Golden spring, you inspire me to write.The way you pierce, renew and burstinvades my thoughts all day and night,weaving itself into lines of verse. I could compare you to a gentle larch.You are more fragrant, forgiving and fresh,though sudden frost may freeze buds in Marchand give me sudden shivers with its caress. How do I […]
Tag: Sonnet
First Bees of May
I watched a drowsy bee chewthrough its wintertime cocoonand emerge onto the edgeof a sunny window ledge.After a sullen start to spring,dandelions smile in grass.A dragonfly helicopters pastcherry and honeysuckle bowers,where flirty buds are burstingto unfold a flurry of pink flowersto bees, thirsty for heady sipsof pollen from dewy petal lips.That’s why a swarm of […]
Sensing October
I pull October from the mist,gather up the weavesafter the storm has tried to stripthe trees of blushing leaves. I wind them round my finger,the delicate wisps that lingerin fallen apples rottinginto cider scent, in dangling corpses of daddy-longlegsand dew-encrusted spider-webswoven in between red sunsetsand orange mornings. I untangle gossamer spanning timeand space to make […]
Brent Geese in Autumn
By mid-October, large flocks of dark-bellied geese grate and grumble across grey sky, ticking clouds with wings. They descend on the estuary and spend all winter pecking at eel grass and remains of corn. Their noisy nasal honks pierce autumn twilight like a foghorn, belying the beauty of their flight and the delicate embroidery of […]
Back to Base
I’ve been tuned in to the bassline of my every day, a solitude tuned so low it vibrates in my gut. Above white noise (or is it tinnitus?), the strident call of a crow and the pigeons’ throaty coos counterpoint a blackbird’s song: they have formed the baseline of my Covid day for so long […]
Waiting for the Woodpecker
Down the lane towards the river, branches touch their fingertips together, a leafy tunnel to catch a breeze while I listen for drumrolls from the trees to announce the annual rollercoaster, the reappearance of the spotted woodpecker. It’s already May and I haven’t heard him yet, he must be still selecting the most perfect of […]
View from Sea to Shore
The coastline is a rugged spine of cliff, rocky ribs rise and fall with each breath of wind and wave that shift the distant skiff. Its feet are firm and solid in the depths of tides that loosen roots and bits of stones like rotten teeth; they tumble to the beach with salty water sucking […]
Missing the Point
From mid-autumn until the end of winter,each day begins and ends with night,not morning’s gentle lightening or splinterof tea-time twilight, although sunsetstill kaleidoscopes in clear October skies.We live from day to day: wake up,rise and read about incessant liesover the rim of a tea or coffee cup.Then it’s time to catch a bus or train,ignoring […]
Morning Inspiration
I get up early while you’re still asleep; avoid the cats while creeping down the stairs, try not to wake you with my leaden feet, and stumble over work boots into chairs. The floor is cold, and so’s the toilet seat, the sink is laced with toothpaste and stray hairs. The cat tray smells and […]
Bread-Making in Winter
For months frayed foliage has covered earth, the agèd year is faded to sepia shades and now it turns again to white and grey with early dusk as winter draws its breath. The frigid bite of January’s mellowed, outdone by the aroma, as it lingers, of yeast and flour wafting from your fingers, familiar scent […]
writing in north norfolk 