Tag Archives: Travel

no Moon

this is when I feel it most
the air thick with mist
desiccated leaves
scratching at paving slabs

fine webs strung between damp blades
covering verges except where disturbed
by fungi pushing through to pour out spores by the million

tonight there is no lunar distraction just railway siding lights, 
street lights, traffic lights, headlights, crossing lights
red lights topping off a crane
a ceiling light in an uncurtained room
each corner bared without shame

above all this electric illumination
beyond the mist, night's black chasm
with Jupiter and its satellites bright
the redness of Mars distinct
even to my tired eyes

I'm nearly home, it's midnight
a digital sign tells me +17c
all I need to know
is when you'll next see me

~

CLP 09/10/2021

on Platform 2

This is Woking
...if you see something that doesn't look right
speak to a member of staff or contact British Transport Police
text 61016
see it say it sorted
this is your conductor
welcome aboard this South-West Trains service to London Waterloo
you can find me towards the middle
of this ten coach train
the next stop will be London Waterloo
estimated time of arrival at our final destination
is 14:22
Woking, this is Woking

Looks ordinary enough
so, why are the Tories at war with Woking?

~

CLP 07/10/2021

on time

I have been awake
too many hours, travelling
too long, to write now

~

CLP 29/09/2021

on swimming

break the cool surface
feel it slide up your body?
yes, you're beautiful

~

CLP 21/09/2021

the nine

caught in bed
trapped
by the mechanism
in that moment
crushed

we watch, wait, adapt
to your painful progress
we learn
to live with
inconvenience

we wish you well
but must press on
with the demands
of our digital world
regardless

~

CLP 21/09/2021

From Leeds

enjoying the green space by the cathedral
spire pricking the blue autumn sky
stopping me, now a local, to ask
would you take some pictures please
first alone, then with my friend
landscape then portrait
mobile then iPad
we're going home tomorrow
to the other city of wool
the one of the hanging sheep

~

CLP 16/09/2021

Long Weekend


across bridges, through tunnels
down paths, along tracks
so many hours, hundreds of miles
I'm on my way back
I'm nearly home

~

CLP 12/09/2021

Yesterdays

toes freed, feet tickled
by low-tide's sandy ribs
every single little breaking wave
a charge
fired through shocked ankle bones
sparking skin, heart, eyes
whipping North Sea air from my lungs
More waves! More waves! More waves!
more Yesterdays

~

CLP 09/09/2021

on the bus

buy return ticket
always a sensible move
choose to use or burn

~

CLP 03/09/2021

Ghost

Aegean blue
or is it green
clear to the seabed
shadow so sharp
it cut me out
cast me in stone
anchored me
and here I am still
waiting for you
to dive in too

~

CLP 29/08/2021