books – Page 14 – don't confuse the narrator

iridescences

I’m back in the village and back to posting pictures of dead bugs. After all, when they’re this beautiful, how can I resist?

The bugs in the poem below aren’t dead. They are, however, as bright as jewels in the early morning sunshine.
Continue reading “iridescences”

clap your hands

Do the children of today believe in fairies? Do they know they should be caught in flight and the wish will only come true if the “fairy” – the seed – is still at the heart of the thistledown?

Last week, I found a veritable fairy factory along by the river, although most of them hadn’t yet left the plant – pun very much intended – so they weren’t quite ready to grant any wishes:

Now I’m off to find a copy of Peter Pan to re-read. And although I’m afraid I gave away my copy of Charlotte’s Web years ago, maybe I can track down the ballooning spiderlings scene online.

I was surprised this week to be told by the WordPress robots that I registered this blog six years ago. (If they are right, I must have fudged some dates at the beginning as the first post is dated 23rd April 2007.)

During those six years I’ve written over 750 posts. Some have featured photos and very little text, but some have straggled on well beyond the 500 words that I think is a good maximum length for a blog post. This means there’s probably enough text in this blog for three full-length novels – one written every couple of years – without any great effort on my part.
Continue reading “a point to writing”

poetry, plants and poison

Other than the gourd patch down in the orchard, one of the few bright spots in the garden at the moment is the uncontrollable oleander outside my study window.

I say “uncontrollable” as it has been ruthlessly cut back a couple of times and tied back with twine, rope and clothes line and still manages to break free enough to block the driveway. At least this year it isn’t covered in black fly and other bugs.
Continue reading

spa’ku

We laze in jasmine-scented waters
while stainless steel appliances
fart us into relaxation.

As usual, it’s a fragment rather than a hai’ku. You can read more such pieces here on the blog, or check out my multimedia collection Poems from the Pueblo: haiku and assorted fragments. (The link takes you to the publisher’s video on Vimeo).