remembered buying the LP -

The mysterious strangers behind Paul, John, George and Ringo -


Putting the record on -

Wearing my smooth skin -


That moment, hearing it the first time -

She's leaving home -






Saturday 9 May 2020


The Old School House
East Stoke
Dorset