‪writing a poem‬
‪the storm before the calm‬
‪anticlimax ‬

i’m abed

writing haiku on my phone

it dawns on me

is the womb dark

a question i forgot to ask

believe me

wait

the words are on their way

book a space 

abstract poem

the page number

included by mistake 

between

day and night

the waiting

wind chimes

the lonely north wind

portending 

secondhand books

then there was this one

waiting to read me

the sea

‪the sea ‬
‪her moods ‬
‪and me‬

‪speculate‬
‪before swimming ‬
‪read the sea‬

‪reading the sea‬
‪tides of anticipation ‬
‪ebb and flow‬

‪asking‬
‪the sea’s forgiveness ‬
‪i enter‬

‪chameleon sea‬
‪in all your many moods‬
‪of unrequited love‬

‪

old age the

time of spots

that join the dots

of the lichen on 
my obituary 

david and goliath 

never say dai 

a sling short

❤️ only a clot stops bleeding ❤️

black and blue

the bruise of dusk

trees close in

words to the heart

a rapier or a crochet needle

you decide

when poets die

and obituaries fail

read their poems

waiting

the sliding scale between

it will and it will not

blackbird

dinner at the holly bush

dusk

in the snow

each house a haven

of yellow lights

a cat

sitting on an upturned world

looks away

wind and the sea

alone together arguing

over a point

switch the light off

for dawn is over simplified 

deep thoughts arrive

slow dawn

suddenly

a deep breath

a lone voice sings

a bell tolls 

dawn so slow

yet suddenly over

a deep breath

the city

that kills its trees

suffocates 

cold sea

pleasure a sting

upon the wind

on a black sea

snow snow snow

elevating 

how cold the sea

on this dark night

distant lanterns

pussy cat 

willing the rain to stop

drops off

the cat

radio three

and me

turbulence

turbulence 

going in

meeting the sea

coming out

going out

meeting the sea

coming in

coming in

meeting the sea

going out

coming out

meeting the sea

going in

the sea and me

halfway

me and the sea

never will i ever

own the sea own me

never 

   ever 

      will

cat 
moon
sitting 

robin

autumn morning

wren

the sea

alone

is

sea swimmer

the boys find a wooden leg

now look here

locked church

to keep sinners out

or god in

empty room

Zimmer frame and a mirror 

reflecting 

it’s gone viral

my herpes simplex

bloody hell

stones

taken by the snow

listen

that rock

who does it belong to

asking for a friend

my tears upon

this dead body of water

seem wasted and cold

carbon footprints ending

in an ocean of regret

that speck of dust 

is crawling but not moving

mind’s eye

the old songs

drifting down through autumn

misty eyed 

morning drawn

across the damp leaves

in drying sighs

remembrance 

why not kill some flowers

that’s life

autumn

above the cleavage

sobbing

autumn morning

not a breath of this

to anyone

how still

this autumn morning is

moving

c'est la vie

restoring to factory settings

ECT

in the mirror

my father

smiling

the cat

upon the music

muses

shards

tea cupped across the sand

unceremoniously 

sitting alone

waiting for the arrival

of the mist

november spring

forever upside down

there‘s a thought

bitter 

the coffee promises

believe me

sealed with a kiss‬

‪unbeknown all who carry‬

‪my heart’s desire 

pebble‬

‪putting the world to write‬

‪am i wrong‬

there are lanyards 

in the landfill

there is thought

behold the moon

through an empty rookery

bright shadows

behold the moon

through an empty rookery

the seashore 

child’s tears 

the kite escapes escapes

bottom lip

sorry

let’s forget everything 

and start again

dawn

i’m transfixed by

my retinal glow

on the bus

everyone is sitting

in their sadness 

‪snow ‬
‪an impression‬
‪on the path‬

coffee shop barista 

with the reindeer antlers

no noes 

things of night

the creaking door

always

the crowd passing 

everyone smells of softener 

it’s a hard life

a sodden cork ‬

‪adrift upon the sea ‬

‪slowly sinking‬

‪has stopped thinking‬

of any golden shore

i looked at the cat

and she looked at me

still

pebble

don’t name it - suck it

and sea

pebble

upon a storm beach

sitting

pebble

upon a storm beach

sitting

my hand on the cat 

time standing still for us

the curtains blow

you say they are dead 

but i am reading their words

how can they be dead

a hand comes

up through the page

and flicks a switch

it was said

that we were too busy 

to listen

the old man

erasing the uncertainty 

about certainty 

‪the cat muse has‬
‪written off nine lines‬
‪purrem laureate ‬

we were the generation 

not the one before

not the one after

said the one before 

said the one after

how many suns

have set on these castle walls

open to the public

our apologies

our sympathies 

our NHS 

when the day is nude

with all it’s imperfections

such eroticism 

in a cold sea

an autumn leaf ends it all

darkening 

dusty books

in the vestry of childhood 

swaddling 

marigolds besieged 

in november’s castle walls

capitulate

after a long sleep 

the cat stretches and turns around 

and goes back to sleep

pains of life

so well hidden

tiger balm

blind beggar

leaving footprints in the snow

i feel for you

when we kissed

sunlight burst forth

deep in the night

and secret in our corner

we eclipsed the cuckold moon 

RS Thomas

his words are the tears‬

‪in a rainstorm of verse

ask of the last page‬

‪was he eventually revealed

on his mountainous pique

in the bole

winter’s squirrel dying

oh spring

climate emergency

the carbon footprint

of anxiolytics

‪the mouse‬
‪never hears the owl’s‬
‪goodnight‬

awakening

stepping from poetry

into a dream

the shy fish

swallows its words

and flies

the tears

of the goldfish

are clear

the tears of the fish

feed life’ stream

not a dry eye

the sea retreats

but i refuse to play 

the wind’s lyre

the heart

is just a bloody pump

loveless

anthropocene

who will call it their last

polymer 

catfkaesque

waiting for the sunshine

from egypt 

nay cute for

the acute in néé says mé

is nay neé but née

cat and me

seance on a sunbeam

moving

‪morning tea‬
‪the colour of the sparrows‬
‪of my heart‬

this life

it all dies - eventually 

ask the stones

restaurant 

the curry waiter sparkles

i too write poetry

don’t touch me

now i have to have a wash

some cats - i ask you

firing the patina

on a bronze afternoon

autumn sun

the cat

slowly turning the rug

into a sundial

the sea is calling

many down the many ways 

to see

chattering 

at autumn’s open window

rain runes

wait

and the pain will go

finally

longing

at autumn’s window

rain

through the cat flap

the hunter of night returns

perchance to dream

uniform salute

death of individuality

birth of conflict

a tear in the frown of a smile

washing machine

the pulsating splosh 

of the womb

I sing

the cat jumps

I stop 

which of all

my commensal organisms

writes poetry

‪november the 9th‬
‪and still there are fireworks‬
‪such arseholes ‬

across the sea

the shadow of a butterfly 

waves goodbye

photographer

upon a reflection

reflecting

the photographer

hanging the world on the wall

dies

startled

the grass snake yawns 

a frog

wet cat

humidifying the room

autumn ruin

autumn’s sun 

is crouching brown

acorns