rag and bone man

all through sunday afternoon

the summer dogs stir

rang ‘n bone any old iron

any old iron rang ‘n bone 

 ‪for it is we‬

‪who bequeath meaning‬

‪where no meaning is‬

 pebbles 

the swimmers cause a path

many footsteps

 dew

on an ant hill

hot sun

 upon the influx

of the many tides of mind

a thought bifurcates

 ‪isn’t it strange‬

‪memories keep spilling out‬

‪refusing to leave‬

 ‪finding my beauty

‪in the depths of your thoughts‬

‪wet flowers‬

 funeral home 

burnishing the gates

an elderly lady

 one hundred tides

the sea lavender fades away

cold wind 

 again and again

the sea swimming man returns

the privilege 

 flowers need bees

bees need flowers

we need both

look and listen and learn

how to listen and look

 kimono breeze

walking through the temple

candle smoke

 winter evening

the turning of lamped roads

in the snow 

 the frown

meditating on nothing

and finding it

 ‪finding fossils‬

‪how they drag me back in time‬

‪laid down‬

 ‪how senseless ‬

‪when bowing to each other ‬

‪we bump heads‬

 small stone

small fly

small talk

 brambles

forcing the path to move

our stride

 remember 

everyone is full of shit

and piss

 ‪counting the gulls‬

‪untill the tide moves you on‬

‪then starting again‬

 ‪the comfort of the third person near the end‬

 old age

taking everything with me

the splits in my nails

 ‪in the roaring surf‬

‪ten thousand bubble screaming‬

‪the rocks re-emerge‬

 writing a poem

when the cat asks to come in

i pause

 where are we going

and why are bananas yellow

just blue sky thinking

 the rocks 

on this seashore 

are made of slag

 allotment 

the ivy consumes

a ruined shed

 ‪today‬

‪will never be the yesterday ‬

‪that yesterday is‬

 ‪as the sun rises‬

‪over an appreciative breath‬

‪someone is leaving‬

 between this heartbeat

and the next perhaps heartbeat

reflection 

 garden lawn

all around the cat's pee hole

the greenest grass

for booms are muffled

in the mist past the worm

the westerly man 

‪the worms are sleeping‬

‪under the ebbing of tides‬

‪poets are stirring‬ 

 rise adrift falling

on this green morning

in this fine rain

 adrift

the boat of morning

in the mist

 across the yard

a blackbird drags a black fig

into the sunshine

 eating currants

an invisible blackbird

rattles the bush

 haiku

describing the invisible 

in an invisible verse

 the word is stroking

and slowly the cat morning

belies this comfort

 prophecy 

the air con on the church

crucifies me

 bull! bull!

mis-jumping the stream 

mud fills my wellies

 counting petals

the way the days slip by 

in their falling

 sadly they die

then we write the poems

and then we die

 sleep

seems wasted

on a silent night 

 ‪heat wave‬

‪the population as vomit‬

‪on the beach‬

 zephyr wind

through the obscured window

a cobweb translates

 gentle snowfall

when there is no point in

the gentle change‬ 

 it is a good day

when happiness is measured

in the breadth of a smile

 old age

feeding off the happiness

of grandchildren

 long parliament

a festering releases 

strange gasses‬

 hot wind

from the billowing curtains

a mirror falls

 play ground 

the little girl with attitude 

opens the gate

 kimonos 

stirring the belonging

to another country

 global heating

a repeat prescription 

of a double dose

 fire

blood in an inkwell

dawn

 when the wind petals

are falling on the buddah 

who is not unmoved

 dear reader

who will be the last poet

when the world’s on fire

 falling water

over the years overspills

the dam of age

 window reflection

remembering my father

repairing sash cords 

 imagine

walking to the mountain’s

sticking plaster

 drought 

shadows of flowers 

on a dusty path

summer evening

way out in a full tide’s

kissing 

 two boats

way out on a summer tide

glint ting ing

 floating

along a seagull breeze

at dawn

 the wilting of time

after her birthday party

summer flowers

 the river

pushed back by the sea

having none of it

 third mug of tea

just a memory on the roller coaster

climbing up to coffee

 this morning’s light

falling slowly through the trees

heavy dew

 high tide

all along the moon shore

fish are jumping

where

once we chased butterflies 

no more 

 one moment

for that one moment

i was that moment

 extreme weather

melting the tarmacadam 

on the road to hell

 alighting thought

a fly on my glasses explains

strabismus 

 dawn

deciding on the shadows

disorientation 

 bamboo scaffolding 

the grasshoppers are landing

on long dry grasses 

sad company

on the night bus

my reflection 

 incense

the earth’s smouldering 

thoughts?

 six contrails

heading to london

broken morning

 in the greenhouse 

in the green watering can

green water

 a boat

roped to its reflection

rising and falling

 heat wave

the forecasted numbers

turn red

 evening smoke

barbecues and cannabis

hot beach

 oh why 

did the bee 

die

 above a red towel

chasing the sun set 

a burnished contrail

 calm

when saying calm

is too rough

 on our beach hut roof 

there are three panting rooks

in a sea breeze

 the full tide

of testosterone jumping

from the highest rock

this summer 

little did we know 

it was that summer

 voices

annoying 

a hot day

 in the orchard

ducking under the shadow 

of a passing crow

so many feet

have shone these stones

where were they going 

  butterfly 

against the breeze

flying out to sea 

 a lifeline

in a rough world

these flowers

For Patricia

 For Patricia

suddenly

everything is yesterday 

with no tomorrow 

on a rainy day

looking at my sun hat

plans are shelved

without you

it is only a half moon

this full moon 

sympathies 

such bitter sweet 

moon gazing

i am so sorry

that i am sorry for myself 

my love’s lost heart

never again

your sweet voice has gone

shall i stop looking

memories 

if that is all you have

it is enough

in these short lines

a river of sadness 

overflows the lake

take care my love

for deep the dark forest

butterflies still jig 

 eton humble pie

blades on the feather

lovely voting weather

 on ocean hill

where the privet smells divine

the moths dancing

 so many wrong turns

how did i get here at all

serendipity frog

 so many buds

opening up in my 

closed eyes

 lighthouse

there across the water

a fountain of light

at the haiku hospital

 at the haiku hospital

hospital ward

the blind man’s harmonica

amazing grace

children’s ward

in the dead of the night

a blackbird sings

psychiatric ward

hiding in his wardrobe

a tall thin man

geriatric ward

the old man with a pipe says

i don’t have a brother

surgical ward

he loses his manhood

she her fertility

medical ward

well we’ve done the tests 

now for some more

eye ward

you are awfully dark doctor

blinkers removed 

skin ward 

is the treatment up to scratch

a rash diagnosis

coronary care

the love of a rare ECG

misses a beat

intensive care

in the midst of the wires

a nurse

A & E

in the middle of the night

blue lights

diabetic ward

all of the busy nurses

are so sweet

renal ward

the consultant on his rounds

a kidney on him

operating theatre 

in the midst of the drama

fast asleep

radiotherapy ward

dressed in protective armour 

lancelot 

cancer ward

so nice to see a friendly face

relapsing lyrical

children’s ward

of course you are not dying

yesterday once more

neurosurgical ward

a small door into my mind

i am still thinking

orthopaedic ward

all the resident characters

quite a cast

outpatients clinic

take this form and wait there

and there you are

path lab

in the bloody queue again

little pricks

mortuary 

called the chapel of rest 

for visitors 

sexual diseases 

the door to the clinic

well camouflaged 

burns ward

the sterile filtered air

of time and again

plastic surgery

things that are not quite right

seem to be fine now

X-Ray

they can see right through you

diagnosis on a plate

dental ward

asking stupid questions 

about wisdom teeth

treatment room

washing my hands of it

redressing 

fracture clinic

a menu of  interesting names

time for a break

trauma ward

serious business of calm

first things first

resuscitation

swinging into action

the A team

path lab

ten thousand tests

each a diagnosis

refectory 

talking bloody shop

over dinner

pharmacy 

for every pill

an ill