We lie here - our bodies quiet in the late night heat

Off in the distance a dog barks as it’s master stirs and
in the fields the crickets give their last gasps of the day

A party lightens up a far away terrace as the wine flows and a secret flirt takes place as a gecko flits across a stucco wall, stops and moves again

And in this still heat our bodies merge - become one and we grow together

The far off waves of a Mediterranean Sea lap the silken sand

As we become one once more

Alone on the hill at the edge of the night stood the Giordan  Lighthouse

Poised to mark safety for a wanderers travels
It once stood tall and strong in an azure sky
But now stands sterile in a troubled evening against stormy clouds

If you climb to reach its' peak
The land and sea lies stretched out and once a safe path would call your name

But time has eaten this away
And now
Safety
Is no more

I sit here, looking at you by the window (French doors)
The window to the street; open and a July's stormy wind whispering through the open pane

The sky darkens and the dry dust is touched by falling pellets of rain

The staff go to close the open glass

But you sit by the window untouched by the falling sound of water; eyes only for your friend

And people walk past in the street
Some stop and read the fare
But you seem not to notice as they decide their choice

As I watch I wonder what words you listen to so eagerly as the wind begins to chill

How I long for the sea,
The sound of a gull and the sea salt air
The discarded wrapper of late night fare
The feel of sand beneath my feet
And afternoon tea
In the late June heat

Each day about this time
is a thing that must be done.
Though still dark or clean from morning sun
I need to sit and sip that expectant balm.

As it’s warm song becomes a part of me
I begin to rise from last nights realm
of four o’clock waking and restless dreams
and the wish for cooler sheets

I tried to give you up - I had too much
But each day you become my true friend once again
And as I wake with you and come alive
I swear my pledge to you

I’d like to stand hand in hand
In my local coffee shop
Whilst waiting for the man
To serve our favourite drinks

We could share a croissant or a piece of cake
And sit at a table by the window
to watch the people walking by.
Now and again we’d share a joke
about what we’ve just seen

We’d probably look at our phones
and you’d be always busy with something
that must be done right now

But that would be ok
because when we get home
we would become one again
as only lovers can.

Tonight, as the languid heat settled upon us, though far apart, an unexpected turn of events took place

For reasons unknown a voice spoke out and you were there to hear it's note

At first a soft voice of uncertainty, but then a more urgent call

A call that you heard upon this soft summer wind

And for a moment or more I felt the join of us

Walking down this busy street
Passing people I will never meet
I wonder how it got to this point
A time where I can have so much
And yet feel so alone

If I look back
Was it all my fault
That I am and have always been
On the the edge of everything I’ve seen

It started the day I was born
When that woman from whose body I was torn
Decided I wasn’t for her
And since that day I have wondered looking
for her again
In every woman I ever known
I have looked to be loved for that very first unconditional time

Perhaps in a way I am drawn to her because she too was cast aside by one who should have loved
in that echo I hear my own voice as well as hers
And in that two note chord there lies
the start of a song we both can sing

Today, the heat has faded away
And as I lie here the cool air of this July night plays across the bed

As it moves through the darkness I hear the sound of music in the air
And slowly the gods of might draw in

Taking me to that place where I shall dream
Dream of innocence gone, of a remembered touch

As today I walked through summer trees
I feel the taste of autumn upon the leaves

There was a sense of time in the breeze
That life was moving more quickly now
And soon the smell of September would start to please

The trees hold their summer fruit but when I return the golden hues will lie at my feet and will be carried by autumns rush

And in the rustle of drying leaves a creature will stir and look about, knowing that soon winters call will hold him short

And then once more as snow lies all about an anxious plant will appear to start once more this yearly race
And I shall feel it in winters air
As spring calls to me that now a new year will soon be here

Out on the Kazakh plains there is a place where
You once stood and saw his face
Though He a thousand miles away you looked upon him and saw the chance of escape

A journey taken, at first of hope where a chance moment or stolen word set the pace
Now lies ended in a foreign land and the thought of tomorrow must be filed away

But today you will return
To those grey walls and endless views
And quiet moments will once again become the norm

Look out on a misty morning
Tell me what you see?
Do you see anything as beautiful as you?
Do you see anything as beautiful as we?

Look out on a sunny morning
Tell me what you see?
Do you see anything as beautiful as you?
Do you see anything as beautiful as we?

I can see you everywhere,
I can see you everywhere
Everywhere is where you are

I see you everywhere
I see you everywhere

Look out and I see you
I see you all around

Look out on a misty morning
Tell me what you see?
Do you see what I see?
Do you hear what I do?
The sound of you all around
The sound of you everywhere

When I wake I can sense you near.  

The smell of your perfume hangs in the air around me.
The sheets are crumpled from where you slept and the pillow still holds the shape of your head

Just out of sight I can hear the sound of you cooking.
The aroma of fresh coffee drifts into the bedroom and I know that you are making that very first cup of the day

In a minute you will be here and will kiss my lips and say come with me
We will sit by the window and look out on this autumn morning

People will pass by in the street below, the more pious ones perhaps to church

If they looked up they might see me watching them; they have a solemn look as they walk toward god, but soon I will be closer to heaven than they

Some mornings I wake from a kiss upon my lips

The kiss of a lover or the kiss of the morning sun

And when I feel that breath upon my lips I stir and look about

At times all I see is the light coming through my window and falling gently upon the bed

But at others I see your smile and I catch my reflection in your eye.  

My hands goes up to the back of your head and I pull you to me - to taste the sun upon your mouth

In an ancient land where
Sun baked soil slips down to an endless azure sea
I spy a girl

She stares out across the silken foam and her eye
Descends upon a golden beach

Upon the thousand grains of sand
Timeless journeys have been told, back and forth across the years
To a time when a younger girl played on the seas edge
And dreamt of flight

Flight like Icarus ascending, but not to soar too high
But where she can
Dance upon the wings of air
As though nymphs playing in the breath of god

No one told me there’d be days like these
Days of love and sun and fun
No one told me there’d be days like these
Where you and I would be as one

Days sitting by the sea - watching the boats as they head out for the day
The dogs running and the children laughing as they play
An early coffee but saving ourselves for lunch

No one told me there’d be days like these
Days of love and sun and fun
No one told me there’d be days like these
Where you and I would be as one

A walk along the river to a favourite place
Sitting and watching and listening as I watch your face
Are you really going to swim across the Thames?   A seat in a boat seems a better place

No one told me there’d be days like these
Days of love and sun and fun
No one told me there’d be days like these
Where you and I would be as one

And then lying next to you
I can hear you breathe and I can feel you near
I can look into your soulful eyes and see so far away
No one told me there’d be days like these - fine days indeed
No one told me there’d be days like these - fine days indeed

We travel, as though aware of the effect we have
Sometimes we arrive and the journey was smooth and content
Other times the way is rocky and we work to make our path clearer
And sometimes in our attempts to make things easier for ourselves we block another’s progress

This is how I was with you

I thought because of who I am that I could cause the ripples of the pond to be un-stilled
And I could call the dance that came

But it turned out that the choices were not mine to make
And now I must stand and watch a different journey run it’s course

It is an early June night
The darkness has not long descended and soon the dawn will come round again

The air is calm and still
In this quietness I can hear the sounds of children and the talking  of passing couples

A soft breeze blows and it rattles the blind to play an inconsistent rhythm
Although it’s mild, it’s not as warm as other Junes from times before

And in this stillness I think of you
The feel of your skin
The sound of your voice
And the space where once you lay

In the middle of the night I wake and think of you
I can feel you all around me but you are not here
I remember the the touch of your mouth, the beauty of your smile
And I feel you inside of me

I can sense your presence, the feel of your skin
The laughter that came as we sat and talked

We come from such different places but on that night felt as one
Your beauty held me captivated as I bathed in your eyes
Your words were wisdom to me and I laughed at your jokes
And when our lips touched the world skipped a beat

Next to me two young women sit,
In a tongue I do not know
they talk of unseen things

In their eyes I can see their love and in their faces I can feel the joy of sharing

I do not know of what they speak
But it will be tales of boys and love and youthful dreams

From time to time a familiar name is heard, Alessandro, David to name but two and when they speak they laugh and I can feel their joy

Despite not understanding
the language of love
And friendship rings out true

Take me to that place again,
where we walked until the moment when,
we stopped and rested by the sea
a private place, held just by you and me

In that place you built a tower of stone
and left it standing as though alone
A beacon that showed the way
to be the marker of that special day

Later we stood beneath the lighted trees
on a path laid out to please
We held each other in our arms
And viewed the bay and all its charms

In that place, that night
It felt that everything was right
and under those Dorset stars it felt as one
as though a great story had begun

In later days I thought back to that time
on ****** sands East of Lyme
and as we walked along that beach
I felt that all the world was in my reach

Now I wonder, was it just a dream
that I created as though to seem
a world I wanted, a world I looked to find,
as if some imagined state of mind

A cold, crisp morning and the winters night is lifting now

The weary workers step-out to fill their days with gainful purpose and the morning dogs tug on their leads eager to start the day

Masks stop our heated breath evaporating on the morning’s mood and we scurry on our way

My way takes me to coffee as it does every day
That first warm soft comforting hug as my lips touch the cup and the heady brew gives me life again

The first thing I feel

When the morning breaks my sleep

Is the sense of you

A shimmering, dancing light exists in this space

It catches the refreshed air in this dark but open place

And bands of white move across the screens

As a single light kisses your face

I sit here reading and drinking a cappuccino
It’s the same coffee I have every day at this time.

I choose the seat where I sit so I can see the door.  Every now and then I look up to see if you are there.    I look at my phone to see the time, watching it move closer to the moment you might arrive

I say might.  

I don’t know that you will come.  Some days you do and some just pass.   The days are better when you do.

Lots of people come in at this time.  Some I recognise as I’m here so often.  They come alone to work, or with a friend or women in groups happily talking and laughing.

But I sit here just hoping that you will arrive.   A surprise of course as we haven’t arranged anything.

If you do come we will drink coffee and eat almond croissants and I will flirt with you and want to touch you again

Now the time has passed now when I think you will come. Things will continue as before

Once there was sound of a voice
The touch of a finger and sight of a smile  
Now there is a silence
An empty room
And a slowly forgotten moment of
When we two were one

There were pictures of you, impossibly thin and blonde
Your hair was long and your eyes were so alive.

I could see the energy within you, it was so powerful and always questioning and wanting to learn.

I loved how much you wanted to know, how much you were driven to understand

But you also wanted to share and you chose to share with me.   Not me alone, but I felt I was part of something important.

That was your gift, you made others feel there was a place they were always welcome

You welcomed us all, no judgements were made.  You may have laughed at us sometimes, but there was no malice, no unkind words

This was your gift, you gave a place to be.

It feels very different now with you gone.  

The space you leave was sometimes prickly, sometimes gruff, but always thoughtful and always bright.  

We need that brightness more than ever now

When I wake I think of you
Lying somewhere else
still asleep for some time to come.

I remember the times that when I woke
I felt your warmth next to me
how you pushed your body into me

You sensed me near and my arms
Enveloped you and held you close

I gave you safety
you gave me a place
that I didn’t feel alone

In the heat of the afternoon sun
I notice the girl
Her raven hair set against the white of her dress
It is a perfect sight on this hot, still day.

She walks around the square and from where I sit I can watch her every step
Her face is smiling as she talks with her friends
But I see sadness behind her eyes

Later I see her sitting, looking out over the sea
She looks thoughtful as she watches the slowly moving waves
And the boats heading out to ply their trade

Long ago Helen caused an army to set sail
And today by that same shore
If she looked at me and saw inside  
I would fight a thousand wars for her

She came in through the window
I wasn’t expecting that
I was looking for someone for a drink or two
But she seems to belong in my flat

We may be quite different but who’d want the same as me
We can’t all be petulant and emotional
I’d rather someone free

She came in through the place I thought was closed
Closed because of all the things that have gone before
But she found the door ajar
And seems to fit right in

She came in through the window
I wasn’t expecting that
But now the window is always open
And I hope she comes and goes

She came in thorough the window
And sits like a flower
Each day a new shape appears
She came in through the window

The softest, sweetest thing I know
Is the feel of your lips as they tentatively touch mine

I feel their quiver - as though a butterfly touches my mouth with its wings.  

That faintest feeling
It is my favourite thing

The first thing I feel

When the morning breaks my sleep

Is the sense of you