ALIEN, BUT MINE.

Ice cubes frozen in the past refill my glass,
the dusty door handles are familiar in design.
The season's turning -
or so I think.

The scalding summer is giving way,
to bestowed being.
To autumn,
when the leaves, and mine, are returned unto me.
Winter waits,
to make me wince, and warm me, like once before.

Memories make me smile,

those to be made await, and me them.
In solitude we are sustained,
alone, we anticipate.

TRANSIENT ETERNITY

I

Tales lived, bills split.
The morning bell allotted to attend,
And slept through.

Lists made, unmade, and made again,
Sabbath sloth, the pile in the sink -
obsessions!

Radio ga-ga,
Movie mania,
News ignored.

A brownie by three -
Bombay was braved.
Little mercies the trio shared.

II

Dashes across the midnight sky,
Coffee chased in the hour before dawn,
Mornings spent with headlines.

Silences shared with music,
Arguments via static,
The daily drill in absentia.

Buckets of tea, buttered toast -
sprinkled with sugar.
The hue always red.

Bitter cold endured in embrace,
Stifling summer soothed by stars,
The uncertainties rhymed with the pouring rain.

III

Wonderful world!
I returned -
but you had places to go.

That was, this is;
I now smile, it's fine.
For a while, you were mine.

FULL CIRCLE

What sleight of fate,
prayer forgotten, promise recalled -
which bylane has led me here?

Paid some dues, others await.
Storm and calm, to weather and emerge;
and weather once more.

I seek no more, my cup is full.
The last song of dusk
has returned, to complete.

SHADOW PLAY

The Brighton Marina

circa 2005

THE BRACE

we sang in chorus
sipped, supped, spoke and smoked.
we still share -
silence.