The chime of the clock And I’m back: The elegant hall,Portraits in ranked position,Hopscotch over the shapesIn the worn Persian rug(It was ancient even then);The smoke from the drawing room,Jovial military voices,Academic conversationThe silver, polished and ready, The sound of the gong;Seated promptly at tableStrict instruction given:The correct cutlery,Straight back,Arms off tableRoutine.Artefacts endure(Even the rug)TheContinue reading “The Chime of the Clock”
Tag Archives: poetry
They say animals have wisdom
The cat She has learnt:Take each day as it comes; Silently she sits and looks out From the sill, Serene and calmIn thought; Still the weather does not change She asks for the door She surveys, The wind on her fur,The dampness on a paw,Daintily she shakes it offAnd draws back inside, A repeated ritualContinue reading “They say animals have wisdom”
Tanka: Pack Cells with Joy
Pack your cells with joy Strip off all of winter’s slothEmbrace the new day Celebrate the patch of blue Breathe deep and embrace the light. Posted for Frank Tasonne’s Haika challenge
Interlude
Squall and bludgeoning relentBlackened end to winter’s clawNaked trees claim dignity Somber skies,some respite bring Birds loud, in haste,intensify As clouds reform on western fringeUnite a social call.
Estuary
I turned my face to the sweeping skyAnd the breeze drawn by the Eddying current;I traced the snaking curveOf the channel;I watched the light play onThe mirrored surfaces-Tiny rivulets spread like fingersIn the mud,As Sandpipers picked their way With bobbing heads;Their matchstick legs,Angular and straight;And beyond,a flock of avocets,Their curved beaksStabbing like needles;And wondered ifContinue reading “Estuary”
Winter’s vice
An insurmountable deluge of rain,The dullest of days,The coldest windAs Earth,its struggle with winter In vice is held tight;Even the snowdrops theirHeads nod low,The ferns still resolutely furled, Fragile leaves languid curled Comatose from frozen state; All warmth squeezed out of These ancient stone wallsAnd dampness seeps.
Day to Night- from the Window
With stealth the darkness creepsAnd seals the dayWith hardly a difference of Day from night;Ink black rooksFrom their roost Take flight,Circle, then return to theSame bare branchesSilhouetted againstThe soot grey sky;Wintery sleetFalls;The cold seepsThrough every gap;Even the log fireStruggles in the grate; There is no wind Just empty blackness.
I dream in silver
In monochromeWinter depths In haunting monotonous roarOf the winter windI dreamOf the soughing treesTheir naked formWith fingered branches Protesting as they areBent lowAnd rain hammers downOn iron clad groundLike sparks fromThe farrier’s steelOn anvil Made as Headlamps light The dark road ahead A sparkling threadPerchance I dreamIn silver.
Hoar Frost
Through feathered leaves,sutured needles,Icy spines Under the astral sky, Dark fingers charm; Crystals, thick which interlock, Breathe superstition Into the night of Supersaturated air; The silhouette is manifest; It’s stature changed,Transformed to supernatural Spectral state.
Earth lays down her Mantle
Gripped within the jaws of bitter cold; Betwixt the Equinox of Winter and of Spring; When Earth her mantle, In frozen form lays down And leaden skies move across eastern soil ;The wind,afresh, tormentsThe slender trees;The door it rattlesAnd the signal comes;Steeled ,the weathervane turns anew;Precariously, it points to unknown sights The garden,hauntingly now isContinue reading “Earth lays down her Mantle”
