Dark blue shades
Transform
To shimmering pulses
Of deep pink
Rippling like circles
On a pond

Warm air
Mixes between entities
And new possibilities arise
As hearts merge
Allowing
An unforeseen future
To be revealed

Two tiny caterpillars
A meeting of ants
Wood pigeons roosting
Bees buzzing by

Soft green grass
Cool dry earth
Blue sky floating clouds
Calendula plants sway

Roses of pink
Peek through broken fence slats
Rusting barbecue of black
Beside a flat tyre bicycle

Lush green leaves bounce
Silk strands float
Breezes of spring dance invisibly
As I sit in my garden

Today our street partied
Although we kept two metres apart

We danced and sung
And played music

And met each other
With open hearts

This would never have happened
Were it not for the time
We are all living through

Adversity has brought us together
And our street
Is a stronger community for it

Thank you Rochford Avenue
For the best ever street party

A dead pigeon
Lay on the tarmac
Behind the deserted funfair
At Southend pier

We were taking our daily walk
And almost didn’t see

But then we noticed
The poor creature
Eyes pale and closed
Neck turned
Wings fanned
Motionless, empty

Beside it
Stood a second pigeon
Quietly
Waiting
One inch, maybe two
From its companion

The pigeon saw us
Blinked a few times
And continued to wait
Unmoving
As if somehow
It was paying respects
To its lost friend

I don’t know if
They were husband and wife
Friends
Or even siblings

But I do know
That the pigeon
Was grieving
Showing deep respect
For its fallen friend

And we stood and watched
This solemn ceremony
For many minutes

As the pigeon stood
Silently, softly
Beside its lost friend
And our hearts felt
The sorrow
Of that bird

Today
I studied my hand
Closely

I looked and I looked
And after a while
I remembered
That I am nothing but
A living creature

Born from an eternally repeating cycle
Assembled from ancient materials

Arisen from the universe
And unique circumstance
To be alive
At this time

Alive
Present
Manifest

My realisation
Made me feel
Good

Have we been sleepwalking
Towards this sorry state of affairs?

Have we refused to think hard enough
About the biggest problems facing humanity?

Have our eyes been closed
And our heads buried in golden sand?

Have too many of our people died
Because we couldn’t be bothered
To do the work needed
To protect each other?

Have we been so obsessed with private gain
That we have pushed those in poverty
Over the edge?

What is humanity’s purpose?  
What is our greatest achievement?
Of what can we be most proud?

What will we be glad of
At our own day of reckoning?

Morning breaks
Eyes open
Trees lean
To peer in through the window
At the sleepy giant

Huge and hairy
He yawns and groans
Lying beside him, his beauty
Dreams and sighs

Heavy feet trudge along the hall
And furry four-legged creatures
Curl around the giant’s ankles
Eyes wide with anticipation
Of the first meal of the day

From the glass
A wild haired sleepy-eyed creature
Stares with a gloomy look
At last great hands move
And hot water splashes over the whiskered face

A few grunts and stretches
And the monster is freshened
And a lantern in his heart is slowly lit

A new dawn has broken
And the beast
Reaches his numb hands
Out to humanity
Asking
'May I walk with you
On this lonesome road of life?'
And one by one hands join
And a smile appears on his grizzled face