Going

Let's get going cries Alice
Bumbling under the chestnut tree
In my mind we are at the shore line
Cool waves
Lapping our toes
Bringing fresh light onto our faces
We have not been to the sea in such a long time
We gaze out the window
The sun grazes the pane
Like a gentle kiss
Our mind is still
Focused on the daily chores
Wash
Brush
Smile
Alice's dress is clean and ironed
Her hair sparkles
Like a new dawn
We are going going gone.

If

What if the flowers were painted blue
And we skipped and tripped through the coming of day
Without a care in the world
Without knowing what will come next
What if we knew
Time
Space
Illusion
The man in the hat came back
He watches from afar
We don't care for his glances any more
We have much work to do
And nobody can disturb us
What if we never finish
That would be good I say
To finish means an end
And I don't want this to end
The coloured bed
All fancy patterns
Sleep
Words
Time
All a delicious jumble waiting to be sorted by shaking hands
What if you left
That would break my heart
I want you to stay here forever
To play a part in my misadventure
To be you
To be me
What if the flowers were painted blue
That would be a very fine thing indeed.

Autumn

Autumn comes in its sweet white robes
Blows a cold mist around our ears
Heralds in new sounds
And love
We stand up high and watch the wind troop the colours of the leaves
Inside we are warm
Too warm
We throw the covers off
Wonder where summer has been and gone
We drink sweet tea and nibble on chocolate squares
Dream of railways and journeys
In waking we are static
Heralds in new sounds
Wind
Rain
Colour
We leave the windows open to scoop up the autumn air
Soon it will get too cold and we will have to shut them
But for now we enjoy the occasional nip and frost
We are waiting again
But there is a calm in the air
An acceptance
Not all comes to those who wait
We understand
And wait some more
Looking
Always looking at the changing sky before us.

Deal

We stand on the hillside in summer
The blade glitters faintly
In the cool sway of branches
We turn our head
From a terrible idea
It is unspoken
A deal we had the audacity to control
A wager unbroken
The axe melts the wood
We chop and chip away at the dusty bark
Longing for the sap to trickle down our fingers
It is a melting bite
We are nothing but guests in a dream
A row of terraced houses
A team of roofs
We are aware of every breath
It is granted and probed
A life span
A list of terms
We stand on the hillside in summer.

Sky

In the street of the sky night walks scattering poems
We collect letters like shells
Tiny fragments of self
New shoes on an autumn day
A fresh breeze
A waft of air upon our skin
The frail man waits in bed
Twists and turns
Unable to find comfort in the bedded quilt
All around is noise
But inside an aching silence
Such is time lost
A cymbal crashing into shore 
Consonants tripping off a dry tongue
Poems dancing in the curtains
We are still but busy 
We must always find something to do
The rain falls
The smell of water on hot concrete drifts in the window
It is a comfort
A gentle pulse
Life
The frail man moves slowly
But with purpose
He absorbs the water as it trickles down the window pane
He is connected to the earth by a thin thread of being
Raggedy shirt
Stuck to seeping flesh
And we wait
No room for idle hands
In the street of the sky night walks scattering poems.

Safe

The world is a beautiful place
She says out loud
Her voice makes my hands shake
I drink my coffee
Stare at the pale white walls
Try to imagine beauty
This place is home
Paintings hang on the wall
The familiar scent of days passed spills out when I open the door
Which is less and less frequently
Where would I go if I left
There would be no red bed
No midnight snacks
No you
I stumble on the stairs
Carry out the last of the cans
In a way it feels liberating
She claps her hands with glee as I wrap up the black bag
I will go out
Buy more food
Try to look around me
Alice will wait here
Stand guard
Waiting for me
And that is home
She makes it beautiful
I want to hold her but instead
Lock the door to keep her safely in.

Sink

We drop pennies down the sink
The trickling sound comforts me
I don't remember how I got like this
I am what I am
Nothing more
Nothing less
When we have lost all our pennies
We feel like crying
There is no one to hear us she whispers
We swallow pills
Sleep
Don't dream
With Alice by my side
I walk away from the sink
She will help me find new pennies.

Survival,

Alice rolls over
I am not sure she means to
A dark mist descends
Our tongues stick
To the roof of our mouth
I could howl
But all I can do is stare
Smoke ridden mysteries
We will pull through
The fields are green now
I can see them from my window
Soft as feathers
It was never meant to be like this
Alice rolls over
I am not sure she means to.

Rain

The rain falls upon her shoulders
We long for the measure to form
Cancer
Quietly leaning
Hoping its measure
Look for silver belonging
The only
Echoes
Empty pleasure rippled dusty
Really quite beautiful she says
Her hair matted
Her mouth full of spit
The sky is lilting
The truth is walking away
Speckled thin
The fruits ripen
Our soul is turning
Tighten our belts
If we lie very still
I can picture the horses
My spine is crumbling
But there is Alice
My friend when all I lost.

Tree

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree
She climbs to the highest bough
I look on dreaming of apples and falling leaves
She laughs
A throaty giggle
One that came out of my soul before the wake up time
We hunt for snakes in the bamboo rivers
I say I'm scared
She holds my arm
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

Flag

Alice waves her flag
It's a kind of totem
We are coming home
Whatever that means
We swallow silver stars
Pray for new beginnings
Herald a new dawn
Colours flapping in the pale cool night
The four walls contain us
Some days it's a prison
Others a haven
We are our own country
Lost
Stranded
Bereaved
Alice waves the flag above her head
It's a kind of totem
We are coming home.

Kiss

What I kiss lies gently on my tongue
It is liquid crystal
Blue and shimmering like the sea
We are waiting once again
Listening to the waves
Hoping beyond hope for the thing which makes us real
The morning sky blends purple and orange
Purple bruises of light
We lie in the bed
Drink sweet tea and daydream
It's impossible to know just how we got here
We used to jump from pillar to post
Now we are static
Bellies aching
Heads adrift
We wish for more
But what I kiss lies gently on my tongue.

Story

The pillows are speckled with dust
Fathers and sons
Snuggled up bodies
All in the distance
A brilliant rippled tide
Lilting skyward
A quiet longing
All muddled and starved
We dream amongst the night
Nursing beers and wines
A cool blast against our legs
A thin veil of rain
Yielding and blending colours
A gentle cluck
And a fearsome gallop
We will wait until morning comes
A sweet release upon on our teeth
Stories left untold
Bodies wrapped carefully in cotton
We wish for more but do not have the words to say
All is calm and quiet
We will shake the pillows and make the bed
Rest our weary head upon the silver skies
Fathers and sons
Cool bodies in the night
Distant pictures
All a dream
Magic and loss
We put away the paper bags
And wait
All is calm and quiet.
 

Waves

The girl sat a while, gazing out over the waves 
Her hair fell upon her shoulders
Gently like a cool breeze 
Her shoes are worn down
Pieces of glass stick in the sole
She picks them out
Places them on the counter top
As if each shard is a marker
A tally of miles tread 
Days spent 
Minutes lost
The sea is in her mind
It laps her eyelashes 
Splendid
Trickling 
All about her is light
She waits patiently 
Spies the horses in the field
If she lies still
The pain subsides
The sirens fade into the distance
She mops up the footprints
Considers the silence 
The girl sat a while, gazing out over the waves.

Poem

We are made of poems
Sweet lines
On lazy summer afternoons
Time passes in a haze
We are both here and not
Skipping
Tripping
Counting down the minutes
All will be lost
But there's so much we have yet to find
We crunch syllables on our tongue
Savour every pinch
Inch down the page
Filling the white
With sure black marks
She claps her hands
This is where we belong
We are made of poems
Sweet lines
On lazy summer afternoons.

Joke

It's really quite farcical she moans
We are lying on the floor of our tin hut
Waiting for the delivery of nothing
There is a list of things to do
The hot weather holds us back
The list can wait for another day
And another after that
We keep still
Little stones under a babbling brook
Try not to think
What once was
What is
She sits up
Wipes the hair from her face
Do you never get bored of making the same mistakes
Always
Then you must stop
It's easy
It's all just a habit
And all habits can be broken
She giggles and claps her hands
In her head is the answer
She has kept it safe for so many years
I wash the grime from under my nails
It really is quite funny
Still I wait
The last laugh will be worth the pain of now.

Shell

They said I had sea shells under my skin
I trace my fingers over my bones
My neck aches from the weight of my thoughts
The stairs defeat me
I shake at the thought of them
Trip skip fall
Carry the cup with two hands
Refrain from the smell of me
Head full of maggots
I have had enough
We lie on the floor and dream
Babbling leaves returning to the sea
Crocus hills
Stones of shame in our pocket
We observe in silence
Wrap twine around our head
It sits there like a wig
A skein of scars and stories
We lie on the floor
Bent out of shape
How we wish for shells not the shape of our scars.

Walker

I look in the mirror
I can always find you there
The mirror bends
Like spoons
Jam moons
We are one
I want to break free
But fear most that I will lose you
You are my little doppelganger
I could wear a blue dress
Tie a ribbon in my hair
But still you will be you
And I will be me
I don't remember the first time we met
We eat sugar on the floor
Play with words
The world caves in
Everything scares me
But there you are
My little treasure
I look in the mirror
I can always find you there.

Contradiciton

We are a bundle of contradictions
Sat on the floor
Counting out our pennies
We wish for sleep
It doesn't come
We think of her
Writing letters in the attic
So full of life
We curl up in a ball
Wait for darkness
The sweet fall of powder
The stairs move like waves
We are prisoners here
No way out
No way in
Words fall like petals at our feet
We gather them up
Smell the sweet fragrance of jasmine and lemon
We are on a journey
We know the end
But fight for the middle
We are a bundle of contradictions
Aching for life
Waiting forever
The knock on the door signals an end
We don't know whether to embrace it or let it go
All we know for sure is the words
And the pennies that fall through our fingers.