one hour moves
my body remains
the same
one thought removed
the mind alters
some words deleted
spaces
added
some questions never
asked
sounds of the earth
which frays,
tells the story, discarded.
some say it was his handkerchief
used, worn not discarded
here.
discarding , all was bottled, remained.
another day.
sbm.
ladies
on the bus
pointed to it
a lady bird on the window.
i watched and thought how nice
they noticed and admired it
a while later
she got out a tisuue
and squashed it dead.
she spoke to me, but
i speak a different language
on waiting
the driver said
that too many people think
only of themselves
#thesedays
sbm.
some have been away
ay
on holid
i have
some think that this means
prison
those in america
velcro is easy
more than buttons
some say that pinc is welsh
for pink.
this is repetition
sbm.
words recede.
our upbringing denounces us.
i stand in the garden, a glimpse
of the bat out late. early here.
now i am hollow.
he said that swimming can be dull,
i prefer calm.
we hide from nothing in particular,
distance becomes us.
near cuckoo woods,
the hollow i sat as a child.
empty dry ditches.
sbm.
they lived in nottingham.
i remember their visits.
uncle arthur was a shoe
mender i was told. not a
cobbler.
he had a car, a shooting brake.
there were not many vehicles
then; we ran to the gate to see.
the family moved to australia, were active
in their church, the seventh day adventists.
i felt we should admire them.
ann came back one day on a needy visit.
she told my brother that uncle arthur was just a rogue,
a wide boy, a crook.
not a cobbler.
sbm.
ann, her name was ann. my cousin.
slight, blond, flat chested. almost hollow
as I wished to be.
I think it was a whimsy shade of blue
with glass buttons, the style of dress
she always wore.
voile.
she grew tall
and it came to me
.
mother said it did not suit me, I wore tailored.
I felt out of place at parties.
mother gave it to the girl next door
as always: I saw her wear it.
recently I bought a red version, hung it
on the wall.
there is
an eternal wish to be hollow.
sbm.