There is no TV screen
Just as
Wendell Berry would wish it
There is a radio
Which thus far has been restricted
To Radio 3
Not that I’m a classical man
No it was Pink Floyd
Who introduced me to long playing records
The welcome card suggests
That these are exciting times
With new adventures ahead
That’s it for now
Dvorak from New World Symphony
To close the show
Three rooms downstairs
Kitchen
Sitting room
Bathroom
Two rooms upstairs
Bedroom and Study
I haven’t yet
Spent much time
In the study
I have though
Been rather longer
In the sitting room
Which looks out
Onto the green
It is where I start my day
With meditation
Also on the laptop
Updating my details
The fireplace
So I am told
Is like my younger brother’s
Mother-in-laws
But mine for now is adorned
With my Buddha
Here to meet you
After a band
Of forgetfulness
Here to convince
Whoever needs
To be convinced
That terra-firma
Will be found
Around the corner
And when the architect
First drew his sketches
Who else saw what he saw
The smokers
Are the first to leave
Followed by the undertakers
As the mourners
Drive away
I recognise my car
It is light
Time is here
For the all of time
It is day
It is autumn
Sunlight is here
Sunlight all through autumn
Flowers sway
Branches too
It is morning
Morning for the all of the day
The last thread
The final length
Of cotton
From the bog
Into the unknowing
All apparently known
By those who know
Or thought they did
Passing around
Pebbles
And mortar boards
In a minimalist way
Pushing out
Into the morning mist
On a rowing boat
Of your own making
Settling for
A stillness not yet found
Nor likely to be found
Among the forgetful chaos
