Category: villanelle

Meeting you

I used to see you waiting up the hill
Your shape a cipher,features not yet seen
My heart would smile and I feel tender still

I’d start  to run, while your eyes had their fill
Getting close with kisses like thick cream
I used to see you waiting up the hill

We would get the paper,pay the bill
As love flowed out like water from a stream
My heart would smile and I feel tender still

We walked  the City churches, they were  chill
But beautiful  and complex like a dream
I used to see you waiting up the hill

Now never will you be here,yet I shall
I mistake another person as sun gleams
My heart may smile for I feel tender still

In the night, I woke up with a scream
I felt I too must die, that’s how it seemed
I long to see you waiting up the hill
My heart will smile, I feel  so tender still

 

 

 

Like a natural god, the geese divine

When we walked  I  held your hand in mine
We walked  round a small lake  to see geese fly
We  sauntered, in a rhythm were aligned

Time had stopped, the geese  in circles climbed
Then swept  onto the path as we came by
When we walked  I  held your hand in mine

Like a natural god, the geese divine
Landed  in their beauty with a sigh
We  entered  a new rhythm, were aligned

On the shining water  geese in line
Float and hunt for food with little cries
When we walked  I  held your hand in mine

 In our garden for your love I pine
I may never love another  till I die
We  sauntered, in a rhythm were aligned

God is on the mountain with his lyre
Singing of the beauty of desire
When we walked  I  warmed your hand in mine
We  lived attuned  to love  until you died

The Russian wolf is licking his rich fur

I sense a feel of panic in the air
As if the Ark is not quite waterproof
I wonder if we’d welcome Tony Blair

To the poor this life was rarely fair
But now it seems unreal, is it a spoof?
I sense a piece of Putin in the air

I am looking in the mirror at my hair
It looks like Boris Johnson’s  but more louche
I wonder if we’d  dye  old Tony Blair’s

The Russian wolf is licking his rich fur
He’s happy Britain’s weakened with fake truth
I feel  a sense of  monsters  near, oh dear.

Putin won his Trump  with  that strange hair
Now it’s cyber warfare on the hoof
Will  he soon take Leave  from Tony Blair?

The Russians in Crimea  are still  there
 The Ukraine weeps  because we did not care
I sense a feel of Russia in the air
I wonder if   they’ll  fragment us  and tear.

 

Holy heart’s affection,beating pulse

One single tear   expresses  love and loss
Dramatic storms  excess may make folk pause
Who  will notice  one tear and its  cost?

A little stone near water may grow moss
But only mountains bring a sense of awe
One single tear   expresses  love and loss

Grief  must not wallowed in, like  baths
Philosophers not hurt  their minds   uncaused
Who  then will  observe   the tear,  the  cost?

To an ant, a pebble is quite gross
To a widow, death has hungry jaws
One single tear  may   show how she is lost

The entire self is  tear-filled  like  a marsh
We weep  till love itself becomes remorse
Let  one tear out and hide its  anguished cost

The heart’s affections use  poetic laws
Holy  circulation,  blood that draws
One single tear  falls down like bladed grass
Who  will care for  this tear, bear  its  cost?

 

 

 

 

Heart and art

Limestone’s softness lets its cracks appear
Wildflowers,daisies,foxgloves love to grow
While little rivers  to the South Tyne veer

Alston on the hill  to me is dear
The main street in the winter’s under snow
Limestone’s softness lets its cracks appear

Granite hard as marble seems to jeer
Limestone  lets the seeds and grass stay,
While little rivers  to the South Tyne veer

The savage Pennines can cause panic fear
Their shadow in the sun, a fearsome layer
Limestone’s softness lets its cracks appear

Do we shift our vision far and near?
The panorama  of the Lakes is fair
The little rivers  to the South Tyne veer

Limestone,like a  woman, let’s love grow
Thus it is creative ,heart and Art
Limestone’s softness lets  broad cracks appear
Thus  streams, well  filled with seeds, are made home there

 

 

 

 

One tear

A silver tear rolled lonely as sliced moon
Down my pallid cheek  and wet my lip
Your loss turned me to sadness and damp gloom

My future  seemed, not promising, but doomed
The icy nails of death gave me a nip
A little tear rolled lonely as lost moons

Yet, in my mind, I heard L Cohen’s tunes
“There ain’t no cure for love” on this our trip
Your loss turned me to sadness ,clouds of gloom

Yet soft, deep darkness  need not lead to doom
Come,I’ll take a lover, board a ship
A starry tear rolled lonely as   new moon

I will  love,I ‘ll seek  for new  hope soon
Will I descend to stealing from a skip?
Your loss sent me to sadness like a room

I  need no LSD to take a trip
My open senses give me what I miss
A silver tear rolled lonely as cruel moon
Your loss turned me to beauty,life resumes

 

 

Now I need to  want to say goodbye

I used to know you loved me by your eyes
Not the eyes  of judgement cruel and  dark
 Yet I need to  learn to say goodbye

Every day  deserted lovers cry
Our eyes grow dim, they lose their living spark
I used to know you loved me by your eyes

You were full of humour, I can’t sigh
Remember swans, the  frozen lake, the park?
Now I need to  want to say goodbye

Like a lark, your soul flew to the sky
Near Studland Bay,  where small birds seem to talk
I used to know you loved me by your eyes

My tears fell like a  curtain from each eye
I could only see you in the dark
Now I need the will to say goodbye

Though not  violent, you have made your mark
We got into that  rhythm when we walked
I used to know you’d  love me till I died
Even after death, I feel you by.

 

The fire must burn

Circular the building and the fire
A ring of stones wherein the fire was set
An eye hole high for smoke, a height for gyre

The wind might whistle. might bring chill, bleak, dire
The fire burned hot and red, the cats there sat
Circular the building and the fire

Warm when hunters came in from the mire
Meat  was roasted ,everyone ate that
An eye-hole  for  the smoke, a height for gyre

Families slept in  heaps, as cats desire
The fire  must  keep, the embers not  go black
Circular the building and the fire

The wind looks in  and tries to cool the fire
God  sees through our eye, we eye  him back
An hole above for smoke, a height for gyre

In each living heart there is a crack
The light and fire  get in to  fill our lack
Circular the building and the fire
The eye  is God’s , the wind itself inspires

 

The loss of dignity, the face unread

His face was black, he fell against my breast
Dying in an armchair by his bed
While nurses gossiped,he was  alone left

The  doctor said it would be for the best
The rehab is not meant for those  near death
His face was black, he fell against my breast

I asked him,dearest, do you feel depressed?
He nodded  with a gravity like lead
While nurses gossiped,he was lonely left

Then I realised   my  wifely task
I was even asked to lift him to his bed
No longer  as my bridegroom at the feast

The loss of dignity, the face unread
The  blindness of the staff,  the broken head
His face was black, he fell against my breast
While nurses gossiped,he was fading fast

 

 

A parrot, well brought up, can mimic chat

I went  into your study, found a cat
Black with shining fur and amber eyes
She ran with startling speed ,near knocked me flat

I found your weekend bag and your sun hat
A tear ran down my face, then multiplied
I went  into your study, found a cat

I wondered who composed  the “tit for tat”
And whether any animal could lie.
Puss ran with startling speed ,near knocked me flat

A parrot well brought up can mimic chat
Some live parrots  love to rise and fly.
I went  into your study, found a cat

My previous cat would try to catch a gnat
There is no flesh on gnats,I used to say.
Puss ran with startling speed ,near knocked me flat

I kneel down  here and wonder how to pray
I shall not see my spouse on earth again
I went  into your study, found a cat
Who shot with startling speed across the mat

 

Widen oh my eye, let colour play

From the Knott, we see this Morecambe Bay
We  eye the gentle  meadows where sheep roam
Across the sea the Lakeland Hills arrayed

From  a   town of mills to this display
The joy of beauty on  this scale unknown
From the Knott,hypnotic Morecambe Bay

Widen oh my eye, let colour play
The  green, the blue, the purple, white the foam
Across the sea the Lakeland Hills arrayed

The River Kent pours out its water,sighs
The viaduct excites the child with charm
From the Knott, we see grand  Morecambe Bay

At last we understand  true life  divine
From the train, we see the sea alarmed
Across the  Bay the Langdale Pikes align

For a while, forget the world, its harms
Let the air and water be our balm
From the Knott, we see vast Morecambe Bay
Across the sea the Lakeland Hills survey

 

Su doku for adults

In  any case,arrest the folk who’ve erred
Let them catch corona from a goat
A crossword can include four letter words

When you see fonts coming, you can swerve
Or fling yourself into the nearest boat
To think Su Doku’s vulgar is absurd

Keep your outline covered by a coat
Play your flute while all go out to vote
A crossword might include four letter words
To think Su doku adult is absurd

 

I dream into your mind

I wish I were at Whitby by your side
From the Abbey Steps  we saw the.whole
The sound of gulls aswirling round our minds

The atmosphere of Yorkshire  blunt and kind
Salty  air,the North Sea,winds that groan
I wish I were at Whitby by your side

See the children taking donkey rides
The fishermen look   anxious , happy, worn,
The sound of gulls  is  swirling round my mind

From Saltburn,Staithes to Bempton bold cliffs   rise 
Then Bridlingon where Hockney was a boy
I wish I were at  any by your side

The two weeks break seemed long when we arrived
Now all my past seems like an old map torn
The sound of gulls  is   ccalling you to mind

To be in Whitby and to be alone
The pie shop’s open yet I feel forlorn
 I wish we were at Whitby side by side
The sun and air, I dream into your mind

 

Like an oboe singing as I pray

Precisely when we fell in love’s unclear
I knew your humour and  your eager ways
I  can’t imagine  when you were not dear

The deeper is the love, the more the fear
That one  must go, the other one must  stay
Exactly when we fell in love’s unclear

All alone, it is your voice I hear
Like an oboe singing as I pray
I  can’t imagine  when you were not dear

I see you in the room I know you’re here
I must not look, or I shall have to pay
Exactly when we fell in love’s unclear

I see your head  lean onto mine so near
From my reverie I must not stray
I  can’t imagine  when you were not dear

As we ambled, wandered on  our way
I did not know the ending of our Play
Precisely when we fell in love’s unclear
From this world’s creation, you were dear

 

 

Caught by geese and God





I remember all the humorous things we did 

Peering into windows lit by lamps 

Climbing cliffs then chased by geese and dog 

Walking down from Redcar,sea so still 

After Saltburn Pier, the cliffs high jump 

I remember all the funny things we did 

Wandering Whitby in a sea grey smog 

Eating a pork pie cut into lumps

 Climbing cliffs then chased by geese and dog 

Old Hunstanton ,white sands where we’d sit 

The wild spikes of the gorse spread out unclamped

 I remember all the colours,scents and that 

I feel the joy inside my heart is lit 

Woe is leavened by old nature’s stamp 

Climbing high then chased through mud by dogs 

We see, in shadows, shades are not so stark 

In Studland Bay astonished by skylarks 

I remember all the humour and the love 

Climbing cliffs then caught by geese and God



	


	



			
				


			

			
Sienna and dark rose
		
	
	

		
Muted colours,sienna and dark rose

Lovely mauve and lilac   please my eye

Linen,silk or wool,I love my clothes


 I like to complement,I don’t oppose

The colour wheel rotates as I go by

Wearing colours,sienna and dark rose


I  like colour,all my neighbours know

The “take” on natural fibres makes me high

Linen,silk or wool,I love  their glow


If people gossip, this is not their show

If I seem conceited,  don’t make war

Wearing colours,sienna and dark rose


Now I’m in acrylic, what a blow

Wool is hard to find, the sheep cry Baaaa

I love, fabric, I love  coloured clothes


It matters not if I have burned a bra

Seems a  little  mad, but  there we are

Muted colours,umber and dark rose

Linen,silk or wool, the art of clothes


 


 

	


	



			
				


			

			
Love’s victory
		
	
	

		
Turn back, live again, he  asked of me

Do not wander in this darkness anymore

One slip,one move might give death victory


We are each connected to that tree

The sunlit top, the roots hid in earth’s floor

Come back, live again, he asked of me


While we live, we’ll live with dignity

Not scrabbling for the gold in blood and gore

One more lie will give sin victory


The kindness of the golden light was clear

And left an image in my mind’s deep core

Come back, live your life, he then soothed me


Do not wonder now why you are here

We’re here to live and living shall restore

What our suffering self has found so dear


I had never seen the Light before

Only Christ the Tyger with his roar

Come back, live through pain, he asked of me

One right step will give love victory

	


	



			
				


			

			
Evolution, accident, who cares?
		
	
	

		
The Enlightment   brought  error and despair

Science can’t give  a meaning to our lives

In two World Wars we seem to make that clear


Satan looked out  puzzled from his  lair

The evil done by men was a surprise

The Enlightment   brought  error and despair


The fabric of the world  is ripped and torn

The war between the wealthy never dies

In two World Wars we seem to make that clear


Evolution, accident, who cares

With the  pill ,no woman  can deny

The Enlightment   brought  error and despair


Now we shop while wearing our nightmares

Haunted faces lifted  with no pride

In two World Wars we seem to  have that clear


Jesus in his wooden tower sighs

Almost human, he has turned away

The Enlightment   brought  error and despair

After two World Wars what else is clear?


 


 


 


 

	


	



			
				


			

			
Singing in the wind
		
	
	

		


I have heard grass singing in the wind.

I have walked through poppy fields in sun

I have suffered when dark rain descends


I have watched trees’ shadows in the ponds

I have known the arctic wastes of pain

I have heard grass singing in the wind.


Another soul is writing with my hand

Yet I have wept while loaning him my pen

I have suffered when dark rain descends


I have known the edges of the mind

I ‘ve sensed hollow silence un-contained

. I have heard grass singing in the wind.


I have sorrowed  people wh’re confined

I have watched the antics of bad men

I have suffered when dark rain descends


I have seen the storm by camera lens.

I have felt the solar system bend.

I have heard grass singing in the wind.

I have suffered when dark rain descend



	


	



			
				


			

			
Stitch the world together
		
	
	

		
Heal your own neurosis ,let go shame

Why should you  be less because you ache?

Stitch yourself together without blame


Have you got the problem with no name?

Have you made a billion weird mistakes?

Love your own neurosis without shame


Be  with other people when you can

Listen to them talking,  you may shake

Stitch yourself together without blame


We all get wet when wandering in the rain

Dry another person for love’s sake

Live your with neurosis without shame


Do not worry that your soul is stained

Keep the pieces when your own heart breaks

Bring yourselves together without blame


It is not Xmas yet but make a cake

Share good news,accept what is now fate

Own your own neurosis, let go shame

Stitch  the world together, that’s our aim