at Somerleyton
sky thick with summer's silence
effortless red kite
~
CLP 12/06/2022
on air
Tag Archives: Suffolk
on man
concrete emplacements
promise mutual destruction
official secrets
~
n.b. Cold War relics. Orfordness, Suffolk. Who knew? No surprise a nuclear power plant sprung up nearby. Sizewell C anyone?
CLP 01/01/2022
on the bench
we sat and watched
common darter watching us
warmth of autumn sun
~
CLP 27/10/2021
on the beach
at first sight old
older than you and me
much older
Walking hand in hand
as we might from time to time
in moments unconnected by conversation
they stopped momentarily
so she could stoop to pick up a pebble
or a shell, or a flint, or to investigate
a wave-shined glint of something
that caught her imagination
as he waited to be shown her find
at first sight old
older than you and me
but now not at all
not as old as fossilised sea urchins
not as ancient as bellemnite-bored chalk
they were just like us
two more children
playing by the sea
~
CLP 11/10/2021
On Water xix
shallow bay soon fills
tide’s return washes creeks clear
floods all memory
~
CLP 28/04/2021
At Manningtree
On the train
To the big city
It always stops at Manningtree
.
One of these days
I must stop off
To spend time taking a little look-see
.
I’d like to stroll along the ancient quay
Sat on the bank of Suffolk’s Stour
Estuary
.
n.b. Possible the smallest town in England. It was the centre for the self-appointed Witchfinder General, Matthew Hopkins who, with his associates, had around 300 local women executed for “witchcraft”* in the period 1644-46. Some were slaughtered after he “heard them talking to The Devil.” He was in his 20s when he turned his hand to this evil trade; dead at the age of 28.
*Witchcraft: The behaviour of women that does not conform to male expectations of feminine behaviour; knowledge or understanding of matters beyond masculine experience and interpretation. Not necessarily a bad thing, but how would I know?
Perhaps I won’t stop by after all – although the mudflats look great for bird watching.
CLP 12/02/2020
Voyage des Mots 