Abandoned

The wind and rain

Tap at the window

Like a jangle of keys

Rustling outside

An abandoned house 

We hold each other

Share our inherited whispers

The ants and worms

Gather

In the fallen nests

Birds buckle in the breeze

Looking for a place to land

Eyes looking at uncut land 

The fields are overgrown 

And aching

Ready for another year's crop 

Another trip and fall

A muddy story

Waiting to be divined

Like gold

She giggles

I fear we will not find treasure

That is an ode

On an abandoned house 

A tune well played

And shining

We have had adventures here

Perhaps there are many more to come

If there is nothing new

We will tread old paths 

Sink into familiar

Soil

Ancient timbers

And grey glass

A good place for 

Sitting and thinking

Together 

In a dream. 

Hindsight

She turns the penny

From finger to finger

It moves as smoothly

As rain water 

Rolling off pebbles

A silent rhythm 

A peaceful thought

The magic man taught her

I wish he would have taught me too

Hindsight is a tricky thing

She sighs

He taught you other things

Edges and ends

Possibilities and probabilities

And of course he made you

Fearless

I smile

Yes little Cricket he did

If only I could be that way now

Perhaps quiet days are better

Than peaks and troughs

Bridges and mirrors

It is strange how we have 

The same beginnings 

And ends

But the adventure

Remains hazily in the middle

I look at her

Happy that she will forever be in the middle

Someone else's little story 

For me there is an end

I am not sure I am ready to meet it yet

But when the time comes

I will remember everything

Let go of her hand

And jump

The penny falls to the floor

She picks it up

And starts twirling it again.

A Yellow Leaf

We stride amongst the ash

Green yard

Branches ripped bare

Winter stripped in its conversation

We dare not mention 

Later days

It is enough to make us laugh

Her voice is shrill

And strident 

Bold as winter berries

Sat plump

Aching to be plucked

Baked in a juicy pie

Apples and damsons

She squeals with delight

We do like cake

We giggle

Tummies full

Hands sticky

Time stops still

As a single yellow leaf

Falls from a tree

Soon to be raked up

Piled high into a fire

Except it is too wet to catch light

Instead it will dissolve

Pepper the soil with sunshine colour

Make the ground ready for flowers

And tiny trees

Just like Wonderland 

She whispers

All the colours and patterns

Linking together

To make a world

Delicate to touch

Strong to hold

How we love the flight of

A yellow leaf. 

Fireflies and Clouds

Let's go searching for fireflies

She shrieks and claps her hands

I roll over

Look out the window

Hotaru-gari

She mumbles

Have you been drinking Hatter's tea

I ask

No silly

The Reverend taught me 

I learnt all sorts of words

They can be like sums

Round and soft

Or hard and sharp

Like fireflies are crisp and glowing

And clouds are soft and wandering

Some clouds predict

Good fortune

He said that is called zuiun

I see the sunlight filtering through 

The green leaves

Swaying in the breeze

The tree branches

Like fingers

Tenderly holding onto them

Before they fall to the ground

And get swept away

Just like fireflies she says

They get swept away in the wind

We have to be quick to find them

Maybe tomorrow

I say

My body feels too heavy 

To be chasing today

A cloud full of rain

Ready to pour

Like thick cream on bread

She doesn't mind

She is happy

Watching out the window

Making up stories

Playing with words

As I drift away

I wonder

There must be stories she hasn't told me

There is in an unwritten rule

Not to ask

We must both have our own fortunes

Even though we are joined together

That is the way it must be

The way the words

Must fall.

Yellow Jackets

We hang our yellow jackets up

On the wooden pegs

Behind the kitchen door

We have been walking in the rain

Once again

From five to midnight 

We wander and dream

We see stars and clouds

Tree stumps

And fallen leaves

Sometimes it is cold

And we shiver

Tethered together 

Hand in hand

It would take a harpoon

To tear us apart

We chuckle

It really is special

Her tiny feet 

Plow the soil

I will have to lather 

Her shoes with soap

To make them shine again 

I run my tongue

Over my chipped teeth

Remember the punches

And the warm sugar

That healed old wounds

The coats silently dry

We like the yellow

It is like sunshine

Or egg yolks

Comforting and bright

They will dry

And warm up

Ready for tomorrow's adventure

Rain falling on our faces

Smiling and singing

Free as a shining bird. 

Landscape

Home soon

She whispers

We are walking in the rain

I gave her a rainbow coat

It makes her even more magical 

A guiding light 

I feel her tiny fingers

Resting in the palm 

Of my hand

There is not much to see

Graffiti walls

(Messages)

Clouds

Shopping carts 

Abandoned in the street

Birdseed on the path

Makes us slip and slide

She thinks it is fun

I worry about breaking

The consequence of age

We could find our way home

With our eyes closed

She giggles

I look down at her

Her pupils are as big as moons 

Alive

Speeding

Not wanting to stop

Electricity pours through her skin

Into mine

A perfect friction

Every morning we walk like this

Thinking

Every morning

So far 

We are alive

We turn the key

Walk up the stairs

Shake off our wet clothes

Sink into each others bodies

Home 

We whisper together.

with words from 'Landscape' by Mary Oliver

Take Wing

I remember when 

I was little

Like you

I used to run 

Barefoot in the gravel

She grins

I liked how it made my pulse bound

How the pain was like taking flight

I would leap and bound

Floating above my body

The tiny stones

Made my feet bleed

Crimson kisses

Passionate

A dance

My first love

Taking wing in my own tempo

How high I flew

How fearless I felt

Now I worry

And pluck metal from my skin

Frame my face with hair

No longer shaved or shorn 

Doubled in stature

Paused in time 

Invisible

Yet heavy

I linger in the daydream

Touch the soles of my feet

Feel the tiny scratch lines

It feels redundant

Half a life away

Wasted time

Or adventure

Definitely adventure

She squeals 

We close our eyes

Take wing together

Flying safely in our dreams. 

Flicker

Will it be hard to 

Walk away again

She asks

Her voice tiny

Like a golden flicker

In the night time sky

No more than before

Or the times before that 

It is harder to stay

I think

To keep going

To welcome the morning

And fall into dreams

I like that part best

She giggles

Me too 

Little Cricket

Me too

A dream is worth a dozen days

For many years we were running

Now we are still

It feels strange

Our heart pounds

Our feet are sore

But we never move

Trapped and wrapped in this

Grey little room 

Home

She whispers

Leaning into me

She is warm 

And smells like melted apples

If this is home

Then perhaps it will hurt to leave

As sleep falls on us

And we grow thick and heavy

I believe with all my might

That we will never walk away.