The Lime Tree

Under the lime tree

The scent is a sweet perfume

A friend holding my arm

Smiling

Whispering memories in my ear

& I remember a time when

Younger knees

Could run through all the trees

 

Through the apple orchard

Long grass wrapping wet fingers

Around our ankles

Slipping on the windfalls

Turning to wasp cider where they lie

Through the orange orchards

Dry red dust washed from our bare feet

By the chirping cicada of the sprinklers

 

My path, now slow

Winds through the mown avenues

Of old trees saving up for autumn

And the streams & rivers

Are quiet ponds of silver

Where fish dream under waterlilies

And memories, like the clouds above

Are reflections in still water

 

The lime tree sheds no tears

At all the years passing downstream

But fills the air with giddy scent

So I can glide my eyes across the water

And tenderly remember

A time once spent

Running through

Summer orchards

 

Noon, Midsummer (20.06.20)

A westerly wind

Throws its arms around my shoulders

A warm hug

While all the leaves

Laugh loudly

On this midsummer noon

A day flying bat over the pond

Mirrored by a dragonfly

Above the rust and ragged robin

Dances in time to distant drums

Young apples and old carp

The perfect balance

A snapshot

Of this midpoint on the solstice

 

On the hill they wait

Old stones counting songs

Till sunset

But here, in this warm breeze

Now the storm has past

I count my blessings

As the year moves on

 

 

Incandescence (Twelve Poems)

I have curated twelve poems from the last three years into a Microsoft Sway presentation, so it can be read on a device or phone. The poems are split onto four seasons to echo either their subject matter or when they were written. The first two, Nowadays and The String bag were written during this period of lockdown.

Incandescence

Twelve Poems

Go to this Sway

The Glowing Lanterns

This morning, early mist still rising

The river fields are lit with glowing lanterns

Hanging above the sweet meadow grass

Still full of faerie magic

There must have been a ball last night

Beneath these dandelion lamps

A waltz of wings and wild singing

With wine from drops of silver dew

Hedgerow birds are waking with a chorus

The river mist evaporating in the sun

But all across the rich green pastures

Glowing lanterns are still strung

Left alight for those who wake

Too early for the mortal world

There, in magic light they’ll stay

Beneath the glowing lanterns

The String Bag

I make a string bag from shiny twine
Because what else is there to do
Passing time, treading water
This slow labour of knots
Each a quiet prayer for us all to stay safe
Stay put, stay at home
Tying in memories of better times
Trying to remember, stringing out the hours
Not to read the headlines, not to be afraid
An octopus would be easier to contain
So I live in this moment
Gathering you up like lemons and limes
Holding you, holding it all in
A shiny bag I made of string

These Days

I walk in silence with the wind

Winding cold fingers through mine

‘We are wild and free, these days’

It whispers

My hair dances in the air

Unrestrained, flowing like birdsong

From the starlings and blackbirds

It sings for me

But my heart is as empty as the road

As heavy as the clay under my feet

‘Dig deep’, ‘Dig deep’

The passing finches sing, wild and free

The clock has not stopped yet

But the minutes and seconds have gone

Only unwinding hours, uncounted days

Where time is measured in footsteps

I walk in silence with the wind

Winding cold fingers through mine

‘We are wild and free, these days’

‘Dig deep’, ‘Dig deep’

Celandine Sings

A new set of poems/songs.