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Inherited
my mother’s eyesmy dad’s demeanournot land, nor castlesincome from estatesthe staff, titlesthe homes, the jewelsnot the taxpayers cashinterest on millionsproperty worth billionsno power to tweak lawsbefore they’re setnot wealth passed onfrom a rich womanto her sonan accident of birthno one choosesto get bornthe luck of the drawto be fit and strongisn’t that enoughwith my mother’s →
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Full Cycle
Take me in your armsUnder the full moonIn the cool airOf early May Owls celebrateTheir rites of springIn the woodlandAlong the ridge Bluebells unfoldBefore the foliage aboveSteals all the lightShades in silver shadows The church bellChimes the quarter pastIt’s early yetStill time for bed Hold me in your armsWe’ll watch the full moon setFrom our →
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on Ukraine
one hundred years onnames carved into monumentsparents must explain ~ n.b. One day this horror too will be history. The battle then becomes preventing another. CLP 04/05/2023 →
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on Moscow
allegations thrownchild killer fears for his lifethreatens more killings ~ n.b. Moscow is run by a mass murderer, who throws a squinny when he claims, without independent verification, that drones were sent to Russia assassinate him. No comment about the hundreds of thousands of lives lost as a result of his orders. No words can →
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on time
carving into stonerequires concentrationaccurate spelling ~ n.b. Nottinghamshire County Gaol was opened in 1449. At some later point, this doorway was set into the building. If you look closely at the word ‘GAOL’ you will see the A was originally carved as an O, before the A was chiselled out in the right place. The →
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Camellias ii
Warmth of late AugustSoaked into patio pavingHeats our tanned feetYou take my handLead me backTo the shadowed lawnStill compressedWhere we had beenSculpting joyThe night beforeA blackbird(Hidden by heavy pink blooms)Sang to usOf eternal loveAs Venus piercedNight’s deepening blue ~ n.b. NaPoWriMo 2023. Day 30 prompt: a palinode. This poem, I hope, balances the sadness of →
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on Ukraine
attack on suburbsa three year old child victimwhere remains safe now? ~ n.b. The bereaved mother thought the war was “far away” from their home on the outskirts of Dnipro, but sadly not, The Guardian reports this morning. What, with killings like this and the forced deportation of children from occupied areas of Ukraine, the →
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on Ukraine
how could I complainof broken sleep caused by wine?you wake to sirens ~ n.b. Day 429. Cruise missiles launched at Ukraine’s cities before first light. Moscow’s unending terrorist attack on Ukraine persists. CLP 28/04/2023 →
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Digitalis of Love
Wide-eyed mopingResponses dullA pervading sense of nauseaNervous stomachAccompanying tinglingNumbnessA surge of bloodThe beatSlow, but strongThis potent toxinMust be handledWith fox gloves ~ n.b. NaPoWriMo 2023. Day 27 prompt, a flower / animal of an abstract noun. Very rough précis. CLP 27/04/2023 →
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Naming
Let us not pretendNames are unimportantWords are deployed likeBooby-trapped IEDsIf you trip the wireIt cannot be defusedNor put backIn the groundShrapnelPiercing heartsFragmenting argumentsThrough misnomersCall this warOf words and mindsWhile children lieBrokenUnder collapsedApartment blocks ~ n.b. Day 427 (I think). CLP 26/04/2023 →
Journey of Words 