Music

Today we will stay at home

And make music

She will play the cello

And I will bang the drums 

It is as if clouds

Fall out of the record player

People dance

And sing

If we are lucky we will 

Hear a trumpet

We like how it soars 

Above the notes

Like a train

Hurtling down the guitar strings

She is young

She sits on top of the piano

In black and white

To capture the tune

I wish I could sing

We both wish we could

If our voices were louder

Maybe life 

Would have been different

But we sway

In time to the beat

The tune

The dance

The very soul of our being. 

Wonderland

I don't know how many times

I have read your story

Too many and not enough

She says

You get the details wrong

Make it all topsy-turvy 

I see two glass bottles

Small and glowing on the wall

They remind me of you

Your potion

And your cake

But it's not your world

It's mine

We all must adventure on our own

Nonsense

We all need a companion 

Even if I am in your mind

I reach out for her

In the dark

Like tumbling 

Down

The rabbit hole

Over and over

Never learning from my mistakes

You will live forever

In the pages

In the minds of those who read you

I will trun to ash

Like burning paper

The thought makes me cry

I will escape in Wonderland

Just one more time

Hold you and follow you

And make you mine. 

Improvement

We lower our eyes

The light is too bright

Our head spins like acrobats

Remember when

We used to play in the cathedral

We liked it there

Now it is just beige walls

A single room 

We enter

Sometimes we forget

We are in a town 

It's a sad parade

Outside the door

She weaves words

Delicate as branches

I pick up letters

Count them like ribs

There is always one spare

How did we get to this place

To leave would be an improvement 

But we are scared 

And heavy

I can barely leave my bed

If only to be young again

She giggles

You would not like to be young forever 

Trapped inside the pages

You set me free

To dance and drink free

I squandered your youth

I mumble

And we settle in for another day. 

Lock

There is a blue painted door

With a rusty lock

We would love to go in

We look through the letter slat 

We can just about make out

A shelf of dusty old books

We would like to read them

Touch them

Absorb their words

So many stories

The woman wrapped in bandages

Black butterflies swarming 

Around her

The man in the fire lit forest

A cup of tea suspended in mid-air

The house in the snow

With smoke and flames

Billowing out of its chimney

Our memories of stories

Are crystal clear

Of reality 

They are fuzzy

Huddled together on a windswept beach

I would like to dance 

With the moon she says 

Excitement in her voice

I am stuck at the locked door

She pulls me away

For another adventure

Unlocks and loves me

How wonderful that feels.

The Visitor

I do not remember 

When you came to visit

I do not remember 

When I opened the door to you

Made space for you in my life

It is like you have 

Been with me forever

That is because 

We are stuck

She whispers

Locked together in 

Time and space 

And friendship

I offer 

You are no ordinary visitor

You are part of my soul

And part of my spirit 

I see through your eyes

Touch things

With your delicate

Porcelain fingers 

You are my world

My adventure

My young woman in blue

She smiles 

And sings

Lights up the room

Just with her presence

I did not ask for a visitor

But you came

And I am very thankful

You did. 

The Field of Poetry

She grips my hand

Her fingers feel tender and cool

They hold away

The death

And grief

I swallow hard

Look her in the eyes

Our feet are rooted 

In the ground 

In my dreams 

There is a cabin 

Full of flowers

Lilacs and buttercups

Purple and yellow

For when we are gone 

My thoughts slam

Inside my head

Like a thousand trumpets

Not blown by angels 

I wonder if there will

Be a tombstone 

If upon it 

We will write 

The final poem

For the field of poetry. 

Woman in Blue

She wraps a blue scarf 

Around her head

It matches her swirly blue dress

We are playing dress up 

She tries to hide behind a tree

But stands out

Strong as the sky

Waiting to be found 

Her face is like a mask

She holds it in her hands

And laughs 

Remember when we were

Crazy

And it felt like we were

Wearing a hornet's nest 

On our head

We are still a little mad

But can sit at the table

Glass of water in front of us

Still as the man who feeds 

The pigeons in the park 

What will you be 

She demands

I am too old and too ugly

To dress up

I say

Nonsense she replies

Well I could be a clown

Paint my eyes blue

To match your dress

Wear a black bowler hat

And frown

Sometimes it feels 

That we have not grown

That we are still lost little girls

But now we are grown

Two women in blue

Happy with each other. 

Wheels

Our eyes spin

Like pin-wheels

We are watching the rain

Fall down the window pane

It makes tiny little splash sounds

Like pennies

Falling in church 

Yesterday there was 

Thunder and lightening 

It made us curl up tighter in bed

The lightening brushed 

Across our eyes

Like a jolt

The thunder shook our bones

The cars stopped

And for a moment 

All that mattered

Was the light and rumbles

Time crystallised 

We are giddy and sick

Today

Everything dancing

Difficult to walk

At some point 

We have to stop

Be still

Be happy 

Grateful for what we have

No more chasing and spinning

In circles

The satisfying feeling of

A wheel stopping turning

When you have reached the

End of your journey. 

Gull

A gull goes up

Like a freight train 

At full speed

It spreads its wings

Raises its head

And flies

We watch mouths agape

Longing with all our hearts

For the freedom of flight 

It is distressing

And desperate 

Down here

That's the price you pay

For playing with poison

She says

She is right of course

Everything comes with a cost 

We desire the liquid

And it takes a little bit of us away

With every sip

Perhaps the will to stop

Is not strong enough

Perhaps we are bored and lazy 

Look up she says

Watch the gull

It glitters and soars

For a moment we are entranced

Glad that we are breathing

Making gentle waves

Like the flapping of wings

For a moment we are the bird

And that is enough.

Reflections

We hold the mirror

Up to our eye

It is dilated

Big as the darkest moon

The cars drift by outside

Trees happily reflected

On their bonnets 

In the afternoon sun

Far away from the white horse

We saw in our dreams

Lapping at the silvery water

We went walking barefoot

In the forest

Our feet got dirty and scratched

We looked down at them

Vaguely caught a glimpse of 

Our heads

The moon was in the frying pan

A thin sliver of white

Like an eclipse

White as snow

We once saw

Stood in the cold

Held up a bigger mirror 

To see the landscape reflected back

We much prefer quieter places

Just the two of us

Not people walking by

Unconscious of the mannequins 

And their secret lives

Soon our eyes will deflate

And we will fall into slumber

Where everything is magical

And reflections do not linger. 

Rebirth, Reclaim, Rekindle

Every time I see her face

It feels like I am born again

The fire inside is rekindled

I like to look into her pure 

Blue eyes

How inquisitive they are

Full of hope and adventure

How her lips sometimes

Curl upwards

Sometimes down

I can tell she thinks a lot 

She whispers to me

Sometimes giggles

Never in a rush to reclaim

Ourselves

To separate

I am glad we are together

Life would be 

So much harder without her

Time would drag

I would lose even more

Of myself 

The days drift by in a dream

We take tea

Say our blessings

As if every sip

Is a benediction

A prayer

Of rebirth

Reclamation 

And rekindling. 

We Went Out To Hear

We drink indigo tea

It turns our tummies blue

Just like the surface of the moon

She giggles

There was a moment

When we thought we

Would be lucky

To die

Life hurt so much

It still does

But now there is an absence 

Of age

Of time

Of meaning

We are like swans on a lake

Working hard underneath

Invisibly moving to others

The days drift into night

Months

Years 

We do not know where they go

That makes us scared

She whispers

And holds my hand

Let's make today different 

She says

Like yesterday

When we went out to hear

The beating of the angel's wings.