next door they've got new windows

all triple-glazed for noise and heat

hermetically sealed against society

frost and storms designed to beat

 

yet other enemies will get through

invisible demons with wings of fire

on those panes reflections of one

mountainous molten funeral pyre

 

coming round but I'll never be right

lungs crackling like broken glass

legs potent as ripped-off daffodils

of late envisaging a funeral mass

 

haunted recall of an airtight ward

what I dreamed and what was real

stained-glass lancet of phantoms;

did the nurse really give me a feel?

 

my stately greyhound watches me

loving etched in his noble muzzle

wondering why I deny him walks

I cannot explain his canine puzzle

 

at my casement, at bay, I watch a

fat milk-man, skate-boards, litter,

this old stuff no longer important,

if I'm not very careful I'll get bitter

 

if only we had not divorced so soon

for I could do with her here just now

our rows made the mullions rattle,

I wish I'd not called her a silly cow

 

instead, I rely on my dog's discretion

but he whines at the questions I ask.

his hunter's eyes glaze over as I pose

the query; why didn't I wear a mask?