Sunday 25 September 2011

seeing in between the spaces

I have just read a paper on" influence" for the OU and I have a wry smile at the poem below. In this I give the merest of nods to Allen Ginsberg's brilliant poem "Howl," and also to the poems of a friend of mine who taught me to see the spaces between reality and unreality.



Do you dream of me?
Last night I dreamt, again, of you -
the kind of dream that shivers
between imagination and reality.
Maybe our dreams, tinged by the rose
of dawn, will embrace
 hovering in that magical space
 where we compose our  lives.

Where truth blends seamlessly
across boundaries, unlimited by reality;
where desire soars and hands reach out
unshackled from the cuffs of conscience;
where a thousand blind eyes watch the fire
 of passion igniting our  minds;
where sanity and madness combust
and silent voices shout aloud;
where angels fly unheralded
waiting to be seen
and oceans pause as the earth tilts
unexpectedly ;
where we conduct our own music
imprinting  notes on the dewy air
whose echoes are remembered
 in the morning;

maybe then we will wake and find, in our own unreality
reality.

Tuesday 20 September 2011

the latest poem

Recently I was at a party and watched two strangers in conversation - each one was puffed up
and trying to assert himself over the other - this is what I saw!



In that blue translucent dusklight
as the day dies into cool reflection,
surrounded by the hum of  quiet conversation
I watch as two egos face off
 in the dust beams.


I see their silver shadows rise to stand apart,
 faces hidden behind  polite society vizors.
They swirl huge, steel tipped swords
against thickly embossed shields,
 the ghostly metals crunching  
as sparks separate into airy dust.
Silent shouts drown each other out,
bending the airwaves, distorting thoughts
into fractured patterns

The drawingroom carpet soaks up the blood
disguising it in red and gold paisley;
 Soft  velvet curtains wrap around  their cries
smothering the battle in quiet civility.
The vacant faces of the guests
with painted doll smiles, unaware of
 the invisible struggle for supremacy
dancing above their heads.

Gradually, I see the silvery shadows dissipate
blown out by sudden, embarrassed laughter
and a jovial handshake.

And, just like the scent of the lilies
in the clear glass vase on the side table,
I remain a silent witness,
 nothing more than perfume.