THE WEDDING GUESTS LIKE A RIVER

 

I usually remember my dreams on waking and some times they organise themselves into a poem. 

dream number two

the wedding party spilled from the building

not caring relaxed laughing

I searched you out noted you had changed back

into the dress you wore the day before

there was no need for words

there never had been

the cars quickly became bored with waiting

their horns began to honk

the wedding guests like a river

flowed into the souk

I was left on the pavement

You can read number one here.

dream number three

I dreamed you last night

you had not aged

I cannot remember what you said

just your smile

that quiet calm that was

always at your centre

that’s all

I woke up feeling one skin short

as if I had slept too long

and woken in the wrong world

I was pleased with the feel of all three poems, they capture that longing.

The wondrous Annabelle Chvostek has a new album coming out soon. I for one can't wait. Here is the first single Walls. 

Until next time.

NO ONE SPOKE

 

It was customary, having completed the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, to burn the clothes you had walked in on the beach at Cape Finesterra before sailing back to where ever it was you had come from. I have not undertaken the pilgrimage myself, but I met my wife and her sister at Santiago after they had completed the pilgrimage. I was thinking of our trip to Finesterra the other day and was inspired to write.

Cape Finesterre

finally the fire caught

aided in no small part

by the razor wind

that cut across the beach

we watched the clothes we had worn

all those long miles to Santiago burn

then looking beyond the sea

to where our former lives waited

knew they would be lived differently

no one spoke

These days you are requested not to burn your clothing on the beach, too much pollution, especially from the synthetic fibres that comprise much of modern walking clothes.

I suppose the kernel of the poem is the question of how do you return to your old life after such an experience? A question I think most people face at some point in their lives. 

Here's The Alpacas. Their album Pictures of You is well worth a listen.

Until next time.

YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

 

The Mad Emperor Across the Water continues to break records even in his twilight days, though being impeached a second time is nothing to be proud of, but nothing else in his tenure has been either...

Since the start of the pandemic there have been at least five, sometimes seven, cruise liners at anchor either in Lyme Bay or Tor Bay. They are both a spectacular and a sad sight. I cannot help but think of the people who staff these empty, floating hotels and how they would probably like to be back at home with their families.

This poem is not about the ships. 

Wallshill summer 2020

the three of them

stop

by the wire fence

by the flowers

by the memories

by the sign that reads

danger crumbling cliffs

the other side is all space

and sea and rocks

they take in the parked cruise ship

waiting it out in Lyme Bay

the views are amazing he tells them

you only live once

doesn’t matter if you die

and like the gentleman he is

he parts the wires

so they can limbo through

I would like to stress that the people in the top photograph are nothing to do with the poem. I have used it because I like the composition and I would like to thank them.

This second poem is from an email, it relates to a project I was involved in some time back. When I read the email I thought it was a poem in itself, a found poem. 

Directive

If you could gather some poems

filter down to three max

pick some very different topics

our audience has limited interest

war, mental health and feminism

are all hot topics at the mo

or, maybe one that is,

uniquely Marjons- that could fly!

I love the enthusiasm of the narrator and their take on the world...

I have been listening a lot to Untitled [Black is] by Sault. A superb album. Here is Widlfires.

Until next time.

AND FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE

 

I have to admit that I did not expect the Mad Emperor Across the Water on Wednesday to incite his deluded believers into such an illegal action. As I watched the insurrection and the police's initial reaction, I could not help but think how different their response would have been if the people demonstrating had not been white...

Here's to sanity and the rule of law.

Now a poem about trainers. I make no great claims to know anything about trainers. It was inspired by something I once saw.

Best Foot Forward

Sat at the back of the lecture

he decides to invest in his future,

scrolls down the screen

but which colour?

Ponders

selects the green

Up the front a woman talks

sketching maps to a happy future,

suggestions fly over his head.

To take advantage of the unique offer

he must pay for his trainers now

and will continue to do so

for the rest of his life.

This is a rather simple poem. It reveals its secrets on the first reading. It was written quickly and left for over a year as I was unsatisfied with it. I couldn't get the middle right. Looking at it again, it was easier to see the faults and correct them.

Here's Khruangbin and Leon Bridges with Texas Sun. The song is lovely sadly the same cannot be said for the state's senator...

Until next time.