Change

by Kathleen Raine ChangeSaid the sun to the moon,You cannot stay.ChangeSays the moon to the waters,All is flowing.ChangeSays the fields to the grass,Seed-times and harvest,Chaff and grain.You must change,Said the worm to the bud,Though not a rose.Petals fadeThat wings may riseBorne on the wind.You are changingSaid death to the maiden, your wan faceTo memory, toContinue reading “Change”

A Fairly Sad Tale

by Dorothy Parker I think that I shall never knowWhy am I thus, and I am so.Around me, other girls inspireIn men the roar and rush of fire,The sweet transparency of glass,The tenderness of April grass,The durability of granite;But me – I don’t know how to plan it.The lads I’ve met in Cupid’s deadlockWere –Continue reading “A Fairly Sad Tale”

Who’s that man in the garden? Don’t worry it’s only me – or my dad

It’s been getting on for 30 years since I said my final farewell to my father, my last words to him were very simple, “I love you”. I miss him every day. No. That’s wrong. I don’t miss him because he is with me every day. This weekend I found he is with me moreContinue reading “Who’s that man in the garden? Don’t worry it’s only me – or my dad”

Fox

by Alice Oswald I heard a coughas if a thief was thereoutside my sleepa sharp intake of aira fox in her fox-furstepping acrossthe grass in her black glovesbarked at my housejust so abrupt and oddthe way she wenthungrily askingin the heart’s thick accentin such serious sleeplesstrespass she camea woman with a man’s voicebut no nameasContinue reading “Fox”

Always Marry An April Girl

by Ogden Nash Praise the spells and bless the charms,I found April in my arms.April golden, April cloudy,Gracious, cruel, tender, rowdy;April soft in flowered langour,April cold with sudden anger,Ever changing, ever true -I love April, I love you.

Sorry to see my top teams lose but a young Welsh side shows promise

Getting a double dose of rugby this weekend – well a dose and a half really because I watched the second half of the France/Scotland match before settling down to see the dragons lay siege to Fortress Twickenham. In fact the England/Wales match was not so much a siege in the first half as aContinue reading “Sorry to see my top teams lose but a young Welsh side shows promise”

The Fish

by Marianne Moore wadethrough black jade.Of the crow-blue mussel-shells, one keepsadjusting ash heaps;opening and shutting itself likeaninjured fan.The barnacles which encrust the sideof the wave, cannot hidethere for the submerged shafts of thesunsplit like spunglass, move themselves with spotlight swiftness,into the crevices -in and out, illuminatingthe turquoise seaof bodies. The water drives a wedgeof ironContinue reading “The Fish”

Round the houses and jumping through hoops – just to get a vote

Life wasn’t meant to be easy and when I look back I can see many rocky patches on my path through life so far. Some are little potholes others are yawning chasms, yet somehow I passed them all. Some of the big ones I have described elsewhere, or they may still be to come, butContinue reading “Round the houses and jumping through hoops – just to get a vote”

A Prouder Man Than You

by Henry Lawson If you fancy that your people come from better stock than mine,If you hint of higher breeding by a word or by sign,If you’re proud because of fortune or the clever things you do -Then I’ll play no second fiddle: I’m a better man than you!If you think that your profession has theContinue reading “A Prouder Man Than You”

On Death

by Anne Killigrew Tell me thou safest end of all our woe,Why wretched mortals do avoid thee so.Thou gentle drier o’th’ afflicted’s tearsThou noble ender of the coward’s fears.Thou sweet repose to lovers sad dispaire,Thou calm t’ambitions rough tempestuous care.If in regard of bliss thou wert a curse,And then the joys of Paradise art worse,YetContinue reading “On Death”