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An Ingres Back

She has an Ingres back

She is a violin

And when she’s in his arms

She sweetly plays for him

 

She doesn’t know the words

He doesn’t know the tune

There’s a duet of sorts

In that sweet dark bedroom

 

His fingerwork is good

Her mouth is soft and warm

While she is in his arms

They will not come to harm

 

Her voice is like a lute

And y...

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musicbackslove

in sleep

 

 

The rain snaps

on the window pane

like sticks.

 

Sleeping

a young man’s sleep -

he’s gone

head back

neck curved

a swan.

 

Breathe even

breathe deep

dream on

dream sweet.

I don’t sleep

 

lie thinking

I’ll not pass

this way

again as

dawn breaks

with rain.

 

Next night

alone

I fe...

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lovesleep

in arms not meant

 

Smile sits, content

a dove upon a nest

settles down

for morning snooze

in arms, not meant.

 

In arms not meant

smile stretches

like a cat

in warmth

and harmony

content.

 

Smile knows

no matter

that it is not meant

for pleasure grows

and echoes

in another smile

another smile

content.

 

With warmth of ...

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loveWOL comp

the note

 

"Did you have a good fuck?"

The note lies in the kitchen bin.

I've just come in from a date with the new man.

 

To me, our marriage was long over.

But the jagged writing told

this was not the case for you.

And, if I did have a good screw

I can't remember.

 

The pain held in that note

is with me still, thirty years on.

 

And your kindness...

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the kindness of ex-husbands

unicorn

 

It was on Monday that I first saw the unicorn in my garden.

I noticed that he had to eat leaves from the trees.

If he bent his head to the grass his spiral horn would stick in the ground.

I started to feel sorry for the unicorn. He seemed lonely.

I realised I was in love with the unicorn.

He was so beautiful.

The unicorn and I talked for the first time.

He was ...

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loveunicorns

Space Junk

 

Catch a piece of space junk

Put it in your pocket

Save it for a rainy day

Maybe you could hide it

In your airing cupboard

Or you could sell it on ebay.

I guess a good place for you to keep it

Would be underneath your bed

Maybe today though you should stay indoors

In case a piece comes falling on your head.

 

Remember it’s the property

Of the...

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space junk

bucket

 

Born in a bucket

Brought up by bitches

Fed on red mullet

Schooled by old witches

Housed in a pig stye

Ensconced in a rat run

Dressed in drab tawdrey

Shod in old cat gut

A mother called Rancid

A father called Squallor

Shat on and spat on

Biffed by a truncheon

Jailed in a drainhole

Pissed on by tossers

Left on a scrap heap

Torn at ...

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great north diver audio

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pride and joy

 

I guess I should have worried

When you used to chop up worms

But I was your loving mother

So I wasn’t too concerned.

Maybe it was a bad sign

When you set fire to your bed

But I was just so doting

“Oh dear” was all I said.

And on the occasion

You hacked off your sister’s plaits

I must have been on your side so

We’ll draw a veil o'er that.

The...

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erpolitical poem

autumn egg

 

Lying on the muddy grass

among curled leaves

a shell, new hatched,

the inner curve

faint veined.

It is October now

how can this be.

An egg in autumn?

 

Above the estuary

silver shafts

glance down.

A curlew trills.

And I feel empty

as an autumn egg.

 

 

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great north diver

 

Solitary in winter

I find you on the beach

sleepbound.

 

I’ve walked some miles across this sand

wind knocking me back.

On my right the sea battles.

My hair lashes my face.

 

In this chaos of desolation

you are a concentrated essence

a nugget of pure exhaustion.

What lies behind your dreaming ruby eye?

 

The pressure of the sea

h...

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nature

beautiful in snow

 

If love is a tree

It is a tree in winter.

No lush romantic blur of green

To hide behind.

When spring gales blow

The branch will break.

The lightness of the naked winter bough

Springs back in gusty January days.

Nothing is hidden

From the heart or eye

As we stand firm against the chill.

Beautiful in snow.

 

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love

son goes

 

I walk back up the lane

my toe within your heel

two journeys marked in mud.

 

The bus has gone

you’ll text me when

you’re on the train.

 

Back home, retrieve the key

wash up two cups,

and two crumbed plates.

 

Fold back the futon

shake the duvet

wash the sheets.

Put away the sugar till next time.

 

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apple haiku

 

Cascades of pink lace

Adam and Eve in Eden

Skin, flesh, pip, stalk, gone

 

 

 

Cascades of pink lace

Adam and Eve meet a snake

Skin, flesh, pip, stalk, gone

 

 

 

 

 

 

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haiku

"The last remaining Mara hare . . . "

 

“The last remaining mara hare has moved on . . .”

I wonder where he went.

Was he upset because Scampie the meerkat died aged twelve?

A good age for a meerkat I’d suggest.

Or was he miffed because a new milk snake is on display

in the Tropical House? Did he want to be there too

snug in the palm-tree warmth

hopping over all the lizards, showing off?

 

“Th...

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beguiled by seals

 

On Porthgwidden beach

I was beguiled by seals

as, slippery as eels

they smoothly sparred and courted

romantically cavorted

on the darkling tide.

Nipping, so I could see revealed

two pink mouths snapping.

 

Their backs made

Loch Ness Monster shapes

then, two heads alert,

eager as dogs waiting

for a ball.

Chasing off again, both caught

...

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barefoot self

 

I want to find my barefoot self

has she been waiting all this time

here in St Ives?

 

A little girl, I saw the beatniks on the pier

was mesmerised, left something there –

my raggetty-black-jumpered self

playing a guitar.

 

At Troika studio, pocket money spent –

something from the seconds shelf.

And a ceramic pendant, orange like the sun

on ...

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owl

 

Owl sinks soft

A silk handkerchief

Bringing blackness to vole and leveret

Soft as fog

Sharp as razors owl sinks down

 

Like a blanket over a birdcage

Then

Swish, away, a lens shape,

Slips into the barn

Quiet as snow.

Sizes up his children ……….

 

 

 

 

 

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drift reservoir

 

The reservoir at Drift.

It is evening.

 

Deserted picnic benches, fishing signs.

Tension – depths of dark water,

a high retaining wall.

 

I walk along the parapet.

I look down.

I look across.

 

On the far shore a dead swan lies

breast blown, rib cage exposed,

feet blackwebbed leather,

a far scattering of feathers.

 

Hurried...

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spooky reservoirs

peace

 

 

Today

I feel a sense of peace

as if someone

had told me

that there is no such thing

as death.

And I felt as if

I’d known that all along.  

 

 

 

 

 

                                              

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earth

 

I felt you near today

as I was pulling weeds out in the rain.

 

You’re never there when I read my poems,

buy new clothes

or put my make-up on.

 

But today

when I was pulling weeds out in the rain

I felt you there

watching,

over my shoulder.

 

The strawberry runners

were stretching out their arms.

Cooch grass roots spread out l...

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another kiss

 

 

Another kiss you’ll never have

you used to say to me.

When I was busy,

feeling tired,

and I would turn away.

 

If I had known how few

those kisses were to be

I would have spared the time

to give those kisses free.

 

So now I send those kisses back

ten thousand fold to thee

yes now I send those kisses back.

Wherever you may be...

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love

on porthcurnow beach

 

Porthcurnow sand is made from shells

the sea is clear as air.

Granite rocks crouch crack-meshed

sparkling with embedded crystal.

 

We spent our first night here

in sleeping bags between two rocks

where we held hands.

 

Each time I woke

the stars had twirled around

creating a new picture.

At dawn I swam.

 

A tiny black leach attached ...

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china horses

 

When I was in my seventh year of heaven

white china horses galloped on the path,

moss was in the meadow,

goldfish flicked tails deep in the pond.

 

Herder to my lead sheep

I hid beneath the lilac tree

crushed blackcurrant buds,

made playgrounds for worms.

 

I discovered that lead has a smell

and worms can never play.

But I liked worms

An...

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childhood

arrival

 

You arrive

in a flurry of bags and boxes.

We take a glass of wine,

walk across the field

so you can see the sea.

Through your eyes

I see everything

again.

Thank you.

 

 

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friendship

help please :)

Getting my act together re starting an Open Mic in Aggie. But . . . . does it make a difference which night of the week it is? Weds & Thurs seem popular on WOL's gig guide. But Wednesday's already booked.

And . . . does it matter?

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fat seal

 

There’s a seal in the harbour

fat as a bottle,

hankering after the “Jeanne Marie”.

The fisherman ignores

the black unblinking plea

but we, on the quayside,

wish he’d throw

a fish.

 

And I wish I was in the water too.

I want to squeeze his tight bulk to me,

feel the brush of hard whiskers

smell his ocean breath.

Want that ease of motion ...

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fancying seals

the rub

 

It’s that time of the morning

when widows walk their dogs

avoiding the space at the breakfast table.

When frustrated wives ride horses

down the valley, just for the rub.

 

The beach is empty and the sea is warm.

I paddle and invent a song.

Sitting on a damp cold rock

I let the wind dry my feet

and I think

life is not so bad

for a woman witho...

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contentment

by the roots

 

Sometimes

I start to pull

my hair out by the roots.

 

It’s just a little pain,

a tear, a hole forced from my head.

A very small attempt at a trepanning.

 

And as I sit daydreaming,

I find I’m holding strands

within my palm.

 

Fine spun threads!

I have to rise,

walk across the room

drop them in the bin.

 

And as the bin f...

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rallying

I’m glad the steam rally won’t be here again.

I can ride past on the 85 with no reminder.

Nothing to make me dwell on those three days each year

When you were so engrossed – in steam!

 

Although we had the ancient taxi – off  the plate -

You had to go there on your bike - I bussed it.

It seemed so romantic, meeting up

as you removed your cycle clips

while I f...

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memorieslovesmoke

silly housework poem (warning - contains the word bugger;)

 

I’ve lived here now three years and more

Bugger

Don’t look as good as it did before

Bugger

The skirting board has all gone fuzzy

Bugger

The colour’s dulled, the corners muzzy

Bugger

I’ve filled the place with loads of stuff

Bugger

Heaven knows I’ve got enough

Bugger

They say that after several years

Bugger

The dust bunnies get bigger...

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daftnesshouseworkswearing

diamante ghost

                                

 

                                  fingers

                               chill hard

                    grasping pulling scratching

                       scream soul ache loss

                     screaming aching losing

                             empty needy

                                   ghost

 

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diamanteghosts

diamante love

                                                                              

                                         x

                                       love

                                  hot steamy

                          kissing sucking fucking

                     eyelids mouths fingers tongues

                          pulsing sweating panting

     ...

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diamante

by your leave

 

We walked out together in the morning

but I came back alone.

The mist was heavy.

You had on your best boots

for walking.

You didn’t bring me home.

 

Ties loosen

as time moves on.

I can spend a day

without a thought for you.

But sometimes

when the mist thickens

I hear your voice.

 

It never says goodbye.

 

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Ghosts

no place like home

 

Dusk seeps up through marshy ground

Gases bubble, a spooky sound

The owl swoops softly overhead

The bat flies from his foetid bed

But here is where I’d rather be

Not in the house where you haunt me.

 

The house looks warm and cosy though

Through the doorway I won’t go

Look through the window, you will see

A  kitchen homely as can be.

But I know ...

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ghosts

white knights

 

White nights joust on the hill

Spoiling for a fight

And in a lonely cottage

I turn on the light.

 

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energy

whitechapel ladies

Oh won’t you come down with me Whitechapel ladies

Oh won’t you come down with me Whitechapel girls

It’s for Mary and Annie and Long Liz and Catherine

Mary Jane Kelly and all of their woes.

 

Oh when you go down to the streets of old London

The alleys, the rookeries, doss houses too

Remember us ladies who did it for pennies

And never no never for the love of you.

...

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wind in the chimney

The wind in the chimney echoes

echoes.

Air skims the pot

brings a memory floating

down to the ashes.

No coal for the fire.

The hearth it lies empty

empty empty

just the wind in the chimney

roaring roaring.

 

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carrion

The ravens’ claws keep steady grip

on this castle for their keeping.

Winds whistle through empty squares.

Not even a shard of glass remains to rattle.

 

Stark on this buttress cliff

the stones look out to sea.

I thought it must have been

the isolation hospital.

 

Saw in my mind, islanders tucked up

sweating out the fevers and the agues

obliviou...

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glastonbury musings

pop stars were skinny

cheesecloth and loons all the rage

in my hippy day

 

now they are podgy

where are all the handsome ones?

thank god I'm past it!

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tongue in cheekdouble haiku

feather, wood and bone

 

Wood and feather

brittle bone

silver leaf.

An obvious marriage

behind glass

to keepsafe.

There is a world

to know.

Place on paper.

It’s a poem

an heirloom.

If only I could fill

the box with wreathes of  mist then

I could be an artist and a poet.

Smoke out the meaning.

Let it breathe.

Feather, wood and bone.

 

 

fo...

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art

lap of luxury

An endless supply of Mojitos

A wind-up radio

A wall to kick a ball against

Or a children’s pillow

A bar of soap, some sun cream,

Strings and strings of pearls

A virtual sherry trifle

Or a wide-eyed blow up girl.

Lifetime’s supply of champagne

A cup of jasmine tea

A pencil and some paper

A crate of scotch whiskey

The V&A Museum

A karaoke machin...

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nonsense

the sea by night

 

 

The sea by night is a beast of a different nature

Sinuously moving around the harbour wall

A snake, a boa, suffocating granite barricades.

It slips and mounts like a lover

Crashes home, then silent, waits.

An enemy, a mystery, oily, oleaginous,

Creeping deeper than fate.

In innocence boats rise and fall, as if sleeping.

Starlight sparkles and the to...

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the sea

last time

 

 

Mouth dry as an Egyptian coffin

I lie, a heap of ashes in your arms

Young passion is so wet and green

in age it darkens into smoke and bone

 

Smoulder up to death’s dark curtain darling

Dust to dust you always will be mine

My heart, a fire pit of braziers burning

Who knows when it is for the final time?

 

 

 

 

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deathlovedoom and gloom

watching paint

 

I love to laze on summer days

as brush strokes slip

and bristles drip –

a front door is transformed from grey

to vibrant red, or cobalt blue

enhancing life with changing hue

 

the Forth Bridge glistens in the sky

Van Gogh’s sunflowers burn the eye,

Renoir’s ladies laze and lie

a palette knife spreads thickly by

 

a laden brush of silky oil

...

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chocolate shoes

 

I want to buy you chocolate shoes

with cherry buttons at the heel

a petticoat of sugarspun

like candifrost

and sparklers

 

I want to buy you chocolate shoes

with parma violets at the heel

and as the chocolate melts into

the tender crevice slip my tongue

to find the delicacy there

the cleavage inbetween your toes

 

I want to buy you ch...

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Feet

waterperry

 

at waterperry

iris stood

elongated strands of blue

box-clipped peacocks fan

tea and cakes were all home-made -

there was a snake

i saw him

curving through a glade

of fern

into a bubbling stream

at waterperry

when we were vaguely one

though you were always distant

in control

i waited till you got me home

 

one day I...

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deception

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