i sent a kiss to Alice
it floated in the air
i have no idea where it went
she may have been at the palace
it may have caught in her hair
i only know i sent it
it wafted about, and i lost it
for just a little while
but it reached her i think
i heard a tune, saw a wink,
it made me suddenly smile
and then i knew, however it flew
i would see her soon enough
it doesn’t matter if she is late
whatever they say, I’m the Hatter
the clocks will have to wait
Poetry
So Sudden
all night long i dreamed a dream
a dream i dreamed before
and now all day its sadness
comes to hold me in its thrall
vague scenes of loss so long ago
fires lit in the snow
the burning trees, the mountains tall
harsh voices down below
the slaughtered sheep
the children, mothers,
lovers intertwined
unwitting in the night
one hour that turned the world about
brothers, fathers, wives, are gone
red seeps into white
my life was overlooked
i alone, must journey on
there is no solace for this loss
but silence in the hills
filled with sadness still
imagine this, look about,
family, friends, gathered round,
in each breath and passing moment
treasure all the love you found
November 5th ~ Fireworks
this is the time when salmon leap
strong swimmers against the flow
reaching the calmer pools
it’s rained all day, softly falling
soaking my old worn coat
silencing all the birds
November trees stand stark and bare
black against flattened clouds
where sodden leaves cloak the paths
when evening falls
the children stand huddled
shining eyed, gripping sparklers
in safely gloved hands
tonight the world explodes
a riot of colour
glittering stars in the dark
rockets reach high
past the chimney pots
bursting in bright mandalas
they fizzle and fall to the earth
acrid smoke fills the cold air
lingers and hangs, long into night
awaiting the grey of tomorrow
the rain keeps on falling
flooding the rivers
soaking into the earth
this is the time to kindle the fires
replacing the summer sun
before the winter comes
Faded
when you wake from a dream
into which you had drifted
if you sleep again quickly
you can dream it again
but it’s never the same
the scenery’s shifted, it’s not as it seemed
where there were roses, there’s only a shadow
the windows are dimmed, the doors won’t open
the music that played changed key long ago
the dream that you dreamed
has floated away
No Red Poppies for Them
this is not death in the trenches
this is not genocide
nor incurable disease
they have no poppy fields
no proudly treasured medals
they will never be heroes
in trouble and strife, they depart
our young men, so easily gone
in the aftermath of wars
in poverty, in aimless despair,
without hope
and with nothing to leave
they take their own lives
from a nation that has no heart
************
The #1 top killer of young men in the UK is suicide
Arachne
you make me sad, she softly said
spinning tangled filaments
held there on her thread
so sticky in the web
unhappy end
your wish
for far more
made all we had
less
and now
in the end
there is nothing
Captive Carer
i see the streets from big wide windows
i wouldn’t cage a wild bird
i see the magpies perched
on nearby roofs and chimney tops
i haven’t left the house for months
except for weekly hurried visits
to the bank and back again
to pay the hired help who come
for one lone hour a week and leave
i look up maps of nearby woods
woods to which i cannot go
i have started planting trees
within the sheltered garden walls
i see the rolling hills so distant
the snow will come to cover all
the winter nights are drawing in
flight
twists and turns
soft breezes and storms
sweet reunions
misunderstandings
now i must fly
but i wish you safe landings
over and out
first there’s love
then there’s laughter
then more problems come after
the day has been long
all my words have been wrong
maybe you thought i was stronger
have your own way
have the last say
i wont ask you to stay
hitting the start button
logging off sweetheart
system shutting down
