I feel it turn persistent
your change of tone
like a chill in the air
I'd been trying to ignore
and then I realise you're far away
unreachable
you'll soon sound sad
Cinderella without your prince
somewhere reasoning cannot reach
leaning forlorn on a broomstick
I used to think it was selfishness
your depression
perhaps that gave a kind of comfort to you
because showing I accept it
would make you think I've I given up
and if I don't still try and reason
then am I unreasonable?
I know we'll both feel lonely
I know you know
I love you
I just want you back again

my soul barely sings
it rasps uneasily
like geese slowly lifting up
across murky water
webbed feet pedalling
on a wind rippled lake

hidden in the dark
folds of the city
nature squeezed
between concrete slabs
peeping out as weeds
or a scavenging ginger fox

beyond the disposable
plastic landfill routine
life thirsts and splutters
a ****** straw
in an empty pastic cup
rattling the final drops

in my dreams I have heard
celestial choirs
fanfares for men
framed in golden wreaths
too high for my grasping
hands to reach

She loves me not
My future settled
Among the sprinkled
Roulette petals

Chance decides
The course I take
I’ll still my heart
Not for her sake

And when my own
Free will expires
I’ll germinate
More wildflowers

"Hello, Mr Magpie
How's your wife and kids?"
He turns, head to one side
And quizzical ever
Silver seeking eye
Spies my empty superstitions.
"They're qute well,
Thank you.
My son found four spoons
My daughter, several bottle tops
My wife has built a new nest
But I feel solitary
Happily spreading sorrows"

you can recognise
true kindness
because it comes
hesitantly
and humbly
it'll be embarrassed easily
so don't question it too deeply
but acknowledge it gracefully
and bask in the afterglow

“Love is always shaded
In vanity”, you said,
“At least, all my lovers
Have been vain
Pleasing me
Pleasing me
But in the end
Unconcerned about
Really touching me
That’s not to say
I’m not flattered by
Empty Romantic gestures
I am
But I don’t want to be
Wooed by some
Accepted idea
I just want to know
If two people
Can
Really
Connect
Or if eternal
Loneliness
Is our lot”
And then you looked up
Inquiringly
Coquettishly
Your eyes sparkling
Across the table
Past the candles
Past the wine glasses
Past the single red red rose
Past my lies
Past my gaze
Towards the tumbling
Infinite darkness
Of the night

Half raw truths
Dressed up as familiar tragedy
And swallowed bile-like
Between a drizzle of words
Familiar words
Soaking me
Waking memories
Indistinct figures
Move behind a frosted
Glass panelled door
Prisming their edges
Into ever diminishing
Stranded light and dark
My hesitant thoughts
Punctuate the gaps
With questions
About you
Stranger
My stories
Join yours
Whirl circles together
A dizzy hand holding
Look-into-my-eyes
Wheel of forbidden romance
Until our arms tire
And we let go