..day 49..

my walk yesterday was rained upon
so hood up head down we saw the stones
sheltered under gorse
noted the sky changing

were the markers always there
left by some other
wanderer?

i had this angelic person on paper
down the studio
that was so precise and quite particular

a long winded affair
with prehistoric music
and crouching from
the weather outside

prepared to mess her up
yet all i achieved was an
extra pair of sleeves really

oh

i hope to revert to an earlier
idea of smudge and carbonate

james

you see
there is no control
only that we think we have
which is probably all imagined

i drew in early
as it came the
national thing day
which some of us avoid

not wishing to be controlled
and not thinking it helps
anyhow

note 1.

being a bad personage
not doing as instructed
again

..day 48..

i let it in
fear
and confusion

had held it apart and got on with the lockdown
my way. then i spoke to another not full of gusto
nor war time spirit , born more recently

that stuff is junk anyhow
keep grinning while all around is dying.

allowed not to be alright a while so
found that expensive soap he bought that
i kept in memory

took it out off its branded box and bathed
with its glorious smell

the small slither
left over from
the mill

will go to the studio iconic
ironic that i am surrounded
with soap
at this time

james

this morning the house is perfumed
outside it rains and i get on with the
day once again

i dream my friends struggle and
i cannot help james

yes we must be careful
very careful james

later i fell over the concrete pots
moved into the wet to
benefit the plants

blood and synchronised
swearing

plus a big sticking plaster for comfort

stay safe james

(not such a hard *****)

day 47..

some times we need to make a move
some says bite the bullet yet i certainly
do not have one
i wonder if you

do

i feel it will damage teeth and while there
are difficulties with dental visits presently

maybe the first phrase
is preferable?

my fancy may not be reality in that
the desire is in the present while all
comes quiet
though in my view
the road is busier
lately

will i really want to ride among traffic
both vehicles and other folk on bikes
or walking and walking with dogs

i remember other summers down the tracks
locals and happy tourists zooming along no

bells to notify arrival

i stayed later this morning finding it damp
again

thinking the fire may not light

a treat in these troubling times
should i meditate i wonder to

rid the mind of all the wonderings
yet maybe those are the seeds of

the work

then i wonder why thoughts
constantly drift to lampeter as

i write

with walnut trees
though no nuts
last autumn

do you believe in omens?

james

pink sky
slight dampness
hanging

day 45..

only on the slate outside or up the path here

the lane is steep downwards and i may slip

or see people
which is worse?

that is a question you can tell by the mark

wooden ones

i go by the back path as it is common ground
a right of way
for access

see no one
which is mighty
fine especially
these days

that is steep too
worn almost into
steps in parts

we talked about other devices
yet it came too stressful so i

looked at bikes and noted those
electric things at such a price yet
i hope you get one

really

seems i prefer walking up hill these days
to flat

(april 2020)

.day 40..

i hear them say that it is the solitude of lockdown
that brings these words

perhaps they are right
who knows really

there is that word again
even on my shopping card

a sticker so that i recognise that
it is not the other one though the

accounts merge into one these days

she takes it when she goes shopping
on tuesdays in the little coin purse
with the bow

it is that detail or dots which attracts me

she needed a more precise description than

buns

so i explained that not being fussy hot cross ones
teacakes or plain  will be nice
suffice
and she got extra large
some beans and tinned
peaches

left in a bag
in the shade

with the receipt
tucked neatly

you see james how deep the thoughts this
lockdown
said sarcastically
with careful spelling

i am still drawing joan now with summer attire

i am still drawing james

a longer walk to the toll along the old railway track
long gone

saw the herons balancing the tops of trees at hengwrt
skinny legs and battle cries

stood the bridge a while
remembered

(stay safe
eat your veg)

hey i could mention the numbers
to add or divide and it seems those

today work well

i enjoyed your talk of roads, reminded me
that when we were in chester on a stayover
a birthday treat

she told me how it took years for someone
to remark upon a street there that was not straight
like all the others built by romans

on investigation found the remains of an amphitheatre
the road built to avoid

nicely excavated you may sit there now
only one can’t in the lockdown
nor sunbathing

i am glad we went that year
it was lovely

romans stil roam the streets with children
following dressed in proper gear shouting
learning
terrorising the shoppers who feign fright
then laugh

not now
in the lockdown

so children learn other things at home
like stars and satellites
birds and butter on bread

i have learned about garden fires these
few weeks, how not to upset the neighbours

how to get up early specially in
my pyjamas light it carefully

learned the ways of leaves and wood
the varieties
my patience required

then stand and watch the smoke plume
against the chill of the hour

once i saw a chap paint that in watercolour
and i wondered

a
good morning
feel better than
yesterday when
thoughts drifted
into things i will
rather forget

as we all do sometimes

james

day 45..

only on the slate outside or up the path here

the lane is steep downwards and i may slip

or see people
which is worse?

that is a question you can tell by the mark

wooden ones

i go by the back path as it is common ground
a right of way
for access

see no one
which is mighty
fine especially
these days

that is steep too
worn almost into
steps in parts

we talked about other devices
yet it came too stressful so i

looked at bikes and noted those
electric things at such a price yet
i hope you get one

really

seems i prefer walking up hill these days
to flat

8