Darkness deepens
The mind in starkness clarified
Thoughts spun, tumble-dried
The slightest sound is amplified
The world sleeps on.
Black turns to grey
And light though
Imperceptible
Outlines the clouds
And heavy shrouds
Silhouettes enshroud
In definition of approaching day.
Bats
Only the bat is nebular
Their streaming shadows play the remaking of a light show;
Serotine ,
Pippestrelle or Horseshoe
Forms identified by ear or fur
Personified in mystery in
Soft bodied perpetual motion
With a fleeting glimpse
A powdered spectre;
Flight
At dawn or dusk.
Yet through the night
The shadows play against the glass
In liminal motion
Retreating and oscillating
Back and forth
A mesmerising display
If I should stay awake to see.
We have always had bats in the roof. Last year they moved around to just above our window , most probably a nursery roost .They are here again this July . There are more than ten of them and are beautiful to watch as they fly before nightfall.
One came in the other night through the window.
Evening Gate
Open, always open
The gate invites you in.
Allium
A purple globe
Amidst a sea of green
Nature’s jewel.
70 years
Just what has happened through 70 years-
Just what has changed?
Yet what stands out clear
Shown at the party in the Mall
The pictures on a house
The pictures of a life
For one who has given much
For one who leads with love
Our Queen through 70 years
Constant through our fears
Consistency in action
A life with driven purpose
A life of faith with service
We celebrate in style
In a way our country can
A nation drawn together
A moment of rejoicing
In poignant recognition
Carnival and whooping
National pride and affection
Flags and decoration
For seventy glorious years.
Pastoral
At the stirring of the birds in morning
As the world, its breath is held
When those murmurings are forming
And the monochrome is framed in gold.
The cows still sleep- their forms striated
Across the fields the colours merge
Before these words are scribed,the sky is rendered
Draws a curtain up to clarify the view.
Spring 2
Our light sources may be different But we will all illuminate the earth.
Shards of light
Splayed over green
Jewels that spill
An iridescent sheen.
Of soft dove call
Shrill robin tune
Voices heard and
Words unspoken
Bring the morning in.
Observations in the Woodland Garden
My hands deep in the earth-
Stained and worn
Where air is heavy and intense from spores released with rain;
I watch fine droplets streaming down new leaves
Arched over with weight
As fronds of ferns
With Prehistoric curl
Hang low
In communion with Dog-toothed violet;
Where faded primroses nod
To bluebells near purple in their
Intoxicating intensity;
The old fork is propped
Ready to lift the clods of soil
In time- worn fashion
In this ancient part of the garden.
Observations on a Postcard
Beautiful afternoon for watching the beach and eating shellfish alfresco at the Winking Prawn .
A postcard view within a snapshot
But sit awhile and observe the flow
Towards the shoreline
Down and up
Except
Eyes skyward, a whippet follows a disc
In predictable line of anticipated retrieval across the wet sand
Breaking the mirrored surface
Avoiding the flow
Cloud patterns sweep the shore
In laminar flow
As the water pools like a spill on the ground
And carefree children trace their
Route trailing bucket and spade
In grooves made by sand worms
To the water’s seamless edge
A liminal zone with little distinction
Before the paddle border takes the stage
And the whir of the speedboats in the bay.
Renewal
Like the careful opening of a gift
A secret beauty is revealed
Day by day subtle changes stir
As textures fill and colours pop
Amidst the tapestry of green
Sherbert colours
Open before our eyes
Yet we do not see the change
A paradox
The effect is clearer
Transformational as Easter joy
Miraculous by perfection and design
Resurrection and renewal of the earth.
Ruth Partridge 