At Home and Away

Lament for Winter

Where is the snow?
In this dark time, earth sleeps
Ploughed furrows wait for frost
Seeds hide deep
Thick coats longing for scarification

Black clouds hover overhead
Brooding, resentful
Firing raindrops in sullen, pounding waves
Drenching an over-watered land
Where man-made lights stay lit throughout the day

No bright noon-times
No golden-dawned sun dazzling ice-sculptured
windows
No chilled gasps of freezing air
No clouds of steam from feeding herds
No ice-covered troughs
No skating on frozen ponds
No toboggan rides down slopes
No snowmen with coal-black eyes and orange noses
No snowballs to throw or taste
No orange globes set fire to evening skies
No joy, no laughter, no fun!

Just damp, mud, rain
Not cold, not warm
Just soggy leaves from trees who seem unsure about sleeping
It is the time of dark, of rest
It rains.




Insect Song

There are spiders on the curtains
There are earwigs on the light
There are lacewings on the windows
When all is dark at night

There are ants on all the circle stones
Chasing us away
They only fly but once a year
Why should it be today?

There are bees upon the heather
Butterflies on the gorse
Damsel flies, green and turquoise,
Glitter along the course

Why are dragonflies so enormous?
Why does honey come from bees?
Why do flies drown in my teacup?
What do insects mean to me?

Bees and butterflies suck the pollen
Ants and beetles prey on leaves
Sandhoppers dance on seaweed
And they sometimes dance on me!

So many shapes and sizes
Different colours, different hues
At least there are no scorpions
Hiding in my shoes!