He leads her to a sea of oilseed rape, his hushed words warn her not to make a sound. Her trusting eyes are wide, her mouth agape, as butterflies of many hues astound. He begs her listen to the gushing stream, to watch for river birds and frisking otters; he shows her silver trout and […]
Category: Poems Inspired by Artists, Music and Other Writers
Strains of Billie
It’s a quarter past three on a Sunday morning. Darkness sits heavy as a blanket. It’s waiting for first light to seep through night and gently lift it. Strains of Billie Holiday curl into a hug of raspberry tea steam from my favourite mug. The cats have been fed and husband is tucked up in […]
The Quality of Finger-Painting
Finger-painting is the quality of not worrying about the mess on your clothes, hands and face, and sharing the happiness of the child with whom you’re finger-painting. Finger-painting is being a cave-dweller, doing what comes naturally, while unleashing your inner Picasso, Kandinsky or Miro, even throwing a little paint like Pollock. Finger-painting rediscovers the child […]
Mary Alice Muted
She is muted, not just in colour.He has painted her in hues of dolour.and taken away her voice.I wonder, had it been her choice to find herself so portrayedin shades of violet, green and greyto the modern art world’s eyes,to be so closely scrutinised, or did she trust the artist’s view.Lacking softer tones of blue,I […]
Deirdre’s Accordian – a poem on Visual Verse
I am delighted that Visual Verse chose to include my poem on page 30 of the latest issue, Volume 10 Chapter 7. The image is not a modern or surreal one, as they often are, but a classical painting by John Everett Millais. It really caught my imagination and that of the other contributors. All the pieces, […]
Curators of the Night
They are busy on the night shift,dusting off star drift,polishing up the moon in all its forms.(It’s always being tarnished by space storms.) The library’s astronomerscans the sky for astral bodies, gathersmoons, and stars that fall to Earth,and shelves them until their monthly rebirth. They lend them out too,to people like me and you,romantics who […]
I followed Emily’s steps in Haworth
I didn’t realise we had so much in common: birth and baptism (of couse) attempts at gardening books and reading (of course) juvenile writing and poetry (naturally) novel writing and a diary (love of) art and music imaginary world and depression teaching contentment at home stay in Brussels I lived in Cologne and Ireland) return […]
The Rooks of Rapture
The moon, like a cataract in the eye of night, casts her milky tract of light on a rookery of nests; their twiggy bulks seem to rest in the fingertips of branches. Below, the night’s chill breath petrifies fierce arum spears still clenched tight like fists where death has left its earthy taint among bits […]
Sonnet for Joni
One sunny April afternoon, I wanderedonto the edge of your atmosphereand devoured your records. I meanderedfrom old songs to new, from there to here, and found I could not choose. No favouritefor me. If I could mix all the melodies,all the lyrics, inhale your music, savour itlike spring air, I might forgive the parodies, the […]
[when i think of you]
after e.e. cummings i see your bike left haphazard on the edge of the forbidden cricket pitch fringed with golden hued birds-foot trefoil and clover, sky overhead cross-hatched with vapour trails, like the lines that sketch your face now; your face then was freckled, your breath sweet with bubble gum, lips stained orange with the […]
writing in north norfolk 