The bright garden ...

Lichened walls sheltered a bright garden - 

There were mazy paths between poppy and yarrow -

At the gate, we could glimpse the sea -

We were near a sacred shore -

Inside the garden, I felt the warmth of all my summers -

I wore a shirt the colour of the sky -

18 July 2022

The Garden

Lindisfarne Castle 

The star called Wormwood ...

The gallery was filled with voices from the sea -

Coral laced stone -

I heard beautiful laments -

I felt the sorrow and beauty of those who wore shining skin - 

I saw with their eyes the star called Wormwood -

I saw the men who had sold the world - 

18 July 2022

Lindisfarne Castle 

Smoothing his beard ...

The guest who was like a long thin crane typed his malicious words - 

His fingers pecked at the keys - 

The sea wind reached down the narrow chimney -

Candles flickered - 

He heard the cello -

He pictured the cellist's mouth, her dark hair - 

He had dressed for dinner -

Smoothing his beard, he murmured her name - 

18 July 2022

Lindisfarne Castle 

At Low Newton ...

I walked through the shallows with Julia -

The cold shining waves pearled our skin - 

Julia had braided her hair - 

I felt the wind through my thin blue shirt - 

There were yachts moored beyond the rocks -

Delicate clouds veiled the sky -

We crossed the small bay, stirring the fine sand -

I would remember these moments -

Julia's voice, the way she smiled - 

19 July 2022

Low Newton

The allure of old names ...

There were maps of the island to beguile the eye -

Compass roses bloomed on salt stained charts -

Delicate lines marked shoals - 

The dark table was set with candles -

I felt the allure of old names - 

I was a boy in a magician's house -

18 July 2022

Lindisfarne Castle 

At The Blue Bell Hotel ...

We walked across the cobbled square -

We'd followed narrow lanes to reach the village - 

Behind tall hedgerows there had been quiet fields, a sailless windmill - 

There had been birdsong and growing shadow -

In the hotel, there were gentle ghosts -

Dreams of charabancs and ice creams - 

We sat outside, under the evening sky -

I heard the soft voices of those I could not see - 

15 July 2022

Blue Bell Hotel

Belford 

At Barter Books ...

This was a kingdom of books -

Here, a flaneur might linger over an exquisite Sitwell - 

An antiquarian might read a courtly preface by Izaak Walton - 

Angela Brazil would promise romps by long limbed girls -

A boy called Jim could chase submarines - 

Overhead, a toy train rattled from Religion to Romance -

An invisible Station Master wore LNER livery - 

There was ice cream in Paradise -

20 July 2022

Barter Books

Alnwick