Six Poems

The Letter

He stooped to assess
The scrap of paper drenched with
Rain and dried by wind,

An ending: ‘One can
Love anything, so how much
Better it was you.’

Vacation

While they all went off
To France and to Italy
She stayed on the moon,

Ankled in white dust,
Walking down the craters and
Sleeping by earth light.

Reflection

Shakespeare looked in the
Glass and saw a seller of
Gloves, so moved to where

All men act what they
Are, or are not, or might be:
But the words are true.

Gratitude

He was grateful for
The illusions that held him
Steady all his life

As a cage with straw
Keeps an animal breathing
Through the long winter.

Overhead

I like, she said in
Passing, to evoke turmoil,
And what could be more

Evocative than
This? – with which she stepped over
The near parapet.

Reading

During the bad time
He found he was reading to
Get the book finished

Each book he opened
Was either alien or
Simply too well known.