Broken (echo poem)

Who walked away in the dawn, scattering the dew? (You)
Who remained there under a paling sky? (I)

Will you return when the wind brings the snow? (No)
What do they do who say feelings fly? (Lie)

Where must you travel when all hope is gone? (On)
What becomes of the bond that linked friends? (Ends)

Powerless (echo poem)

Whose fate is ruled by far-distant towers? (Ours)
And who will obey Death's final call? (All)

Terminal

The line stops here

Beneath arching glass

Locomotives shudder

Panting for breath

Carriages cough passengers

Onto the platform

Midnight arrives

Silence descends

Pigeons fight for litter

With the rats

A few words (public meeting)

First I must recall
That it was 30 years ago ...

Then I must thank Mr Lewis, here,
Without whose help ...

And all the members of the committee
Who have worked so hard, so hard

And now, before we start,
I ask you all to welcome

A most distinguished guest
Who I'm sure you all will know

"First I must recall ... "

Diminuendo

The Greeks heard it

Long ago

Before there was anything else

To hear

They stared up at the night sky

Amazed

Tracked the stars and planets

By eye

The harmonics of geometry

Dancing

The music of the spheres

Fading

This is part of the 7th Poetry Carnival.

News item (tanka)

On the radio
The Business reporter said:
"There is a lot of
Depression in the High Street
In the run-up to Christmas"

Imperfect

The fault in the rock
The crack in the wood
The flaw in the crystal
The worm in the bud

The chip in the china
The flint in the mud
The cancer in the body
The bubble in the blood

The hole in the heart
The killer in the crowd
The barb on the wire
The stain on the shroud

The triumph of evil
The pain of the good

Ars poetica (occasional flashes of lucidity)

I wake with a mind filled
With fugitive thoughts,
Quicksilver threads, like
Splinters of mirror-glass

I grope for things just out of reach-
At last, a phrase is caught
I explore its form
Learn its texture, shape and weight

I search out the proper frame
To put it on display
Select the words so the sense
Is echoed by their sound

Guiding the reader along
Through meanders, rapids, falls,
Ending in a still pool
Of quiet reflections


Part of the 6th poetry carnival hosted by Legwarmers.

Ars Poetica: Horace got back

The glory of Horace will never pass:
His elegant poetica, his incomparable ars.

Alternative history

Two heroes rode into the town
Greeted by cries of "Welcome home"
Their clothes strange and bright

One had been to a foreign war
Had killed and plundered
Won spoils, captured towns

The other had gone to court
Argued persuasively before the king
Was granted lands and titles

Their sister met them at the door
Kissed their cheeks and asked them in
As night drew on, their stories failed

"Well, sister, what have you been doing
While we have been making history?"
"Nothing much- just raising kids,

Growing crops, washing clothes ..."
She left the table, called
By a child's cry from the loft

Old age: views on life and death

Life
My memory's not
What it was- but then,
Neither is the world

Hands shake and tremble
I open the newspaper
Head shakes and trembles

Tea and cakes were treats
To fill time between kisses
Now they're all there is

A winter mountain
My summit is topped in white
The cold reaches deep

I bask in the warmth
Of company: it's good to
Be seeing old friends


Death
Old age is not bad
When you consider what the
Alternative is

The postman brings cards
For funerals every day:
I will go to mine

I check the paper
To see whether I am dead
If not, I get dressed

Grey skies: Brown leaves drop
As nature prepares to sleep
I'll not see her wake

55 words for Bob Dylan

Robert Zimmerman
left his name behind- just took
his guitar with him

Wailing in the streets
of New York, he became a
hero, then Judas

Electricity
mixed with drugs and rock and roll
thoughts and feelings merged

Marriage, kids, divorce
facing up to pain and loss
You always have words

The minister

Whose drive to succeed
Overrode every need?
Who schemed and plotted
And promptly forgot it?
Who drafted the laws
To milk most applause?
Who signed his name
But refused any blame?
Who crossed the line
And had to resign?
Who used to be feared
Then just disapperaed?
--The Minister

Evasion

Pontius Pilate
Washed his hands and said "It's not
My jurisdiction"

A short history of Wales

As glaciers crept around Paviland Cave
We laid our first leader in his grave

We prised the Preseli bluestones free
Sent them to Stonehenge over the sea

The Roman soldier oiled his curls
Didn't bother with local girls

Arthur's veins ran with royal blood
Made a palace of sticks and mud

Rebecca's children have grown up wrong
Drunk on story, myth and song

The millennium dawns on Cardiff Bay
A nation reborn, or so they say