• South Main Street, Memphis TN

    531 South Main StreetPineapple cider and a burgerCome back tomorrowWe don’t close ‘til after twoI had been to the Lorraine MotelRead the storiesSeen the roomSuch injustice when all MLK wantedWas justice for people of colour tooI left that place tearful angryAt what had gone beforeStumbled into Ernestine + Hazel’sNeeding some foodCame out filled with hopeErnestine Read more

  • Two Sides to Every Scoreline

    Football in the libraryA concept so ridiculous it’s ridiculous. You imply the atmosphere today is subdued, but who thinks football in a library would be possible without uproar?You’re supposed to be at homeReally? Not here on the terrace?That would leave us open to a charge of being fickle.Where were you when you were (rubbish)?Do you Read more

  • Blue Mountain Bells

    Have you heard the bell bird sing?It fills the forest with its ringWhere the lyre bird scrapes and bowsThe bell bird’s chiming fills the airMaking music for courting pairs~n.b. If you look closely, you can see a male lyre bird, with its long tail feathers bowed, in the centre of this picture, from my only Read more

  • Along the Spit

    Windblown twine hangs from rusting stakesMarking stretches of shingleand sea kaleAround al fresco nesting groundsRinged plovers, curlews, ternsPipers all, greet dusk and dawnPlaintive whistling cutting throughThe worst the North Sea hurls ashoreBut there’s nothing sweetTo be heardNot breakersNot ascending larksWhen jet fighters’ shadows are cast~n.b. NaPoWriMo 2025 Day 23. The RAF base at Marsham sends Read more

  • on Ukraine

    the killer declares “Truce”(for it is EasterOrthodox or not)while re-loading every last guna python tightens its gripat every exhalation of its prey~ CLP 22/04/2025 Read more

  • Eyes Opened

    A flat square of greyed, corner- curled plywoodNailed to the end of a thick poleStaked into the herb bedDiced bacon, toast crumbsMorsel of old appleSeeds, pieces of nutA shard of coconut hung by stringWarm in teddy print pyjamasFace still pillow-creasedI watch them feed as I eatAutumn chill,Folded into school uniform (again)Lying on my backOn the Read more