24/HEAVEN
the perfect way
to spend the perfect day
nothing to do
and all of the day
to spend it with you
CHILLED
Sometimes...
I like to sit and talk
And sometimes...
I like to sit and think
But sometimes...
I just sit
Sometimes
GONE SOUTH
Suddenly autumn
and the swallows have all flown
No farewells, no goodbyes
no thank-you notes for all the flies
November
THE BONFIRE
old leaves, old briar
old clippings and branches
no smoke, no fire
rain dripping – damp matches
CHESIL BEACH
upon a beach, upon a strand
I wondered what the tide could teach
within my reach, beneath my hand
the answer lay within a grain of sand
BEACH BUMS
Hot sun upon our backs
warm sand between our toes
After lying on the beach
moist sand between our cheeks
SISTER, SISTER
You will never return
but she bears a small tattoo
in the small of her back
to remind herself of you.
It is a Chinese symbol
a sign of her loyalty
sympathy, sorority
a memento mori of you.
Published in Obsessed With Pipework (33) - Winter 2005/6
COCKTAIL PARTY EYES
Cocktail party eyes
looking over my shoulder
scanning the room for someone
– more important to talk to.
They call it networking.
Published in Pulsar (42) - June 2005
AT WALBERSWICKAn old grey rock, worn by the sea
washed up on a Suffolk shore
still clutching small fragments
of creatures long ago dead
Pitted with age, pierced by decay
shall I string you on a pendant
wear you as a lucky hag stone
or throw you back to the sea ?
THE LETTER ‘G’ IS DISPENSIBLE IN MARDLE
Just missed you – I slept in late.
Your breakfast cup of tea, half drunk
still warm upon the kitchen table.
Beside it, on a post-it note
the hastily scribbled message...
CUL8R Darlin’ – back soon!
DOWN BY THE SCARBORO SPA
The Palm Court is deserted now
but once, upon the beach below
our own private rock pool island
losing the battle with the tides
twice daily, to the sound strings:
Max Jaffa and his violins.
All gone, even the rocks entombed
in concrete, a barrier to defend
an indefensible coastline
against a relentless sea.
Published in National Poetry Anthology (United Press) 2006