Like an old friend
the tenderness
of the dog rose
laughing we cycled hard
with the sun
in the cathedral
of the trees
a silver disc teasing
across the path
the chime of a bell
winter makes inarticulate
all that summer
made lucid
he gets up before me
and rakes the embers
suddenly your hands
bright and startled
as a lapwing
surprised by the ache
the balm of your voice
deep in a pocket
loose change
my heart
conspiratorial as children
the wind speaking to the sycamores
six months after
the tsunami
roots still bare
the recipe for layered cake
handwritten icing
turning to the cusp
of golden light
see the moth!
bereft—not just a word
a time, a place
named after his grandfather
and the house
he was born in
dressed in white
that’s how you came home
I’ve got girls
to see to
I have to go
candy stripes and rick-rack
a cotton wash
on a single plant
white and pink poppies,
both pleated, oriental
is it only in the fire
there is a quickening?
Participants
Linda France (master), UK
Sue Dunne,
UK
Helen Elliott, UK
Joan Johnston, UK
Helene Murphy, UK
