• on Ukraine

    gathering placesare targets for crueltyline up your dead men~n.b. A military parade, of all things. What were the military leaders thinking when they organised this ceremonial event for their precious troops? A new Spion Kop moment, a ‘free hit’ for the ultra-sonic bombardiers of Moscow. CLP 05/09/2024

  • On Nagasaki

    Do not forget thisthriving city foreverscarred in but a flash~n.b. And on the Third Day after Hiroshima, someone thought Nagasaki should be razed to the ground too. Who? Why? Really? Were two A-bombs really necessary?In history, the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on 9th August 1945, is barely mentioned, yet it suffered the full horror of

  • forsooth

    we know of absencehow imagination workson our fickle heartsof contemptibledangers from knowing too wellthe ever-presentof enticements feltfrom across the running brookfound in fresh pastureof the rolling stoneunable to gather mosson how many roadsof the empty shelfbar the yet unread volumethat can’t read itselfof uneven pathswhere getting lost is betterthan reverting to dust~ CLP 02/08/2024

  • on time

    looking back calmlythere were points of divergencewe missed earlier~n.b. Risks, or opportunities, taken, or not. CLP 30/07/2024

  • on dancing

    veils or boundariesor is it the barricades?plain rules will be broke ~ CLP 13/07/2024

  • on time

    minutes take up hourswhen sleep turns her back on youhours pass in minutestoo soon comes the dawn ~ CLP 13/07/2024

  • on Ukraine

    whatever might endall these murderous actionsprayers aren’t the answer ~ n.b. The descent from common decency seems complete. Bombing the children’s hospital in Kyiv confirms Moscow’s depravity. CLP 09/07/2024

  • on Ukraine

    waves of men sent outa thousand per day slaughtered Moscow’s heroics ~ n.b. Latest news from the front, that Russia’s military leaders are cynically despatching infantry to fight their war, despite extremely heavy losses, (estimated at 31,000 in May 2024, according to a NY Times report today), beggars belief. The men in Moscow forget that

  • on reflection

    Within towersConstructed fromconcrete, steel and glassEyes focused on screensTracking digitalised dataEars plugged into headsetsAircon’s constant humWater coolers, coffee, carpetsElevators, escalatorsArtificial lightingMoney in the bank OutsideBlue skySun as high as it getsGentle breezeAlong the ThamesAir to breatheGoldfinches sing You choose. ~ CLP 21/06/2024

  • on memory

    lone sentry at easeevery church goer must passson of the village ~ n.b. At Itteringham, Norfolk, lies 30035 Serjeant LWW Gotts, Royal Garrison Artillery, 26th July 1916. Not for him a place tucked away amongst the accumulated masses of the parish, but a place where he cannot be over-looked, nor forgotten. Age 25 at the