Up North

Arrival

We reach the cottage
Unpacking is delayed by
Squabbling over rooms


Liquid refreshment

The local water
Carries the faint tang of  salt
It sticks to the teeth


Transformation

Within half an hour
The neat empty kitchen is
A familiar mess


Plumbing

Experimenting
With the shower tap settings:
It's Russian roulette


Not found

Drifting like ghosts from
Room to room, mobiles in hand,
We search for signals


Refuge

I wake up feeling
That there is something missing:
Oh - there is no noise


Downtime

The kitchen clock ticks
Unnoticed: nobody has
Any meetings planned


Burdened

The apple tree bends
Under the strain of lifting
The swollen ripe fruit



Late

The night's silence is
Broken by a distant train
Like an owl's sad hoot



Early

Through the open door
The crisp clean air floods in
Sharpening senses


Diaspora

Meeting old friends is
A reminder of time and
Distance we've travelled



Snug

The purple heather
Lies like a heavy blanket
On the sleeping hill


Buffet

Another pub lunch
Sitting outside in the sun:
Wasps are invited


Crisis

The village shop's closed
So the nearest source of milk
Is five miles away


Details

It's easy to miss
The map's faint contour lines when
Planning a journey


Plan B

Energy exhausted
They wait while I go ahead
To collect the car


Blase

The bullock stares back
Chewing lazily on the cud
He's not interested


Sunday

People crowd the shops
Seeking souvenirs, postcards,
Presents, toys and treats


Street theatre

The entertainer
Does his magic trick: making
The crowd disappear


Private sport

The bus driver aims
For the deep puddles, trying
To drench the pavement


Market forces

Museums charge high
Admission prices, but art
Galleries are free


Horrible history

The Middle Ages
Were a time of great piety,
Disease and squalor


Activity

Butterflies flutter
Around the buddleia bush
In morning sunshine


Work ethic

The half-done jigsaw
Exerts its demand: it has
To be completed


Routine

By the third day we
Have established a pattern
For the morning tasks


Forecast

The barometer's
Needle edges up, bringing
Hope of changed weather


Trouble

Talk of future plans
Bubbles into argument
Then understanding


Victim

An upturned beetle
On the bathroom floor vainly
Tries to right himself


Omen

The photograph showing
A Nazi rally displays
A common purpose


Finale

Many hands are found
To help with the last stages
Of the big jigsaw


Symptom

Extravagantly
Smooth, my close-shaved chin's a sign
Of time on my hands


Locomotion

The Age of Steam was
Before our time, but the trains
Were simply better


Thoughtless

A dad tells his child
To put his head out of the
Moving train's window


Pedestrianised

Puffing and panting
We inch up the long incline
Like the trains used to


Haggling

The ticket machine
Prefers a smart card but it
Will settle for cash



Late August

Each chill morning hints
At a change of season soon:
Summer is ending


Reorientation

After relaxing,
From two days before we leave
Thoughts turn towards home


Packing

We subtract our things
Room by room, removing all
Trace of residence


The map fallacy

Moving south always
Feels quicker because we go
Down the atlas page



Surfeit

The car is quiet
Children sleeping or staring
At the passing views




28/8/10