No frost tonight but a promise
In the afternoon of a chill
Winter sucks air through its teeth
At our optimism.
Autumn races past.
Snow comes soon.
Tomorrow
Brilliant ideas
Flow
Faster
Rushing thoughts
Create energy
Productivity success
Chickens
My chickens love to scratch the surface
And dig down.
Some people could do with more
Below the surface so they are less
Like chickens.
Doll’s House trauma
Your life in miniature
Is dressed in grief
Walls put up
For our defence.
Tiny chairs for tiny minds
You think the sunshine will come back
It never went away
You just had the curtains draw
And windows painted shut.
Shameless trees
Every year they strip
And stand naked
For us all to see
Their arms crossed to hide
Their shame
Where someone scratched on their name.
As spring arrives
They pull on new clothes
And stand up again with pride.
Winner
Your games can’t be won
So I will not play
Yet I heard that you threw the dice again
And lost a round or two.
Street darkness
The windows lit
Square bright shapes at night
Car headlights pull close
Doors open so light steals out
Like naughty teenagers flitting out
Doors shut and houses disappear
Midnight silent street
Fireworks
Thumps in the distance
Like the sky is farting
Blips of light explode into starburst triumph
The sky rushes back it’s black curtain until the next explosion.
At the end of the comet its tail falls behind
Left behind a mild sparkle
And then it whimpers and whispers away.
Late night
Dark outside
Not all the neighbours asleep,
Lights on up the road
One by one they switch off.
No cars go past
All is hushed. Darkest night is quiet.
The darkness grows
Then slowly light washes in
So slowly the snails have time to return to the hedge. Silent they crawl back.
They’ve been out all night.
Magpies
All week long I have watched
Magpies dancing on the grass
One for sorrow
All for sorrow.
They are dressed for the funeral.
Writing by Di Drinkwater 