A few more from my published poems.

Circus Girls in the Street.

One girl stands reed- tall on spindly stilts
And bends her slender waist. Her face
Though thickly painted, still retains the gentle
Curve of cheek and eyelash. She places
Her hand upon her bony hip and leans down

To smile at me. At her wooden feet two others twist
And pose in acrobatic parody of those passing by.
Their elasticity raises eyebrows while
Their merry eyes distribute laughter
To people who scurry in embarrassed haste,

Fearful of being noticed by the confident girls.
The costumed trio cling in a giggling embrace.
They strike sparks- one against the other,
Happily teasing and posing. They fill the street
With colour as they glide through shoppers.

To beckon and yodel ‘come to the circus’.
Their beauty is un-selfconscious and glows
Through their artifice. It leaves an unseen sparkle
In their wake. They are a comet that cuts
A coloured swathe through the patina of ordinary.





Lost and Found.


I found this tiny little thing, like a leaf
Or maybe a dried up spider but
The colour was wrong.
It looked familiar but I could not place it.
It settled into the palm of my hand.
I lifted it with a fingernail, puzzled over it.
Peered at it, tried to hold it but

It was so delicately small I could only
Let it lie flat. I heard a whisper in my ear,
A mere suggestion of a voice.
A light pressure on my shoulder.
I sensed a presence as I looked to my left.
Then the fairy said
“May I have my glove back”?





Wide Windows.


Remove at once the constraints of walls
And the oppressive weight of the ceiling
That crouches in sullen menace.
Pressing air heavy and stale upon my mind.

Allow the freedom of light to enter, flowing
Like quicksilver, smooth and lithe.
Fling the windows wide, inhaling the scents
And the dampness offered by the vastness outside.

Lift your weary face to the rising sun,
Allow its soft fingers to stroke you in joyous greeting.
And blink away the silver dewy droplets
That cling to sleep-glazed eyes.

Now the blood will quicken. The senses soar.
The mind will open. Dilating, absorbing.
Taking in to the depths of every cell,
the joy of the earths’ breathing.