The Turning Year

Eyes glazed The lids Heavy with sleep In the middle of the day Unwelcomed I don’t want to lie In the same breath As saying I don't want to die Not quite yet For pity's sake Sleep…

Well done her. Even from an upstairs window, In Harrow or High up in an Enfield council block Nineteen floors or more, Anxious about fireproof cladding And emergency protocols,…

I can wander Inside or out Of mind Imagine trees Sharing tips With the north wind Promising a return On an investment I can sit Behind a window Or step outside Weigh the meaning…

I will not go out again. I can wander Inside or out Of mind Imagine trees Sharing tips With the north wind Promising a return On an investment I can sit Behind a window Or step…

Manchester City will still be the team to beat. It is good to pause But not to dwell. Today is when we live. The temptation To wander through The familiar byways So often…

A miopic moon Blinking sightlessly Butting through the clouds Wordlessly The midnight sky A vast vault Of shadows Hideous monsters Looming In and out of focus Faceless strangers…

I had a dream Standing in a dressing room Holding a pair of underpants Too big for me Which is all very strange Until I think about The scale of things. Everything I conceive Is…

His head hung Down to the glass Close enough to see It clouding with every breath. Heavy with dread Even though I knew Brevity was not his gift, ‘I am dry.’ He began Even with a…

It might have been a dream I don’t know It seemed real enough That being said Reality is hard to find When it is subject To Orwellian logic Truth is hard to believe Lies ring…

It would never be us We were different We would stay up all night Smoking and drinking Make love on a rug In front of the fire By candlelight Cling together Covered in paint and…

There is little need To snap to attention In darkness Sightless Soundless Disconnected. Hearing aids Are useless unless worn The feedback squeal Is so bloody loud He can hear…

There is little need To snap to attention In darkness Sightless Soundless Disconnected. Hearing aids Are useless unless worn The feedback squeal Is so bloody loud He can hear…

He feels the weight of it Expectation Once great Barely realised. Disappointment Has the upper hand The flat of it Never spared He gives thanks to his dad For that It is part…

It’s not the words It’s the talking I remember Lying together Late into the night Knowing we should sleep The world turning, Renewable energy Birthing the dawn. Sometimes the…

I open my eyes I close them Peekaboo It’s there It’s not Here it is again It was there All the time The suddenness Of its appearance Its departure Closing in Pressurised…

I am alive I see that now It is plain The rain Is a sign Of transformation. There is proof of life Among the freckles What a wonder It took so long To fall into my lap. Runnels…

I never liked fishing It didn’t hook me The first time I tried it And that was that I was a fidgety tike With an antsy Restlessness That didn’t sit well With a lazy day By the…

I never liked fishing It didn’t hook me The first time I tried it And that was that I was a fidgety tike With an antsy Restlessness That didn’t sit well With a lazy day By the…

Time gets away From you, Catch it If you can. I made a cup of tea For my daughter When she dropped in The other day. She is good like that More than I deserve I don’t drink tea…

It happens Whether you Like it or not. Bring it on With bells, The whistles hurt my ears If you’re not in With a shout Stand in the wings Wait your turn It will come It’s all a…

It happens Whether you Like it or not. Bring it on With bells, The whistles hurt my ears If you’re not in With a shout Stand in the wings Wait your turn It will come It’s all a…

Lay your head To slumber Weep if you have to Roll away Take me with you Wake up In another world A flower in a garden A fish in the ocean Float on the surface Fly in the sky…

Chemo Stories. It is pretence, A masquerade, The ebb and flow Disguised as a flat pool. Moments of tranquillity Overwhelmed By uncontrolled surges, Whirlpools and eddies. The…

The watch is fine now, and the updates are complete. I will do better tomorrow. Lay your head To slumber Weep if you have to Roll away Take me with you Wake up In another world A…

I am ungrounded If I lose my feet I will be raised up Carried away, Floating On the wind Dissipated Dashed on rocks Nipped by sand crabs Encrusted in barnacles, Broken beneath A…

The day hospital. There is laughter, It bleeds in with the sun, Slipping out from between Tight lips As gallows humour. Drawn from the depths Of despair It leavens the mood And…

Similarity in difference. Do you see me? I can see you Or is my impression, A constructed reflection. Do we believe what we want To believe, Until truth is revealed As something…

These are the days When the sun never shines Does it even rise? Though clouds part And a brightening Appears in the swirl, It is a stony light, Impervious to life. Slow air clumps…

Some things matter More than Blood flow Bring me down Why don’t you Hang me low As low as the town In the valley The old streets Overgrown With past lives I am overawed By the…

Some things matter More than Blood flow Bring me down Why don’t you Hang me low As low as the town In the valley The old streets Overgrown With past lives I am overawed By the…

Clouds move at a different pace. There is a hierarchy, With ill-formed Wispy, misty twirls, Scudding hurriedly along, Brushing the skirts, Of the slow moving Heavyweights. Birds…

Everything changes, Nothing remains, Nobody stands still. A refusal Is no rejection, Ejection. The onrush Will sweep you off your feet, Eventually. Holding on, is an illusion.…

We are the heartbeat, The drivers of our fate. The movers who shake The world’s foundations, And stand at future’s gate. We are the life blood, You pour into the earth. The givers…

If I could I would roll in the grass Slither along Snakelike Hang upside down From the branch of a tree Batlike Play the fool With a straw hat pulled down Over my face The top…

Standing in the dark After the light has gone. The brief flare, Illuminating the darkest hours, The bleakest days, The long cold nights That follow. As a winter wind strips…

When she looks at me It hits Like a custard pie I flinch From its intensity. I was looking Right through her Into the distance Staring without seeing Innervision. I can’t keep…

When she looks at me, It hits Like a custard pie I flinch From its intensity. I was looking Right through her Into the distance Staring without seeing Innervision. I can’t keep…

Am I done now? Is it all over? The pencils, With ends, Chewed down. The broken pens, Used as worry beads, Finally laid to rest. And on reflection I wonder, what On earth their use…

Everything hangs By a thread. The turn of a head, One way, Or another. The toss of a coin, Chance meetings When least expected. Holding a door, Leaving it open To a stranger. And…

For the living. Even in absence I feel you there. Around the next corner, Stepping into the shadow, Under a street lamp. Coming out of a shop, On the other side Of a platform.…

Garrulous trees lean in Blathering at the window Leering leaves flounce On the wind Broadly speaking Each wide leaf Resembles a pterodactyl So ancient are they, Primordial.…

More to come tomorrow. There is much to avoid Or face head-on It is often a choice To be entertained Or not. The view from your eyes Is more refined than mine The rough kids play…

There is much to avoid Or face head-on It is often a choice To be entertained Or not. The view from your eyes Is more refined than mine The rough kids play With sharp sticks…

Easing through days. When the will to understand Is sorely tested, By a deepening split, That threatens To drag you down. Into a pit, Between a need Of flesh To be well rested.…

He remembered the phrase ‘I’ll give you the rough side of my hand…’ One among many He failed to understand, But heard so often, When grown ups were giants, And a father’s words…

Silent freckles make A greater impact On me Than trumpets blown At the front Of a cavalry charge Or the cries of the infantry Going down Waving the red, white and blue For god and…

A weariness, Dragged him down. It almost pinned him To the ground. It suited the morning, The colours of the world All drained away, Through a lack of care. The day, wrung out…

Long goes the night The only man alive Looking for roses Before they bleed Trying to forget the way Until I remember It never led anywhere. Contemplating the sky Wondering whether…

The old photograph. It was a dog eared picture, Fading with age. Who was that guy? He looked a little too cool, Trying hard not to care He was somewhere else, not here not there.…

Out spot Out Damn spot An accident waiting For permission To be called a black spot A polka dot A black spot on the skin A cosmetic anomaly An old-fashioned beauty When times were…

There were differences. The wavy lines, Cracks and scrapes, That spidered across The old paving, Were not unlike The Amazon delta. An aerial view. He had seen so many times In…

He saw it. Even in reflection. A sunlit glance Off mirrored glass. Slicing the sky With a reminder Of distance, And the road show Of early morning, Snaking through The daylight…

I float in night sweat Boneless Unmoored Lost in search of morning Grounded in Cuckoo spit A bloodsac cocoon. Scraping the dirt from my shoe Black as a dead beetle Drowning in the…

A good day. I float in night sweat Boneless Unmoored Lost in search of morning Grounded in Cuckoo spit A bloodsac cocoon. Scraping the dirt from my shoe Black as a dead beetle…

I follow a headland Built on fish scales Reaking of weather A storm of lost sailors The drunken shanty With dead eye horseshoes Above the door Of a smokehouse. Ducking beneath the…

I follow a headland Built on fish scales Reaking of weather A storm of lost sailors The drunken shanty With dead eye horseshoes Above the door Of a smokehouse. Ducking beneath the…

The wind whistles, There is mischief to it But impishness Is no excuse for mayhem Nobody uses hatpins Flat caps fly Every which way. Old men with varicose veins Wear short pants,…

The wind whistles, There is mischief to it But impishness Is no excuse for mayhem Nobody uses hatpins Flat caps fly Every which way. Old men with varicose veins Wear short pants,…

Awash And colourless. The picture changing, Even as the day begins. Blues have drained, Red and gold I thought might stay, So quickly, Fade to grey. It is as though The best of me…

There is more To behold than scorched earth Charred remains Are cosmopolitan An old brown shoe Speaks in tongues A torn silk shirt From Savile Row A shard of glass That was a…

Sprawled across a sofa Wasted Closer to feckless than reckless Wondering about life The fact of it Lost in details Written into the margin It is easy to forget There are so many…

A brief note Hold to the fire The heat of it Nourish the flame Gather the ashes Left from burning Carry them to the high ground Loose them to the wind They will be scattered Far…

Somebody called I didn’t hear it The phone is on silent Who calls these days? It was from a guy called Charlie I don’t know a Charlie Was it a euphemism I don’t know I let it go.…

It is no wonder The world is shot full of crazy, I lie on the floor Unsure how I got there. It is comfortable enough, It is my floor Which grounds me. The French doors stand open…

But oh, those singers murdering so many good songs. Perhaps in her heart She was young, She hid it well The loss of hope. Pushing a trolley, An exoskeleton Full of past mistakes.…

The more I sit The more I resemble A busted Buddha Motionless and inscrutable Everything around me Is in repetition Moving rapidly It feels like I Practised invisibility with The…

The more I sit The more I resemble A busted Buddha Motionless and inscrutable Everything around me Is in repetition Moving rapidly It feels like I Practised invisibility with The…

There is little wit The laughter is forced Beaten into the brain Trying to befuddle The fool Who believes he has come home Found his way. Lying on the ground Looking up at the sky…

There is little wit The laughter is forced Beaten into the brain Trying to befuddle The fool Who believes he has come home Found his way. Lying on the ground Looking up at the sky…

It's not an official record I don’t use a phone that way But the door was open, As I had left it To stand under the sky There is always a weight to it Sometimes it is heavier…

There is smoke in the air The smell of bacon From the kitchen The fire in the belly of the whale Smoulders As he snoozes The fat of his bloating, coating The underside of his…

There is smoke in the air The smell of bacon From the kitchen The fire in the belly of the whale Smoulders As he snoozes The fat of his bloating, coating The underside of his…

Reflux action There is just so much Indigestion a guy can stomach Before reflux sticks in the throat The older you get The easier it is to say no To what you know Will not sit…

There is just so much Indigestion a guy can stomach Before reflux sticks in the throat The older you get The easier it is to say no To what you know Will not sit well. The trick…

I guess that is one of the problems With philosophy It is just a series of Evolving opinions Reasoned Well-argued Perhaps with a grain of sense On occasions. Oft times It has a…

I guess that is one of the problems With philosophy It is just a series of Evolving opinions Reasoned Well-argued Perhaps with a grain of sense On occasions. Oft times It has a…

Look to the future I’ve heard it said, It is where dreams lie Where the living is done. Nothing good comes from Delving into a past Where dry bones Moulder in dark shadows. The…

You don’t have to be kind To strangers Or old people But it helps To oil the wheels. It hurts nobody To be pleasant But it is difficult When you are in a hurry And some old guy…

You don’t have to be kind To strangers Or old people But it helps To oil the wheels. It hurts nobody To be pleasant But it is difficult When you are in a hurry And some old guy…

There is a haze Everything shimmers Grease bubbles on burned skin The grime of life The twist of torn sheets The winding of tortured sleep A welter of sweat Casting a rainbow As…

Hot in the city There is a haze Everything shimmers Grease bubbles on burned skin The grime of life The twist of torn sheets The winding of tortured sleep A welter of sweat…

Too many scythes Wielded clumsily Whipping At the bloom of young flowers The bright things The pretty heads The dancing queens Rolling and flopping in the air Floating for a…

Too many scythes Wielded clumsily Whipping At the bloom of young flowers The bright things The pretty heads The dancing queens Rolling and flopping in the air Floating for a…

So many sleeping souls The faithless weep For loss of purpose Sandmen live in shadow Schemers and deceivers Dream invaders Homewreckers Moving from house to house Breaking the…

Even through the noise Do you hear it? A leaf blower Drowning out the birdsong Whining like a hobbled goat Tied to a stake It eats the grass just the same Better for the…

Cracked house martin. There is nothing here A glass dragon Coiled around a globe A world in the grip Of a fiction Atop A chipped coffee table Which looked good brand new Stood up…

I don’t know Anything Not really I’m as crazy as the next guy Even crazier than The woman I can hear talking On her phone Somewhere up there I can’t see her But I can hear This…

Time was. The Poincianas drip Red petals trailing Down to the floor Fat drops of paint Rich dabs of lifeblood Heavily pregnant trees Tossed helplessly Ranged against the wind…

Touch the stain of me. The pain of me. The drain of me Through the gaps in the story Ragged edges Lost to truth Amid the conjecture The confluence of ideas Suggestions and…

There is a white wall A blank canvas I paint myself into the cracks The edges fade into the sky I could raise my eyes Survey the firmament Picture me as human Perhaps I have…

Northern Exposure Broad green leaves As thick as canvas Spread wide In full sail A million yachts An armada Of billowing trees Pitching against the wind The clicks and creaks Of…

Broad green leaves As thick as canvas Spread wide In full sail A million yachts An armada Of billowing trees Pitching against the wind The clicks and creaks Of old wood settling…

I sit among tall trees Back against a trunk Storied as mountains The grandeur of them The extent of their indifference My fingers dig in the dirt They have never been so clean I…

There are no letters in the box Not anymore Once upon a time It was stuffed to the gills Bank letters in red Par Avion Airmail in blue Tissue paper With spidery thin writing…

Dead letter drop There are no letters in the box Not anymore Once upon a time It was stuffed to the gills Bank letters in red Par Avion Airmail in blue Tissue paper With spidery…

Expeditionary force They camped Drove pegs deep into soft earth At the edge of the sand A north wind tugging at determination A cruel night The heat from the fire A welcome relief…

It was a dream. I stood in a dressing room Holding a pair of underpants Too big for me Which is all very strange Until I think about The scale of things. Everything I conceive Is…

The well. His head hung Down to the glass Close enough to see It clouding with every breath. Heavy with dread Even though I knew Brevity was not his gift, ‘I am dry.’ He began…

It would never be us We were different We would stay up all night Smoking and drinking Make love on a rug In front of the fire By candlelight Cling together Covered in paint and…

It’s not the words It’s the talking I remember Lying together Late into the night Knowing we should sleep The world turning, Renewable energy Birthing the dawn. Sometimes the…

First-day nerves. Words are sucked out Of the air Vacuum sealed Mouths, if you please Auditorium rules apply First-day nerves Langor sinks into a chair An easy Sunday, Leaning…

First-day nerves. Words are sucked out Of the air Vacuum sealed Mouths, if you please Auditorium rules apply First-day nerves Langor sinks into a chair An easy Sunday, Leaning…

Sometimes when my heart is still, My head empty, The thoughts I have lost Sit just out of reach On the street In a passing car or On a veranda Leather boots propped up On the…

I have tramped Knee-deep in drifting snow Down Long Lane To the corner Where snow ploughs Cleared the way And I saw the road again Covered in salt. You think I miss the beauty The…

Bukowski on Miramba Every time you ask “What are you writing now?’ I reply with the same words A poem “A story?’ No, it's a poem. ‘Not a story then?’ No not a story Although it is…

Even as I dream My head upon your lap, At least that is how I remember it, The eight million souls around us Scraping a living Chasing a dragon Or some other narcotic To keep…

It could have been me Sleeping under cardboard skies Propped up Between a shopping trolley And a Trembling Poplar He was shaking with the cold Or in sympathy with the tree It was…

There is always dancing Somewhere Happiness is never frivolous There are Magpies With more cunning Than morals Passing information One to another Without changing The meaning of a…

I miss you so much. It is easier To look at the stars As a heavenly disguise A mummer’s mask A distraction A merry twinkle The magic of their appearance The way they rotate Around…

It is easier To look at the stars As a heavenly disguise A mummer’s mask A distraction A merry twinkle The magic of their appearance The way they rotate Around Polaris Shimmer and…

Carry her Set her down beneath a tree There is room enough For you and she To watch the days go by. The sun flies Seasons change And as leaves fall They will be golden. Over the…

Nobody said it was easy But as kids, With imagination eating a hole In the barriers To working-class success Everything is possible. Children have a way of Seeing the world And…

Sitting alone In a small room With a dog Curled up at the foot of the bed. He wandered in from somewhere Across the hall To claim a spot in front of the window Where the sun…

I’m not sure But the way The moon was hung up there It looked like Somebody had slung it over A sky hook I was asked to get some From the engineering stores When a young…

I haven’t seen him in a while The tattooed man With his feet in the gutter Head in the bin Looking for cigarette butts. Opening a takeaway box Eating the leftovers Sitting on the…

I haven’t seen him in a while The tattooed man With his feet in the gutter Head in the bin Looking for cigarette butts. Opening a takeaway box Eating the leftovers Sitting on the…

The city runs forever Pushing its boundaries Where once it stopped Gathering its finery Holding itself against intrusion The incursion Of a floodplain The frugal winter The…

The city runs forever Pushing its boundaries Where once it stopped Gathering its finery Holding itself against intrusion The incursion Of a floodplain The frugal winter The…

I remember So many things Some of them not worth Holding on to, They might hold on to me. For the most part, they were unpleasant Using a bathroom In a rooming house With clumps…

There is little point In trying to capture the drift The slip-slide into sleep When the will is set to work As the body is saying no. If only the hallucinogenic process Could be…

There is little point In trying to capture the drift The slip-slide into sleep When the will is set to work As the body is saying no. If only the hallucinogenic process Could be…

Skirting the copse With the crows' nests High up in the trees Exposed in winter But rarely used Once the canopy has thinned. Crows are not fussy About the decor But enjoy their…

Oxford. Number one and still, the place to be apparently Against the darkening sky So many colleges are called Trinity Not only in Oxford How lacking in imagination Are the…

He gazes still From atop the hill Looking out over the valley As the river broadens Into a final reckoning with the sea Pitching its waste and detritus Into the deep Lost as he…

Sitting on a deckchair Watching the clouds, Pretty as a picture Captured in fine art Little girls in pigtails Boys in ragged trousers Lounging on a broken Wooden groyne Waiting…

Even from an upstairs window, In Harrow or High up in an Enfield council block Nineteen floors or more, Anxious about fireproof cladding And emergency protocols, With the only…

The impossibility of it. I remember living in a room So small I could barely lie flat. No mirror Just a single bed With an old chest of drawers. The bathroom was at the end of a…

Is it a trick A sleight of hand A disregard for the truth Of other times And other places The way you appear As the petals unfold The purity in their smile A slip of an Orchid So…

When I walk alone I carry new music, The magic of Bluetooth Keeps pace Filling the space. I remember how comforting it was To walk, you and I With genuine interest, The wonder of…

When I walk alone I carry new music, The magic of Bluetooth Keeps pace Filling the space. I remember how comforting it was To walk, you and I With genuine interest, The wonder of…

Rabbits We are sprites Splashing together In the ice-cold water The brook pops and jumps Jiggles and giggles. Skipping over the slippery rocks The sharp-edged slate The powdered…

We are sprites Splashing together In the ice-cold water The brook pops and jumps Jiggles and giggles. Skipping over the slippery rocks The sharp-edged slate The powdered chalk It…

The fresh morning air, Newly minted. Innocence Stripped bare. A sneak thief, The wind has silken fingers Always on the move. Nothing is as it was Nor as it should be. Even though…

Did you ever have that dream? Where you come upon an upturned baby chair The blanket looks familiar The little booties Belong to your little brother You just know what Lies ahead…

Did you ever have that dream? Where you come upon an upturned baby chair The blanket looks familiar The little booties Belong to your little brother You just know what Lies ahead…

I’ll be okay. As I get older Everything moves further away, Perhaps if I sit for long enough Things will come around again. Am I to be a sage who waits With a look of perpetually…

As I get older Everything moves further away, Perhaps if I sit for long enough Things will come around again. Am I to be a sage who waits With a look of perpetually Glazed…

I know what you want You want me to get a dog Walk it in the morning Last thing at night Care for it when it throws up From eating its own vomit. Again. A never-ending cycle. When…

He stepped out To cool down, Senseless words exchanged Instantly regretted. Walked boldly into the night, Reluctantly continued Feeling the chill, Wishing to have worn a jumper…

Where is the boatman? A crowd of people Are waiting for the crossing, Without a bridge The river is as wide as an ocean. In the distance an old man Braves the waters In a Coracle.…

Where is the boatman? A crowd of people Are waiting for the crossing, Without a bridge The river is as wide as an ocean. In the distance an old man Braves the waters In a Coracle.…

Would that I could see A sunset in your eyes A reflection of England The sweep of wildflowers The rocky fall of a chalk stream The confluence of waters Exmoor in the early morning…

It is Idris’s birthday today… Once there was a boy Who took the beach home In a bucket He said he could hear the sea The ebb and flow of the tide He slept soundly With the bucket…

It is so easy, A single photograph Takes me back into mourning Not that it is ever too far away. The weight of it In a pocket wallet Can be as heavy as lead Heavy of heart Sent as…

The old man sat apart Watching the world Through a prism of historical interest A mother laughed hysterically When she lost her balance Falling from a paddleboard Into the waiting…

The old man sat apart Watching the world Through a prism of historical interest A mother laughed hysterically When she lost her balance Falling from a paddleboard Into the waiting…

It was a brown liquor day It always was But even more so when words Were hard to come by. He sat in the corner On a barstool nursing a dirty glass Tipping it, turning it upside…

Toothpaste smile It was a brown liquor day It always was But even more so when words Were hard to come by. He sat in the corner On a barstool nursing a dirty glass Tipping it,…

“It comes upon me In the strangest places.” He whispers As if afraid of being overheard “In the bloomin’ bathroom For goodness sake.” When on his own, with nothing to look at But…

Sitting quietly At the back of a room In a chair or a pew A church or a pub When they can be one and the same Depending on the circumstance, Where people sing Or chatter endlessly…

Sitting quietly At the back of a room In a chair or a pew A church or a pub When they can be one and the same Depending on the circumstance, Where people sing Or chatter endlessly…

Sometimes a glimpse of sky Breaks through Between the grey monotony of plain buildings Concrete monoliths Built as an ego defence, Alien monsters Visible from the moon, Straddling…

Sometimes a glimpse of sky Breaks through Between the grey monotony of plain buildings Concrete monoliths Built as an ego defence, Alien monsters Visible from the moon, Straddling…

United won but it was a thoroughly watchable game. Blowhard and windbag Two leaf blowers Move slowly along the path Swinging old fossil burners From side to side As if they were…

Blowhard and windbag Two leaf blowers Move slowly along the path Swinging old fossil burners From side to side As if they were flame throwers. The leaves scatter White flags…

Sweep the streets clean Smash me and grab Disappear me Without a trace There is nothing to see here So much for police procedurals There is no panopticon Even social media lets me…

There was always a conductor. “Fares please” So many young gymnasts Perfecting routines Jumping off a double-decker Before it stopped Hopping on as it moved along Swinging on the…

All at sea, In the doldrums On a windless day. Old men with expanded Waistlines Grapple with joysticks and toy boats. Tacking back and forth Along the esplanade In search of a…

There is nowhere I would rather be Than lying on white sand With my eyes closed Listening to summer waves breaking Feeling the pull As the living water laps at my feet Knowing you…

There is no order To this chaos Broken promises litter the floor Scattered among the debris The remains of old stories Torn sheets, crumpled paper An old dartboard A fountain pen…

Summer rain. There were dark days, Grey in the memory Lacking the colour of youth Which he remembered as a different hue, Black and white With a few of Jackson’s trailing red…

Hospice. There is nobody else In this black hole Nothing but a darkness Full of ignorance A falsity of memories The shadows thick with a grimace Of disinterest, nobody bothers to…

Man Utd did win but it was a drab game. I will practice more tomorrow. There is nobody else In this black hole Nothing but a darkness Full of ignorance A falsity of memories The…

It was a wonder, He was in no doubt, The slag heaps were long gone The landscape redrawn Gulls sat atop a winding wheel Set in stone Marking the grave of the old mine Where many…

Sometimes, when holding on Feels more like letting go I reconsider my relationship With the past Browsing old memories As if they were photographs Caught up in a reconstruction…

People walk the same street In different directions Look through windows from opposite sides The back of the bus and not the front The sun in their eyes, Burning their necks.…

I lie down Every night prepared to die, It hasn’t happened yet But it will. How will I know? Slow slow slow… There is no coming back from it Unless you are a true believer The…

Sitting alone in the garden At midnight Counting stars instead of sheep The smell of jasmine in the air The hum of electricity From a coming storm As loud as a rolling sea Waves…

Sitting alone in the garden At midnight Counting stars instead of sheep The smell of jasmine in the air The hum of electricity From a coming storm As loud as a rolling sea Waves…

My life ebbs and flows With the passing of days, Skirting a rolling sea With its taunting roar Its gentle splash, Never the same from one day unto the next. The shoreline, strewn…

My life ebbs and flows With the passing of days, Skirting a rolling sea With its taunting roar Its gentle splash, Never the same from one day unto the next. The shoreline, strewn…

So many clocks White-faced Time-pieces Staring into space Pointing out each minute difference. Big Ben carries a punch But Greenwich carries the weight One on each side, Bordering…

So many clocks White-faced Time-pieces Staring into space Pointing out each minute difference. Big Ben carries a punch But Greenwich carries the weight One on each side, Bordering…

Somewhere, over there On the other side of the mirror Between reflection and refraction, An aged woman sits Dressed in black Asleep, in a high-backed chair, Dreaming of mountains…

Somewhere, over there On the other side of the mirror Between reflection and refraction, An aged woman sits Dressed in black Asleep, in a high-backed chair, Dreaming of mountains…

Break him open It would be as easy as cracking an egg Fold him up, Beat the life out of the living They are barely clinging To the prospect of tomorrow, Every time the wind blows…

Magpie Why do you linger? What brings you here To sit by my side When we are both strangers So very different in outlook And expectation Even in proximity I wonder at your need…

Sentient Bees choose wisely Where they will stop? Learning from adversity Avoiding hungry spiders That may wait to pounce From under an adjacent leaf Partially hidden in the…

Entitled thrill seekers Take gap years Work for NGOs Go to the Himalayas Climb K2 Cycle around South America Taking pictures of indigenous tribes In the Amazon Paint themselves…

Even as Ron Carter plays ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ In my ears, the chaos Of the atrium seeps through The wedding guests from last night sit Hunched over handheld devices, glassy-eyed…

Even as Ron Carter plays ‘Bye Bye Blackbird’ In my ears, the chaos Of the atrium seeps through The wedding guests from last night sit Hunched over handheld devices, glassy-eyed…

Sometimes, in a dream, I remember I am not as young as I used to be, Even as I try to do an impossible thing Climbing higher than the chasing pack With only a flick of my foot…

Sometimes, in a dream, I remember I am not as young as I used to be, Even as I try to do an impossible thing Climbing higher than the chasing pack With only a flick of my foot…

A launderette in Islington And people sit So closely together on the bench seat Yet my guess is, so very far apart Watching the clothes go around. Industrial-sized tumble dryers…

A launderette in Islington And people sit So closely together on the bench seat Yet my guess is, so very far apart Watching the clothes go around. Industrial sized tumble dryers…

So much to overcome Every day He stands on a battlefield Shies away from the big guns Lined up to cut his legs from under The world is full of snipers A nest of angry vipers With…

So much to overcome Every day He stands on a battlefield Shies away from the big guns Lined up to cut his legs from under The world is full of snipers A nest of angry vipers With…

Around a branch, pulling, Bending it low, feeling its resistance So many times in bygones I may have wondered If it would be safe to keep walking Taking my chances on a towpath…

The retirement village people What a display We who once were Butterflies Pinned against walls Girdled in nostalgia Wrapped up against the weather Waiting for the clock to tick…

The retirement village people What a display We who once were Butterflies Pinned against walls Girdled in nostalgia Wrapped up against the weather Waiting for the clock to tick…

Nothing ever happens There is a dullness to the day Nobody waits in the wings to perform There is no magic Sudden cataclysm, or sword of Damocles The hammer will not fall today…

Nothing ever happens There is a dullness to the day Nobody waits in the wings to perform There is no magic Sudden cataclysm, or sword of Damocles The hammer will not fall today…

Are you a dreamer too What does it even mean Perhaps we are all poets A choir of souls singing together in harmony Just below the level of plain hearing Unless the grip we have on…

He ran a good pub Pulled a perfect pint With a faraway look in his eye Hinting at something more Rarely drawn into friendly conversation He was reserved, laid back, keeping his…

It is very quiet At night in genteel resorts In spring before the onset of summer When the pastel shades are discoloured By an influx of city dwellers Throwing themselves into…

It is very quiet At night in genteel resorts In spring before the onset Itof summer When the pastel shades are discoloured By an influx of city dwellers Throwing themselves into…

Muhammad Ali and me. What is it with you? Jousting with words Trying to confer meaning On the lot of man Or is it humankind Never sure of where you stand To the right of Kerouac…

It was 1969 More rust than iron Who knows when it had last seen service Broad green grass poked through holes In the body whilst the handles Disappeared into the mess of garbage…

It was 1969 More rust than iron Who knows when it had last seen service Broad green grass poked through holes In the body whilst the handles Disappeared into the mess of garbage…

There is nothing but the memory Of golden days Long gone The sea rolls thunderously Pounding hard against tall cliffs All the way from Exmouth On to Studland The Jurassic Coast…

It was a Friday He had that look in his eye He was going to be foolhardy A couple of drinks Was all it took to loosen his tongue The bar was full of weekenders, Roughnecks who…

I thought of taking tea Before remembering It was not to my taste The kettle was always boiling in the old place It was you who liked a cuppa Rarely out of reach Sometimes there…

I thought of taking tea Before remembering It was not to my taste The kettle was always boiling in the old place It was you who liked a cuppa Rarely out of reach Sometimes there…

When there is Wisteria Hanging low Weighted with flowers Creating secret bowers Where garden furniture Fits so well I recall a Sunday afternoon Taking tea at Alexandra Palace…

He was An accidental tailor With dreams to be an artist But didn’t measure up The family were against it Generations of clothiers Wielding scissors Built a platform for the…

He was An accidental tailor With dreams to be an artist But didn’t measure up The family were against it Generations of clothiers Wielding scissors Built a platform for the…

There used to be a school Children of the village attended From age five until fifteen Unless they passed the eleven plus Grammar school was a different world My brother used to…

The clouds were high Light and lazy Barely moving across a Constable sky All it lacked was a rainbow A young man sat on a bench Presented by the family In loving memory of…

The blind men will be rolling up today… It was lying abandoned Its headline torn away The pages crumpled where Somebody had been sitting on it When the train was full. Do people…

How did you fair In the aftermath When the rains eased The needle point of ice cold Drizzle finally drying up The scars of nature Wrought upon a landscape In need of healing…

I thought one day An adult I would be The decisions would be mine The world would be a better place Summer would last forever Nobody would go hungry Press their noses to the glass…

The boy read quietly Barely audible from the other side Of the table The old man smiled His head resting on the window As the train clacked Over well worn tracks There was comfort…

Chaos theory I thought I was alone Until the phone cut in Another unsolicited call Shiraz is on special if I bought a case Perhaps I could pass the number To the adult dating site…

Oh very woe is me… I looked up at the sky It was empty Blue in all directions With nothing of Wordsworth to see Even vapour trails Have dispersed thanks to covid No clouds to…

Lightning strikes the highest point In a field Indifferent to The nature of its presence It is just needs to be there Waiting to be hit Before the earth returns fire Twice as…

Were we but strangers Passing on the stairs Jostling shoulder to shoulder On an escalator Waiting for an elevator Standing at a bar Did we touch Share a smile Did our eyes meet In…

Man Utd won and it was a good game to watch. Were we but strangers Passing on the stairs Jostling shoulder to shoulder On an escalator Waiting for an elevator Standing at a bar…

There is nothing left To hang a hat on Christmas comes and goes With little more Than a whimper For the time The world was young The smell of cinnamon And chocolate An orange in a…

There used to be a school Children of the village attended From age five until fifteen Unless they passed the eleven plus Grammar schools were a different world My brother used to…

Where are the falsehoods Who do you Tear down Where lies the blame For the seasoned lie Dismiss my truth Question the integrity Of innocence When in your eyes Guilt is heaven sent…

Impugn my integrity. Where are the falsehoods Who do you Tear down Where lies the blame For the seasoned lie Dismiss my truth Question the integrity Of innocence When in your eyes…

Ah the television has returned. Drifting without moving Lost in wonder Folding into Wordsworth skies As wildflower palettes Betray an allegiance To the romantics A fresh wind…

Drifting without moving Lost in wonder Folding into Wordsworth skies As wildflower palettes Betray an allegiance To the romantics A fresh wind stampede Knee high grass Rolling as…

The clouds were high Light and lazy Barely moving across a Constable sky All it lacked was a rainbow A young man sat on a bench Presented by the family In loving memory of…

Perhaps Everything I touch Everything I see Everything I ever thought about Above or below the sea Is a prelude Perhaps All that I am All I can be All I would ever dream about For…

Perhaps Everything I touch Everything I see Everything I ever thought about Above or below the sea Is a prelude Perhaps All that I am All I can be All I would ever dream about For…

It was lying abandoned Its headline torn away The pages crumpled where Somebody had been sitting on it When the train was full. Do people read newspapers? Or do they just hide…

When you stood by a window The sun in your hair The fire in your eyes Looking beyond what I saw outside There was a circus Of the spectacular With highwire performers Trapeze acts…

A very rainy season. How did you fair In the aftermath When the rains eased The needlepoint of ice-cold Drizzle finally drying up The scars of nature Wrought upon a landscape In…

I thought one day An adult I would be The decisions would be mine The world would be a better place Summer would last forever Nobody would go hungry Press their noses to the glass…

The boy read quietly Barely audible from the other side Of the table The old man smiled His head resting on the window As the train clacked Over well-worn tracks There was comfort…

A Groundhog kind of day. It is a day for walking A little overcast A light breeze Not too humid The air feels good On the skin Every gust of wind Carries the promise Of another…

Chaos theory I thought I was alone Until the phone cut in Another unsolicited call Shiraz is on special if I bought a case Perhaps I could pass the number To the adult dating site…

I looked up at the sky It was empty Blue in all directions With nothing of Wordsworth to see Even vapour trails Have dispersed thanks to covid No clouds to break the monotony A…

Lightning strikes the highest point In a field Indifferent to The nature of its presence It just needs to be there Waiting to be hit Before the earth returns fire Twice as…

Are we drifting quietly Into senility Content to while away As the world turns Amusing each other To a great or lesser degree In anecdotes Designed as party pieces Recalling…

Are we drifting quietly Into senility Content to while away As the world turns Amusing each other To a great or lesser degree In anecdotes Designed as party pieces Recalling…

Is it a little gloomy To ponder the notion of death Too close to a Larkin truth To wonder if Lord of the Flies Was less a prediction And more a projection Of adult fear We all…

Is it a little gloomy To ponder the notion of death Too close to a Larkin truth To wonder if Lord of the Flies Was less a prediction And more a projection Of adult fear We all…

A Super league. We are only equal When we are dead The worms don’t play Favourites Flies will have a blowout On any meal It is their birthright Too many maggots Enjoy the fruits…

The Super league. We are only equal When we are dead The worms don’t play Favourites Flies will have a blow out On any meal It is their birthright Too many maggots Enjoy the…

If I could trek across The barren straits Traverse foothills Scarred by the wash Of glaciers long gone Climb the highest mountain Stand upon the peak Raise my hands and touch the…

If I could trek across The barren straits Traverse foothills Scarred by the wash Of glaciers long gone Climb the highest mountain Stand upon the peak Raise my hands and touch the…

It is Tomas’s birthday today...he would have been forty-four. It is not the shadow The pattern on a wall Created from bamboo Inspiring William Morris To create an art form On a…

It is not the shadow The pattern on a wall Created from bamboo Inspiring William Morris To create an art form On a roll of paper The dapple down Of sunlight filtered through The…

The wind is soundless Until meeting Something solid The rustle as it whirls ‘twixt waxen leaves A shriek of mindless friction As it whips through valleys Scraping rooftops…

He comes in every day We say ‘hi.’ We might speak From time to time Nothing too controversial Most days I just want time to sit Drink strong coffee slow Work my way up To getting…

He comes in every day We say ‘hi.’ We might speak From time to time Nothing too controversial Most days I just want time to sit Drink strong coffee slow Work my way up To getting…

There is a moment Holding a cup In both hands Breathing in the aroma Of coffee, freshly brewed When his mind has flown Racing through low clouds To British Columbia Or some place…

There is a moment Holding a cup In both hands Breathing in the aroma Of coffee, freshly brewed When his mind has flown Racing through low clouds To British Columbia Or some place…

I heard him Shouting from the balcony Two flats over There were no Montegue’s or Capulets anywhere ‘You put it in the microwave And heat it for thirty minutes’ I heard the…

Is there time enough To care When the sun splits the sky With religious zeal Burning bushes for pleasure Shouting them down With the ferocity of a zealot When dead-skinned men In…

Perhaps there is nothing Worth more Than the time it takes To remember, I see more Butterflies Than Daisies Whatever happened To the sound of snow Beneath my feet A newborn crocus…

Ah no sooner said...it is raining again. Is truth self evident When meaning is obscured Words misunderstood Carry a potency Off the Richter scale Bring down mountains Level…

Is truth self-evident When meaning is obscured Words misunderstood Carry a potency Off the Richter scale Bring down mountains Level playing fields Which are a misnomer When the…

There is a place, Long called Lindisfarne It is at times an Island And at others, When the tide is low Linked to the mainland By a golden causeway. It has trapped many Foolish…

There is a place, Long called Lindisfarne It is at times an Island And at others, When the tide is low Linked to the mainland By a golden causeway. It has trapped many Foolish…

For once The air is cool Rain a welcome distraction Summer has beaten its way Over the landscape Flattened the grass Dried it out Yellowed to white Hollowed until brittle Easy to…

For once The air is cool Rain a welcome distraction Summer has beaten its way Over the landscape Flattened the grass Dried it out Yellowed to white Hollowed until brittle Easy to…

Rear Window. First the blind was down Then up Until with a slap It came down again Was it pulled Or did it fall Blinking A blind eye Turned out to the world Who knows It may have…

Out of the sky A flutter of tail feathers A last song Sighing Unbreak me Blood smeared pane Never saw it coming The reflection is me Bearing no resemblance To Icarus Waxen…

Am I alone Here in this room With nothing to surround me But space Is not the difference between Inside and out Nary but an extension Of an illusion I have created To maintain my…

When did it start The anxious attachment To continuance The loss of invulnerability Which after all Was only ever An illusion When the world was Full of mystery Before cynicism…

Oh Fair Australia Where are the rainmakers There is smoke It hangs low across Moreton bay A dense sea mist The sky a haze of sooty residue As dirty as a London smog Drifting…

Throw me a line Let it be an anchor To arrest the drift But ghostlike Perhaps you see me As a shifting shadow On the water Dancing in and out Of a moonbeam A fine silhouette…

I lay me down Weathered by rain Scoured clean Only to be swamped In thick mud As sodden turf lifts To engulf me Drifting slowly As the waters rise Ungrounded I float Between trees…

I lay me down Weathered by rain Scoured clean Only to be swamped In thick mud As sodden turf lifts To engulf me Drifting slowly As the waters rise Ungrounded I float Between trees…

Still a long way to go before it is a book. Raindrops line dance Down a window pane In a race to the end Sundering light Distorting the view Constructing disguises Worn as…

Raindrops line dance Down a windowpane In a race to the end Sundering light Distorting the view Constructing disguises Worn as overcoats Umbrellas hiding frozen faces Lost in…

In this green and pleasant land... Broken carrier bags Float on a ragged breeze Pretending to be more Than leftovers Sorry faced balloons Bounce over a deserted Playground…

In this green and pleasant land... Broken carrier bags Float on a ragged breeze Pretending to be more Than leftovers Sorry faced balloons Bounce over a deserted Playground…

I am threadbare A skeleton of a tree With fallen leaves Standing misshapen In silhouette Against a backlit sky Even tired birds Impatient to roost Fly by overhead Afraid my aging…

Hold back the night Slide into its velvet gown Lift your lowly gaze Unto the heavens Your eyes a blaze Of fiery colour Gleaming in a glow Of light celestial Cry not for me But for…

A climate of change Stand together Save the world Bring it back From extinction Strip away the layers Of burnt offerings A millennia of Atomic number six Six? Six? Clogging its…

A climate of change Stand together Save the world Bring it back From extinction Strip away the layers Of burnt offerings A Millennium of Atomic number six Six? Six? Clogging its…

Is it enough To wait and see What tomorrow brings Does anybody know How deeply felt The pain is When the box is closed The lid tightly sealed Sunlight can Pierce the skin Without…

Shadows flicker upon the wall Hungry flames Devour me One bite at a time My lungs are the bellows Feeding the fire With excess oxygen Still black From the old days Coal tar cast…

Shadows flicker upon the wall Hungry flames Devour me One bite at a time My lungs are the bellows Feeding the fire With excess oxygen Still black From the old days Coal tar cast…

When will I be moved Spirited away Taken on a journey Carried on the back Of a winged beast As it soars between heaven and earth Is the euphoria Of belief enough to sustain The…

There is no truth Not here In the darkness Of a veil What is the intention Of a nightmare When its purpose Is so indistinct In determination As to be dispersed In as many…

I see you Whispered in clouds Painted lightly On a topographic sky Each word a brush stroke Feathering the air Splitting blue light Into a portrait Of omniscient Rainbows Wispy…

I see you Whispered in clouds Painted lightly On a topographic sky Each word a brush stroke Feathering the air Splitting blue light Into a portrait Of omniscient Rainbows Wispy…

Little children Chubby fingers Waving Float on water In Moses baskets Following the eventide Across the shallows Over shifting sands Where old sailors lie Unto morningside Where…

Little children Chubby fingers Waving Float on water In Moses baskets Following the eventide Across the shallows Over shifting sands Where old sailors lie Unto Morningside Where…

Painted ghosts Linger In the corner Tall ships Float on water Nothing is real In the periphery Of my imagination Where trolls Protect themselves From discovery By hiding under…

Painted ghosts Linger In the corner Tall ships Float on water Nothing is real In the periphery Of my imagination Where trolls Protect themselves From discovery By hiding under…

Of course there are no guarantees. Dishes are washed Not to be left Until morning Grime is a crime His mum would say Scrubbing the back step Before applying whitewash With a brush…

Dishes are washed Not to be left Until morning Grime is a crime His mum would say Scrubbing the back step Before applying whitewash With a brush He is a wave Breaking on a…

Did you wait In the shadows Out of the sun Soft skin too easily burned Waiting for the world to turn A car backfiring Followed by The shrill cry of a minor bird Mimicking the call…

Did you wait In the shadows Out of the sun Soft skin too easily burned Waiting for the world to turn A car backfiring Followed by The shrill cry of a minor bird Mimicking the call…

Forbidden city. Sweep me up Into the backspace Where the downpipe Is filled with debris Even the birds Have told me Has no value Other than as fodder For the insects Bottom…

Sweep me up Into the backspace Where the downpipe Is filled with debris Even the birds Have told me Has no value Other than as fodder For the insects Bottom feeders Are a little…

I miss her so much...and I will until I die. At least I am yet to have alcohol. The Anniversary. It is not a pale blue moon The whisper of spent surf Lapping at the sea wall As a…

Anniversary blue. It is not a pale blue moon The whisper of spent surf Lapping at the sea wall As a Snowy Owl Circles above white sand In search of supper The pause Between…

Minutes pass slowly The second hand pausing Between each beat Stifling a yawn Remembering summer Will it ever arrive Whole weeks go by Without registering An interest As a day…

Minutes pass slowly The second hand pausing Between each beat Stifling a yawn Remembering summer Will it ever arrive Whole weeks go by Without registering An interest As a day…

It will be fine, I am sure. The door is open But only the tiniest of cracks Through which The outside world Can be glimpsed As an honest smile On the face of the sun A soft green…

The door is open But only the tiniest of cracks Through which The outside world Can be glimpsed As an honest smile On the face of the sun A soft green meadow As mellow as a Sunday…

Fire arrows Light up the sky Burning with emotion One star less To travel home by Cascade waters Carry me away To tall ships On the horizon Ghostly shadows Soon to sail away…

In this sleepy idyll There is an ease to living When time moves at less Than a meander Yesterday embedded In every step Morning sun splintered across A glimmering sea Which…

Maybe I am still not quite fully grown up but I am a lot closer. If I stand still Will I see tall trees breathing Flowers turning To the sun Raindrops falling One by one Fires…

If I stand still Will I see tall trees breathing Flowers turning To the sun Raindrops falling One by one Fires burning In floating barges Can I see the wind blowing Will I ever…

Even now in sunlight There is darkness Hiding in every shadow Though here, in this place On a hillside Overlooking the sea Sitting by myself I am not alone A home can sing With…

Even now in sunlight There is darkness Hiding in every shadow Though here, in this place On a hillside Overlooking the sea Sitting by myself I am not alone A home can sing With…

The clouds look Hazy and lazy from here Drifting by On the other side Of hermetically sealed Triple glazed windows The only thing to be heard Through the open french doors Is the…

The clouds look Hazy and lazy from here Drifting by On the other side Of hermetically sealed Triple glazed windows The only thing to be heard Through the open french doors Is the…

Another day gone. There is languor A feeling Slowly developing Into lethargy A lassitude An attitude of apathy Less than pleasant As drowsiness Overlaps with indolence Fading into…

There is languor A feeling Slowly developing Into lethargy A lassitude An attitude of apathy Less than pleasant As drowsiness Overlaps with indolence Fading into fatigue A fugue…

Waiting Breathing in silence Lungs are bellows Frayed at the edges Closing down all avenues Of divergence Narrowing the focus Of disquiet The grass is sobbing It is incessant…

What of godliness When the act of washing Is ritualised cleansing The dirty work Left to others Less worthy. Is there any good In stripping away The proof of labour The honesty of…

Even as tears Fail to fall They wait Barely hidden Teetering unbidden On the brink Of discovery Always ready to announce themselves Eager to claim An audience As their progress is…

The motion of a Hummingbird Inching back and forth Wings barely visible A blur of purposeful activity Sunlight striking a stickleback Darting in shallows Tickled into a jam jar…

Good. Kora would be pleased. Is there any wonder? Where does the mind go When it is lost How do trees know When to start weeping Shedding leaves Like dry skin Who taught A…

Is there any wonder? Where does the mind go When it is lost How do trees know When to start weeping Shedding leaves Like dry skin Who taught A caterpillar To metamorphosize Where…

Small mercies. The motion of a Hummingbird Inching back and forth Wings barely visible A blur of purposeful activity Sunlight striking a stickleback Darting in shallows Tickled…

How does it sit What is the slant Nothing quite happens Before it is past Shadows are secrets Under exposure Darkness a swallow Into the belly of a whale The sun is life The…

How does it sit What is the slant Nothing quite happens Before it is past Shadows are secrets Under exposure Darkness a swallow Into the belly of a whale The sun is life The…

Do you hear me Even though I have never said a word I speak to you On the inside In a voice so loud It drowns out all distortion Rattling through the wires Connecting all the…

Gosh I miss you Kora. Nothing shouts louder Than silence An amplitude In ultrasound The wings of a Butterfly The scrape of a soul Escaping its pain Through the crack In a paper…

Nothing shouts louder Than silence An amplitude Of ultrasound The wings of a Butterfly The scrape of a soul Escaping its pain Through the crack In a paper-thin membrane Origami…

There you were In a crowd of strangers Dancing in the dark One by one They simply fell away To leave you Standing alone On top of a mountain With the whole world Spread out all…

There you were In a crowd of strangers Dancing in the dark One by one They simply fell away To leave you Standing alone On top of a mountain With the whole world Spread out all…

Open up Heavy lies the lid Bearing down On a body Of evidence. To the contrary minded There is life After death Never will it be the same Laughter is less plentiful Than fresh…

Bloodspill covered floor Barefoot souls smeared in panic Death splashed upon a Riven wall In abstraction Lifeless art coldly created Over exposed Despoiled by an act Of hate…

Sri Lanka Bloodspill covered floor Barefoot souls smeared in panic Death splashed upon a Riven wall In abstraction Lifeless art coldly created Over exposed Despoiled by an act Of…

Shiver me down In a chill breeze With scant regard For the season A faint but ghostly Flicker of a candle On the mantle A beacon in the darkness Of a blind room The curtain a…

It is a little more comfortable now. What moves you When a moment comes How are you found Do you wait To be called An obedient lackey A well-trained pet Secretly biting into The…

What moves you When a moment comes How are you found Do you wait To be called An obedient lackey Well-trained pet Secretly biting into The feeding hand When the lights dim Filling…

You watch me As I watch you Perhaps Nothing happens Unless it is seen Probability Is just a possibility Always leave room For manoeuvre Nobody is guilty Until they are caught Is…

Turn the key Open the door Whatever waits within Is surely better bathed In blue Washed in the scatter Of sunlight Where it can be exposed As less or more Than the sum Of your…

Skimming stones is easy On a lazy sea With a gentle wind Tiny sailboats Barely move On a slow day. Taking the time To choose the flattest Most aerodynamic Missile Aiming low…

I will never get over her loss...not really. ‘Any old iron’ Drifted along the street Echoing back off the cobbles Along with the click clack Of heavily shod hooves As the old…

‘Any old iron’ Drifted along the street Echoing back off the cobbles Along with the click clack Of heavily shod hooves As the old Shire Dragged the dirty cart Between the redbrick…

An early night might be on the cards. Walking in shadow At high noon The wind off the sea Smelling of sulphur A birdsong jangle With every sound the cackle Of an old crow The heat…

Walking in shadow At high noon The wind off the sea Smelling of sulphur A birdsong jangle With every sound the cackle Of an old crow The heat of the sun A weight across shoulders…

Asset stripping The ocean bed Is freshly made For deep-sea mining A new frontier Colliers in Waterworld Cowboys in facemasks Chasing the dream Drowning in an excess Of machismo…

In the space between Raindrops Of unpredictable distribution Butterflies appear To harvest The overflow of nectar Erratically they fly This way or that Taking a magical tour…

She was downstairs in the hall, looking up when I walked through to make coffee Celestial bodies In perpetually Relational motion Never quite in repose Do they come together…

The Planets Suite. Celestial bodies In perpetually Relational motion Never quite in repose Do they come together Gently merge Collapse one into the other Impact violently Split…

What would happen If there were no stars All had died When all we see In a backless sky Is a splash of tears For the passing A lingering flare Of memory A storyboard Of redundancy…

Potatoes peeled and cut...parboiling has commenced. What would happen If there were no stars All had died When all we see In a backless sky Is a splash of tears For the passing A…

Dominoes falling Arthritic fingers Pointing to the sky Calling for rapture Candles burning down Ripened seed pods Drying in the sun London Plane trees Cross-pollinating All year…

Open-mouthed Agape with wonder Close it before you choke Dry thunder lightning strike Split the world asunder Oxygen is food For the inferno Feed the beast With every breath The…

Drift into the infinite Float across the sea Avoiding Charon Who waits for me In the shallows Dark waters stir the pot Of its refraction Ripple its effect Across the surface I am…

I miss her so much. I might try MOTD in a little while. Drift into the infinite Float across the sea Avoiding Charon Who waits for me In the shallows Dark waters stir the pot Of…

Open your eyes Brightly green Sparkling in sunlight Glowing in the dark at midnight I watch as you wake Bloom like a flower Easy as daybreak Reaching out, touching the sky When…

We are lost As close to the bottom As we are to the top There is precious little Middle ground Underused Inhabited as it is By a host of rational thinkers With fingers crossed…

It is really raining now Wow. Words burrow Like worms Deep into the brain Eating up space Filling it with The beauty of life Constructing a memory From the debris Character from…

Promote a hunger For deliverance Market abhorrence Use it to stoke the fires Of the inferno In the broken souls of The undead Blame me Twist the truth Of my disease Feed my need…

There is something about a tram It has solidity of purpose A true heavyweight Sure of its destination It follows the track Until completion Without deviation Stopping briefly…

There is a simplicity To the skyline Even when a complex design Is sketched alongside A coconut tree A unicorn in a playground An elephant in front Of an office block A sun…

Oh London Was there ever a time Before the dead were carried Out to lie on wheelbarrows Picked by carrion Waiting for the fire To sweep the filth away That a canary sang on the…

The bucket is dry With no more water in the well The river an empty bed There is no slaking The thirst For more The salt of the earth Has been bartered The land Barely worth a…

Openings Holes in space In need of direction A lack of entropy A purposeful filling Pass this way Take a bus Try to find the entrance Not just any one But the one you waited for…

I just miss her. What is left Frozen wasteland Desert plain Scour me with faint praise For caring When all I do is stare In days gone by I was a Samaritan Taking time To listen A…

I miss her so much. Take heed of this It is a moment Never to return They never do No matter how many times They are revisited A little piece of what you see Is replaced A weather…

Wake me up from this perpetually lost sleep...please. Listen closely to The incessant chatter Of restless rainfall Diverted by rainbows Into dreamland As the sky opens A pleasure…

Of course the other side of this is that even my prose is a waste of time...it has barely sold and when I have sent it off it has been rejected so perhaps the whole exercise is…

Private health...pish posh. I feel very sad today...more sad than for some time. There is beauty In strange places A lobelia growing Through a crack in the pavement Bougainvillea…

Drift down softly With the fall Gentle as Camomile Bathing in candlelight Whisper to the Four corners Turn steadfastly into the wind Sing a simple song To the tune of auld lang…

Words burrow Like worms Deep into the brain Eating up space Filling it with The beauty of life Constructing a memory From the debris Character from detritus Building blocks Full…

Harry and Meghan take the tram. There is something about a tram It has solidity of purpose A true heavyweight Sure of its destination It follows the track Until completion Without…

What would it take? When nothing is forever Even mountains fall The earth opens up Beneath our feet The sky is split asunder Foundations shaken With every risky venture Even now…

Colour me in. There is a simplicity To the skyline Even when a complex design Is sketched alongside A coconut tree A unicorn in a playground An elephant in front Of an office…

Oh London Was there ever a time Before the dead were carried Out to lie on wheelbarrows Picked by carrion Waiting for the fire To sweep the filth away That a canary sang on the…

Hot rain Washing me away Melting Bleeding into the earth Every part Slipping into the deluge Draining down Lifeless fluid Uncontainable Leaking out of every pore Until nothing…

The bucket is dry With no more water in the well The river an empty bed There is no slaking The thirst For more The salt of the earth Has been bartered The land Barely worth a…

Sit awhile Breathe deeply Each inhalation Filling the space within Pushing out the pain Easing the fear Every exhalation Emptying out Clearing away the clutter Freeing the soul To…

This is me Crying in the wilderness Barely breathing In the freezing air Beneath the rubble Of sub-standard concrete Where survivors Scrabble in the dirt To make a living From the…

Listen closely to The incessant chatter Of restless rainfall Diverted by rainbows Into dreamland As the sky opens A pleasure principle The rain a by-product Of convection Is…

Openings Holes in space In need of direction A lack of entropy A purposeful filling Pass this way Take a bus Try to find the entrance Not just any one But the one you waited for…

What is left Frozen wasteland Desert plain Scour me with faint praise For caring When all I do is stare In days gone by I was a Samaritan Taking time To listen A candle in the…

Close to the edge We may not see it Shrouded though it may be In a fools mist Hiding the truth Behind the uncertainty Of our progress Negotiating dark waters In a turbulent sea…

Open your eyes See more than you saw before Even a voice or a sound Will change hue From wispy yellow To vibrant blue Differing wavelengths Do exist and resist The urge to be…

Empty words Turned upside down Tumbling out Of my pockets Where they were stuffed For safekeeping Until found wanting Falling Onto the floor Rolling around In blind panic Bouncing…

Resting against a tree Sheltered from the dark side By a canopy of light I saw the past Refracted in rain glazed sunbeams The scrub of rippled bark eased By the softness of damp…

An elephant floats by My window Pack a trunk Follow at a discreet distance The circus will catch up Clouds roll Their tumble self generating My fantasy over Before it has begun…

Take heed of this It is a moment Never to return They never do No matter how many times They are revisited A little piece of what you see Is replaced A weather faded memory…

Why do you ask Even as smoke From the chimney Curls up into an alabaster sky Rain waiting to dance On an old tin roof Every drop a splinter Of yesterday Words are formed They…

Gas and Air. No matter the washing or The wringing of hands With eyes averted To avoid the scene Deny a truth Blood stains. Rinse out the bowl Run fresh water freely Crystal clear…

Hot blood Runs the river Too wide to cross Too deep to fathom Without an answer Listen to the question One more time Understand the reason For the rhyme It is a crime To leave…

Open me up From the inside out Outside in There is no point In turning Everything upside down There is little difference Between the bottom And the top The utmost To the least…

Take my hand I am a stranger even to myself Skin is skin How different it is to be the same After a hot shower Softly smelling As sweet as cucumber We are separate We are one…

There is frailty Barely concealed flaws A lack of beauty From within Nothing of substance To hold the pieces together As worn stitches Come apart The thread holding Back the…

There is a moment In the after hours As the sun dissolves Into the slow swell Of a deep ocean Hot steam rising To absolve the sea Of blame In the name of new beginnings When…

Do you see Beneath the unraveling Where the grey skin Creases and gathers Under the eyes Tell tale signs Of a life well lived Finger trace Every lump Survey the cracks They widen…

Is there nothing left But a tide mark A life of grime An unwashed towel On a broken rack Too many people died here Trying to pretend It was worth the effort Of climbing out of the…

Release me Let me fall Into the pit where I belong Floundering Among the dead fish With wall eyes Disappointed pouts Persed petulant lips I will tread water With the fallen angels…

No need to panic There will be peace In our time Believe me Sing unburdened Sing my soul I am only dreaming Of sleeping As the tanks roll by Where are the lions In winter When the…

Drowning Is easy Wallow in shallow water Even a spoonful Can be too deep Every incline a little too steep Hiding in shadow Too afraid To raise an angry voice When we were told We…

There is beauty In strange places A lobelia growing Through a crack in the pavement Bougainvillaea climbing Out of a gutter Tumbling down from the sky Purple rain Without the neon…

Bring on the madness There is a logic To fear The world is a broken place Everywhere the wind blows Cast your eyes Unto the moon It is fresh cream In a teacup sky A tear From a…

Are you happy For me Does it make you sad The pain Once shared Now witnessed What would you have me do I can see your smiling face Reflected in every surface Tell me the secret…

Bleed in silence Take the medicine Swallow the pill Choke back the tears In shadow Watch life From a broken window Wrapped in an old blanket Rescued from a charity shop Gift aid…

Sometimes heavy Doses of pain medication Can mimic the effects of psychotropic drugs Without the worry of law breaking Unless you steal them of course. They can come very close to…

A glass half full…or empty? Sometimes the weight Is too much to bear. Nothing in particular Has changed, Just the air. The pressure cranked up Several atmospheres. The crush…

Ghosts. I thought you had gone, Everyone said you were, Nothing could bring you back. It didn’t work that way, Memories would fade Gradually over time. The disconnect Between…

A soldier’s lot… Nothing prepares you… Not really, No matter what you do So much is left to chance. It is the randomness That makes a fool Of us all. Even now Looking back at the…

I am the jet ski And you are the lifeboat Sent to rescue me. The sun burns, I have the marks to prove it And if I drift Into deeper waters, With a broken rudder And not even a…

Migration. Autumn is a whisper And tickles disbelieving leaves With a gentle hello, Barely troubling proud trees Still hung with summer green, Fat and lush from too much rain.…

Do I walk on virgin earth, Tread a thin line Between undiscovered gems, Golden nuggets that glisten with the Sweet beauty of morning dew, Stumble through bramble, Bursting with…

Just a little bit of cafe indulgence. He was a grown man And wore a baseball cap Back to front On an overcast day in England, What is that about. He carried a tray Filled with…

Is it as simple as rain The gentle washing away Of yesterday. The rinsing clean Of old dreams Turned to dust, As well they must. Draining away Into the earth, Seeping into cracks,…

It is in the observation And the interpretation Of events. How the mundane Can be captured The extraordinary And catastrophic Graphically portrayed, In ways that create A…

Americana. When I hear the harmonica I think of America. Caught up in A Springsteen dream, With Sonny Terry And Brownie McGhee. A wonder of soulful blues Drifting by in my…

One day I might know But nothing is certain, When even living Is a doubtful state of mind. The truth, Or something close to it Seems to exist, As a bottomless glass, Failing to…

How much is seen In the play of the day, In the run through life? What gets left behind In the transition From this to that, As we embark, with the barest Understanding of…

A morning musing. It is all in the Reception of perception. Yesterday the world Was dark, Cold clouds hung low And the weight of air Squashed April rebirth Way down, deeply Back…

In the silence I hear music. It fills the space Between the whispers, That sometimes Rile. And rise into a scream Of fruitless noise. A futile repetition Of life events. A past,…

Sometimes I forget Where I’ve been, And where I am. I forget who I’m talking to, And what it’s all about. I get so damn frustrated It makes me want to shout, And that frightens…

Good morning London. Hung up in blue Vapour trails Spider the dome No way out Reaching into the distance They seem far away, And yet closer to the touch, Than yesterday. When it…

Walls are only as strong As the mortar used To hold the bricks in place. Get the mixture wrong And before too long, It all falls down. Door locks break, eventually. Keeping you…

Every word matters. Even when they Are thrown away, Tossed into the void. The dark place, Where patience Is tested, And passing interest Barely waits For the time of day To…

Oscar season. Winning is everything, Second is nowhere to be. What does that make me? And all the others, Sisters, brothers, Who fall out of favour. The celebrities Who lose their…

See the world Through a film of tears. Not just out of sadness, That is a given, On days like these. When so much Is made of The passing tide, That sweeps us along And makes It so…