With the sound of the bell
It is as if
I am in the monastery at Plum Village
Although, as yet
It is not a place where I have ever been
But it is somewhere
Where I feel I would be welcomed
The vibrations
And the slowly decaying hum
Act as a shelter
They are that covered archway
Into the refuge, into the shelter of meditation
Saturday 25 January 2020
Friday 24 January 2020
The door-well
The door-well
To the north transept of Bath Abbey
Or looking out
From the rooftops of Durham Cathedral
With a view of Her Majesty’s Prison
A police raid at Sunday night’s discotheque
Was it Van Mildert’s portrait
Which looked down on me
Or was it someone more revered
On the wall in the dining hall
A photograph, of a painting, in a catalogue
I sat on that bench, wearing earphones
A series of plaques
Make the piece named Monument
This was my escape to art as shelter
Another photographer, this one makes a film
To explore yoga, meditation, healing
I tell a friend, also a photographer
About this mindful body of works
To share in the shelter of these images
Another message; about rejection
Or is it about perseverance
Then the grateful words on non-avoidance
If I do not take a risk
Will I find the wonderment of shelter
May Day
Lying on the headland grass
I do have a photograph
When I wore a green and silver shirt
As an emblem for a lover seeking shelter
Who, earlier in the day
If truth be told
Had already
Found his accommodation
Though that photograph is not at hand
To the north transept of Bath Abbey
Or looking out
From the rooftops of Durham Cathedral
With a view of Her Majesty’s Prison
A police raid at Sunday night’s discotheque
Was it Van Mildert’s portrait
Which looked down on me
Or was it someone more revered
On the wall in the dining hall
A photograph, of a painting, in a catalogue
I sat on that bench, wearing earphones
A series of plaques
Make the piece named Monument
This was my escape to art as shelter
Another photographer, this one makes a film
To explore yoga, meditation, healing
I tell a friend, also a photographer
About this mindful body of works
To share in the shelter of these images
Another message; about rejection
Or is it about perseverance
Then the grateful words on non-avoidance
If I do not take a risk
Will I find the wonderment of shelter
May Day
Lying on the headland grass
I do have a photograph
When I wore a green and silver shirt
As an emblem for a lover seeking shelter
Who, earlier in the day
If truth be told
Had already
Found his accommodation
Though that photograph is not at hand
Thursday 23 January 2020
I had been allocated a study bedroom
I had been allocated a study bedroom
Advised that I could use the refectory
And the library, for my study week
Alone at Warwick University
I don’t recollect if I had a choice of where to go
Or of what I, or they, hoped I would achieve
In this time, mostly of solitude
These moments of being the outlier
I cannot remember the halls of residence
Or if there was a Thursday night party
Which there usually is
At Open University Summer Schools
This was my Technology Project year
Almost the conclusion to my BA Honours
Yet it might have been the final straw
To break me away from engineering How often I have found my shelter
In those study-like bedrooms
With bed, desk, window
And next to nothing else
How often have I entered
Through utilitarian doors
To settle myself, to ground myself
In the strangely familiar surroundings
A corridor waits outside
To a kitchen, or a common room
Maybe to a set of stairs
Or directly to the out of doors
I have written there
In longhand, and on computer
I have made, and also received
Telephone calls from lovers
Advised that I could use the refectory
And the library, for my study week
Alone at Warwick University
I don’t recollect if I had a choice of where to go
Or of what I, or they, hoped I would achieve
In this time, mostly of solitude
These moments of being the outlier
I cannot remember the halls of residence
Or if there was a Thursday night party
Which there usually is
At Open University Summer Schools
This was my Technology Project year
Almost the conclusion to my BA Honours
Yet it might have been the final straw
To break me away from engineering How often I have found my shelter
In those study-like bedrooms
With bed, desk, window
And next to nothing else
How often have I entered
Through utilitarian doors
To settle myself, to ground myself
In the strangely familiar surroundings
A corridor waits outside
To a kitchen, or a common room
Maybe to a set of stairs
Or directly to the out of doors
I have written there
In longhand, and on computer
I have made, and also received
Telephone calls from lovers
Wednesday 22 January 2020
Mark Chagall
Mark Chagall
Whose stained glass we saw
Last year, in Tudeley Chapel
He died in 1985
He was born in 1887
He was the oldest of the artists
Who died in 1985
You too would find longevity
If you take the time
To sit awhile
In the peace of Tudeley Chapel
As the sunbeams stream through
Moishe Zakharovich Chagall’s
Stained glass windows
You too should discuss humanity
If you arrive
Just after Sunday service
When the congregation
Are no longer congregated
But free to talk
To talk widely and deeply
You too could wait outside
Sit on a bench
In the graveyard
Or wander around this place of shelter
With your SLR camera
Taking photographs
Of this years July flowers
You too may also smile
Be thankful
Be happy
Be peaceful
Be thoughtful
Be at ease
Be here simply to be
Whose stained glass we saw
Last year, in Tudeley Chapel
He died in 1985
He was born in 1887
He was the oldest of the artists
Who died in 1985
You too would find longevity
If you take the time
To sit awhile
In the peace of Tudeley Chapel
As the sunbeams stream through
Moishe Zakharovich Chagall’s
Stained glass windows
You too should discuss humanity
If you arrive
Just after Sunday service
When the congregation
Are no longer congregated
But free to talk
To talk widely and deeply
You too could wait outside
Sit on a bench
In the graveyard
Or wander around this place of shelter
With your SLR camera
Taking photographs
Of this years July flowers
You too may also smile
Be thankful
Be happy
Be peaceful
Be thoughtful
Be at ease
Be here simply to be
Tuesday 21 January 2020
1985 - Live Aid, Music as my Shelter
1985 - Live Aid, Music as my Shelter
George Michael - Careless Whisper
The Power of Love
Ten weeks at number one
Bruce Springsteen charted for the first time
Yes, I was Dancing in the dark
Imagining that I had been
Born in the USA
Katrina and the waves gifted us
Walking in Sunshine
While Billy Idol sang of
A White Wedding
And Talking Heads
Surely you remember Talking Heads
They got to number 6 with
Road to Nowhere
Was it really so so long ago
That the young and innocent
Fresh faced Aled Jones was
Walking in the Air
Fergal Sharkey, Phylis Nelson, Eurythmics
Pet Shop Boys, Paul Hardcastle, Bowie &Jagger
Whitney Houston, Madonna and Dead or Alive
All had number ones
Back to Jennifer Rush
The Power of Love
Sold over 1.28 Million copies
And was the highest for that year
Madonna had most weeks on the chart
By a long shot, twenty four more
Than Springsteen, and thirty six more than
Nick Kershaw with Wide Boy and Don Quixote
George Michael - Careless Whisper
The Power of Love
Ten weeks at number one
Bruce Springsteen charted for the first time
Yes, I was Dancing in the dark
Imagining that I had been
Born in the USA
Katrina and the waves gifted us
Walking in Sunshine
While Billy Idol sang of
A White Wedding
And Talking Heads
Surely you remember Talking Heads
They got to number 6 with
Road to Nowhere
Was it really so so long ago
That the young and innocent
Fresh faced Aled Jones was
Walking in the Air
Fergal Sharkey, Phylis Nelson, Eurythmics
Pet Shop Boys, Paul Hardcastle, Bowie &Jagger
Whitney Houston, Madonna and Dead or Alive
All had number ones
Back to Jennifer Rush
The Power of Love
Sold over 1.28 Million copies
And was the highest for that year
Madonna had most weeks on the chart
By a long shot, twenty four more
Than Springsteen, and thirty six more than
Nick Kershaw with Wide Boy and Don Quixote
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