whether reading it on the toilet wall or discovering it while visiting a tourist attraction in a foreign city, it has always fascinated me, particularly the ancient graffiti in places like Rome; the messages left by prisoners in the cells of castles and old prisons; and those beautiful murals in cities I have visited across […]
Category: Journal
My daily journal: comments, thoughts and poetry on daily events.
A haiku for the end of a very rainy day
After the Rain The rain has finished Anointing leaves with a sheen Of turbulent green
The penultimate part of the tin soldier’s adventure
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Part 3 A drop of rain bounced Off cobbles like boulders; A raindrop exploded On the tin soldier, Then another, Until it became a downpour. Puddles formed; Water filled the gutter. Two street urchins with a boat Made of newspaper Spotted the soldier And set him afloat. Buffeted by waves The […]
Wicked Word Wednesday
I have posted my entry for Wicked Word Wednesday on runninginmyhead.com. Go there to vote for your favourite entry. Deluge Today It has done nothing But rain Again Fluctuating fluidly Between Persistent drizzle And heavy downpour Clouds Pause Pregnant with it Gutters gargle with it Inundated With watery wetness Not enough flood To build an […]
As I have a busy morning…
this is the last poem for today. Silver Birch Oldest and tallest tree in the garden Nurturing fungi at its base Surrounded by moss And wild flowers The blackened and rugged trunk Stretches up its warty limbs Shedding bark like silvery tissue To its faded yellow canopy Where woodpecker and owl Sit among its drooping […]
More of the tin soldier
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Part 2 The tin soldier wished For the paper dancer To become his paper wife, But she lived in a castle And was too refined To spend her paper life In a crowded cardboard carton. When the lid was placed over The rest of the troop Only the soldier remained; His […]
A haiku before I go – inspired by a photo from my walk around the garden
Autumn Crocus Awaited in spring Clandestine autumn crocus October’s surprise
A new tale from Hans Christian Andersen
The Steadfast Tin Soldier Part 1 Once upon a time There was a troop of soldiers, Born from an old tin spoon, Holding rifles at their shoulders, In uniforms of red and blue. Each looked exactly Like the next Except for one Who was last To be cast And stood firmly On one leg. When the […]
Another translation of a poem by Hesse
Dream Translation of ‘Traum’ by Hermann Hesse It is always the same dream: A red-blossoming chestnut tree, A garden, a riot of summer blooms, Behind an old house with empty rooms. ~ There, in the garden’s quiet calm My mother rocked me in her arms; Perhaps – it is so long ago – Garden, house […]
A poem from my youth
Sink In the sink, Among dirty cups and plates, The hatred of daily monotony Raises its head From the prongs of a fork. Curling itself In a stainless-steel spoon, It speaks: Women belong in the world, In the universe, Not in a cold, tiled kitchen. Free yourself From the vacuum-cleaner vacuum, Dust away the duster […]
writing in north norfolk 