A SAFER SHORE
We Barged once
On canals like
Veins through The Fens
In Silence bar
The Engine and
The Rows
Stuck at night
Rescued but
Never quite right
Wanting more
Dreaming
Hoping
Wishing
for a safer shore
REST MY DEAR
rest my dear
the journey goes on,
far from over
though nights
grow longer and
days go darker
the road ahead
twisted and turned
alit by the fire in
your eyes alone
preparing the mind
crossing the stars
banishing fears
poisoning the
heart
WHISPERING PRAYERS
The flickering of
candles
aligned but scattered
in sand
as
pine among fern
mesmerising
tranquillising
silence fills
their whispering
prayers
IN SILENCE
Build me a closet with
white padded walls and
a radiator to
keep me warm.
Bring me a candle,
ink and a pen,
papyrus in excess
please my friend.
Sing me a song of
friendship and
laughter, blue sky
above meadows,
dancing and flowers.
Wave me goodbye as
the door is closing,
the key turned twice
clockwise
in silence.
FRIENDSHIP AND LAUGHTER
“Carry me, carry me down to the sea. I feel an urge to plunge, the sea is calling me” – we sang, and drank, and cheered and drank again. Singing songs of dreams, scores and whores we grew up, those tender years, filled with vinyl, friendship and fears. One winter’s night the dreams were shattered, footsteps leading to a hole in the ice. You left us there, you plunged into darkness, you left no trace, only memories of friendship and laughter.
REJOICE
Rejoice in light and
polyunsaturated
fat
Your dark spots
reduced by sucking
hand-grenades
Your wet spot remain
the only
evidence
I was ever
there
NOT WAVING
When is it too late to alter the course of a sinking ship? To rescue the rats nibbling at coffers of metals auspicious
being the last to leave
afraid to swim
sinking
deeper
with
every
breath
I
take
FIELDS OF GLORY
At the end of this blackened night I shall set out on a journey, the likes of which only bards recite. But first I shall gather strength through rest. Then welcome dawn, the messenger, carrier of song of mornings, a gentle breeze through open windows, the smell of rising bread in baking and children’s laughter unmistaken. I must bid thee farewell as my journey is long with shadows of peril awaiting; you must remain strong no matter how long I take, to return from the fields of glory.
TICK TOCK
I’m out of time
with clocks still ticking
I’m floating
down the river of
infinite events
but neither swimming
nor drowning
misplaced or
displaced in a
multiverse of
mind
I’m out of time
with clocks still ticking