Constructive

I hear the flames
I half-way witness
The sparks
Fly from the timber

I also feel the breeze
Across our private pool
Which itself
Sure is one pure indulgence

The geometric patterns
Of the eight limbs
Of the sunshine umbrella
Ask for my focus

That I should see
The main bearers
Among the mid bearers
Which support the canvas

Also that the Roman pillars
Should be a foundation
For the cross trusses
Which hold up the cantilever

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Either Way It’s Wrong

A blue sky moon
Our own infinity pool
With an outlook
Over clay tiled roofs
To the azure Aegean Sea

My father did not mean much to me
Apparently, as a boy in the family
That is not too too unusual
Yet here, on vacation
He strikes my imagination

Yachts with sails which lean
Towards the women
With their skimpy bikinis
Why wouldn’t you be
A carefree millionaire

Perhaps, because he had no support
Or money
He chose adultery
As one way out of his silence
One way into eternities of oblivion

The bodies sure are beautiful
In such relaxed warm winds
Where the big man smiles
And says good morning
On his way to the bar

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Observation Point

Out by the bamboo umbrellas
Already you are in the sea
As I sit in the shade
Drinking my Americano

The sea is blue
The sky is blue
The horizon is drawn
With pinpoint accuracy

To my left there is a mountain
In my head there is a song
All the day is almost open
As the crickets sing along

Do you swim
Or do you float
Or do you feel as I do
In the depths of meditation

Where do the waves take you
Where do you return to
Does the salt weigh heavy on you
Does the saline water support you

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Calm Storm

These are not the beautiful people
Although I half expect
That they would like to be

And, maybe back at home
Without such stiff competition
They may we’ll pass muster

My issue though is more with forgetfulness
I left my coat at home
I left my glasses in the bedroom

I believe it is difficult to swagger
In your sixties and your seventies
No matter how graceful you once were

I will swim in the sea tomorrow
It wouldn’t do to rush at it
Better to have gradual preparation

Instead I read my emails
Get angry at Virgin Media’s
Lack of response to my cancellation

I then determine, that actually
I cannot achieve much by being angry
Not in the sunshine or seas of Rhodes

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Hectic

By the water’s edge
Watching the paddle boat
Move from East to West
Or is it North to South

The waves lap the shore
No more energy than that
Is being expounded today

Soon I will go to the bar
Sit on a high stool
To drink strong coffee

But for now.
I will watch you swim
Through one blue line, then another

The arm swings
I want to say laconically
Yet there is a rhythm

I lose my concentration
My biscuit falls to the floor
I say, oh bugger

Then I reflect
This is one good place
There will be a new biscuit tomorrow

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Christopher's Collected Works Website