Missing you
One moment I’m walking through the spring woods with a friend,
waiting for the bluebells to blue
talking of this and that as her dog sniffs and scoots,
when suddenly there are puddles with no wellies splashing
sticks which are no longer swords
trees which are not made into dens
and streams which are … Read more
over whelm
over whelm
over reach
over stretched
over tired
over wrought
over achieving
over shot
over me
over and over and over
waves rise
crash
surge
pull
suck
pull
sink
gasping
beached
washed up
bedraggled
snaggled
shingle scratched
rock bruised
seaweed slimed
rest still
breathe
dry
feel the sand
see each grain
smell … Read more
Breaking point 3
climate
politics
economics
earth splitting
countries fighting
legs snapping
lives shattering
breaking
sundering
scattering
We two rest and heal
do not very much
let nature do her thing to knit and mend
to let sleep balm and soothe.
Oh that I could wish the same for all those souls.
But for all … Read more
Breaking point 1
My absence from this space has been from breaking:
A broken car
Broken washing machine
Broken window locks
A breaking boiler.
A broken tibia.
Grind, spin, creak, snap.
And the world slows to a stuttering, shuddering stop.
Everything shrinks into pain relief, comfort, safety, the support of friends who shop and drive, care and check … Read more
It wasn’t winter
I have realised,
age 55
that it wasn’t winter that made me miserable and maudlin
after all.
It was my work,
the ruled, clock time,
stealing daylight
leaving me night.
I have maligned winter,
avoided her,
curled up and wished for spring.
But I have wronged her,
for there is beauty in … Read more
First they came for
… Read moreFirst they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they