Watercolour

Watercolour 

When you're painting with water, a novice, letting it run
blend and blur, taking a chance 
(risk of sludge, puddled pool) 
but sometimes emerging soft-focus as a rainbow
as a sky rippled, dappled, end of day 
preparing for sunset
an image that will crow and so 
my hen. 
She's speckled, multi-coloured, blues and reds with burnt sienna
those feet, prehistoric, pink and yellow
feathers in layers fluffed
head up, chest out, puffed
and her beady jet-black eye. 

January 30th 2020 Hounoux 

John's owl

John's owl 

I heard an owl call, you said
a haunting spectral sound
long and loud in the winter wood. 
My neck hairs in a reflex rose
prehistoric ancient fright
conjured in the winter night 
and still the sound reechoes now
with memories of childhood tales 
ghouls and goblins nighttime dread 
it hoots and haunts my waking head. 

January 24th 2020, Hounoux 

Swung in the breeze

Swung in the breeze 

And is it a waste to while and wonder 
the unworked idle hour
to sit and stare as clouds shift, shadow 
snowy Canigou sparkling
most of the way to Spain 
or watch small birds fly in, fly out
(who told them of sunflower seeds?)
suspended, hung in the breeze

What then if I catch it, tether and pin it
preserving the moment in amber? 
Forever the clouds, the snow shine, the birds
suspended, swung in the breeze. 

January 22nd 2020 Hounoux 

We hang on to hope

We hang on to hope 

There's a snowdrop in our garden 

just the one

it shakes and shivers, frail stem quivers

and a Christmas rose, tinged pink

some plants in pots, astonishing 

still in flower. 

Passion fruit, orange eggs, 

decorate the wires

and there's pineapple sage, bright scarlet

all of the bush ablaze. 

When the world's out of kilter

so much amiss

flooding and fire, deaths, disaster

our planet trying to tell, with visions of hell 

children marching to save us

in spite of it all

stupidity, mindless greed

we hang on to hope

it's human to hope 

to smile for the snow white flower. 

15th January 2020 Hounoux