Five o’clock wakenings to birdsong
and the slow scratch of lizards behind glass.
Sunlight filters through slatted blinds
calling cats from sleep;
Whilst the first coffee of the day
Steams gently as it pours.
The random ramblings of a magpie mind
Monday, 25 May 2020
Saturday, 9 May 2020
Tell me a lie about the sea
The sea whispers quietly, enticingly
Slipping over sands to caress my toes
I will be gentle, it sighs
Winding round my legs like a cat
Come; explore my hidden depths
Discover the secrets I hide
It cries
As its current pulls me
further from the shore
I will rock you in my arms
And keep you safe
Slipping over sands to caress my toes
I will be gentle, it sighs
Winding round my legs like a cat
Come; explore my hidden depths
Discover the secrets I hide
It cries
As its current pulls me
further from the shore
I will rock you in my arms
And keep you safe
Thursday, 26 March 2020
seeking a new normal
Last week normality ceased as the broadcast came
and doors shut on faces we greeted every morning.
Now we move through days as if underwater;
along quiet corridors, where small shoals of children ebb and flow;
weaving their way from space to space on parallel paths; pulled by invisible currents away from the solid anchorage of familiarity.
Hours seem longer and direction rudderless,
as we tread water and drift with the tide
to a place in time where a new normal can be found.
and doors shut on faces we greeted every morning.
Now we move through days as if underwater;
along quiet corridors, where small shoals of children ebb and flow;
weaving their way from space to space on parallel paths; pulled by invisible currents away from the solid anchorage of familiarity.
Hours seem longer and direction rudderless,
as we tread water and drift with the tide
to a place in time where a new normal can be found.
Thursday, 18 April 2019
Beach combing
This small shell
Washed by waves
That ebb and roll in timed rotation
Wearing away ridges
Smoothing sharp angles
This delicate fan
Half buried under grainy sand
Fits tight in my palm
Leaving the echo of salt on skin
And sunbaked afternoons
Sunday, 17 March 2019
Barber shop chorus
The barbers has a rhythm all its own
Muted news, soft soul tunes
clipper hum
and faint scratch of razor on strop
This emporium of masculine grooming
tolerates my presence as I sit
enfolded in soft leather sofa
breathing in sandalwood and eucalyptus
Saturday, 24 November 2018
Slipping on the sixth step
There is a cat on the stairs, who stands and stares
as I slip on the sixth step;
my joints as stiff as his smile.
as I slip on the sixth step;
my joints as stiff as his smile.
I slip, he topples, dents and bruises bloom;
whilst in the downstairs room the TV mutters,
masking my tumble .
whilst in the downstairs room the TV mutters,
masking my tumble .
These darkening days of Winter,
that pleat skies with heavy cloud,
and breathe river mists over garden walls;
that pleat skies with heavy cloud,
and breathe river mists over garden walls;
slow all motion.
The numbing cold and damp transforms me
into a stumbling creature,
graceless and disjointed;
swathed in wools and cashmeres
to ward off the slowly creeping stiffness
that seeps deep into bone
and lingers like rust on a gently rotting hull.
into a stumbling creature,
graceless and disjointed;
swathed in wools and cashmeres
to ward off the slowly creeping stiffness
that seeps deep into bone
and lingers like rust on a gently rotting hull.
Saturday, 17 November 2018
The witching hour
This is the witching hour; the time before dawn where a faint glow low on the horizon filters through dark skies, shepherding in a new day.
A time of small songs, when crickets sing oblivious as water dragons wake from sleep, warmed by lamps, eager to eat
This is the time of cats, uncurled from slumber; who pad on soft paws to scratch at doors, demanding to be let free to roam once more along high walls and down amongst the toppled stones of quiet graveyards.
This is my time; with steaming mug in hand and glasses perilously perched on nose; wrapped in words that whirl from thought to page whilst the house breathes quietly on.
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