Saturday 31 May 2014

The witch of Satis House

By a strange coincidence I was drawn back to Great Expectations and the spectral character of Miss Havisham recently while I was trying to write a poem about insects...



The witch of Satis House
 
She dwells, yes, that is the word,
down there in the dust of her life,
not living, she dwells
in the wintry room of her making,
in her bloodless bitterness,
where no clock ticks.
Time is still,
the air forever frozen,
her breath a cool vapour that has only
caressed the ash of life.
Her dress yellowed, its silk long dead,
her face a waxwork, eyes inward,
her body withered under the gown,
a shrunken spectre;
her movements small
and cold.
The young man sees
in the dusky candlelight
the detail of her,
but I feel it all,
from my haunt.
I live well in near darkness
and my silk is finely tuned
to the smallest vibration
of my webs.
There is abundance still on her bride’s table,
a great cake.
It is for me.
My blotchy body and speckled legs
are all at home here.













Wednesday 28 May 2014

Four haiku



These four haiku, together with some other poems of mine, have recently been published in Innovate, the fab arts eMagazine. Links are at the bottom of this post.



2 sea haiku 

Where hazy sky meets
blue soft-running ocean
cool breeze awakens

*  

Tide runs in dark lines
across the misty distance
of the endless sea.


2 heart haiku 

Years of days and days
that feel like years; hearts watch and
look, but do not touch.

*
When heart’s shadows dance
at this unfrequented hour
hear the sound of darkness


Issue 4 of Innovate
 
PDF
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261489789805
 
EPUB at Smashwords
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/441883
 
KINDLE
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KKUPJO2
 
KOBO
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/innovate-e-magazine-issue-4
 


Mountain

Carn Ingli, Pembrokeshire

This poem was published recently in the fabulous arts journal, Innovate EMagazine, which is available from a number of online outlets. See links at bottom of post.

Mountain

She doesn’t assist the climb
over this shingle-slipping,
stumbling land;
yet she draws you to her
as she sucks moisture through
rock to new springs;
and the sky above pulls,
and sweeps out to the farthest space,
beyond even her reach.

We saw her first from
the old stone cross,
down in the dreamy valley.
You catch your breath as she
imposes sudden on your world;
she seems close, yet is far away,
her strength is on the air.

Folk at work on her slopes
in ancient times
watched the distant seas
as strangers arrived, their
sails crowded with the west wind.
Is that where angels lived?
Where saints rested
to gaze and touch their wings?

Now rough rocks,
like pebbles to giants,
lie all over this place.
Icy currents stir
around the summit;
there is a darkness
in her swirling mists,
as her power reaches out.


Issue 4 of Innovate is available here:
 
PDF
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261489789805
 
EPUB at Smashwords
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/441883
 
KINDLE
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KKUPJO2
 
KOBO
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/innovate-e-magazine-issue-4