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Heard not Seen
It was a day when I worked With my shirt off Bent to the task Concentrating on single stones The depth, set, fit to the path Brushing the grey, gritty soil To fill in the gaps Ancient fragments glinted As I weighed up each stone in my palm Myriad crystal particles Formed over eons Compacted, →
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Moon Slip
Wearing little but a smile She slides off stage early this evening Generously leaving us The uncountable cosmic array With all the stars of the distant past And contemporary bright young things But this hurried exit is not what it seems The night threatens crystal clear cold And she doesn’t like bitter So she pursues →
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Pied Pauper
Let’s go My little companions I cannot sleep Follow me To the bakery Doorway Where we’ll be warm Tonight You can eat Crumbs Tomorrow I will wake To the smell Of bread . n.b. I may be between homes, but I have choices. As we move to winter there are far too many people of →
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Leaving
Separation Leaf from stem Releases the bough To face winter’s drag Saves the tree Winter buds all ready For spring . n.b. The following website considers the timing of arboreal leaf growth. The discussion about winter bud formation is found at the foot of the article. https://sciencenorway.no/forskningno-norway-trees/how-do-trees-know-when-to-awake-in-spring/1455135 CLP 20/11/2019 →
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Mobbed
This drab, dull day Its natural sounds subdued by drizzle Are cut through by her sharp cry above Kehwee! Kehwee! To her mate unseen, but somewhere near Stirred up, crows lift from dark hearts of oaks Gather as a loose assembled mob A flight of five, or six, or more Rough circle spreading, all alert →
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On Reflection
He sat embarrassed Blushing up, wobbly legs Plate glass his downfall . n.b. Photo and story courtesy of M. McKinnon . CLP 13/11/2019 →
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On Portsmouth
Cramped together On England’s island city Flat, low vulnerable . n.b. A lively location as always, (and now quite lovable), but its topography suggests it has potential to become England’s Venice as sea levels rise. n.n.b. Photograph taken from a screenshot from a newspaper website (www.theguardian.com) that used an image captured by a satellite sent →
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On Bristol (i)
Here it rains a lot Gutters constantly awash City drowns in cars . n.b. …and some steps are being taken in this area. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/30/bristol-could-become-uk-first-city-ban-diesel-cars CLP 26/10/2019 →
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On Branches
Stripped trees glisten Droplets swell then fall from twigs Chirrups of blue tits . n.b. Despite the buffeting gale that has persisted throughout the night and intensified with day-break, the blue tits https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/blue-tit/carry on their busy lives regardless. Without cover, due to the autumn leaf fall, these stop-start little birds whizz from tree to hedge →
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On Empire
Eventually Having taken what they want British pay the price . n.b. The extent to which the wealth of the UK was based on the trade in African slaves is now being more seriously considered and debated. When Great Britain outlawed the slave trade, reinforced by the might of the Royal Navy, Parliament ensured that →
Journey of Words 