I'm sailing on the Partner shipthrough ever-changing seasat times a raging storm blows upthen breaks to blissful peace: At least half-way around the worldthis Partner ship has carriedme far, to lands and dreams untoldwhere often I have tarried to learn the tongues of foreign lands,adapting to the changesof life bound in by wedding bandsyet free,... Continue Reading →
‘My Other-Me:’ a new #poem published at Free Verse Revolution
I submitted a new poem, 'My Other-Me' to Free Verse Revolution in response to the October prompt, 'Reflections.' I am delighted to say that the poem has been published over at FVR in advance of the new month: My Other-Me The bent swans’ necksformed a heart-shapereflected in the lake:I thought of you.My Other-Mereflected in themirror-glass... Continue Reading →
Traffic, or ‘This One’s for You,’ a Poem
A slow uptick Of traffic Slow and steadyRegistersSomewhere far out in cyberspace A change in my fortunes:Somebody likesOr maybe someone even lovesThese little things I doWith woven words And only words, thoughCrafted carefullyFrom pain and loveAnd dreamsI tasted once So very long ago it seemsFor youI write these wordsDear audience, dear friends, And dearest muse This quiet... Continue Reading →
The Sting in the Scorpion’s Tail
Look out of your windowAnd what do you see?The sting in the Scorpion’s tail;And does it remind you of when you had me?Say, does it remind you at all?Love sparkled like starlightAt midnightEruptedIn showers of passionAnd ended in flameAnd now it’s all over my love can’t you seeThere’s a sting in the Scorpion’s tail? Whenever... Continue Reading →
Poem on Your Birthday
This poem is dedicated to my mother, Elizabeth, who died aged 32. Today would have been her 62nd birthday. It's also dedicated to all those who knew and loved her, and to my children who she never got the chance to meet. The loss of my mother also inspired The Tide which could be read... Continue Reading →
4: Love in the time of Covid-19
Poem of the day: La Belle Dame sans Merci by John Keats, 1819. Perhaps my favourite opening lines of any poem: O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms Alone and paley loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake And no birds sing. The metre, that final line - it's pure music. And the last two... Continue Reading →
Parallel Lines
This is a short fiction about grief and loss that I wrote after losing my sister. The details in the story are fictional, but the depiction of bereavement and my reaction to it are real. I caught the train by seconds that morning. My sister was already on board. I missed the train by seconds... Continue Reading →