Greenlane Poetry

All Saints 3pm
At the Town Station
Bad Day
Bar des Sports, Charly-sur-Marne
Before and After the Watershed
Call to Witness
Carte Postale
Charlie
Clerk of Works
Dedication
Dog in the Night
Easter Saturday at Festubert
Fargate
Fargate-duplicate
First Light
Force Nine
Forge Island
Four Chimneys
Furnaces
Ghosts
Grand-dad Smith
Gwen G
Half Empty
Harraga
In Glen Howe Park
In Provence
Incident
Kilner's Bridge
Lady
Last Train
Lilacs
Location
Magpies
Man and Dog
Mungy Lane
New Poem
North Line
Nurses
Outfield
Painting By Numbers
Passiontide
Patriots
Per Ardua
Pioneers
Poor Pierre
Progress
Release
Rememberings
Romeny
Routine Visit
Runner
Sawn Moor
September
Solstice
Spring Training
Start-1
Students in Crookesmoor
Terminus
Thatcher
The Don at Swinton
The Festive Season
The Hawk in the Tree
The Lavender Feast at Saullt
The Runners in the Fields
The Seasons
Treatment Days
Trips to the Seaside
Up Train
Valley Mist
vase of Flowers
War Babies
Watten
Weston Park
WestWind
What Love Is
Winthrop Park

--chosen-work--

Solstice



They walk in solemn silence
each with head bowed low
defending cloistered world from
cawing of the crow which calls but cannot fly
against the razor-sharp north gale
ice tears form in my eyes as I pass by

the crow has met a pigeon
perched high upon the tiles
neither will yield space but
both will have their say not they nor
magpie screeching sparrowhawk
will be in luck today

Their walk not even paused
though warmth is blown away
stumble into knee-high blaze
they concentrate on messaging
their clumsy thumbs hands unglove


but I can see the sparkling frost
on pavement and on grass
surviving everywhere the failing beams
from the low south eastern sun


my midday shadow lengthens down the street
look through frozen tears as it dances on the trees
to vanish where the wood and railings meet
a vault of blue above yet frozen still
ice in the north wind spring is far away

I and my twin dancing partner jiving down the street
conjoined at the feet
hurtles into distance where the woodland stops the street