Antiques shops
fascinate, absorb the eye
and the imagination
Who may have owned
this intricately worked
elaborate confection of silver
set with jewels?
Did a miner fashion it
for a lover or a wife?
Did the longing for warmth of home
spill over into craftsmanship
so delicate it looks
as though a speck of dust
would disarray it?

I wonder

An old-established confectioner
claims his mints "keep you all aglow"
makes me think of old-time buying
from people serving
behind marble counters
the picture on the packet
shows an arc of blues expressing delight
I'm trying a mint ball now -
and it's all right.

A murmuration of starlings
thousands upon thousands of them
swooping rising curling away
pulsing and throbbing as one
‘til they slowly gently descend
and melt into the shadows of the trees
and the screen fills with a picture
of David Attenborough

A Pleasant Contagion
The light in the eyes
of one who feels loved
affects all who meet them
they do not know why

Leicester in lockdown
as the virus flares
just as the clouds
had a silvery edge
Those xyz foxes
zoomed into the henhouse
leaving hens headless
and us all in gloom

Social distancing
comes naturally to Brits
who like their own space

officially true
not your imagination
the sky is more blue