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Listening
It wasn’t the light that woke meIt was the absence of trafficSo used had I become to the lorriesClattering acrossThe misfitting manhole coverOn that arterial routeLinking warehouses to motorwayIt seemed rhythmicMetal machine musicNow mutedThen the lightScouring every cornerOf the ill-curtained hotel roomSpinning its short wavelength beamsRound the wallsStretching and pulling shadowsIn rapid rotationBlueBlueBlueBlueThen the heavy →
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Charlton Away
Saturday morning in FebruaryAn Azerbaijani barberWoolwich Road, SE10Student of Anglo-SaxonBemoans the errorsAnd ill-fortuneOf Edward GodwinsonAt HastingsThe military dictatorshipOf William bastardusThe carve-up of the old kingdomsEnslavement of the peopleThe castles casting shadowsOver those who built themLessons learntTaken abroadBy Royal NavyAnd Redcoats armyUntil America stood upWelcomed the exiled PaineThe Rights of ManApplied Common SenseBroke freeUnlike the English →
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Grateful
Bluebells rang around the groundsDancing in the West WindWhile we sat insideListening in blackTo his grief-bent sonBoth arms locked stiffTight-knuckled at the lecternThat shookHe read as best he couldOf his dad, his friend Who had done his bestWhere demons huntThat broken voiceMatched his heartCaused him to pauseTo catch his breathHis daughter thanked usWho’d come this →
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House Martin
Flipped from side to sideBy bursts of east windYou looped above the broadTaking an uncertain pathLike a notebook pageTorn out, discardedCaught by a stormy gustOn a Chicago street ~ n.b. First house martin of the year seen on Wednesday, 17th April, South Walsham Broad, Norfolk. CLP 18/04/2024 →
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on the UAE
Come to the EmiratesSunshine guaranteeLive temporarilyIn well-oiled luxuryState-owned newsLaws set by royaltyThere’ll be no complaintsYou’ll have to agreeIf you come for workYou will do so tax-freeOr just splash outOn a guilt-blind shopping spreeIt never rainsWe don’t bother with drainsBut when it poursIt’s a year’s worth in a day ~ n.b. NaPoWriMo 2024 Day 18 prompt: →
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Kite
A vicious squallStrips the cherryRips petals off wild plumPulls at the splayed primariesOf the red kiteWho uses every fibre of her strengthTo maintain a semblance of controlIn twists and whorls of windAnd popping air pocketsPunching holesIn the spring-green skirtsOf the lime treesLining the A140Shopping mall parking FULL ~ CLP 16/04/2024 →
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People, People, People
1956Take us awayFrom earthquake ruinsOur daily strugglesGive us a dayTo prove we canBecause we have nothingWe want to do it all1962in Santiago’s concrete bowlSixty-three thousand witnessedSeleçao CanarinhoCrowned kings of football1973Marked by the Conquistadors’ crossHeld by the arms of the USASo it was provedYet nothing was doneUntil Allende stood upSpoke of his planThat America could not →
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“I want you to show me…”
It’s not a competitionHow easily it is to ignoreUkraine, where lies Babi YarThe ravine that carries a bloodlineTo Israel and PalestineIt’s not a competition ~ n.b. “I want you to show me another country facing over 110 ballistic missiles and drones.” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israeli military spokesman, speaking after the over-night attack on Israel →
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Forgetting
Memory provoked by a road side signMemory of a turn, a lane, a garden, homeMemory of a child, a run, jump, hugMemory blurred by tears and the rainMemory’s desiccation of grievous lossMemory over-written with new places, new peopleMemory stirred by faces in London crowdsMemory jarred by first notes of our songMemory confused by the joy →
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Norwich to Horwich
Norwich to HorwichJoined by railway line and rhymeIt’s a path that’s rarely takenIf I’m not mistakenWhy venture there at allIf it wasn’t for football?Across the black soil of FenThrough Peak District and PenninesFor ninety minutes tensionHad I forgot to mentionThe reason for this journeyIs to simply follow PompeySeven years we’ve struggledThe tactics first quite muddledBut →
Journey of Words 