Winter Wedding
Bleak narrow country lane
The fallen leaves are almost hidden
Crushed and motionless
They are colourless now
A young man in a black suit and brown shoes
Walks nervously towards the ancient church
He is careful to avoid the deceptively deep puddles
For his sister is due to marry her love
In the quiet hours before the day fades
Into its long rural night
Laurenthes Braag
Free but still chained
You appreciate your false freedom
And are celebrated by many in the town
But your home is thousands of miles distant
And you know that you will never return
In Reading in Berkshire there is a church memorial dedicated to the memory of Laurenthes Braag a Danish merchant late of the West Indies who found himself as a prisoner of war on parole in the English town.
He died there on the 3rd of September 1808 aged twenty-six
First Communion
Whilst taking my first communion with my adored sisters
I looked up at the Virgin and urgently wanted to kiss her passionately
On her ruby red lips
This feeling stayed with me for most of the day
A week later I became ill with the measles
Which laid me low for over a month
Plural
In the hours before Mass I listen to my sisters laughing
As they jest together in their in their small cool rooms
I cannot attend Mass as my blindness has returned
This saddens me
Once a week a priest visits our modest house
We feed him well with soup and rough bread
As he is often hungry and appears to be wasting away
Priest Drowning
Last month I rescued a priest from drowning
I still await my reward
Equidistance
Six months ago the sun was high in the perfect sky and the air was agreeable to all
Our weather today is different with heavy cloud obscuring the winter warm sun
The breeze is still mild but the fields no longer scream
It’s Local Phillip
I travel by train each day but both my journeys are shrouded in darkness and therefore have not seen the new bridge in all its magnificence
Only its ghost appears as I pass through the station
I am perfectly satisfied with its haunting
In late December 2017 a new footbridge was erected at Newbury Railway Station in West Berkshire
Silent Poems
Winter Morning
The scarce birds patrol the orange wisp sky
I can see them clearly through the winter trees
Bright Sun
Bright sun illuminating the barren fields
You do not play cards well
As I am aware of your hand
Silence
I am deafened by the silence of the countryside
It whistles with ceasing but does not abandon you
Two Magpies
I throw a sandwich into the fading fallow field
Two magpies show an interest but do not gather my gift
When they have determined my departure
They will feast without interruption