18 Thursday Apr 2019
Posted in age, NaPoWriMo, poem in a white ribbed vest
ancient waterer
blistering in leaves of gold,
picturesque decay.
*Wabi-sabi, a Japanese term connoting the simple beauty in imperfect objects.
Photo taken in Sidcup Cemetery by Belinda Latchford,
16 Tuesday Apr 2019
16 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in poem in a white ribbed vest, travel
our lady aflame.
eight centuries she withstood.
may she rise again.
Photo from ZUMA/MGN.
15 Monday Apr 2019
Posted in poem in a white ribbed vest, youth
Tags
children, little house on the prairie, mary ingalls, NaPoWriMo, poem, poem in a white ribbed vest, school, schoolgirl
she went on ahead,
her stoic walk
so matter of fact,
the precise pattern
of her personality.
books clasped
to her breast
and eyes fixed
untroubled on
the way ahead.
she was not one
to be diverted
from her goal.
14 Sunday Apr 2019
morning,
undecided
snow do-se-do-s with sun,
weather musters for a weekend
whiteout.
Photo by Belinda Latchford
13 Saturday Apr 2019
Posted in gymnastics, NaPoWriMo, poem in a white ribbed vest
no frills no bells no whistles,
a basic model, unadorned,
what you see is what you get.
not for him the fanfare,
the crowd of cronies
calling out his name
and guffawing at his jokes.
no stunts or tricks or games,
mister reliable, the steady
mainstay of the team,
he quietly accomplishes
what it says on the tin
with no need for validation
or bid for applause.
for him it’s all about
dogged determination
and innate discipline.
First poem about gymnast James Hall is here.
12 Friday Apr 2019
Posted in gymnastics, Uncategorized
a flat estuary accent to match
a personality undemonstrative
to the absolute extreme,
all the bubbles siphoned off
in a reverse sodastream.
unassuming as a coat stand,
gravitating to corners.
milk pale skin and red slash of mouth.
the colouring of a snow white
or sleeping beauty in a ladybird book.
a modest dip of the head,
a bashful sleepy sloe-eyed glance
down the sleek slopes of his cheeks.
serene as a buddha dispensing wisdom,
with a drowsily tranquil smile.
but then without warning
he is a pliant sprite,
airborne and aerodynamic,
brushing the rafters
with humble bare feet
describing circles
against the ceiling.
A poem about British gymnast James Hall. The second poem about James is here.
11 Thursday Apr 2019
Posted in love, NaPoWriMo, poem in a white ribbed vest
we contented
ourselves with life in half
measures, never once
committed to a course,
never for an instant
expected more.
oh how irresolutely
we dithered,
interminably,
just outside the door.
procrastinated,
lost those we loved
to others surer and
more definite.
they stepped up
brave and brash like
w.h. auden and took
what they wanted
while we watched
in agonised indecision
from the wings;
and waved goodbye to
what could have been.
Reference is to Auden poem, ‘The Moment’, quoted in Visconti’s Conversation Piece.
10 Wednesday Apr 2019
Posted in NaPoWriMo, poem in a white ribbed vest
09 Tuesday Apr 2019
Posted in family, NaPoWriMo, television, youth
his heart has forgotten how to feel.
it is desiccated, a dry streambed
at the foot of a deep canyon
in a years’ long drought.
fear opened a chasm inside him
and a cold wind blew through it.
he suppresses the aggression
that rises through him, as if
his whole frame were cabled
and plugged into a wall
socket of violence.
it curls his hands into fists
and twists his insides so
that he can hardly breathe,
and his smile tastes bitter with malice.
while they watch him through
locked windows, tremble and brace
for the onset of his wrath,
he longs only to be as empty as
a beach swept clean by the tide.
