Iris

A lady from Turkey
Made a discrete entry
To my dresser,
Deep purple
With a yellow tongue,
Took the place
Of Hyacinth Bianco
Far more brash
With a heavy scent
Than its mild successor.
Iris reticulata
Drawing a fine line.

JL Jan 31 15:30

Frail Days

Frail days
Touching base
A new adventure
On tiptoes
For fear of failing.
Deep wind's rumbling
Would scatter me
Among the shifting sands
Losing a grip
Sliding into sleep.

JL Jan 30. 18:14

Turbulence

Where the fisherman
Casts his net
Over white tipped
Wild and stormy waves

Or at sunset
On a benign tide
Beyond the palm fringes
Of a tropical lagoon

There is a calm
Of the commonplace
Which masks
The turbulence beneath

JL Jan 29. 19:01

Tumbledown

Tumble down day
When the world shifts
And the road is stoney
Hedgerow flowers
Just out of sight
The way
Part of a greater plan
To the vast unknown
Lead kindly light.

JL Jan 28. 14:12

Windflower

Woke to anemone
In my mind's eye,
Daughter of the wind
In this blowing morning.
The windflower
In a Greek garden,
Deep blues and reds
By the Aegean shore.
A vibrant splash
On the florist's shelf,
Windflower brightness
On my cloud grey day,
Another smile
In my mind's eye.

JL Jan 27. 16:04

Jonquil

Tiny daffodils
Peeping through,
Yellow starlets
"Are you Jonquil?
Come to say welcome
To a sunny day,
If so
Hello."

A minuet
Above my dresser,
A delicate dance
To enhance
My afternoon
Pale yellow face
Above a flush
Of jolly green.

JL Jan 26. 13:16

Dark Afternoon

Dark came early
This afternoon
Rattling branches
Wending its weary way
With a dull chimney moan
Echoed by me
And wet withal
I hope for sun
On the coming day.

JL. Jan 25 17:24

Simple Journey

No poems in my head
This sunny day
Tip tap sounds
On keyboard
Salt them all away.

Words ambush me
On the sly.

Crisp winter afternoons.
Dublin daffodils
Envious betimes .
Children sledging
Play school away day.
Surprising tonality of snow.
What was thought the wind
Became a collared dove
Bouncing stupid plumpness
On the thinnest twig.

Caught unaware again
By simple beauty things.
Toddler toddling
In the laughter
Of a yellow winter coat,
What he would do
To escape those reins.

Unconstructed tip tap things
To lighten up the day.


JL Jan 24. 14:12

Snow Drift

Memory turns my head
To the heady scent
Of the sun baked
Fig tree wall,
Or the summer breeze
Of summer rain
On dry stones
Beneath the olive trees
And the pizza smoking
From the oven ash
Among the eucalyptus grove,
When all I see
Is the damp northern snow
Drifting across this winter hill.

JL Jan 23

Inbetween

Oh for wind in my hair
The sting of rain in my face
The slow trudge home
And warmth by the fire
Long past desire.
The sun splash in my eyes
The warm shadows of the afternoon
These things we inbetween ones crave.

Would be nice to feel them once again.


JL Jan 22 15:07

Daffodils

Daffodils
In my room today
A jolly splash
Amid the snow.
Midwinter's
Friendly glow
How well
Does yellow go.
Cheerful laughter
On the dresser's edge
As snowdrops
Just by the hedge.

JL Jan 21. 17:53

Sunday

Since I cannot go
Each Sunday now
He comes to me
And I so far away
Am joined to Christendom
And I am thankful
Though I might forget the road
There s a path to my door.

JL Jan 20. 12:45

Afternoon

In the afternoon
Sun tinted
Ice splintered
Grey sky

Geese chevron
On high
Cross the sky
Silent fly.

Deserted lanes
Warmly coloured
cottage lights
In window panes.


JL Jan 19 15:55

Snow

First snow
Across my window
Full flow

Wind blow
Horizontal
Big snow

Where it goes
A drifting
I cannot follow.

JL Jan 18. 09:46

Monochrome

Winter through my window
Is a monochrome
Dark branches
And dark rooves.

The silverness of birches
Leafless
Between the forest
And the marsh.

In the far north
They say
The voices of lost souls
Whisper through
The silver leaves
Of springtime birches.

Today they are leafless
Waiting on the northern wind
To rattle their branches
And bring the silencing
Of snow.

JL Jan 17 14:28

I'm back

High bright day
Where above the muffled world
The seagull claims his throne
Upon the chimney pot

Among the branches
Earlier, the finches ,
Foraged on the lavender .
I am stilled
Waiting on the winterset
And the Internet.

Connected at last

16. Jan. 12:31

Emmie 29

Yasmin was still asleep when Emmie got up and got ready for work. After a light breakfast, she penned a note explaining the arrival of Mary Louise and the need for accommodation.

When she returned, she found the return note :

Dear Emmie
Don't worry about me. I have nearly got things sorted. Thanks for everything.

Love

Y xxx

"Well that's a relief." She sighed and sharply made for the stairs to sort out the spare room. Mary Louise would have to sort out the boxroom for Hayley herself.

JL Jan 12 13:47

Becalmed

Sea is never silent
Even in the frozen
Flat calm moments
When margins turn to ice.

There's a murmur in the swell,
A belly of a whisper
Filling in the distance
With a soulful sigh.

I have sat beside you
Hearing the eternal note
Far from Arnold's Dover beach.
Before a sunset becoming
Beautifully becalmed.

JL Jan 11. 16:35

Waiting

Today atop tall trees
Are seen
Tween foreshore and fell
Winter folded flocks
Footing stone walls
And like me
Awaiting spring.


While birds surprise
With their unseasoned
Pre dawn song
I fear a wave of chill
Will send them back
In silence
To wait upon
A more auspicious time.

Methinks
The jackdaw
Is still asleep
Waiting for a flash of sun
To light a silver penny
Tempting him to steal.

JL Jan 10. 14:50.

Mist

Today I savour
How the mist
In hollows
Muffles distant sounds.
And how the shapes
That crown the hill
Are softened
Until the midday sun
Brings gossamer trails
And whisps
To call it back for evensong.


JL Jan 9 13:31

Early Bird

The coming of the Kings
Arrived in rain
Rain and more rain
The only comfort
A songbird
In my sycamore
And one more
With a song
Just before dawn
A really early bird.

JL Jan 8 17:41

Margins

Do you remember
The silent silver shingle
Of the lakeside
where waves ripple
Beneath the grey peaks.
The wind whispers
Through the frail leaves
Of the leaning silver birch
As the swan flotilla
Is tinged with sunset pink
At evening
Floating on the mountain
Reflected on the water.
Along the margins
We catch our breath.

JL Jan 5. 11:58. M

Hyacinths

Whiter than the snow
My hyacinths grow

Before my bed
The azelia is deep red

Just to be seen
My Christmas tree
Is fronded green

Things grow young
As I grow old
Braving the winter cold.

JL Jan 6. 12:07

Outer Sound

Slip and splash
Wet wheels slick
The road outside.

I hear the world
And watch it
Secondhand.

Bulbs are burgeoning
On my dresser
Spikes of promise
Hearten me.

JL Jan 4. 18:49

All at Sea

How lovely
A frost of winter sunrise,
Sharp and still
Splashes with vermillion
the pewter palette of the sea
And later
Painted in a smoky
Turner sunset Temeraire
A great battleship of cloud
Called forth
The six fold symmetry,
The mystery of snow.
And all such a time of long ago.

JL Jan 3. 13:09

Back Again

Tree top wind
Blows his year
Ends away
The gate hinge
Has slipped
Needs a strong shoulder
To lift and push
And to stand before
The bullrush patchwork path
Along which the swinging cattle came
And all wreathed in their breath
He made his way home
Unconcerned then
About what the future may bring.

JL Jan 2 16:44