The most gorgeous flower, chequered purple and white,
The stunningly beautiful snakes-head fritillary.
A garden planted with these jewels is a beautiful sight,
Like a salami-like battalion or artillery!

Yes! I know it, I made a bad call!
I’m stuck here suspended, next to the wall.
Back legs on the bannister, front on a rail,
The only thing that can move is the the tip of my tail….
I feel like an idiot, feel like a clown,
Please come and save me, just lift me down!
There’s kibble for breakfast and chicken for tea,
So for pity’s sake, I’m begging, come rescue me!!

You cannot be happy without having felt pain,
You need to hit rock bottom before you surface again.
You cannot be loving unless you understand,
What it is to be giving, to provide with both hands.
Love’s an adventure, it’s also a gift,
It’s like finding the shore when you’ve been set adrift.
It’s a firework, or Christmas, or the 4th of July,
It makes you believe you can reach for the sky.
There are no limits, no boundaries in sight,
Love gives you courage, buckle up and take flight.

I wanted somewhere down on the beach,
To chill out in, to change in, the surf within reach,
So I took a deep breath and I mortgaged my soul,
And bought one of these beauties, as my special bolt hole.

Posh is a word that is often misused,
Without knowing the meaning, so sorely abused.
It is thought to mean snobbish, and rather stuck up,
That you’re an upper class toff who drinks from a teacup.
It actually means “port out, starboard home”,
For those who possessed a rich chromosome.
On board a liner you paid to have the sun,
And it was port side out on any cruise run,
But coming home, it was on the starboard side,
So you paid to ensure that you could really enjoy the ‘ride’.
So now you know ‘posh’ is a slang word for rich,
Use it to describe those who can afford the very best ‘pitch’!*

*as in pitch a tent (of extremely luxurious proportions, in this case!)

Walking through a sea of purple,
Like shot silk, yet alive,
And the warm sun
Enhancing the perfume.
As I brush each stem,
The intoxication of scent,
Warm, full, rounded,
Spicy, even.
And a luscious torpor ensues,
Invading the nose,
Bewitching the brain,
Infecting me.
Memory of intimate touches flood back.
My mother placing small sachets under my pillow.
Incense sticks perfuming a party room.
Reflexology, massage, therapy.
All this from a lavender field.

I’m over here and I’m bemused,
Befuddled, puzzled and confused.
I found this perfect, cozy spot,
Can I get out, no I cannot!
Please come here and rescue me,
I’d like a kipper for my tea….

A mirror image,
Perfect impressions of an original.

A thought,
Articulated from a point of meditation.

An image given to illustrate,
A counterpart.

A carefully considered observation,
A fixed opinion.

An unfavourable remark,
A criticism.

The return of heat, light or sound,
After striking a surface.

A part bent back upon itself,
An anatomical fold.

The replacement of a point on a plane or side,
With another symmetrically positioned.

All these are reflections and yet,
I love those that shape themselves in water the most.

It’s years since they closed
The railway down.
Life has slowly taken hold, crept in
And covered the tracks that brought jobs to this town.
Moss grows along the cross-ties.
A metaphor for our families’ lives.
The loss of work, the hopelessness.
Trees have sprouted in defiance
And greened our world.
The railway was life,
Frenetic, frenzied,
But somehow sterile.
Now the railroad has become
A unique part of our landscape,
Natural, beautiful, crowded, living.
And in a mysterious way,
Our pride returned,
And hope for better things.
Yes, it’s years since they closed
The railway down.

I have been watching you.
From a still, quiet place.
Just watching, observing,
Drawing my own conclusions.

I have been looking.
Looking for clues,
Looking for reasons and answers,
Just quietly absorbing information.

I have been seeing.
Seeing you and how you see me.
Acting on it, or not,
As the mood takes me.

Watching, seeing, looking,
All these things lead me
To a sense of you,
And what you tolerate, what you like.

I watch, and you react.
I watch you, and take everything in.