research is kind, we have tried many colours.


we ate the cake, yet not wishing to appear
greedy left a crumb.
for a bird.

bought her tea set gently in parts
each week from woolworths and i still have
some of it

yesterday a sea fret, misted trees,

added edge ; visual delight.

i like the road to there.

yes

she used the word constitutional
where I prefer
hike

she prefers a short walk
and that is ok

yesterday i found mistletoe
lichen
and a wet leather wallet

to hand in the local police

office today

it is a palaver to report online
to follow on instruction each

object to be sent elegantly

tied the mistletoe with ribbon
placed it by the birds nest

made bread and a mess
in the kitchen

which I warned you about before

james

touch of red
suggested at dinner, to make
a photograph splendid, i noticed
the same in paintings at exhibition.

darkness descends
with out the need for words. pray for
forgiveness if you are so inclined.

feeling my way
through the history of this place

yes

using phrases like the enemy
it don’t go unnoticed here either

slower morning here today. the radio plays.
dove grey overcast sky. heavy they say.
maybe rain?

walk the rooms in horror,
see genius in corners,
there.

realise that he may cry
all the tears of life.

carefully we drew her out
all tidy with reason, wearing
us down

seems that you are trouble, is that correct?
yes.

it seems you need to let the birds sing

initially, crossed the  sea to the land, from one to another, then, talking. crossed the narrow bridge spoke of the past, you know what i mean.                                                                    

  courage to walk

away

painting everything white.

geese flew over.

the day moved slowly, and i find

the memories are not as you may think.

i have new ones.

never mind also hoping the thing
has passed

he said they had a book of meaning
i asked google
who misheard or mis
understood

thought it was a reference to cost

when so many have paid

quietly we felt it would not be unseemly
nor respectful this time

with so many lost
one way and another

james

how are you this morning
early

they  do not know the darkness
how the light can fade into latin
& all things unreasonable

another visit here
how pleasant

we don’t have many now
during pandemic and

darker wetter days

went out yesterday
to port

looked out the cafe window
like a hopper painting

with wet leaves
and

bread and butter pudding

you know I thought she came to see me all those years ago

from the hospital

two buses changing at the square

came round the side of granny’s house
with the border of ferns and blue
hydrangeas

through the high side gate

yesterday while talking to you
i realised she may have come
to see her mother

and

i can’t remember the rest
can’t remember what happened next

now is small stuff on paper
as who cares anyhow
we just carries on
regardless

talk goes on all day, about the heat,
the rain and drizzle,
no thoughts on the shipping
forecast. words red, remembered.

the bird, the boy, the machine,
there is only air between.

coal and seed merchant at the top

by the turning before the fire

station

on the left going up

opposite where my brother worked on saturdays

in the fishmongers

both places had a particular aroma

you may just imagine

he brought home crab claws for tea and i did not like them

liked the seed merchant, allowed to feel and hold unlike the coal that too had names

nutty slack, briquettes and smokeless

while others remain unremembered

google reminds

&

late afternoon light beams the cabinet & mind wonders

think of granny and her ham tea with thick white fat and orange edging.

the clouds hang heavy

the mass, the clouds lay heavy, rain that came, that blinded again. blinded those that could not see the love and idle artefacts, each one a statement of nothing in particular.

is all a pattern, that keeps us safely,        moves us
onward.

small thing ragged who knows all of it pieces torn away

work along the coast with thread and diligence

gather wools layer carefully

we shall have warmth this winter

wind blows around our houses

water seeps

though notice we don’t
discuss that so much

i could and
tell you of the plans and preparation
the ordering and menus here

but i don’t do i?

it is warm and i worry
about the ice melting

once again is monday

no work no more, on furlough

with punctuation


used to go on sundays

and other days as needed


we closed in the winter reopened in march

and then locked down that same month


so at home we work in the house and garden

the studio

as needed


i used to work as a holiday reserve

on various tasks as required

then left and moved to wales


we still keep in touch

as needed

yet when

she said my friend looked pretty

&

that I smelled nice

I sagged a little.

later that day

i found a message

request

from a soldier in the usa

holding a puppy & a rose

calling me a beauty

the village remembered

there were blue skies

we went by bus

we shall never know
for there is no microscope
here
moving on i feel it was a flashback
to the girl who wished for quiet and
can remember  in detail

met her at the forest by the hotel
we were volunteers
and seemed to get on well

agreed to visit the fabric store
at the coast
see the rusted ships together

be friends

just before the pandemic hit

we connect on social media now

there are others met at london

the exhibition

and akhenaten

there is a pause in proceedings
that can’t be helped

winter brings differing challenges

objects fall and are mended

it is

nearly the end of november

abakhan

is there a hub bub
voices chattering more than usual

will there be large makings of coffee
there and fun?

we had fun yesterday with all the deliveries
opening boxes and moving water barrels
without the water

sploshed on the garden

today here james we shall
have a hub bub and chatter

you know

we shall have coffee and buns as
always
unless they ask for tea

you know

i never asked for earl grey
while staying at the hospital

not liking to make a fuss
under such circumstances

well you don’t
do you?

a pinky glow

she said that it was the coldest night for years

and I forget how many

were the markers always there
left by some other
wanderer?

on paper
In the studio
that was so precise and quite particular

so a copy and paste

and hang the washing out


despite the storm

to spite the storm

coming


she said it would be difficult

and it was

the early days

despite predicted text


the wonder was if he came back

to talk things over

or discuss what had happened since


how would the conversation be this time


it is what is wanted

that will never happen


what if he had died that night

and

he rose the morrow morn

so flimsy it is hardly there.
so worn, it is almost dead.

recreate the dying in your head.

so small it is hardly there.
so cheap it is almost dead.

draw it. recreate the scene in your head.

find

the memories are not as you may think.

i have new ones.

serendipidy
all is honesty
i have a witness.

evidence produced.

seeds for the future.

have you collected seeds of many years   packed  labelled   dated

do you have them now in boxes

a gift from those who love

they will bring  work  joy   an independent air

profound gifts

for those who care

seeds for the future



some say it is abstract
that only the present
exists

while others future proof their homes
in case of things that may occur



some are hoping for jam tomorrow

**

we see these  as the falling days
of autumn

for now that is everything

they say that the future is bright
the future is orange

light came, we saw the green ness of it all.                          we live in the country.

you ask for the menu yet we do not know what you mean

please speak plain

☆☆☆

you may have

giblet soup with sherry

scrag of mutton

****** of burnet with parsley

the consistency of good cream

& fried breadcrumbs

☆☆☆

then

a melange of blancemange, yet

we mostly make woollen cloth

here they forecast an awful rain yesterday
yet it came quite warm and gentle and

i shared some nougat with the delivery man

yet i will rather say that all things are
on a spectrum
of colours & ideas

nothing is one colour only,      as decided
in invented rules.  for we are all different

broke

shattered

broken reflections

of a former life

smashed

there was a gentle breeze going, then
the sun came through.

where it was decided to buy the higher house
in both scenarios

with grit and slight gusto

things come in layers
and differing shades

so joan will be
revered

if the pencil slips
she will remain
ignored

what do we know of apartment

blocks with balconies

no where to play

sit quietly with the monkey

or whatever toy to sustain

and magnify

what do we know of merging paint

that frequents our mind

to describe

there was a gap in the railings where things fell through

we sat and watched it all

should that dot be approved

and how about the predicted?

we came here early with many thoughts and remnants of the dream

day five brought two voices

one day

same segregation

a night of stars



sickly child and predetermined words

flicker from page to

flicking the power fails

while some follow the mass

others raise fist protest



nothing was ever promised

nothing ever came fair, an invented entitlement

where no one is entitled

we have one pause

a tadpole before the jumping frog

comes wet and creaking

we forget the punctuation

we look at the pictures

only