Bent

Her hair sweeps the carpet
as she arches her body
bending over backwards
to unravel the braiding
of your thoughts
your words.
Chinks of sunlight
shine in her tresses
while piece by final peace
an understanding flourishes.
She straightens
then stands
giddy with the loss
of blood to her head
and losses of another kind
she sits
to imagine
stroking your suede cheek.

Many of you

i
You didn’t come
locked away
in your room of dreams
to heal a body and mind
lost in the wanting
of a man who is no longer there.

ii
It was a party
of some couples
and a couple of hopefuls
An array of humanity…

iii
Your gift, your bone carving
is a thing of much beauty
of some significance and lost hope.
I watch you polish it with pride
your gnarled 50’ish year old hands
holding it away from your
mick jagger eyes, so you can see.
I want to say thank you
for it, the time, your sentiment,
your cooking, but you have left.

iv
It was great to see you all again
Five years of shared intimacy
faded by days of work and parenting
jaded by break ups and death.
Lifted and lightened also though,
life balanced by joy
and the play of our children.
I enjoyed sharing the sauvignan blanc
and there were no after effects from
whitebait fritters tonight.

v
Poets, two of them
accomplished in my eyes
clever.
Shy, how could you be?
You could rule the universe
with your poetry’s
universal rules.
Oh how I wish you would recite.
I imagine you up at the microphone
strong poetry, strong imagery..
(maybe after a strong coffee?)
Wait until my wedding day
you will be asked!

Twilight Time

Will I remember
the sting of your stories,
the whip of your words?

In the miasma
of muddled meanings
I fall asleep
to catch snatches
and echoes

Voices
from the endarkened
cupboards of my mind

Fee

It is great
to hear you talk,
our voices tripping over,
playing chasey
as we chat.
I swore I’d ring you soon
a year ago,
but life ran away with time.