do you remember  mine shook too then broke in half?

what a day yesterday soaked through i turned early with

the thought that the otter may be at the bridge

then i saw the swimmer

in black gear with goggles

as you do

he did

swim lovely

so i watched him in the rain

returned home to find a visitor by the door his tongue

probing for insects and such a good shot. we chatted

him in his khaki skin coat, me in my wet jacket

my groceries came later

stephen brought them

the store

makes sure

we know their names

and all polite

then at last i saw one of my family

who works less than the permitted

distance now

called by

one of the tribe

like minded

he will like a bike too james

what is ground beef james though

i am vegetarian

one of that tribe

james

while some cannot breathe

they say a pet monkey got lost there


you can google most everything these

days

even susan dennett


raining here, i heard it in the night

cosy

now is darker

cosy


we were forewarned so we sould have

got ready

i did mostly

yet forgot some things


can’t remember everything


we write lists and notes in ciphers

then wonders about the meaning later

my mother had abbreviations on her

shopping lists back then

i can see them in my head

her writing

the size of paper


we ate pots

chump chops

drank tea

never coffee


that came later a new fangled thing

granny had camp which only meant

tents or drinks then

in remembrance will refer to the other

shortnesses later


i shall walk in the rain next

note the differences

anyway it were a lovely day yesterday

and not just the weather james


some folks want me to get usual

yet their guidelines are different to mine

and i am very settled

i am older now

one more time

when i write that number
note it is the same for all

here

there

seems to be some confusion
between paranoia
and common sense

the age of those that died
that elderly makes that
acceptable

some confusion over what is
fact and race

in despair

i have sited the planks
stashed the chippings and have the
wood ready to saw
then store

i watch your news and see
the pity of it all, then i watch

ours the same

he asked me if i was new to
the area
i told him nigh on thirty years

his uncle grew golden rod
lived by the chapel, died a
few years ago

i thought him a quiet gentle man

so pleased about your bike and
maybe that is the way to go yet
have looked online for the bicycle
grant and find no application process

however have fresh fruit coming today
in time for lunch

am hoping for dates
yet they have been
out of stock
recently

there was no time for drawing yesterday
no time for calm amongst the hedge
and strimming

it came later
with google
piano music

there is a roundabout in dorset
called monkey jump corner
and a place
called burnt house lane

toller porcorum

a plane flew over
the woodpecker
called

 

james

did you see that christo has died?

i am wearing last year’s sandals
and they look like new
childrens
i guess i have small feet

i admire him the same as i admire
anselm keifer

while wondering if i spell them
correctly

i walked miles today
the blisters i worried over
did not materialise

first day in summer footwear

never aware that no form is
indeed a form

that randomness is recognised
as a category

the poetry group does not
meet of course
and we email the stuff
so at last i can see the format

the patterns and syllables

i may not go back
to the group if ever
all this be over

so i worked on the hedge all day
scratched, bitten and hog tired
that my head hung

we sat in bed listening
heard nothing
nothing as it came through the window
black, so beautiful

not one sound
nothing

flew around a while then back out into
the night

i know how to spell silent
yet it does not explain the
absence of sound with all
the movement
that life

this morning i listened to water
falling

we desire many things when
mostly we want to be able to
breathe
james

you never talk much about food
though you do relate coffee incidents

james i hope you do not mind me saying

i best get back to the hedge project
early
before the sun beats my back
my arms
my little nose

suntrap

at dusk the bats kinda do that

and we aint got the swallows here

like we used to have

sitting on the wires

flying in the hall

maybe again now the people

are all indoors

though more out than usual

in this warm spell

i like the pictures of the amish

neat and sedate riding in to

demonstate

so it goes

james

sometimes when we get lost

we find new experiences

a new landscape

i tell you who already know

what i said about brainwaves explains

why my mind wanders while i write

remembers places

tiny details nip

back into mind

today i am hedging again

it looks a mess so far so i

imagine

that when the worst is gone

i shall dress dainty and clip

about like a lady

all nice and tidy

other things have growed and we tied them with a scarf

is comfy

news came, we can now meet family if only 5 miles away
there is a thing, the gap is wider….

i had diaried the hedge to start it today yet on working
logisitics yesterday
starting swearing and verbally abusing the mass

missed the news and all sorts with cutting, pruning, hedging
and sweating

she came along
the local hedge police
and stood looking below

yes?

oh she wondered where the cuttings had come from

the hedge!

she stayed a while looking
i asked if she was ok
she said she was too hot

when i finished for the day
i looked over
she had lit her wood burner

we slept the night well
a new project here

the bicycle awaits

i drew trees too james
i like to draw each day
science says it changes
the brainwaves
and stuff

gradually things change
we move about and enjoy
the fine weather

the pear and elderflower cordial

james

birdy

or should i say 11 weeks
and i wonder what happens next

so the horses were in the long grass this morning
while the farmers still go to market

i ordered the oil sadly as the can has changed
and i did not recognise it yet
have old ones here and can decant
if i feel necessary

it feels necessary to hold onto memories
and to repeat myself

we do not have pastors here that i know of
there are vicar things and i do not know them

i know kindness and common sense
and i like new sandals

i guess i will not need to buy shoes
for the summer as i am not going
nowhere much

my trip to alnwick castle is cancelled of course
along with the others
a refund or a transfer?

most of the ivy is gone so i embark on a new garden
thing tomorrow

i knew it was eight o clock as the water men drive down the
lane to their depot which looks like a bomb shelter

james

met a lady from texas i think it was
norma jean

she says the lane is just like america

james

astonished