Silence

Silence

Soft rain falling
Soundless
Small drops on every leaf
Upon the earth
The sky
A slip in silk
Smooth strokes across the pool
So the silence
Unpeopled
Just high and sweet the serin’s song
Rinses rings
Diamond shine and shower
Bright solace for the soul

August 27th 2010, Hounoux

A dream of the day

A dream of the day

Dear god it’s hot in this house tonight
You’d wish for the clack of a fan
Ceiling mounted, full tilt in India
For a breeze from the Goan shore
No air, no breath, a dark and star-filled
Navy night
Moon gorgeous glamour
Three days short of, very nearly full
We’ve spread ourselves, upstairs and down
And flung all windows wide
Barely a sheet for cover
Two babies, damp curls
In a dream of the day
And a girl who is sad for the hornets
Destroyed by the man with a can
Poisoned, she’s sobbed for the deaths
She thinks wanton, no need, she’s railed
Wailed, fretted to sleep
And me with the pen to write it
To pin down the butterfly night
How the green tree frog, quacking
Hopped in for coolness
And the shock as the stick creature jumped
Praying mantis, bicycling in air
As we took tea
Then always of course, the cricket chorus
Loud as tinnitus
The geckos slinky on the walls
Three fierce hornets, dealt a deathly blow
Just the one world
Hot star-filled navy night
Just the one world
To share

22nd August 2010, Hounoux, for Lily

The pilgrim soul

The pilgrim soul

But one man loved, he said
The pilgrim soul in you
Soul that soared
Dipped
Dived
Swifts and swallows, summer
On the wing
Or gazed on beauty
Drank it in as evening sky
Bled pink to turquoise
Strands, gold bands
Pilgrim seeker, what is truth?
Soul that stood upon its points
Breathed the air, beheld the plain
Spun and whirled, up up
Took flight
Clear of eye and stout of heart
Pilgrim soul itinerant
Ever onward ever seeking
Through the world, far far beyond

18th August 2010, Hounoux, inspired by a line from W B Yeats, 'When you are old'

A caravan came walking

A caravan came walking

A caravan came walking
Hooves clip-clop multiple the first we heard
One July day, into our village
Which, though no-one nowadays is passing through
Yet does straddle, straggly, unkempt
The Grande Randonnée, ancient footpath
St Iago’s, St Jacques’ shell-marked
All the way to Compostela
A man his wife their small child (strapped to his back)
Four horses and a dog
All of them dusty, over-heated, worn in the blaze
Too many days slow progress in midsummer heat
By natural selection ( Tibetan prayer flags, tinkling wind-chimes, clearly there were signs)
They chose our neighbour Guy
Then by extension, us
Who answered in affirmative
When she asked ( German/English/French)
Clear-eyed direct
To share our garden, playground, pool
A taste of strawberry?
At night we heard the horses whicker
And the moon transmogrified
All July they spent with us
Then suddenly the caravan, refreshed
Was champing to be gone
Horses clip-clop multiple, disappearing
Along the shell-marked way

7th August 2010, Hounoux

Tomorrow I will paint a rose

Tomorrow I will paint a rose

Tomorrow I will paint a rose
In the garden where it grows
But first I’ll breathe its perfume sweet
Heady in the August heat
I’ll sit and look and look and sit
And contemplate the shape of it
The petals in concentric folds
Enveloping its lovely soul
My brain will switch from left to right
Like meditation, taking flight
Awe and wonder layer by layer
A quiet solitary prayer
Whose destination, heaven knows
But I’m resolved, you may suppose
Tomorrow I will paint a rose

6th August 2010, Hounoux

Dolci with Dante

Dolci with Dante

Ciao bella, come sta?
In perfect heaps biscotti
Amaretti dolci baci
Sugar kisses, si
Va bene, piacere
All is well,
Honeyed almond treats
Italian, the poetry of Dante
His sweet tongue
Chosen for posterity
A language pouring golden, languid
Set to music, love’s song
Lilting
Just to pass the time of day-
Buongiorno, buona sera
Hear a melody released
And ringing in the air
Sweet as chocolate
Dark magic in the cup,
Cioccolata calda
On the tongue,
Italian, the poetry of Dante

5th August 2010, Hounoux