To the top of the hill
First a jog
Slowing down
To a walk
As the incline steepens
Then, step by step
Sideways and forwards
Thinking of Keats’ Negative Capability
Before long
It is a crawl
Though not in the swimming sense
More a case of using all four extremities
For leverage
Of course the real problem
Is vertigo, that
And the thin air
Which decidedly interrupts the breathing
 |
| Available on Amazon |
This is a place of swifts
Or swallows, which appear
To embrace each other
In mid-air
Which gives an altogether
New meaning to the phrase
I don’t give a flying fuck
Though I have to say
That I only caught a glimpse
And it was over in a moment
Which of course brings back
Oh so many memories
Indeed, nowadays
I only manage the foreplay
Which perhaps is what
All of their swooping
And swirling is for
Or is it, after all
Just my senior imagination
|
| Available on Amazon |
Blue skies
Green trees
Yes, really
The very crux of Dartmoor
Two Bridges
To be precise
With black coffee, and
An occasional fierce wind
Yet, directly above
Pure blue
As blue as blue can be
For the moment
My straggling hair
Has shadows
Which bounce on the page
Presumably also on my head
No need then today
Or any other day for that matter
To show off too too much
Of your undefined wisdom
Though a song begins in my head
In an American country style
From Yelverton to Princetown
To the Devon County jail
|
| Available on Amazon |
|
| Available on Amazon |
Hundreds, thousands, millions
Of plimsoles, shoes and boots
Have eroded the ground
In front of this bench
Which I have to say
Is well secured
With concrete and steel
In case there are thieves about
The sky is bold and blue
Yet the plumes of jets
Criss-cross, above where
Cargo ships would once have docked
The Light-Ship hotel
Waves the Ukrainian flag
Offering a special deal
If you should wish to stay
McCarthy Stone have built
Right up to the flyover
Their ubiquitous multi-storey
Accommodation with balconies
|
| Available on Amazon |