For what may have been and for John.

On the isle of giants beneath the wings of eagles, a flycatcher sings in the bough of an apple tree. It sears the damp air with high-pitched bullets that ricochet off the nunnery rocks and out toward the Ross.

Standing midway between its beak and the pebbled beach lilts an ancient wall, in whose lea lies a stone.

Common, unassuming, like a m...

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For Nigel, his wife and children

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His green, unfocussed eyes drift aimlessly in search of a fixed horizon.

Imperceptibly, lukewarm beige tea eases effortlessly down the parched cascade landscape of his throat.

Slow motion eyelid shutters close then open, close then open, like a malfunctioning shop front at the end of the working da...

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You slipped in like a thief in the night, undercover of so much darkness,

Unseen, unheard, unknown you brought even more darkness with you.

Long lasting, perpetual darkness was your perfume,

Your gifted lingering presence hung in lounge, ward, and bedroom.

Like a silent pickpocket you slithered through the crowd,

With the deftest of fingered touches, you chose and left your ma...

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Tell me please, what did they see?

Those big boys in big phallic toys,

So far up there, where the lack of air,

Is filled with fumes from their rocket plumes,

What did they see?

 

They travelled for many miles, to see our earth, o so fragile,

To view the sprawling human race, for ten minutes in outer space.

Did they count the cost – was it worthwhile?

They could...

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In the distance, a haze-bound bridesmaid comes into view, skipping in zig zag fashion scattering petals here and there, illuminating the path with fragrant, brightly coloured promises of what is to come.

The sprinkled tints, hints and hues flow through Spring sown green and yellow, until the river of fecundity overflows into fields, flesh, and bones.

A rampant, lustrous, lustful, late teenag...

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From above the opaque plastic mask that oozed oxygen into her lungs, two bowl-shaped brown eyes rolled slowly in my direction, and they smiled at me.

From beneath the standard issue, paper-thin, patterned gown that posed as a protector to her dignity, a slender, tired hand was gently raised, and it waved at me.

From across that distance between us, the silent chasm that stretched for miles a...

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Deep in the Dales, a church bell rings in time and rhyme with a clanging breakfast chime.

A bobbing Robin dips and chips, ignoring the tooing and froing cows there lowing.

Creaking kettles announce their being, whistles call in response to a Dove's soft cooing.

Tractors churn and turn, ploughing cloud furrows for silent Swallows to follow.

Gently flap Crow's wings, ...

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For Afghanistan

Soft is the grass on which the blooming, billowing, morning sunlight lands.

Stage lit and starstruck are its innumerable, dew guilted strands.

A luscious morning feed, on which mountain muscled bulls feast with greed.

Bordered and fenced, territorially stamped that others may heed,

The sign which declares, this field is theirs, enter if you dare.

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Dawn broke to a cushioned hush as if those last held breaths were cotton wool crushed – and preserved, and saved, and held, like one too many goals.

Somewhere, between the walking of those lasts silent steps and the breaking of dawn, the bunting had been taken down, without a sound.

Windows, no longer draped in a patron saint’s cross, looked forlornly at the grey morning, no brilliant sunshi...

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For Fathers’ Day

..........................................................................................

Through my mind’s eye, the one that cannot, will not cry,

I can still see the fine, life worn, war torn lines in your face.

Each and every crack, a river flowing with untold pain.

Silent slivers and creeks, scarred like wind dried, ice split cheeks,

Inlets flowing not ...

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Take the quiet little train from quiet Bempton,

It’s a relaxing, calming fifteen-minute ride.

There’s nothing grandiose to greet you at the station,

Where Yorkshire collides with the North Sea tide.

The pavements are so clean they could be German,

Above the salt spray you can smell the sense of pride.

Where the overweight migrate to feast of fat food,

The locals refuse to ...

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Farewell delicious citrus companion,

For three years we shared our breakfast table,

Breaking the night's fast together as one,

And now, you gone, and I, miserable.

Three-fold were your sweet sunshine hued fruit rinds,

Melded too with sugars from cane filled isles.

Our love connection, forged by taste and mind,

Child of copper-bottomed pot, yielding smiles.

On your...

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T  H  I  S       M  O  M  E  N  T.

That moment is gone.

And that moment about that moment is gone.

And this moment too will be gone.

Is gone.

And now you enter the race, the race to beat the moment’s elapse,

To sense and be with the moment, to be here.

Your inner voice puts on a tight-fitting bright yellow Velcro sports top and starts to run.

You and it, combined, build...

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Silver tears run races along freshly waxed leaves,

Each translucent drop fashioned and tempered aloft.

Water babies sired by the sun,  

Birthed from the oceans’ wombs,

Still born givers of life.

Thirsty earth quenchers they slake the clay and loam,

Feeding tubers, roots, and seeds.

In legions they reign, caring nothing for the plans of man,

Their combined power is imme...

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Stood to attention by the privet hedge,

Upright and strong, stately patient and calm,

The Grenadier Guard of the garden shed,

Silently you await the call to arms.

Attired in shades of greys and ochered steel,

Muted uniform becomes camouflage.

And yet so vibrant in flesh hands you feel,

Happy in your work, well weathered old sage.

When grain sits against palm, your voice is ...

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Avian Hyena, piebald pirate,

Monochrome trickster, telling lustrous lies.

What evil did you, to deserve such hate?

Even child killers are not so despised.

In finest tuxedo you proudly strut,

Skipping not hopping, stealing not shopping.

Flamboyant tail trails, yours not Covid cut,

Dashing dandy, bursting with swaggering

A quiet assassin, you cannot make,

Your murderous mi...

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Sweet nectar collecting space invader,

Barred beauty on whom all mankind depends.

Onomatopoeic kazoo player,

Seen zooming and buzzing in my garden.

Manic squadrons perform daily duties,

Nature’s perfect design, man says shouldn’t work.

Baskets and bellies laden with booty,

From your Royal calling, you never shirk.

From daisy to tulip, your bum bumbles,

Adorned in jumpers...

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O, poor snubbed soul, will no one hear your chimes?

Is your cachet so invisible now?

Why does blind ignorance fill blinkered times?

Are you the sacrifice; unholy cow?

Did you not nail our colours to the mast?

And vow yourself to be selfless and true?

How dare they name you tiresome, fake, bombast?

Will faithful believers not hear from you?

Who considers you less by dint of ...

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A flotilla sits anchored at sea,

A chain-link of unfurled white finger sails.

Bobbing gently on a brine of wax green,

Golden pillowed life rafts with pearlesque rails.

They demand only deserved attention,

Serene these vessels with cargoes of hope.

Beauty in simplicity, do not shun,

The iridescence that keeps them afloat.

Circadian stars with no need of night,

Dazzling ar...

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Tick, tock, tick, tock, delicate hands of time,

Silk shuttlecocks carry fine memories,

Of forever days, carefree ways gone by,

Slipped between clasped fingers like sand-soaked sea.

Cupid’s mercurial ballerinas

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me.

Blown on the wind, innocent, no danger,

Floating o’er riverbanks, quarries, and trees.

Untarnished moments, polished and pr...

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Ancient, unchanging, benevolent face,

How mournful behind it your soul must be.

Ahimsa faith lost on a "master race",

Nirvana unreached by humanity

Celebrated image, icon of peace,

Now faded, jaded, like Lindisfarne walls.

We reject dukkha - you promise release,

But higher disciples rejected your call.

Our only faith refuge, unlike the rest,

Religious savour, in robes of...

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The house expands, cracking stiff mortar limbs,

Kettle rumbles against a sulking sky.

Blackbird and Robin harmonise their hymns,

As Sparrow chirps interject keeping time.

A baritone dog barks, when car engine stirs,

Boilers play steaming trumpet fanfare blasts.

Blue Tits, in stuttering staccato chirrs,

Duet with tap dancing squirrel on glass.

Mist drips just fall, the score...

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Twixt Beltane and Litha, harbinger blooms,

Offering blessings, sweet tokens of love,

It’s violet whorls with heady perfumes,

Gifts to honour those crossed and above.

Childhood reminders, the dawn of warms days,

Innocent laughter and damming of brooks.

Revered by mothers, in warning they’d say,

To welcome you inside, invites bad luck.

Your name so English, but foreign by bir...

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May 12th
 

A patio, a quartet unspoken,

Four black backs turned, inviting collusion.

Their quiet contemplation unbroken,

Exhausted, slumped at the table; all in.

Perhaps they’re mourning the soon coming days,

Or maybe ruined by previous nights?

Preferring their silence, they do not say,

Allied by muteness in crisp morning light.

Perhaps they’re waiting, to offer their s...

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Heavenly blossoms borne on floating stems,

Heady, delightful bouquets like incense.

Empty promises, no garlanded gems,

Unperfumed evenings, fragrance, is not scent.

Tended with such care, those slim tender limbs,

Hold lime leaves in May, where great hope is laid.

Year after year, expectation grows dim,

As kindness given, goes often unpaid.

Majestic, pendulous blooms I await...

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What valiant pilgrim would stand at this door,

Fearless of the evil lurking inside?

Fabled beasts of forest, mountain, and moor?

Good men and women have tried, failed, and died.

“There in be dragons” whispers the gnarled tree,

“And ghostly machines, for to dig ditches,

Dust coated vessels, tools of wizardry,

And weapons for knights, used to fight witches”.

Be...

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Should I equate you with a fairground ride?

I find you far more exhilarating!

Discovered living among the dead we hide,

I took you home to enrich my kitchen.

The Hydra’s Ivory stars you display,

Amidst your luscious, silken verdant sprays.

Drenching Italianate woodland bouquet,

Refreshing my soul in the month of May.

Say, if your bulbous brethren be too hot,

Or their har...

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Spring's herald hangs voiceless, faceless, silent.

Now the trumpet beckons a new season,

Its first flush of life so soon sadly spent,

Energies engaged for other reasons.

Dried tobacco ponytails tumble out,

Like clay-coloured flowing rivers in flood,

Elephant hide desiccated by drought,

Parched vessels now carrying no lifeblood.

Former golden glories display no mor...

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In Winter’s cold lifeless light, you appear.

Delicate silent limbed, full of deceit,

Unpainted canvas with oils not yet smeared,

Pearl snowdrops swaying gently above your feet.

Like a temptress in Spring, you taunt and tease,

Playing guessing games of “what will I wear?”

With dried aubergine squid you us deceive,

Unfurled drapes of plummy claret wine tears

Then summ...

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Can you trust an occasional table to still be the same in the morning?

Or will it like a lover slip away at dawn, and transform without warning?

If it took God six days to complete his work, was he made redundant on the eighth?

Or was he put on furlough, and Armageddon Friday is his new starting date?

Are black and white not colours so achromats can see Zebras at the zoo?   

Or is i...

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April 27th

I began this piece about two week’s ago when the smallest spider I have ever seen appeared on the top of my computer while I was composing another poem. Today’s NaPoWriMo prompt was to take an entry from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows and create a poem from the inspiration. I looked and found Lilo n. a friendship that can lie dormant for years only to pick right back up instantly,...

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I woke up this morning and my head instantly decided we were going to write about the fear of public speaking.  I then read our prompt for the day “find a factual article about an animal… (that) repeats the name of the animal a lot. Now, go back through the text and replace the name of the animal with something else – it could be something very abstract, like “sadness” or “my heart,” or something ...

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As a writer (I still shy away from the title poet at times) I often find myself in a dilemma, one to which the vagaries of my mind tutor the torment. The unravelling of meaning of poems – is it meant to be a test that makes you feel inadequate at the best of times?

I have often sat and read something and then wondered “what the hell have I just read? It makes no sense at all. Why must poets do ...

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1976, that summer’s heat making light work of my shoddy whites.

Sweat beads slip from my crown, wiped from my brow,

They run the bails of my fingers, to where a rubicund sphere sits.

As a boy, it held no mystery, taught me no lessons,

It told no lies, held no surprise, a simple ball to my eyes.

And I, a player in its game, out in the field, making up the numbers.

That cri...

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I would love some feedback on format and meaning on this piece I've just completed. Thanks for any contributions you may make. Graham.
 

There’s no fruit to be picked in springtime,

Winter bleaches the tree bones dry, starved scarecrows against the sky.

There’s no fruit to be picked in springtime,

First the leaves and blossoming flowers, then bees and sweet April showers.

There’s n...

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Today is not over yet,

Which means yesterday may have been the hardest day of your life,

As if you were driving down a never-ending dead end, stuck in reverse;

But you are still here.

You can’t recall the time your mother held you out of the bedroom window,

The blaze within threatening to scorch you, your cradle and home,

The scent of smoke on your baby clothes has long sinc...

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Never before had he known a colour touch him that way,

This indigo held a tenderness and cool warmth which confused him.

And yet,

As the neon lights dimmed and harsh sounds abated,

He felt drawn to the dark, to go in search of his liberty

And yet

Like a dimmed aquamarine siren, it called to and reassured him,

He would be safe, it would hold him in its arms, nothing could, woul...

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Outside the Atlantic rolls gently among the pebbles on the beach

Inside an unsettling tide of turmoil clamours for calming oils

In the street, in the warm night air, all seems at ease

Leaning on the bar, Sophie lifts her eyes to scan the horizon

Tied up to the quayside, boats bob easily, tethered securely in place

On the dance floor, anchored together, mermaids find safe h...

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A quick Haiku that I wrote in reply to a radio dj's tweet, just for fun 

No puedo pensar

Crema Catalana

A cake ate my brain

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When the crushing dark ice was enclosing

And the horizon a terrible sight.

Who spoke the warm words, to comfort me at night?

When isolation became overwhelming

And there was nowhere left to hide. 

How silent were the voices, that could have asked me inside?

When so desperate was desperation

And faith withering dry on the vine.

How closed were the arms, that could ...

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What did she wear that night, what was her name?

He retraces his steps to that place

The place where she waited – for him

He can still feel the cool iron rails slipping through his fingers

The warm summer night’s air on the back of his hand

He remembers being calm, very calm

But for a sense of tension rising, from inside

He stopped, almost at the top of the steps

She stood,...

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The bladder alarm rings, it’s time to go

No platted legs will dam this river flow

Locate the door, and start to walk

This is when we cease to talk

Brace yourself, we are going in

Assume bland face, we must not grin

Place hand on wood and push the door

And hope no one’s pissed on the floor

Cabin or trough, that is the choice

Are you man or mouse? begs your inner...

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Lines that tie us, lines drawn, lines before us,

Dark nights, dark days, conscience twisted, tested

No words spoke, no hard choke, you’d missed the bus

I said yes; the easy choice would have festered

Blood, water, which to choose, which my anchor?

Turn you away, and say nay, me your son?

You gave me life; it eats me this anger

Off you stride, toward divide, bread to be wo...

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He can't remember what she wore that night, or her name

But he can retrace every step he climbed to where he knew she waited,

The stipples on the cool iron rails sliding through his hand on that warm summer eve

No hint of sweat in his palms as he approached, relaxed, calm, sensing rising tension

He stopped, almost at the top of the steps

There she stood, his invocation, his inv...

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On her mother’s stone step, she sits and dreams

The same step she cleaned and crossed so often

Her dress, crisp and clean in the sunshine gleams

This backstreet beauty, rare rose in blossom

What whims flicker through her wandering mind

Perchance what prospect does life hold in store

Will her journey be gentle not unkind?

Shall her story be one of less not more?

In...

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He can't remember what she wore that night, or her name

But he can retrace every step he climbed to where he knew she waited,

The stipples on the cool iron rails sliding through his hand on that warm summer eve

No hint of sweat in his palms as he approached, relaxed, calm, sensing rising tension

He stopped, almost at the top of the steps

There she stood, his invocation, his inv...

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There were so many

So, so many, too many to count

None of them did count

Discarded with equal disdain to distant craving

Once they were wanted

Now they were less than rubbish

Soiled and used up

Like many that had used them

Now, no one cherished them

Destined not even to be brushed aside

Caught in a state of limbo

Between detritus and gutter trash

They ...

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It’s not love they play it’s another game

Where what matters is who can count the most

Playing duck and dive, surfers search for fame

Notching names upon digital bedposts

Their followers adore them with their likes

Each character praised as if from God

If their own petard hoists them onto spikes

Then surely, it’s the crowd that has turned odd.

Their ledger marking...

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And all the doors looked all the same again

He stopped at number one to sneak a look

Here he heard the clearing of ash and soot

And all the doors looked all the same, again

He stopped, at number four he stood once more

To inhale the smell of Vim on tiled floor

And, all the doors looked all the same, again

He stopped at number nine, to check the time

The cuckoo clo...

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You may be the one that darkness calls friend

The bringer of gloom, who draws curtains on the room

But to me, you are both beginning and end

You close the door on Autumn’s warm glow

Make coats button up tight, as you turn down the lights

And freeze dew drops wherever you stroll

They say you give us so few reasons to cheer

Put no food on the table, work and schools yo...

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