Thursday 20 December 2012

Grubby

Tepid rain -
a grubby bathroom
with not much light.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Trickle

Rainwater trickles
to the end of the street - these days
to the end of the year.

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Distant

Chilean red wine -
grapes from a distant country
startle my tired tongue.

Monday 17 December 2012

Afternoons

Winter afternoons,
the sun in your eyes, then gone -
childhood memories.

Sunday 16 December 2012

Fading

by noon
the blue sky fading
to white

Thursday 22 November 2012

Slanting

Again today, in defiance of the forecast and just before sunset, here it is: the bar of pale, unexpected light slanting through the window and across my desk.

Monday 19 November 2012

Black and white

In the park, two spaniels play-fighting: one, headbutted, keels lightly over, roly-poly black and white down the leaf-strewn grassy slope.

Sunday 18 November 2012

Amphibian

Sleek young people lounge in the all-glass lobby of a smart office building - amphibians about to flick their webbed feet and float to the surface.

Thursday 15 November 2012

White

The air is white with fog - the small fog of my breath streams out to meet it.

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Unexpected

Warm sunshine - a freak of our degraded climate, unexpected, sweet.

Sunday 11 November 2012

Tiffany

Looking up at the sun streaming through a complex pattern of red and yellow and evergreeen leaves is like looking at a huge Tiffany window.

Saturday 10 November 2012

Romanticised

In the twilight puddles: muted, romanticised images of the workaday facades.

Friday 9 November 2012

Soft

Outside, the air has turned soft and the sky baby-blue - any change in the brief light at this time of year is unexpected and shocking.

Thursday 8 November 2012

Swinging

The cold is hard and heavy, like a rock suspended, swinging in the empty air.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Brassy

Street-lamps glare against the flat, dense surface of the night sky - like brassy buttons on black velvet.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Turquoise

Late morning, and the sun already so low it dazzles - this brief inverted pool of turquoise sky.

Monday 5 November 2012

Penetrating

Through the cold air, a penetrating, rasping, vibrating sound - is it a neighbour immoderately blowing his nose, or, from farther off, the brief blast of a power tool?

Sunday 4 November 2012

Seamless

The seamless hissing of rain, coating and streaming from every surface - how does it keep this up without a breath?

Saturday 3 November 2012

Green

Lime-flower tea: diluted essence of green; like a subtle distillation of leaves and grass - you wonder if it's really safe to drink.

Friday 2 November 2012

Sparkly

Strings of premature white Christmas lights hang like frozen rain: a sparkly backdrop to the white coiffure of the elegant old woman at the window table.

Thursday 1 November 2012

Sepia

Sun on water: flickering sepia reflections in the surface of a muddy puddle resolve into the outline of a tall, nearly bare tree.


For Mindful Writing Day, and resolving to resume daily posting here, maybe try prose again.

Saturday 27 October 2012

Artless

Sun through venetian blinds,
the spaces between
our shadows -
artless art.

Thursday 18 October 2012

watercolour wash :: clear autumn :: the river between

Wednesday 17 October 2012

round yellow leaves :: sky-blue background :: a painted pattern

Tuesday 16 October 2012

muted sunshine :: wavering shadows :: the quiet creak of waiting

Wednesday 10 October 2012

an early start :: midday crescendo :: afternoon diminuendo

Tuesday 9 October 2012

patterns of fallen leaves :: the taste of apples :: autumn wine in small glasses

Monday 8 October 2012

gentle brushstrokes ::  a breath of sunshine ::  touch before it's washed away

Sunday 7 October 2012

a green front door :: continuous hammering :: the house's heartbeat?

Saturday 6 October 2012

all at sea :: or just a small pond :: tricks of the light

Friday 5 October 2012

half a life in this city :: still flinching when it roars :: an anxious alien

Thursday 4 October 2012

cold air cuts the breath :: a change of tempo :: a higher sky

Wednesday 3 October 2012

to play, the violinist stands :: each note a luminous thread :: vibrating calves, chest, hands

Monday 1 October 2012

the last of summer briskly swept away :: winter lolls, watching

Saturday 1 September 2012

Break

Taking a break - I want to change the form here, not quite sure to what.

Thursday 30 August 2012

Room















above the maelstrom,
dream-boat floats on the night sky -
A Room for London

Wednesday 29 August 2012

Another

Another flower
like this one, long ago -
forgotten times.

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Cooler

Late summer reverts -
the equable sunshine
of cooler decades.

Monday 27 August 2012

Heavy

The weight of water
hangs heavy on this warm air -
when will the rain come?

Sunday 26 August 2012

Recent

Scattered red petals,
one fine black and white feather -
recent departures.

Saturday 25 August 2012

Patience

Pinned, you might say,
like those files to the task bar
and losing patience.

Thursday 23 August 2012

Bunting















Ambushed by the past -
Olympic bunting strung from
these old memories.

photo shows the grim, tall building I worked in when I first moved to London, January 1980.

Galloping

Evening was morning,
lost in galloping dreams -
is it tomorrow?

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Shiny

Golden wine -
as shiny and inviting
as gold coins.

Sunday 19 August 2012

Brief

Between paroxysms
of heat, a brief remission -
the soft rush of rain.

Saturday 18 August 2012

Heat

Lurking in shadows,
silently exhaling heat -
here be dragons.

Friday 17 August 2012

Drip

Pausing to eat plums,
drip juice on the hot pavement -
too tired to walk and chew.

Thursday 16 August 2012

Looking

Gallery windows:
looking at art, at each other,
at the street below.

Wednesday 15 August 2012

After

an evening walk
after a long day's work -
late summer sunset

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Staring

Conditioned air
stirs the curtain - sitting here,
staring at the heat.

Monday 13 August 2012

So

August is passing,
so much work, so little thought -
determination.

Sunday 12 August 2012

Saturday 11 August 2012

Glow

Under the lime trees,
here on the hidden footpath -
evening's glow.

Friday 10 August 2012

Bloom

creamy-white blossoms
crowding the curvaceous stems -
orchid in full bloom

Thursday 9 August 2012

Temptation

Words on a screen
or daisies in the grass -
summer's temptation.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Slowly

Soft skin on my skin,
curve in the curve of my palm -
slowly eat a peach.

Monday 6 August 2012

Heaven

On Radio Three,
Les Barricades mystérieuses -
harpsichord heaven.

Sunday 5 August 2012

Reflected

watching words appear
on the blue sky reflected
in my laptop screen

Friday 3 August 2012

Cat

Weighting my papers,
Emma the brass cat
outlives her namesake.

Thursday 2 August 2012

World

The street outside
the window disappears -
in a world of my own.

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Lammas

White lily pad
floats on a watery sky -
Lammas moon.

Tuesday 31 July 2012

Towards

the pale daisy droops
towards its own reflection -
giving up the ghost

Monday 30 July 2012

Taste

black olive -
timeless taste of
here and now

Sunday 29 July 2012

Shelve

Soup of rain and dust
on the window - shelve the walk,
a late siesta.

Saturday 28 July 2012

Hollow

a silent hollow
in the noisy city
disconcerts

Friday 27 July 2012

Rippling

Squeaky-clean green leaves
comb the dark, rippling water -
lady of the lake.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Melted

A dash of mustard
lifts the melted Emmenthal -
happiness on toast.

Runners

At sunset the heat
slackens its grip on the park -
here come the runners.

Tuesday 24 July 2012

Pink

The poodle carried
a pink parasol in my
overheated dream.

Monday 23 July 2012

One

Perfect shadows
of a perfect summer's day -
just the one.

Saturday 21 July 2012

Face

Bending to fasten
my shoe, I come face to face
with a tiny dog.

Thursday 19 July 2012

Purple

Rolling storm clouds -
purple as the scent
of lavender.

Wednesday 18 July 2012

Jam

Bread and rhubarb jam -
an indeterminate
degree of sweetness.

Tuesday 17 July 2012

Mind

Is it sunshine through
the leaves making these shadows
flicker - or my mind?

also here

Monday 16 July 2012

Reach

Nearly midnight -
reach into the darkness
for a few words.

Sunday 15 July 2012

Day

Today, they say,
will be, will be, will be
a brighter day.

Saturday 14 July 2012

Vanished

Between the downpours:
pale, underdressed people of
this vanished summer.

Friday 13 July 2012

Gently

The small boy stares at age -
the old man stares back, smiles,
speaks gently to him.

Thursday 12 July 2012

Book

Pleasures of the page -
if I could eat the book,
I would.

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Really

Two on a bench,
heads together - life,
he says, really

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Many

So many raindrops -
intersecting circles
in a dark puddle.

Monday 9 July 2012

After

After the plunge,
sitting quietly
on the seabed.

Sunday 8 July 2012

Quiet

Empty restaurant -
eight Chinese businessmen
in quiet conclave.

Saturday 7 July 2012

Again

Rain stops and starts,
the cool air grows clammy,
then cooler again.

Thursday 5 July 2012

Nordic

Past the pale birches,
room after room, colour and form -
tense Nordic paintings.

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Through

Sun through closed eyelids -
it must be shining
in left-over dreams.

Tuesday 3 July 2012

Lightly

The music leaps lightly -
memories of a heart
less heavy.

Monday 2 July 2012

Hissing

Rain on the window -
a hollow, fretful, clammy,
endless hissing sound.

Sunday 1 July 2012

Legs

(revised)

Stand-off: moorhens
flex their long green legs
in a stiff dance.

Saturday 30 June 2012

Tail

(revised)

Silver circles - there
in the shadows, a squirrel
chases her own tail.

Saturday 26 May 2012

From

Flung from the tree,
the flesh-pink blossoms
pulsate.

Friday 25 May 2012

Saturday 19 May 2012

Up

get up
and start the day
as if

Friday 18 May 2012

Clouds















Gnarled and naked
wooden arms hold aloft
clouds of blue.

Tuesday 15 May 2012

Grass

every summer of
my life...  the smell
of mown grass

Saturday 12 May 2012

Drift

Dappled lawns
and from the chapel
a drift of song.

Friday 11 May 2012

Smell

Bitter-sweet smell
of pink and white blossom:
chestnut, hawthorn.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Patches

Patches of blue -
the sky smiles, blinks
and closes.

Saturday 5 May 2012

Sleeping beauty

Watching beauty sleep,
light on his velvet coat,
my heart leaps.

Friday 4 May 2012

Found haiku

Bordeaux grands crus classés -
wine tasting, strictly
by invitation.

Thursday 3 May 2012

Lumpy

No early alarm -
my soft bed
grows lumpy.

Monday 30 April 2012

Surprising

Black tulip -
at the heart of darkness,
surprising light.

Saturday 28 April 2012

West Ogwell

along the green verge
beside the muddy lane
a wash of bluebells

Wednesday 4 April 2012

Crater

A heart-shaped pool
mirrors the deep blue sky -
it's a bomb crater.

Monday 2 April 2012

Swallowed

Lethargy
swallowed the day -
bitter taste.

Saturday 31 March 2012

Pink

fallen blossom
wheels in the chill wind -
pink snowstorm

Tuesday 27 March 2012

Haiku

haiku hang
from the ceiling - words
blossom in space

Monday 19 March 2012

Not

Frosty night -
apparently it's not
Spring yet.

Sunday 18 March 2012

Bulk

My keyring's lost
its familiar bulk -
only two left.

Saturday 17 March 2012

Beyond

Flat wet day -
beyond this, the shape
of things to come.

Friday 16 March 2012

New

the sign reads:
get ready for a new
kind of place

Thursday 15 March 2012

Fog

What does the fog
conceal? Could be
anything.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Leaving

Don't like leaving,
even when
I want to go.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Crying

Frosted rooves,
the persistent crying
of a single bird.

Monday 12 March 2012

Where

Bare walls again
where Vermeer and Rothko
kept me company.

Sunday 11 March 2012

Netbook

small shiny blue
it pleases the magpie
in me

Saturday 10 March 2012

Float

White light -
the city floats,
pastel pale.

Friday 9 March 2012

Disappear

White foot disappears
beneath a big black car -
cat wants some peace.

Thursday 1 March 2012

Spit

Phew. It felt hard to keep this up through February: gather reluctant words like saliva in a dry mouth and... spit. But the practice seemed therefore all the more worthwhile.

Wednesday 29 February 2012

Clear

Murky skies,
no appointments -
a clear day.

Tuesday 28 February 2012

Blue

Blue graffiti
sprayed across a window
deface the day.

Monday 27 February 2012

Sour

Sour diesel fumes,
crows crying and the
colour of fear.

Sunday 26 February 2012

Smell

An edge of warmth,
a smell of soil and sap
- already?

Saturday 25 February 2012

Sunny

Sunny skies
and sunshine on my plate -
pastel de nata.

Friday 24 February 2012

Descending

Dark clouds,
descending mists
of unreality.

Thursday 23 February 2012

Steaming

Steaming tea
the colour of honey -
warmth before dawn.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

Drear

Drear, icy light
strips the air of colour -
determination.

Tuesday 21 February 2012

Long

long strides and the ground
like a treadmill always
replacing itself

Monday 20 February 2012

Flickering

On the steely ground,
streaks of light and shadow,
flickering, reaching.

Sunday 19 February 2012

Muddy

A muddy path
winds between bare trees -
cold, sleepless night.

Saturday 18 February 2012

Flying

Passers by
shriek and scatter -
flying dustbins.

Friday 17 February 2012

Small

On the dim ceiling,
a triangle of light -
day starts small.

Thursday 16 February 2012

Mottled

Is that really blue
behind the mottled bruising
of the morning sky?

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Dead

Wake with a start,
mistaking a bird's cry
for my dead cat's.

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Obdurate

Warmer today,
but the frozen lake
is obdurate.

Monday 13 February 2012

Black

Black pepper
invigorates tomatoes,
scorches my tongue.

Sunday 12 February 2012

Clean

Escape from the day
down a long tunnel
of soft, clean sheets.

Saturday 11 February 2012

Infinite

The sky has turned
from grey to infinite blue -
pigeons in space

Friday 10 February 2012

Impatient

Fresh snowfall -
so pretty and I
so impatient.

Thursday 9 February 2012

Abandoned

After the thaw,
the melted snowman's
abandoned snowchildren.

Wednesday 8 February 2012

Through

Icicles slice
through the soles
of my furry boots.

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Taste

Custard: the taste
of childhood and colour
of bananas.

Monday 6 February 2012

Fade

Fade to grey:
the snow slumps
and crawls away.

Sunday 5 February 2012

Muted

Muted cracking
of the frozen snow -
no other sound.

Saturday 4 February 2012

Swollen

Purple silence -
the sky sidles closer,
swollen with snow.

Friday 3 February 2012

Inadept

Frozen fingers
so inadept at texting -
try telepathy.

Thursday 2 February 2012

Flawless

Flawless blue above -
too cold to stand still,
everyone glimmers.

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Tiny (2)

Glugging icy water -
through the bottle's base,
a tiny winter scene.

I just found out about NaHaiWriMo - couldn't resist.

Tiny

Gulping water from the bottle, shockingly cold as a mountain stream, through its base I get a tiny view of black tree trunks stark against the wintry sky.

Tuesday 31 January 2012

Shivering

ice in my nostrils
from my shivering mouth
a stream of white breath

Monday 30 January 2012

Frothy

The cappuccino, with its frothy, scummy surface and pinkish brown underbelly, its aftertaste both smooth and bitter, inspires ambivalence.

Repetitive

Listening to Different Trains:
a persuasive, repetitive, prickly journey to equilibrium.

Saturday 28 January 2012

Undecided

The patchy sky of undecided weather: through the dark trees, the faintest smoky fragrance of dreams and stories, better times.

Friday 27 January 2012

Dazzling

A wave of dazzling sunshine floods the window and my startled silhouette springs to life on the white kitchen wall.

Thursday 26 January 2012

Suburban

The desultory kisses of a few raindrops, plangent trilling of an unknown bird: close your eyes and this suburban street recalls the fields that once were here.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Curved

Unseasonably mild air slides down the old curved stone facades - there's a quiet sense that everything might come to a halt.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Greasy

Grey, greasy rain soaks into everything and cleanses nothing. Each passing face is sticky, pallid, querulous.

Monday 23 January 2012

Scrawled

Scrawled red ballpoint annotations in the margin: the printed words pursued, exclaimed at, clutched at from behind.

Sunday 22 January 2012

Wine-dark

a glass of ruby red:
reflections flicker
on the wine-dark surface

Saturday 21 January 2012

Bare

Great swathes of bare branches trailing in the wind

















the winter witch
lets down her twiggy hair
to sweep the sky

Friday 20 January 2012

Silky

Glimpsed on the crowded street, a tie-dyed greeny, yellowy, silky parka - reminder of another climate, era or aesthetic in these busy, overcoated days.

Thursday 19 January 2012

Tethered

The wind is a muted background snorting and thumping like a tired, tethered pack donkey.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Soft

A gentle, downward pressure of soft, grey light and the sound of wheels swish-swishing on the damp road - this weather clings, enfolds.

Tuesday 17 January 2012

Red

A pair of stiff, red leather gloves splayed against her chest, while next to them bare fingers play on her phone:
an illusion of three hands.

Monday 16 January 2012

White

Leaving for work
moon still in the sky
frost still on the windows
one white blossom
still on the hedge.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Cold

The cold air, just like rain, showers from the sky and bounces up from the footpath, clutching and shaking and soaking the hapless pedestrian

Saturday 14 January 2012

Golden

Black cat sits up tall on the gate post, golden eyes glinting in the chill sunshine, remembers another life in ancient Egypt.

Friday 13 January 2012

Clear

A clear, sharp, upward-cleaving contrail speaks in the still, dull early morning of light and energy.

Thursday 12 January 2012

Bitter

Dark green droplets falling into water, then a bitter, dark green taste that fizzes on the tongue and numbs it: Echinacea.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Sticky

The bright, sticky pungency of peel and pith and juice of oranges lingers on fingers and in the air.

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Disaffected

Tricycle and parent hold hands while the small, disaffected rider trails, sighing, far behind.

Monday 9 January 2012

Low

River at low tide:
mud and stones and plastic bags,
the gulls gather.

Sunday 8 January 2012

Pulpy

Pear juice: a pale, pulpy stream gurgles from the jewel-green bottle.

Saturday 7 January 2012

Physical

On the radio, gruff talk of the physical crisis - oh no, the fiscal crisis.

Friday 6 January 2012

Creeping

Creeping sunshine -
all along the rooftops
a breath of gold.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Loud

A loud wind bangs and crashes against the windows - restless, unpredictable, unnerving.

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Burst

Rubbish collection day: a big black bird swoops and clatters in the lurid debris from a burst bag.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Blurred

Through the restaurant's double doors, a blurred glimpse of many blue lights: are they inside, or outside and reflected?

Monday 2 January 2012

Glinting

Eyes drawn upwards to the topmost glinting branches -shiny silver bark of fairytale trees.

Sunday 1 January 2012

Washed

Plummeting rain - the old year washed away.