48

I did take the photograph

Yet already I know

The light will not be the light I saw

The dust-mites will not be picked up

As they dance in the light-beams

Neither will my yellow socks be apparent

Nor my Ralph Lauren daffodil rugby shirt

Which reflects my peace of the moment

And so, for clarity, I will write to you

Of snow on the neighbours tiled roof

Whose curved ridge is the last line 

Before the shimmering blue-silver sky

I will tell you that the doves, and the crow

Enjoy your mix of bacon rind and muesli

In the wind, and cold, of mid-winter

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47

The afternoon is almost over

Pink light graces the sky

Settled snow, on leaves and branches

Operatic music stills to naught

He wonders

Not what would have happened

Had he followed a grander course

Been a sharp-suited risk taker

But with ears ringing continuously

Even as quietness falls

He recognises, happily

That this is the kind of peace to care for

He was going to say quite happily

But he stopped, thought a while

Then upgraded the rating, as though

He still worked for Standard & Poor

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46

Such a light falls on the stove

The ashes glow stronger than the embers

The flames disappear into the fiercer sun

Yet outside, the skies are pitch black

The ground is covered with snow

Seems it would be good

To roast an old chestnut

As flies of white ash pay homage

To yesterday evenings blizzard

The quiet meditation

And the harmonious chanting

Smooth a path for any further revelation

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45

It matters not that in that moment I was in that moment

All that matters now is that that moment is passed

And that that moment will never return

He talks of being rebuffed by the actress

Truth is he never really made his move

He did no more than smile at her on stage

And write a few words of introduction

It matters not that in the future there is no future, no future moment

All that matters is that that future which we talked about

Was bypassed in sort of a days-of-future-past moment

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44

I am on that easy street

Warm wool socks

On my fresh bathed feet

Feeling good, feeling neat

Softer rock

With a rich, irregular beat

I have this time

To sit half still

I have a dime

With desire to fill

I think on back, to that seat

No more clocks

Nor ledgers to complete

Looking out, as if on retreat

Swirling frocks

With feelings running deep

I have this line

As if by that rill

I have my mind

With hope instilled

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