The Mis-measure Of Man

The mis-measure of man 
And of woman
Ensuing expectations
Hopes, dreams, feelings
And then the fall
The crunch, bone-shattering
Sickening, the after-shock 
Love; a dizzy spell
Until the resultant calm
The quiet hush, peace 



December 2014

The Storm

Inspired by a quote of Kafka 'The storm which blew me out of my past eased off.'

Now and then, the storm which 
Blew me out of the past eases off
I part its curtains and peep in
Into boxes of hope, dream and pain.
Some colour, some light, death in vain.
Tiny footsteps between flower beds
Shiny barrettes, a pink watering can.
Blue shoes, broken tooth, yellow school van.
Marigolds, pansies, sweet pea
Apricot jam, hunter's beef, patties
Jude, Tess, graveyard, pink tea
The storm blows, it eases off
The reel hiccups, splutters and stops
Credits roll, eyes fill and we have landfall





Jude - Jude the obscure by Thomas Hardy
Tess - Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Hanging In The air

A page flies, rolls over, sticks to the ledge

Ink splashes, words fall, run off the edge
Leaves get the same, rain drenched, decrepit 
Petals trampled upon, torn, desecrated

Not all sheets make a book or words a poem
Leaves, laurel wreaths; petals, bouquets
Smiles don't make happiness or tears easement
Dreams are not reality nor all of life meaningful

Life moves on still, while you hang in the air 
Resigned to a lifelong sadness, an affray 
The heart breaks open; kernel soft and yielding
And there is no change, no, none conceding 

I Love You's

So I'm told my I love you's are put on display
Sometimes they are paraded, all basking emblazed
Healing hearts, charming beauties, lighting cities 
Enrapturing, capturing magic in dazed possibilities


But why do I hear mine clatter 
Shiver, shard, splinter and splatter
Chips flying, falling, my saboteur
Choked, suffocated, gasping for air


Glass like, mottled, numb, heart-broken
Mute, I declare, with a death stare, frozen 
Speechless monks parading in the wilderness
Mannequins in drag, puppets of providence

Seasons within, Seasons without‏

Blue skies above, swirling leaves beneath

Fiery, lambent sun-lit valley

Waterfalls from hooded lids, frigid breeze

Straw houses on tornado alley 

Seasons within, seasons without

Quiet versus turbulent, straight or oblique

The dark side of the moon, the mirror's face

One extraneous, the other intrinsic so to speak

Rub the sides of the coin; flip, precipitate
My sortition, my drawn lot; equal, dispassionate

Mortuary and Metamorphosis‏

Easing out, the casing falls with a clatter.

I step away, I will greet you
Beyond me the mortuary holds me.
I sit with one, my summer death
White top complimenting the black skirt.
A spring one too, paler still against the blue. 
The autumn enigmatic yet, tired. And winter,
burnt out from a wait too long.
Adieu; adieu, I bring the new.
The old out with the old you.

You hold me thus so‏

Dark days, dull moments, my dazed life
And cups of amber, boxed lanterns,
my stopgaps of light

The eyelashes, a caress on my heart.
Smile a gentle hug. And inflections
of voice a tender symphony

A chink in the armour. Pierced,
And I am held. Whirling up, spiralling
Down. Captive in an unbound light