-
The Chelsea House
Today I am visiting your Chelsea House You have been commissioned to illustrate my most recent poems I do not think that poetry can be illustrated You agree but spend the next three hours illustrating my work I feel that my poems are too oblique We break for coffee and you invite me to join […]
-
June Day
Marlowe opened his summer window and thought he could smell a bonfire in the distance He owned a painting by Jamie Klein that showed two Victorian sisters beside a bonfire It was called Autumn Leaves This was his wife’s nom de plume Her real name was June Day Which she disliked
-
The Day I Met Elmer Gantry at Midgham Railway Station
He kept me waiting as he had become lost within the madness of The London Lean By the time he had arrived I had already built a church on the alluvial plains of the village It looked splendid and proud as it rose from the soft diseased swamps My visitor was much impressed I invited […]
-
South Coast
I have a friend who lives on the South Coast He was once a soldier who lost his nerve When in battle And requested a favour from God If I remain alive I will sacrifice the first living thing that crosses my path when I return to my home He expected it to be his […]
-
The Tennis Professional’s Girlfriend
is staying with us in Hendon to hide from the press everybody who lives in Hendon is famous so she will not be noticed her photograph has appeared in many magazines but she appears plainer in real life my wife treats her like a daughter and the girl treats my wife like the mother she […]
-
The Underground Station
Veronicas is standing on a quiet underground platform Waiting for a train The platform is crescent shaped and she is alone Apart from a drunken sailor Who is waving at a rum poster On the wall opposite This is the evening of the World Cup Semi-Final Between England and Spain Men have ceased to […]
-
Canal Du Midi
I am painting green and yellow flamingos on to your white porcelain bowl When complete I will let it dry in the smooth warm breeze as I fear that the hot sun will fade my fine work You are sitting on a canvas chair reading a cheap battered paperback which is called The Abdication of […]
-
The Abdication of King Joe
The queen stood at the window ironing naked as she always did as the fresh air was good for the sores that plagued her backside The day was warm and the sky was brown with mottled cloud Let’s hope we have a day of peace today As she said that a bullet pierced the […]
-
News from the Continent
I can see angels riding radiantly On the low clouds Which move rapidly In the wet warm breeze Riquet has written to me About his new canal I will share his thoughts with you When the day cools Written whilst walking into a sultry southerly wind on June the 17th 2015 […]
-
Freedom Road
I will always remember your wonderful smile Which lit up my departure At that early hour I have today stolen a bottle of Chateau Mouton Rothschild Which date from 1945 When I return we will share the spoils Of my dishonesty As we stroll Hand in hand Along the freedom road