Gallery In Absentia

Sail away, slide away, steal away
Venture towards vermillion skies

I am one
One amongst the vastness
The vastness of the westward horizons

Clouds of: silver, grey, slate, burnt blue, ochre and umber
As if stolen from Lord Derby's Eruption of Versuvius

I am one
One equal among all other travellers
Travellers waging into the onrush of the night

Pick out, pull out, play out
Wander, without hold of the inner-outer self

I am one
One amongst many favoured
Favoured catcher of the May Day tide's endless ebb and flo

Surf of flotsam, jetsam, foam, and many gilded glad tidings
As if stolen from the giant, on his Giants Causeway

I am one
One equal among only now
Only now on the point of departure and arrival

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Return

Whitewash
Peels from the canopy
Above the front door

Geometric house, once the artists apartment
Now a museum; in need of new love, new care

Birdsong
Lawnmower
Footsteps (footsteps behind me)

Embrace the stillness of Japanese garden
Philip Booth: Dedicated August 1991

A place I have been to before
Not on a work-day
Today I wait for the call on the mobile telephone

On the road a dark skinned youth, peroxide curly hair
Velvet trousers, thigh-high boots, a shoulder bag of drugs

Helicopter
Hovers overhead
Buzz of bee in flight

Landscape, not copied but suggested
I take exception to the privet hedge

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Acceleration

Movement
Almost imperceptible
Gradual, slow
Free from shock
Lulled
Into a false sense
Of security

Elasticated
To snapping point
Tensile strength
Insufficient
Overwhelmed

New winds
Force of hurricane
Cloud drift
Cloud change
Whirls
Of transformation

Storm
Fork of lightning
Brush, scrub
Blown through
Deserted streets

Emotions
Seized by moment
Clench of breast
Grasp of scrotum
Rage
Of incandescent light

Solid ground
Terra firma
Fall away
To marsh and bog

Question
The need to revisit
Question
The need to stay away

Venture forth
Onto plateau
Photographs shot
Long distance
Words written
In coded verse

Do not give
The game away
Up and down
And beat of heart
Here, there
And forever mystified

On the news
Three way split
On the form
Choice to make
Tittle-tat
And tittle-tat
Round and
Round the houses

Take some time
Hold it still
Learn
To persevere
Perseverance
On the page
Perseverance
With the life

Take steps
To unfold
Walk down
Country lane
Converse
With passers by

Explore
For it is all there is
Explore
All the rites
Of passage

Four score year
Or more
Make the bold
Or braver move
Settle
On not to settle

Take
The ragamuffin road
Take the road
Not yet travelled

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Seaside Town

Bella Vista
Fish & Chip take-away
Bella Vista
Decayed old fashioned terraced houses

Teenage girls shout at their kids
Bella Vista
Come here you little fucker

Of all the fuss made
That opposites attract
North south divide
Turned on its head
The scent lost
Crossed off
At the mouth
Of the river
At what cost
Or thanks pretended
That we gave it up for lent

Addicts fall out of all day bars
Bella Vista
Have you got any change mate

Bella Vista
Casino dice at play
Bella Vista
Decayed old fashioned terraced houses

Kindle link here

Clog To Clog (Part 2)

From the Highlands to the flat lands
From Glencoe to Lincolnshire
With a pack of tailors cloth
And an eye for the cut and line

Walk the miles, ride the train
Here to there, to their doorsteps
Walk the miles, see life change
Open the shop, with due restraint

Kindle link here