summer

The Night People

The rhubarb and custard floating fish,
always call for me 
- at a minute past midnight 
to take me to the Night People;
deep above the violet vertigo clouds
where I join the citizens to sip starlight,
and cavort with the moon;
while the Queen hosts dice games,
that she never wins and rarely loses,
just enjoying being among her subjects.

When I bid farewell, 
I sleep peacefully.

I’m currently experimenting with some different poetry styles, and this mystical-inspired poetry was originally entered into the Dai Fry competition. Although I was unsuccessful in being longlisted, I thought I would share my work with you all.

How are you all? I hope you’re keeping well and enjoying the summer wherever you are in the world (unless it’s a different season where you are!).

Take it easy and have a great day

Paul

Treasure

The strawberry patch
  in full         bloom 
scarlet gems
ripe with summer’s flavour
under the dewy     heat 
of the sun
they are   temptation
a picture of beauty 
yet hide an    ugly truth
for the red jewels 
have hidden         chips and cracks
botched heists 
by starlings, swifts and finches
my treasure    lost 
for another 
         year.

Thanks for taking the time to read Treasure; I appreciate it. If you want to read more of my work, have a little wander around my site. Whatever you do, have a great day.

Take It Easy

Paul

Mothers & Daughters

Demeter wailed on the autumn’s eve
and all the gods could do
was to plant lavender clouds to soothe her
and comfort her
as the sky filled pink
to match her tear-stained cheeks
the same tears that roared to earth
as the last of the summer rain
Persephone was the last to hold Demeter
her bags already packed to return to Hades
she whispered sweetly and secretly
a skill her husband had taught her well
holding her mother’s slender fingers
she told her to watch for a robin
and when one flew across land below
to feed it with berries the colour of her heart
and the robin will accept graciously
so when Persephone returns she will be strong
and spring & summer will be theirs alone
their green dresses will sparkle with gold
woven by the sun itself
and they will dance as they’ve never danced before.

Thanks for taking the time to read this poem. Greek Mythology is something quite different for me to work with in terms of conveying a message and I hope I’ve done it justice.

Take It Easy

Paul

(Picture credit: unsplash Faiuan Saari)

Hope, Bottled

I remember how
my hand fit into yours
with welcoming ease
and the warmth of your skin
heated my tepid fingers
as we walked along the beach

the North Sea was trembling with chilling intensity
– as we skimmed stones
plucked fresh from champagne-gold sand
they wisped over waves
their light friction warming the water
and calming the sea

I told a joke about blushing lobsters and seaweed
you laughed because it was so bad
and the frame of your face
lit up the dusky sky
better than the distant hilltop fire beacons
could ever hope to

I’m hoping this has all has gone to plan –
that some years have passed –
and our hands still fit each others
that the message I buried in this bottle
is not lost to the tide
like so many other romances
and we’re reading this in the spot
where we sat and snuggled that night
stargazing at the peach-kissed setting sun on the horizon

      – because I know that I will love you forever.

Thanks for taking the time to read this poem dedicated to my beautiful wife, Christine.

Take it easy,

Paul

No Sense Of Summer


The string is delicately coarse
between my fingers and palm
when I pull
the blinds need a heavy touch
to open this morning

I’m expecting hues of
poached peach & rhubarb
to welcome me to Monday
but the sky is chalk-grey and despondent 

My ears crave the tranquility
of a blackbird & sparrow choir
when all I can hear
is the drowning of the day
the rain pelting the paving slabs

And I can’t smell the jasmine
that normally waltzes its way
from the raised bed in the garden
beyond my bedroom window –
but the scent of damp mown-grass
is refreshing

It’s bittersweet
that mid-July’s sun won’t be seen today
because on the bright side
I’ll savour this rainy day
with you.

Thanks for taking the time to read my poem. I hope you enjoyed it and at least some of it resonated with you. While you’re here, why not check some of my other work?

Take it easy,

Paul