Of flotsam and foundrels

A jar of jam from Russian snow

A tattered book that I can’t read

A photographic trail of love

Some shower gel and still the list

Returns to keep me company

A bible kept - from one good friend

Its cover stitched by her loved aunt

Who sank inside The Amazon

A painting of her long-gone dog

And she returns right happily

A rucksac...

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Thin rags stuffed with straw we wore

in that terrible winter of 1960

Grass tying it around our bony bodies

Neighbours shuffled through the village

fell dead as dolls asleep  in the street

Doll-like remained unburied in the cold

Silence frozen on the careless air

The last ox eaten as it died

Fowls and ducks taken by The Party

no grain being left to pay the tax

No ...

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White haired and gay in London

with that determination born

of fleeing from Vienna

A Jew breaking up her life

Her echoing flat crammed

Zed-beds  put-u-ups and bedding

in every room and corner  Waiting

Visitors always Welcome  Welcome

-

The gas and charnel-house

taking her family future

Remaining bones white-lining paths

Crunching underfoot like sea she...

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The wood shuddered and every eye
listened at the stair behind the wall

The door opened and slowly
a black felt hat followed by a long black coat

a black handbag and two black shoes
emerged turned and quietly closed the door

In her eighties she was still a mountain
crumbling now but not yet turned to dust

Lips quivered her moustache. She smiled
uncertainly at these strangers in her...

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The old lady shouted "Help me, please help me"

Sitting in her chair she was

wrapped in multicoloured shawl

refusing to elaborate

She couldn't see and couldn't hear

Refused to have her hearing help

Continued shouting "Help me help me"

"Won't somebody help me please"

Yet every time I tried to help her

Shouts vociferous and rude

Decrying all that...

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King 1 - Queen 2

Wath - Queen of Villages reigned

in her flower garden

her turnip grubbing fields

her pig pens and her byres

subjects tugging forelocks

native speech a country slide

years before the pits

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When Wigan coalpits died

the King - black in workings underground

emerged in Wath to drag her subjects down

drawing men across the border

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