in a corner, she hopes

people will see her, talk to her.



do they understand the question,

can they spell her name?

she is not for sale really, though price

on application.

writing helps, no one will explain

the bandage, the blood and the book.

some of us love her and have ordered

another measuring stick.



sbm.

dear one

please be kind & care

for those that have no home

no money

no health



while you buy handbags



designer



it was that holiday they said you bought it for some

thousand pounds



while he died out side the house from cold

i feel some times that

the word unreasonable

is mine

though i react through

my reason

which comes clear

with my muddled

thinking

dare i laugh here

who said that

&

what is it?

how will they know for thinking

comes silent inside our heads

unless we utter

which in my case is not often

who defines the different

level of thought

is there a manual

with charts and graphs

a litmus test to testify

that the thought got tangled

oh what is it like?

really

oh really

when  i squeezed the bits of soap together

to one lump



i thought of you

doing it too and

realised what may be the reason why

besides

saving soap and money obviously

yesterday we talked about the war



the rationing that i with my ignorance

only learned about much later





may have become your way of life

derived from many sources



then we spoke of the amputees

the trouser leg fixed up with

a safety pin

they killed it.

without hesitation.

it glittered like starlight, fine, upstanding, an

example of kinship, solidarity. dead. they

killed it dead.

it shone with kindness and friendship

so they deliberately made it die.  now

they continue to ****** what is left,

as they have done before.

it was a good thing.it was different. that

is all.

sbm.

see them sometimes while driving out the area,

or should i say whilst?



eyes stray while driving, could that be whilst?  it

does not happen here much, daily in aberystwyth.



by the pier.    keith the photographer films them.



a lot.



all together flying, in harmony. wish people would.



really.



round here, small groups fly up.



birds.



sbm.







shot_1483196453503

school parties, crocodile rows.



she said there was an accident

waiting to happen on the stairs,



while others marched shouting,

little roman soldiers.



i hid in the auditorium and

checked the spelling.



seems that romans could

operate on people’s heads.



boring holes.



sbm.

the
first bike I bought ever
with my savings cost quite
a lot in relation to my income

from the shop near peters hill
where I thought the pram and

other things

when a child I had a tricycle which
broke bumping down a kerb

i remember disbelief
and devastating feelings

the next one was blue and I fell off

so I thought a blue one again
with a seat on the back & a basket
on the front

she got heavy later
too big so we took
the bus

and I used the bike for work
or walked there

i still have that bike
stored

four bikes in total ever
two second hand
two brand new

james

they say bikes are hard to get here at present
while mine is on a waiting list at the bike repair
shop in town

it will be my first visit for
months james

biggest leaves on the high street,

oswald’s tree. no one swept, bothered.


we hurried by seamlessly, or did we?

some of us looked, a few of us bothered.


some of us helped each other. it is

always a nice day in

oswestry.

sbm.

yes

i have help
each month

some years the tree man comes

i fiddle every day. lifting logs. i may
get stronger.

it is abutting a church
yard





( thanks to paul brookes for the prompt)

in bed listening about snow
folk stuck on the road in the
north

i aint looked out my window
yet i do not expect it here

i went to the orchard yesterday
it was a fine day. found myself
talking local

things that i thought forgotten
in that things had moved forward

good to have a quiet moment
to look back to all that was done

achieved

i had mended my garden boots
some thirty years old and caught
my jacket on some wire

now it looks more efficient

really oh really!

my heart is quiet

i do not feel it beating yet

the rhythm is there

my heart is silent

while all comes well around

yet roused it will sound

louder

come the other days

come the sadder ways

heart is there just there, look

&

i think my soul is thereabouts

where the feelings come and pain

or gain

quietness

again

they say it is the brain that does the thinking

yet

we may also listen to our heart

carefully

falling

today my name today is joan  of arc

though no one knows



my hairdresser knew

and

cut accordingly



leaving a a tiny fashion edge



if  younger would like to work

in morgan’ s



fashion shop



in chester  and layer their clothes on hangers



look the part

smell nice



yet



i have spent the day today

being joan





of arc

no smoke rising.



he said my name over, over

now he may be gone.



there is no smoke, just

mist rising, snow

in the distance.



quite cold, the car alarming.



there is no smoke rising

today, my name

is not repeated.



he may have gone.left

the wild wood

for sale.



sbm.

so you think i wear a cotton dress,

while all round is stormimg,

you think that people on boats are lovely

when it is a cruise ship, waving.

what do you think when passengers

are drowning?

this is not cunard, this is not a

myth.

sbm.

is this the final drop, slowly. not the white

wind blown kind that raises spirits.     this

is due to a colder day, early morning      five

below.



maybe this or a lack of adrenaline       caused

it, the coming together of years           which

slowly pass.



shadows of birds. dust motes in air.



marmalade toast.



is this the final drop?



sbm.

early for work, so
cut my nails you know,
hoping it will make typing
more precise.

i bought the set in
glasgow, arcade, then
saw it cheaper on ebay.

it has lasted well.

nals look better,
typong still *******.

sbm.

napery
neɪp(ə)ri/
noun
noun: napery

household linen, especially tablecloths and napkins.
so they were, many boxes, opened and unpacked all day,
in the heat. yet we had the big fan going. the mill

always a cooler place to be.

it is an old fashioned word, not found
in the urban dictionary, remembered.

so doyleys, chairbacks, arm protectors
for chairs are all in stock now, whilst
i had a very satisfactory day, actually.

though my feet did hurt by five.

sbm.

saw him twice, dying maybe dead at the walker,the larger  pictures.



he looked poorly, very grey, his friends around looking concerned.

his

sleeve flappy.



there was not much blood though considering all the wounded and dead

pictured there.



i like the paintings, very lively with not much life, mostly war and death.

some

criticise modern art for being gloomy, need to visit the walker full of death

and torture alongside

the jerwood painting prize. poor old napoloen, can you spell it?

look up the roof is leaking.



a lovely day.



sbm.

oil pond mirrors the darkness the november

day                  sun draws white against the grey

this       leaf  lays on earth

there is no god

not hungry nor otherwise



you look at me straight and ask the past

and briefly I say & say there is no god



you did not smile nor shout you are the deadest thing

dead down .              no smiling  despite birds gone  by



on greasy wings                       .i remember your look

your face

drawn grey as mourning doves

that remind

for me there is no god

growing well, so we took you out

the glass house in to air not expecting

thundrous rain. we returned to find you

battered.



our apologies……



we  will love you and  nuture you

again



back in the green house.



sbm.

we all have them particularly
this time of year, maybe

with all the dark and winter
weather

the after effects of illness
the current politics

so we make the most of
time at home despite
the odd noises just now

our cellars are connected
a small shaft
i suspect he has new logs
stored

i smell the resin here so
i am keeping my basement
door open
for inhalation’s sake

as i read

the herring fleet

words of fish

remember

newlyn days



fried egg breakfasts hard



friday, same as last week,

and all has changed

but not changed,

just the words are different



driving home i could not see

for dark and names,

yet i saw the power house.



i have the small boy

trousers to mend

and dry by the fire

and feel slightly

peculiar.

it is post 582
here,
despite the ones
lost,
some time
ago.

we are
building
a
new world here.

of earth with heaven.

on earth.

the witness came,
declared he may be wrong,
mistaken, incorrect.

like me.

sbm.

cheese is as addictive as hard drugs,

not that i have tried it.



i like edam and do you know that

if you play at the garden fountain



it may all get wet, so you carry them

and go bare foot.



did you now there is an electric boot

cleaner there, where

we went the day after the referendum.



that was the beginning and the end.



there is no alpha nor omega on this keyboard.



sbm.

reported that       he lost his husband

swept away to sea; too near the edge

mentioned his age, his occupation



told the wrong story



some are careful how they speak

with diction and electrocution

spelling correction and oddities



dictate the right words



yes it is me

yet do you know me

really?



choose your words carefully



&



they will  misunderstand

you



again

#carelessness

cooler now,we have butter lumps,

goes on the toast in bumps

tweaking the crust.



will we then get thinner,

not die of fats, get ill with

some thing else? it will not

spread.



i have my first new cooker

ever; i shall make bread.



eat with a slice of butter.



there is a fan.



#october.



sbm.

speech.

simple notes, there is much discussion now, where the place used to be pure quiet and  acceptance.

it seems to him that talking does not get the job done.                 gently balancing wool.  words  fall .



we had gathered here before to watch the weathering.     referendum come and gone with fury.



speech



fails us.



simple notes. none rise higher than the one next.



to you, to me, this may not be

the acceptance

expected.



sbm.







1002690101529068877961775370599434980022329_n

Main Entry: niche
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: place all one’s own
:: niche ::

i gave the words away.

wrote them,

published them

shredded and pickled them,

and gave them away.

left in a niche.

yet, still they rattle,

and will always

be a part of me.

my words

it belongs to three people i think,

or is that imagination.



anyway she says sometimes they have

birds of prey at the cathedral which

escape and **** the pigeons on their

roof. that is why although it is all

now exposed due to damp, it will be

enclosed.



blood drips.



sbm.

nicole de laittre

met by chance/social media

i visited a place not seen before

makes songs & magic

newly born



it is a singular thing



stand entranced



this is a new note

step to another side



i visited a place not been before



sbm.



“you inspire me. Not to give up on my core in
fits of hasty shame

Ive not forgot the trenches-
I visit for cross purposes
I resist the urge to
anonymously destroy.

You recognize the handiwork
For im not without spiritual support

Others show their hyena faces to me.
Wheres MY hyena face? How can i conjure one to pacify the others? To stop the rounds-

“try the blue paint instead” comes a voice
a heavenly mixture of restraint and play.

I lose myself in the blue and brown paste
Holler at red ceilings
Try on the green when no one is looking.”

nicole de laittre

i have no manners, i will not    apologise

for being. nor say sorry for what you did.

and said.

i will not make excuses and reasons    for

your action nor what i did in repair.  i am

no gentleman, certainly     neither are you.

there is no sincere apology for my   being.

here.

sbm.

i came  trembling.         looked for the cloud

from those years ago.                         hidden

in mist,  a white wall .                       no birds

sang.

we are as nothing.

in this place.

sbm.

squirm with fear and emotion, at what is written.

freeze at the next sentence, it has nothing to

do with you.

laugh yet is it with nervousness?

these are new remarks, a new way to learn.

a group of friends here, it is one’s own feelings

that cause discomfort.

the price of coffe is reduced,

all in lower case.

sbm.

early it came,where there are no roads, no silent killer.

spinning. set me free. let me see  swallows return to

nest.

let us cause a reaction, turn our heads quickly. no one

is looking, there is no one here. we are not afraid of

the night.

we spin.

soft cottons, whimsy thread, mothlike.

turn about hour on hour. your time is

come.

we spin.

to spite  silent killers.

sbm.

(written for those with out understanding)

asd

gift

we have no idea of the date here

having travelled the years

long dusty paths, near lakes

and visiting, flying

among swallows, perfume led.



talking with the old ones,

music made with wood

and moving homes.

this is the place

they lived.



we did not forget the upper stories.



sbm.

you said nothing is ever perfect, and

i remember this and why.





reciting, shouting, jumping on walls

laughing.



you  sent a book, along

with the money due.



st.ives.



sbm.

was possibly the turning point, that

changed a life, that emptied the cabinet.



be careful what you think, it may be horribly wrong,

then hearts will slide. so we sat in the window to watch

the world go by.



he said it was his first nose bleed, yet later found

that there had been  many others.



this looks like evidence.



sbm.

though i like white

& the invisible type

with glycerine

you did not write

yesterday.



that is fine.



i shall worry about you

guess you are busy

about the new job

your gainful employment



or worry

that you fell off your bike

hurt your typing finger (s)



or worry



that i got it wrong again

and

that you just

did not write

yesterday.

note

the words hit our hearts, and sink in to stay, to pledge another stage set, small life…….

don't you see, he said,
nothing will feel right again.

these things you have done,
may erase any sympathy you gleaned
from the past,
as awe full as it was.

sbm.

( notes on the moving image)

captured a year ago,

is still and minimal,

grey and sad.

move the image again

to prove the alignment?

on cleaning, finding moth.



although expired gently, lift

and place in box with the

others.



on old ribbon, slightly frayed,

wind, pin, keep for another day.



for work, for photographs.



on words, collect, retain the simple

ones, that do not confound,

hand write into paper

books.



post often.



on living. making notes.



sbm.

exams come to examine

every part of our character.

some times we pass, and passing on our knowledge to friends and family may help fears to lift, and things feel normal, a while.

the wind is coming again i hear, another exam.

you can forge the sick note.

how is it?


sbm.

take a photo,
of the photo,
we have chinese
whispers. this
is beverley nichols
with the right
hon. sir esme howard.

you don’t get
names like that
these days.

most of all, and not in notes,

i recommend you see,

anselm keifers work,

some where.

the tourists ask

what are they using this slate

for

and are puzzled that is is just

*******

which slips

to explain to you who cannot see,

the cloy, the quantity of water, tasks, and other

hurts, that fit into  af day. the moment

your feet slide into mud, with one word.



heard , read, imagined, the sentence dives and plays

whole, yet as days move on, flotation occurs,

buoys,  slowly we face back to sea , swim on.



either that or drown.



sbm.

to explain to you who cannot see,

the cloy, the quantity of water, tasks, and other

hurts, that fit into  a day. the moment

your feet slide into mud, with one word.

heard , read, imagined, the sentence dives and plays

whole, yet as days move on, flotation occurs,

buoys,  slowly we face back to sea , swim on.

either that or drown.

sbm.