Night populates the city, black ink spilling over pavements, splashing quiet corners, filling squares and parks, water- falling down the riverbank, soaking a couple as they hurry from one island of sodium light to another, across the Love Bridge, an anchor for younger hearts padlocked to railings. On the far bank, night is celebrated with a candle-cake […]
Tag: Poetics
The Seafarer’s Garden – Reprise
Merged in a wash of blatant blue, Ocean and sky meet in a kiss, The seafarer surveys the view, Standing alone in private bliss That slopes down to a steep cliff’s edge, Scattered with feverfew and sedge, Where each brash dahlia tempts a bee. But a sailor cannot forget the sea: Like ships’ masts coming […]
The Selfish Giant’s Garden
They visited every day For the grass, starry flowers And space to play for hours. In spring, peach trees burst into blossom And the happy children feasted on fruit all autumn. After a seven year visit with a Cornish ogre, Summer saw the return of the owner, A selfish giant who scared them away With […]
Whispering Walls at Dragon Hall
I am named after a dragon carved on one of my rafters in fourteen twenty seven. I started life proud and tall, born from a thousand English oaks as a medieval trading hall. I was a shop, warehouse and meeting place for wealthy traders of wines and spices, worsted cloth and pottery, conjuring money in their finery. […]
First Glimpse
We were new to the North Norfolk coast and couldn’t agree what we loved the most: the flatness of the landscape, the drama of the clouds, the wind so loud, the skies so wide and flaming with gorgeous sunsets and expansive star-filled nights. In the charcoal-shadowed garden, listening to the sea beyond the dunes, I […]
October Mourning
Morning Is born with a caul Of mist on sharp, clear light, Ripped by the raucous call Of leftover scraps of night: Coal-dusted ravens and crows Hunched in ragged rows, Their sharp eyes like sloes Clustering in the blackthorn. In moisture-laden air, time slows In anticipation of dazzling hues: Ochre, rust and foggy blues To […]
Because I am Still a Girl
Because I am still And always will Be a girl in my heart and soul I celebrate freedom To be me To be free To be strong To be right And sometimes To be wrong To learn To understand To reach out my hand And make a stand For other girls In this world Who […]
Bird-Bath Razzle
In the stone bowl of the bird-bath rainwater reflections razzle, copper leaves still jiggling in the beech tree dazzle, backlit by sharp autumn sun. On the edge of the bowl, a robin puffs up his scarlet breast, competing with burnished berries lighting up the hedge, portents of cold weather, while other birds flock together, […]
Fragility of Arrangements
They had made the arrangements. She walked away on blown out Egg shells, spearing embryos On her Manolo Blahnik stilettos, Whipping up meringue in her wake, Its dull crunch a reminder Of her empty womb. How easy it was to suck From a relationship all the smooth Creaminess and leave The fragility of arrangements To […]
Tears, Feathers and Bones
The Māori saw salty tears rolling Down the beak of the Wandering Albatross, Tears of longing for its ocean home. The Māori saw the beauty of its feathers, white as spray, Strong as the current, gentle as foam And made them a symbol of peace. The Maori saw the power of its long, tapering wings, […]
writing in north norfolk 