Pieta

Piéta

-

O Lord thou art hard on mothers

I understand the ying and yang

The one hand and the other

The double-edgéd sword

The cord that's cut but never

Severed, tie that binds

Forever fish-hooks in the heart

But lord thou art hard on mothers

I understand such ecstasy

The headlong dive and fall

Regardless, coup de foudre/ thunderclap

Will come with fearful price

With love the dread in equal part

The wordless watch the wish the want the will

From newborn bliss

To anguish cut in stone

Marble Mary, Piéta

Madonna come to this

O lord thou art hard on mothers

28th April, 2010, Bondi, after Padraic H Pearse 'The Mother', for us all, but most especially the newest, Tamsin, with love

Alice

Alice

Tamarama's turquoise today

Sea-green and aqua

Foaming bright white along the shore

Far out prussian blue

Thick and dark, directly from the tube

Today the followers in thrall to surf

The rise and roll adrenaline's rushing ride

A hundred years ago a roller-coaster

Pleasure park where Sydneysiders

Came numerous to play

And incidentally gaze and gasp

At foreign marvel tethered here

Reluctant immigrant

Forever exile

An elephant named Alice

24th April 2010, Bondi

Love's most beautiful

Love's most beautiful

His drawings first were monochrome

In pen and ink, etched or pencil sketch

The drab and watered winter land

Barren fields and figures

Strong and bent

Until one technicolour day

Like Dorothy on yellow road

The rainbow arc unfurled

Kaleidoscopic magic, colours on a wheel

From palette fiercely flung

Vibrant into life

His vision of eternity

Glimpsed in prussian cypress swirls

Against a turquoise sky

Two shiny orange crabs on green

Flowers of the field exuberantly crammed

Daisies poppies cornflowers

Crowding in a jug

And blousy blooming roses

White on green and pink

The hot south full summer

Corn in waves or stacked in sheaves

Workers ever toiling over scythes

Each day of his last seventy

From palette fiercely flung,

New begun,

A glorious canvas, soul of landscape captured

For posterity

The genius and the struggle

Too great for human heart,

Art transcending, elevating

Sunflower heads and starry nights

Left to us his vision blessed

From Vincent

Love's most beautiful bequest

19th April 2010, Bondi, for Pam, Jude and Rosie, happy memories

New England

New England

Not a face this morning-

deep blue dancing light upon the sea-

but wears a smile eyes crinkled in the sun

A multitude is moving on the prom

bare limbs full flow

New England Hopper painted

sharp shadow sunlight on a wall

White glare

Brighton rinsed renewed

dazzling in the sun

8th April 2010, Brighton seafront park

From the daffodil green

From the daffodil green

From the daffodil green we step

Into your life's space

Small and perfect jewel-red and gold

Mirror shine

Now the crowds of baby after baby

Smiling from the frames

Love made this home

Wielded the paintbrush

Hung the portraits

Landscapes hidden creatures, donkey cat or hare

Magical

Toys waiting, treasure trove

From the daffodil green we step

Where's flung a welcome wide

As love bids us home

11th April 2010, from Newnham to Bristol, for Lyn and Doug with love

The glorious glad

The glorious glad

After the age of ice

Snow and rain

Winds that blow

Hard chill and gnaw

Corrosive bitter time

After the dark days, dead days

Slow dragging

Disheartened

How sudden now the world returns to glad

In only just

The nick of time, first signs

Beneath the trees

The yellow sunshine carpet's out

Loud and proud, the season's shout

In brightest green uncurling leaves

Pink and white of blossom froth

Brave bobbing on the branch

Flags of hope

Signal sent at last

We are relieved, all will be well

The nothing-is-so-beautiful-as-Spring

The glorious, glad

Is come

5th April 2010, en route to Bristol, with thoughts of Gerard Manley Hopkins' 'Spring'