THE POETRY EXHIBITION.

In 1987 I had the misfortune to have one of my poems (Hares) in a poetry exhibition in a North Wales Grammar School. My poem was pinned between one by William Blake and another by Spike Milligan. I thought, at the time, it was quite ironic that my poetry should be considered as falling somewhere between those of two such diverse yet highly regarded writers. Between these two what a vast casm appears. I felt humbled yet proud.

I was a thief, nailed up
Between two saviours.
A spectacle for the masses.
An object of ridicule? Maybe.
Or the darkness between two novas.

I was that lemon tree
Between two honey hives.
But I was not bitter.
I was happy for the attention
Even if it was by default.

I was stuck fast, in a stalemate, a deadlock.
If I moved this way
A 'fiery tyger' would devour me.
That way
And a jester would mock my meanderings.

So I just fell.
And where I fell
My bones foretold the draining of my art.