Evelyn looked at the path in front
Meandering into the dark woods
And quietly considered the future.

Nettles grew about the side edges
And beetles and caterpillars climb
Hidden from bright hungry beaks.

She heard small animals twitching
And smelt the river’s down flows
Groundcover spreading its beauty.

The world was peaceful in her hand
And dad holding tightly the morning
As they walked slow along the curve.

Love Grandma **

I’m afraid I have more tears
Than words nowadays
And I’m afraid they would rather
Drown you than lift you up
To where you belong

You were truly everything I had
And as I can no longer find comfort
In your eyes, your smile, your voice
I found love in your absence
In the mindless suffering and pain
The devouring cloud of fear and desire
Dragging me deep into the night

They are my greed
Wanting to feel your love
And not just know it, sense it
And wish it

They are my shame
For I was not made to be loved
My only privilege was to give you
Unconditional love

Even that, I can only show you in words
So petty, simple, undecorated
And pebbles to the gold

My words were never glamorous enough
For your beauty
And tender enough for your soul
But they are did not come from within me
I did not create them
They are the flesh of me I tear apart to show you
The emptiness inside
And to fill your scars

I hope you don't need them
Yet so afraid that you don't
Because they are already broken
And have nowhere to go

I can't bear to be the dust in the wind
Floating away from you
But as my tears and fear takes over me
That's where my words will go

I can’t desire standing next to you
Or let my tears stain your soul
So I kept myself between you and the flow
But soon, over me, the water will go

And darkness will be all I know.


If only I was forgotten before
I was known.

If only, into this life,
I was never borne.

I don't love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn't bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don't know any other way of loving

but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.

Down in the field where the dandelions grow
I took off my knickers and away did flow
Up on the hillside with a swish of my hat
Caught Cabbage White butterflies doing that.

Love Mary x

Running frantically down a vacant street
Dashing through puddles
As they splash beneath my feet
And squirt from in between my toes
Why am I not wearing any shoes
I’m in a rush
But my destination is a secret my mind has hidden from me
I guess it’s been raining for awhile
Everything is soaked
From the buildings
To the streets
The cars
And even the trees
Who leaves hang like her wet hair
But it’s finally starting to slow

And what the wilting rain unveils is unnerving

Finally I get a glimpse of my surroundings
But the scenery before my eyes....
The street lights
Desperately hanging
Its last few wires hold on tight
But the green is as dim as her eyes
On the verge of going out for good
Stop signs bent
Posters on brick walls
Halfway torn down
Cars parked randomly
The paint faded
Covered in scared
That seem to reach all the way to her bones
Building windows cracked
Open signs
Fizz,spark and blink

Not sure if this is a dream, or foreshadowing
But before I can think
It starts to rain