• screech owl

    a hedge-rowed lanedeep into duskdriving on full beamI catch the arcs of your wingsas you swing from left to righthedge-top highscanning the tarmac’s breadthfor a vole or shrewdetermined to make the runscuttering from verge to vergenever mind being rubbed out by tyresit’s you that sends them scurryingwith tiny hearts leapinglittle black bulbous eyesseeking safety in

  • A Short Story

    How do you iron out your past?Re-tell the story until it bores youWhen you finally realiseEveryone else was boredYears agoDo you write it outChoosing the best bitsOmitting the worst?Or vice versa? How do you move on?~Here is a version of The Story of Woody and Johnny, (Johnny’s narrative).Thank you for reading.

  • on time

    put yourself outsidebrave the weather, breathe in springtoday soon passes~ CLP 24/03/2025

  • on Spring

    Easterly persistsGusts dislodge fragile blossomEarly bee makes do~n.b. Cool would be an exaggeration of the air temperature here, but Spring seems to be winning. CLP 17/03/2025

  • on dawn (sparrows)

    Push Rush Swoosh BreathePush Rush Swoosh BreathePush Rush Swoosh BreatheBlackbird calling Time!Marking its territoryPush Rush Swoosh BreathePush Rush Swoosh Breatheacross the terracetwo floors downa glass door slidesplastic wheels on plastic runnerthe shallow cough of a restless smokerdesperate for fresh toxicityscrape of metal chair on balcony tilesclick of lighterexhalation of first fag draginto steel grey lightPush

  • on stasis

    Silent reminderThey came, they saw, they conqueredUnelected Lords~ n.b. Know your history. Note the advertising board on bottom right of picture is for an American fast-food franchise. CLP 03/03/2025

  • on Sunday

    slow to rise todayeven frost on tiles slumbersno warmth in this sun~ CLP 02/3/2025

  • on time

    As I a child I wonderedWhat life was like beforeWar broke out in EuropeCricket played on village greensActors shining from silver screensTube trains, trams, omnibusesFull of people reading newsheetsEditorials and commentariesOn threat and riskThe rights and wrongsThe unlikelihood of something worseNo-one would be mad enoughTo fire the shot, to call a bluffTo cross the line,

  • on time

    wind, rain, sunshine, icewild February weatherwater splashed on face~ CLP 25/02/2025

  • on Ukraine

    sunrise dulls night’s starsunder lunar indifferenceresistance is allthree years have spunwith nothing to celebrateexcept life itselfthis fight not overembattled Kyiv’s trams will runthere is still a pulsehospitals and schoolsbakeries and street marketsprecious exchangesmoney greases handsmerchants of war grow fatterUkraine their foir grasyellow and blue bandswheat sent by sea feeds the worldtherein grains of truthone man