Shrouded in the half-light
of a crow-dusk sky and ruby streetlamp blur
I observe hidden lovers
tango in mid-air
wings outstretched ready to hold the earth
in their lust-love
time is stolen by the passion of the near-night
and silent melody of the harp-moon
until the crackle of burnt leaf-beacons
warns of a stoat’s prying eyes
endangered by discovery
the paramours bow into the shadows
leaving only the gentlest echo of their romance
to the dark.
Welcome to a new feature on Paul Writes Poems. Every Sunday, I’ll be sharing the poetry pamphlet, anthology or collection I’ve been reading that week! Each week will feature a different book and I’ll let you know how I enjoyed it.
On a week where the only weather I didn’t have was snow, I spent my breaks and downtime reading;
The Language of Bees
After reading Rae Howell’s, This Common Uncommon (which I recommend if you believe that wild spaces should be kept and not built upon), I wanted to read more. Her characterisation and smart word-play in This Common Uncommon had me going page to page and almost devoured it in one sitting.
In my opinion, The Language of Bees is an outstanding collection, (an opinion shared with lots of others, including the judging panel at Wales Book of The Year 2023) that talks about the importance of bees to humans and climate change in an engaging way. The way insects are used to discuss personal themes including loss, loss love and other deep human tragedy is tremendously done with care taken over each word.
I’d highly recommend reading this if you’re a fan of poetry that deals with nature and has very personal and broader themes packed with smart language and incredible imagery. I would say to have some tissues handy as some pieces are highly emotive.
Favorite Poem:
A bit of a cheat here but my favourite is a sequence of poems that are sprinkled throughout the book with the title Dying Bee in a Takeaway Box.
Find out more about Rae Howells at https://www.raehowells.co.uk/ where you can find links to her other books.
Looking ahead, here’s what’s lined up for my book bag next week;
That’s it for this week one. If you’ve read any of the books I’m sharing or have recommendations for what poetry I should be reading, drop a comment below.
Take it easy
Paul
Folded in the nape of the moon
I stand between time
wingspread arms caught
between yesterday
and
tomorrow.
Doubt subsides
like starlight from distant cosmos
a supernova of anticipation explodes
all in the space
of a stuck second.
I fly too close to the Earth
planetary mass gravity
I crash
a ribboned comet’s tail
⁃ clock hand my nemesis.
Maple leaves are falling like flames
touch-paper thin and crisp dry
perfect kindling for burning
the last vestige of summer.
Brambles bruised as a boxer's eye
are being wrangled by magpies and jays
blue tail-feathers glisten
with every blood-spattered bite.
Furnace-chested robins stare menacingly
their smouldering coal claws
seem melted to the gatepost
soul-bound guardians
- a comforting presence.
The arrival of a delivery van
steals my view
- ambushes my catatonia.
pears are dangling
silvery earthen-green earrings
inviting to be removed from leafed ears
some have rotted in the intensity of the sun
sheen dulled to clay rust
damson plums nestle into branches
like amethyst hiding in rock
only smoothed
precious stone fruit hiding
emerald green flesh
braeburns have fallen
comfortable in the flame-kissed leaf beds
and honey golden late summer grasses
orbs of sweet promise
the kids are dressed as pirates
wandering with small baskets
ripe with wonder
they gather their treasures
before a couple of cavaliers
spoil their bounty.
rum-wide spacehopper eyes
staring up at midnight Malagan sky
discoball stars glistening
like a dancers skin
my bloodstream inferno
ready to set my beachgrass bed ablaze
voiceless flame amidst the pulse of revelry
the forest of ravers surrounding
will welcome the fire
I raise myself
but remember my legs are lost
to strong liquor and fatigue
stumbling into a dance
floating on the breeze of second wind
rotor blade arms almost take me away
and what goes up
must come down
I’m laughing at myself
backing track of Faithless
and howls and cheers
when I wake
I want this feeling to be my cure
my comfort
my soul.
To be twelve again
drunk on the scent
of summer-sweated privet
eventful walks to the pitches sometimes
a dog jumping from a garden-strewn manky sofa
or fly-tipped washing machine
and husbands fighting with wives
binliner of clothes next to them on the pavement
comedy in tragedy when you’re that young
we always took a few balls
best to - if some of the older lads were around
on lighter-fluid highs - lacking sense
but the nights of Wembley
three hours of pelting leather against bare legs
ball bobbling along the clumped surface
bodies skimming the field like lawnmowers
making outrageous crunching tackles
ankles twisting like Maradona past Reid
rabid rapture at curling a Mitre Delta into the top corner
and green-kneed, mud-stained wanders home
a magic that can never be imitated
unlike the knockoff boots and shin pads
give me that innocence back
- that simplicity of fun
with friends.
Your table is a real table
sliced oak and oil-dressed
uneven surface like the road leaving the village
grains swollen from drowning emotions
- and spilled cups of tea
so many hands have smoothed it
over so many years
some anxious
some happy
- all loved
a few splinters are bulging from the corners
each a memory
some good
some bad
some probably just about the times the ashtray was missed
and maybe one where the beer bottle exploded
resting like a stained glass window
- the table ready to hear pre-night-out confessions
if it could talk
how many stories could it tell
- too many to worry about
next time we’re around it
we should give thanks
drift palms gently over the lines
a loose embrace
that clings tightly to the seams
- like the roots of our friendship.
devour the sand
plunder every grain
horde them in your golden keep
conquer this land fleetingly
– rise triumphant
spread your scales of quicksilver
under the feathered winter sun
retreating only
– at the moon’s blunt counsel.
This poem was created in response to the Imagist Poet Hilda Doolittle’s poem Oread as part of TopTweetTuesday on X/Twitter.
Helios had painted the sky
that night – lipstick pink –
his chariot pulled the heart-crimson sun
lingering for moments
while I enjoyed sips of retsina
I wondered if he was trying to emasculate
all those below
because how can mortals compete with gods –
when it comes to creating special moments
like that first dinner of a honeymoon
but I was caught between the earth of your eyes
and the horizon, colour of romance
and realised it was a tribute to you
to us
to our love.
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