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The Quay
Here we are in the tidy, polished space that is the captain’s day cabin And here he is the Captain all stiff-white shirt black tie, braid epaulets And this, his First Officer taller, slimmer expressionless And here’s Danny, the union man from Northern Ireland, heavy set tidied up for this occasion See the eight crew →
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Why getting up and stepping out is better than drawing the blinds and giving up
last owlfirst blackbirdruffled wrencrow drifts from stricken oakgull sets down by upturned binstarlings strung out overheadpuffed up pigeon pursuing hensparrows clusterblue tit picking cherry blossomwoodpecker working through the parkmallard mutters while wandering pastrobin sings to robin across the pathoh! happiness of goldfinches ~ n.b. NaPoWriMo 2022 Day Thirteen: living with hope in your heart. CLP →
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About One in Two Hundred Thousands
Late evening, I walk past the guildhallpride of place epitomised in stoneVictoria’s solid figure set glum-facedstares unseeing across the city squareDid imperial majesty not make you happy, ma’am?Ahead a space, where a big block stoodreduced to its foundations with civic carefloor-by-floor removed kitchens, bathrooms, loungesdown-to-earth homes now groundedThis rebuilt city shifts againfrom its 1940s shattered →
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on Ukraine xxiii
reading a poemare you a star dancer ordreaming of dancing? ~ n.b. Thank you for reading my poem, ‘Star Dancer and Her School of Dance – Francis Picabia 1913‘ . We don’t know each other, but I wish you well. CLP 11/04/2022 →
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Love Song (Duet)
I just called to say I love youDon’t talk to me about loveI want to know what love isLove is the drugDance me to the end of loveWhat’s love got to do with it?Will you love me tomorrow?I’d do anything for love (but I won’t do that)All you need is loveI’m not in loveDon’t go →
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Synchronicity
with no particular place to gospring-heeled Jack waltzed along the lanecaught a falling white featherbrushed it soft on his lipsremembered the lovehe’d cruelly spurnedclutched his heartfell downdead ~ n.b. NaPoWriMo 2022 Day Nine prompt; write a nonet. CLP 09/04/2022 →
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on my shadow
humourless laggarddrab silent doppelgänger darkens each doorstep ~ n.b. Prompted by NaPoWrIMo 2022 Day Eight prompt, this senryū describes my alter-ego, I hope that I have this the right way round. CLP 08/04/2022 →
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Marie Celeste
She approached in full rigCatching every breathSilent as a swan on that silvery seaThere was just the Moon watching herAnd meAdriftLike night’s ships shouldShe seemed to steer clearSo, was it me or she who veered?No bored inquiry could ascertainI threw out an old lineSoon found myself aboardAll ship-shape, lights ablazeFully crewed with memories of menWho →