This year I heard for the first time about the Moken from a fellow writer on a writing course with the Penguin Random House Writers Academy. I was intrigued by their simple and beautiful way of life. Here is a poem I wrote about them. Sea Gypsies of Myanmar Their universe is the turquoise ocean Anchored By […]
Tag: Poems
A poem to sum up my feelings in this post.
A love poem written some time ago
Shipwreck In the clinging night Your face was laden with dreams. I was silent, Watching with quiet trembling The rise and fall of your chest, The gentle movement Of the hairs above your lip, The flutter of your eyelids. In the cocoon of sleep, You knew nothing Of my curiosity. ~ You smiled And touched […]
A foggy poem
As we are into the season of mist and fog, I thought I would post my translation of a poem by Herman Hesse: ‘Im Nebel’. In Fog To wander in fog is singular, Lonely as every bush and stone; The trees cannot see each other, Every one is alone. ~ Friends filled my world While my […]
The last poem for this Saturday
Banshee She breaks the solid Silence of the night Wailing for the end Of ancient families Or foretelling the demise Of the great and holy Ghastly pale of skin With eyes of fire Burning with weeping And desire For souls Shrouded and veiled Bitter tears roll Down her long and hanging breasts A foster mother […]
For me, one of the most beautiful birds in our garden…
is the magpie. If you read this blog regularly, you will know that I love our untamed garden and the wildlife in it. We regularly have magpies, arrogant and noisy but beautifully marked and charming. Magpies are in a Chinese folk tale called ‘The Little Weaver Girl and the Cowherd’, which I have referenced in the following poem. Magpie […]
This poem was inspired by some amazing images and a tanka…
on Somali K Chakrabarti‘s Scribble and Scrawl blog. Self Similar Fractal A repeating pattern The same on every level A repeating pattern Fixed or random A repeating pattern Magnified in the geometry of nature A repeating pattern Of natural phenomena A repeating pattern Complex and beautiful A repeating pattern Of parallel mirrors A repeating pattern In […]
The end of the mermaid’s tale
The Little Mermaid Stave 8 When evening came they boarded the ship; The princess’s dowry was stored in the hold And the couple slept on the quarterdeck In a tent of purple and gold. Away from the glow of the lanterns’ light, The mermaid knew this was the last night She would breathe the same […]
I have seen his work up close and personal and I love it!
Postcards from Klimt From behind the complex wall of colour That shields the artist from the boisterous world, The mirror between Art and autonomy, Patronage and relevance, Public and private, Death and life, Klimt spoke for himself; Not in the sea-sick language Of words Spoken or on a page, But through postcards and paint, Intertwined […]
The penultimate stave
The Little Mermaid Stave 7 The prince’s love for the mermaid grew But he could never make her his bride. She reminded him of the maiden On the shore who saved his life; It was her he wanted to be his wife. It wasn’t long before the prince was betrothed To a princess across the […]
More of the mermaid
The Little Mermaid Stave 6 For the last time the mermaid returned to her home. She thought her heart would break as she rose through the foam And swam to shore. The silver moon was high when she drank the bitter potion; The sharpest pain passed through her and she fainted away. When the sun […]
writing in north norfolk 