Under the carob tree

I waited for you

Under a carob tree

And Listened to lethargic

Bees Hum softly

Out of tune.

Pensive and moody

At your absence

I wiled away the day

Dreaming of poetry, and

Fondly thrilled

About our love

In the summer’s hue.

Seeing you shimmer

Into view beyond the sun

That had climbed

Into its last deepening hour,

I packed away my thoughts

And watched you

Walk into my heart,

While the lamenting bees

Hummed a rumba

Under the carob tree.

You make us shells

I killed a man today;

Watched him

Fall in distorted

Grey;

Horror broken

And bloodied blind,

Hearing the terrible corpses

Heave and grind.

I too lay beneath this

Broken wilted bracken

All rumpled and slacken.

A lovely war

Beneath a half lit moon

We spoke of love and

Songful swoons

We danced in green, and blue

And grey,

The rain, the sun

And all of May.

Before the war our

Hearts all soared

We dreamed and dreamt

And scoffed discord;

But war has changed

Both me and you

Our time is up, our lives now through;

So from freshly liberated hell

I say goodnight

god bless,  farewell.

Loss

The soldiers marched

With anger in their brains -

- They had lost more than life -

- outnumbered by death

Their loss will haunt us long.

Deluge

The sky, low, oppressive

And moody grey

Sulked down encroachingly  

Before bombarding me

With slanted rain

That attacked

Like an angry army,

Washing my colour away

It chased me from the nooks

And crannies

From silvered trees and

Dampened soil,

It raced through streets

Bubbling hurriedly

Over drains

And bleeding

Buildings

sunk without trace -

- Before the sky

In a lighter mood

Retreated to a steady pace

A whispered applause

A drizzle

A drip.

My sun

My saviour

When will I see you again?

Time

I am here

Alone at night

With nothing but the clock

Tick, tick, ticking

Away

Louder and LOUDER

And LOUDER still,

I am here

Alone at night

Watching images in the

Scarred wall paint,

LOUDER

I am here

Alone at night

With nothing but the clock

And furtive shadows

Chasing me

Maddening

LOUDER still

I am here

Alone

Longing for morning

How long have I left?

Only time will tell

Italy 4 England 2

Silent bars recede from
streets flanked by distant
fading echoes
of 80's football chants -

- flags all red, white and blue
hang limp and somnolent,

while stale beer
permeates memories
of 66

that

wash silently away
into the night.