The Long Sailors of Queziletimal  As they relaxed in their tepid baths With maiden’s fair of skin All that these sailors could think about Were the seas that they had left behind They longed to captain their ships Through weathers foul and fair And return in peace To the purple regions Of their distant and long […]

I read in a newspaper that hand-crocheted dolls Of Vincent Van Gogh are now available In the Tate Britain and elsewhere They are thirty-five pounds each He is shown wearing his French work jacket And a rough grey hat I wonder what Vincent would have made Of this exclusive range of dolls Perhaps he might […]

Christian Hooper Married Madeline Cooper In Weston Super Mare

Reed Dances was lying on her morning bed Writing love letters to herself In smooth purple ink   Her brother Robertson was standing at her window Looking at the suspension bridge he had built Across the tender valley   In the garden below another sister named Roberta Was flying fragile paper kites In the breaking […]

When walking along the shore in the hour before dawn I saw a slither of burning gold Sharing a meal with the horizon I marvelled at the splendour of my find And gave alms to a sceptic beggar

The Americans in Berlin Is the name of my cat He does not like this name And refuses to answer to it I have asked him what name Would he choose if invited Star Wars The Movie Was his considered choice So as of tomorrow I will call him Star Wars The Movie This will […]

I have a black sweater which is a favourite of mine It is the definition of scruffy chic I am told But of late you have hijacked this sweater And tend to wear it with your jeans As I write this we are staying in a Canterbury hotel Which is a little silly as we […]

The same clothes Conservative but fashionable Shared mannerisms Their body language is identical Are they aware of their reflections

When taking lunch in a riverside park My wife and I witnessed a white wedding It was a gentle affair with a beautiful bride And an extremely handsome groom I wish them only happiness in their future lives And know that they will cherish this day forever     Yet to us it was just […]

Half empty bookcases full of books On sleepy Kent railway stations Surrounded by tranquil fruit farms In this the Garden of England   Although possibly too bucolic There is something warm and very acceptable About my description of the ideal   Today I was on such a railway station Deep in the Kent countryside And […]