General poems
WEATHERING
Time’s victimAn abraded headlandJutting into the desert voidExposed to the elements –Sun bleachedWind scarredSand blasted-Lashed by acid rain. Striated, stratified sandstoneHarder layers overlying softFriable rock disintegratingLeaving fragile shadowed fins. Winter’s ice freezes in the cracksExpanding the jointsForcing off the rockThin layers peeled away. Peach-stoned exfoliating face cream does the sameTo aged facesWeathered, crinkled, lined,Facing the …
THE SUB-URBAN FOX
I was working in the garden when I saw him again todayI turned and there he wasBut so different from before –Then he seemed well fed, proud, disdainfulIgnored me as he trotted purposefully towards his lairWith a thick pelt of rufous winter fur. But now he was shockingly ragged, wasting, fur moulting, mangeyThin hindquarters exposed …
THE SHELL
I was a pilgrim searchingfor myself. Instead I discovered a pure white scallop shellin a limpid rock poolradiant in its beautyKing of its poolshimmering, glowing from the shallow bottom. I peered closeThrough the pellucid water. A self-assured but unassuming bivalve –Fan-shaped, splayedRadiated, ridged,Dominating its pool. A confident statement. This pretty scalloped shell, in a far …
THE CARVER
Like Michelangelo’s ‘Prisoners’The poem resides withinThe stone of my mindJust waiting to be releasedBy hand, a pen, a keyboard, chisel and hammer. I’m a carver, in words, in poetryRemoving unneccessary stuffThe question is: have I removed enough? The central core is ultimately revealedRough at first then finished and polished – nothing concealed. Some work is …
THE MARBLE TABLET IN ST DAVID’S CHURCH
It is a crisp winter’s dayGloomy-grey with a chill wind, snow is falling.The dark iron-strapped church doorBeckons me inWith the inexorable pullOf a black hole in the white space of snow. A visitor’s book lies on the tableNear the doorPages damp, yellowed and curledTwo cheap broken biros lie next to itAs though a school child …
THE MAGPIE – CORVUS PICA
Black head, white breast, green- blue glossy back feathersobservant intelligent eyeactive in all weatherspied piper, court jester – the magpie. Always the centre of attentionbringing everything into contentionone for sorrow, joy with two –but is this old wive’s tale true? Magpie Alley off Fleet Streethistorical centre of printin trying to keep the typeface neatthe printer …
THE INSTRUCTION LEAFLET
You are asked to assembleYour little son’s Christmas toy.You try to control your trembleAnd remember when you were a boy. The instruction leaflet says it allIf you read it well you can’t go wrongThis battery here, that wire thereScrew this tight, insert that prong. Press it all together (mind that little part)Push the button – …
THE HOURGLASS
I see the grains of time sink inexorably through the hole, taking me with them, legs and feelers scrabbling desperately, trying to get a grip on the smooth glass sides of oblivion. But as I fall onto the sharp cone below I realise it is not the end. The Glass is not a scheming trap …
ONLY A HERO
The Hero dons his helmet and steps forthinto the sun and dustTo do battle, as he must. His lady has buckled and armed himWith a mace, a sword and dagger,Equipped him also with a shieldHis armour shining, gleaming. He knows he is a HeroAnd has to do a hero’s jobHis lady and her family have …
THE DUST OF CENTURIES
Dust is there from the very beginning. Stones cut from the quarry, shipped overseas, ferried upriver, unloaded and carried to the site, worked in the workshop. The masons hammer and chisel, carving to detail. Dust flies off, stone chips fall to the ground. Masons’ set square, plumb lines, compasses and dividers. The vaulting cathedral rises. …
THE CLASSIC DILEMMA
The classic DilemmaFor a manWalking alone along a country laneFor recreation. He sees in the distanceComing towards him fastTwo figures runningFor recreation. As they approach he sees they are young womenWith baseball caps and shortsObviously seriously runningBut they are still too far off to see their faces. He doesn’t want to appear too rude and …
THE CHERRY PLUM TREE
In my grandmother’s gardenWhen I was a childGrew a singular fruit treeMy aunt called it the cherry-plum treeShe always pointed it out to meRemembering it from her childhoodAnd as autumn came into its ownShe eagerly picked its small yield andWe savoured its sweet flesh – Small plump cherries withA combined taste of cherry and plum,An …
THE AUTUMN OF YOUR LIFE
As the year of Life ticks pastIn the Hallway of your mindYou reach the autumn time at lastWith golden glow and slower pace;But in the mirror you will findWhite stubble on your faceLike frosted stalks of Brussels sproutsSeen at the crack of dawn. Your hair recedes as the light recedes. Some memories, like holly-berries, blazeWhile …
TAKING A HIT
A hit can be as much emotional and physicalAs financial. A ‘haircut’ on the stock marketWhen you are forced to write offDebts owed to you; Market forcesProperty lossesA fraudA conA scamA theftA loss which you can’t afford. You think you’ve reached the topIn businessWhen –A terrible mistakeBad luckBad timingBad judgementMeans you face the chop. A …
THE SLUG AND THE SNAIL
One day a snail met a slugin a vegetable garden.The snail said:“You are very uglywithout a shell.” The slug said:“You can go to hell.I am doing very wellwithout a shell.Are you looking for a fight?I live under a stone all dayAnd mostly eat at night.” The snail said:“I need my shell –I travel slowly through …
SHADOWMAN
Shadows of me – what are they? are they reality? Shapes according to the sun’s angle – fat, short, elongated, aetiolated, mark of my presence – seen by me, but who else sees? Shadow and Substance. The Shadow is meant to follow the Substance – and learn from him. But the Substance also can learn …
RUPERT BROOKE
Stands the church clock at five to five?And are the honey bees returned to their hive? I saw them earlier alight on the heatherCollecting the nectar in sunny weatherBelow Leatherhead church tower in the Sensory GardenBut they are too late for this year’s tea. Next year’s honey will taste all the better. I invited Rupert …
NOT THE WHOLE PACKAGE
The little souvenir looks very attractiveIn its pretty blue packaged boxCunningly displayed in the airport departure loungeThe design is one unified package, the box and souvenir making up the wholeTempting one to buy it (as it was always designed to do)As a memento. Problem: When you take it back to your roomAnd come to pack …
MUSHROOM
It grows and growsBillowsBulges and expandsInvolutedTurning in on itself but alsoGrowing exponentially. When one job is finishedAnother one appearsEach job brings anotherAnd anotherSo it is never finished. The mushroom is a fungus (mycelium)That spreads through spores through the groundIt grows on compost and in the warmAnd darkIt keeps on getting biggerUntil it is picked. When …
MATCHES
Shake Skid Slide Scratch Safety – Scrape Sharp Strike Sudden Snap Spark Smoke Sulphur Split Splinter Sliver Splint Spit Set Spent Stub C. Tim Taylor 2012
ISFIELD
Isfield – a little station on the old London Brighton and South Coast Railway Line 1889between Uckfield and Lewes in Sussex,a quiet little village preserved in time.The railway is now called ‘The Lavender Line’,named after the coal merchant who had his business there,(not after the fragrant smell that one associates with lavender). Immortalised in tiles …
INNOCENCE
Innocence, such sweet emotionLittle hands clap, little legs dancingEyes wide with joySmiling and chortling with anticipation.We strive to fulfill expectationsEncourage and callDelighting in pure innocence.We hold out arms to embraceTo hold tight and safeAnd whisper “That’s fine, my darling”And wish that innocence can last,Because we only see it brieflyIn the very young –Before they discover …
IF I KNOW WHAT LOVE IS…
If I know what love is, it’s because of you.You make me the man I am –You say that I CAN:I CAN fight to winI CAN climb the hillI CAN go higher stillI CAN bear the painI CAN endure the rainI CAN come home again.I can only do what I doBecause of you.
HARD EARTH
Winter – frozen groundunyielding, compactthe game is fast pacedthe ball comes to me andI race away towards the line. I’m about to pass on my outsidewhen from behindI am the victim of asmothering tackle. hard impact crunch shattering contact my body crashes to the hard earth breath squeezed out bones and flesh displaced shock and …
DECEMBER ROSE
My attention is caughtby a beautiful white rosestill in bloomin December. It leans towards the pathand catches my eye as I pass;it’s saying ‘Look at meand admire me,because soon I will die.’ I look, and look again:this seems out of place?How come a rose is here,a perfect flower’s face,creamy white petalsshading to buttercup yellow? I …
COOLING THE KING
The wind shakes, stirs, shivers the leavesBlade shaped, serrated edgesTwisting in the breeze,mangoes growing fastin the heat and sun and ease. I fan the spreading peacock feathersTipping one end of my gold-foiled wandThe other end counterbalancedWith a heavy wooden ball. I am cooling air for the kingSitting on his jewel-encrusted throne. My station is 3 …
CONCISENESS
Conciseness is sayingsomething clearlyin as fewwordsaspossible. C. Tim Taylor 2013
BLINDED BY TEARS
Remembrance Sunday 10 November 2013. It is a crisp sunny day in autumn. The town’s dignitaries and church leaders gather around the Memorial cross in the center of the War Memorial. The choir, followed by the Rector and Curate, marches down the road and file into the enclosure. They line up facing the Army contingent …