once upon a time

Once upon a time, she said
as we lay curled up on my bed
magic, fairies, kings and wands
shiny rings in deep green ponds
tigers, knights and giants too
hidden treasures, a bright red shoe
ancient places, brave young men
silly chickens, clever hen
singing creatures, frightened thieves
dancing girls and golden leaves
steadfast hearts, icy snow
weary travellers, far to go
wicked queens, a helpful friend
brave ones winning in the end
sleepy kisses, dim the light
close your eyes and dream. Goodnight.

hope

hope


rainbow swirls in oil droplets on the road
slushing sounds of the tires
grey, slowly losing shape in the fog
Broken hearts
everywhere are broken hearts
gather them in hold them close
glue them with tears and caresses
hold their hearts
stop them breaking
broken broken broken
so many times broken
tiny fragments drift away
irreplaceable
Outside the window the rain is heavier and everything is shrouded in water

motes of music weave magic and sound
to hold them
spell bound rippling the edges
holding back the fog

grief is a heavy
dragging drawing clawing eating away
at a heart full of mourning seeping into the cracks
breaking
drying out the flesh

rainbow swirls in droplets of oil as rain hits the road.
Water skims across slick blackness and whorls of translucent colour move endlessly across the surface.
lost, empty, drawn into the patterns.
fog and water condense
Everything loses focus
Find a way through the fog
think about how pretty oil drops are
hear motes of music
beauty in the ordinary
magic in the music
drawing the broken parts together

Frogs

colours of a rainbow hue
poison red and brightest blue
green and yellow, orange, brown
frogs all colours to be found

slimy, wet and fragile skin, wondrous amphibian
in pond, 'neath bark, up in a tree the frog elusive treasure be

evening chorus moist and warm
sing the frogs from dusk till dawn
barometer of natures health
frogs our damp and hidden wealth

lime light

I went to see the whales today
I wanted to see them splash and play
to roll in the surf and play with the calves
and let me take pictures to send to my friends.
I went to the platform with hundreds of others
one hundred and seventy steps up from the beach
I peered over railings through the saw edged dune grasses
and pondered how long it would take if I dropped it,
for my camera to land on the sand.
I saw a fin and we all oohed and ahhed,
the huge waiting crowd all excited.
I focussed my eye through the lens of my camera
ready to snap a picture delightful
of frolicking behemoths glistening wetly
but all that my eye could detect was the sea.
I looked up to see a large fin a-waving
mothers and babies dark islands glistening
They paddled and splashed and blew fountains of sea spray
as long as my eye from my camera did stray.
They leaped and cavorted and raced through the ocean
but all of the evidence I have to show
is a vast grey expanse of cloud over water
and right in the centre a tiny black dot.
They're out there right now laughing at us
strange silly two legged hovering watchers,
those great ponderous actors
out in the ocean
performing their actions
for free
no cameras please

filling in

Nothing more than a fill in

No lingering kisses or sweet romance

No soft conversations just a parting glance filled with guilt

No respect

Is it me is it him is it the social climate we live in

I am so confused no answers nothing pretty just sad sighs and

Romantic stuff makes me cry because I haven’t got any of it

It passed me by

Everyone is searching for that one other person who makes it all worthwhile

Bumping into all the other lonely souls along the way looking too far ahead to notice the ones too lonely and looking too far ahead to notice the ones under their noses in front of them and hoping to find someone along the way

We share our bodies but not our hearts empty sharing like an ice-cream cone with no ice-cream a husk a shell a fragile bubble dream ready to burst and reveal the empty place inside the place we try to hide from ourselves

Once just once I knew what it felt like to love someone closer than skin melding blending understanding at last what poets meant by two being one and being more than two and whole and complete

Just once

Holding pattern waiting listening watching the horizon and filling in time

texture

You're hard. I'm soft
I'm found
You're lost
This love what cost

I was hard before
But I saw much more
Opened up my door
You fell on my floor
This love what cost

It started out
Full of hopeful doubt
But the doubt won out
Now the hope has flown
And you're on my floor
Like you were before
And I close my door

Now I'm hard
Your loss. This love what cost
This love what cost

feelings

It doesn’t touch my inner heart
It never did
It cannot hurt me
If I never open up
It will stay sealed
never healed

generations

Generation Gap


I watch my daughter sprint ahead,

So far ahead I’m left behind.

She runs so fast it makes my head spin.

I remember on my knee when she was small

Her foot, no longer than my thumb,

And I recall, with pride,

I taught her how to run.