I’ve got nostalgia for the way things weren’t
Aching out of every pore
Oozing and cruising and snoozing
A way around the darkened room
Humming lonely tunes to the dusty
Second-hand curtains
Striped ambition swaying in the draught
That strips the jangling nerves
From my fingers to the fingering of keys
Old style letters locked at arms’ length
Just in and out of awkward reach
Trying to find a balance
On a dented mattress
Elbows sore from shifting weight
Dusk ’til birdsong
Gloom lingers on the brow
Leaving lines from one ear to the other
Hoping to hold my cold cup of Joe at bay
With bayou blues rockin’ ‘n’ rollin’
Across the lonely 3am airwaves
Surrounded by the gently snoring chorus
Everyday keepsakes firmly rooted in reality
Strong stock piled in corners
Well-heeled feet nailed down
To their own groove
I am adrift, tethered by a fraying string
My mind prowling through its wonder-land
Howling a song for the moon
moon
Loopy Lune
Loopy Luna shines
Combing sky
Lighting her own face
The watermelon that wanted to be wine
After a day of dreaming
Exotic visions
Of cool, popular appeal
Thoughts fomenting
In the summer heat
Grew so excited
Reaching for the stars
Through the kitchen window
Tore convention asunder
Sides split
Spilling ambition in
Sticky streaks across the counter
Down the cabinets
And pooling resources
In a puddle on the tiles
Now what?
Momentarily floored
Smiling with
Sugary, toothless
Carefree abandon
It fizzed at the moon
While a pale face
Shone through the night
Reflected in a
Domestic waterfall
Of over-ripe
Sweetness
Winter’s War
The season has brought with her
Blustery blows
To trail leaves and scatter
Wherever she goes
The sky with her cloak
Is soon clouded and grey
As drips thunder downward
We run while we may
With twisting and turning
She tears limbs from trees
As forestry’s mistress
Will do as she’s pleased
Humanity’s dwelling
Is breeched by a beech
With windows that splinter
As roofs start to pitch
And foam less sweet-smelling
Is blown toward the beach
For nothing we know
Is held out of her reach
While Winter enjoys herself
Cosy and warm
We huddle in blankets
And hide from the storm
Our shelters may topple
As Nature holds sway
The Earth, baked and brittle
Returned to damp clay
She turns to her Captain
Proud Weather in pride
The borders of Britain
Have started to slide
With rivers that spread themselves
Stretch their banks wide
The water soon rises
Full moon and fell tide
This world we call small
Soon unmanned and unknown
What land we had conquered
Returned to her throne
A breathing space while waiting
I take a breath, to clear my head
My stomach sings a hungry tune
My eyes are tired, my legs like lead
Freezing here beneath the moon.
I wish I could awake my mind
Some beauty I should love to find,
But closed-up shops
And ticking clocks
Are all the night will offer me.
Katherine Shirley 