• Sidcup Summer twilight

    on the far boundaryplay continuesin baiting and teasingbetween fox cubsa little girl in party dressruns from the dripping coversinterrupts her mum who is talking to grand-dad on the club house patioWill the foxes eat me?suitably reassured they won’tshe runs back across the swardto join another small girlwho muddies her hands with handstandstries cartwheelsnot yet supple

  • on Ukraine

    in the alcove of an abandoned shoplaid out in dishevelled dreamson top of improvised beddingdesperate for sleepclutched by each otherdesperate for sleeptattered, battered, torndesperate for sleepas the upright peopleturn out from the last trainfrom theatres, barsthe queues for clubsanother police siren cuts into the drunken chatteringdesperate for sleepa gaggle of othersliving closeto the lip of

  • on time

    I’ve just heard this newsWe’d meet as and when paths crossedHappy to have caught up~n.b. No obligations, no well-intended promises, but always a pleasure to see. Au revoir, mon ami. CLP 15/07/2025

  • on bodywork

    use it for livingor nurse it alongmaintain and sustainor preserve and curateenjoy the physicalor cosset and coddleaccept the wear and tearor perpetually fretexplore beyond limitsor avoid risktake your body with youor let it dictatewith only one issueddon’t let it go to waste~ CLP 14/07/2025

  • on Ukraine

    “…too many people.”is there a number that’s acceptable?what are the limits forcollateral damage?not just thembut your people too?have the sirens deafened you to the cries of the mourning mothers?how high must the river of tears risebefore the dam breaksand you are swept away by the flood?~n.b. The USA President is cross that his friend in

  • on theft

    sneak-thief, cheap skatewhat have you gained from itbar fear of getting caughtfor some pathetic reward?you have keys to doorswithout addressesbut I found my phoneon waste groundyou could not crack the codeto the phoneor lifethankfullyyou stayed locked out of mineit was lying face upon the old school sitewhere seeds of buddleia davidathistles and grasses thriveI easily

  • on human rights

    It is the first human rightVital, fragile, briefThe right to lifeWhich, quick or slow, must endIn a car crash, flood,Obscene bomb attack at a caféA dog bite, disease, famineOr in the night, when asleepPray that it might be soA happy deathShould be the second of our rights~ CLP 06/07/2025

  • on the warming sea

    there were many squidnow octopus are commonpeople are happythey catch octopusand sell them for a lot moreso they are happy~n.b. Not so sure the octopus are too chuffed about it. Life goes on, they say. The only constant is change. CLP 02/07/2025

  • on peace (i)

    the room falls silentafter the big guy smashes theold clown in the moutha few customersnear the exit exiteveryone else looks to their drinksthe big guy turns roundseeking validationhe says, “I warned him”“Aye, ye did.” says the bar room lawyerA few concur with a nodonethen anotherpick up the loose threadsof their abruptly interrupted conversationssoon all are

  • at Summer Solstice

    pause to catch the rayscelebrate the height of lightwe live in cycles~n.b. Yesterday, in Northern hemisphere. CLP 220/6/2025