snowstorm



the countryside ravaged by winter storm
blanketed deep
snowflakes swirling
like a dervish
blinding
disorientating
drifting
sculpting

battered trees stand sentinel
frozen to the marrow
bones shiver
and blood runs thin
an indigo sky
menaces
whilst the moon looks on

the cold bite of winter
when snow kisses skin
malicious
frost tipped
and hoary
billowing
pillowing
roads rutted deep

warm in our bed
we sleep
curtains drawn on frosted panes
dogs twitch
and dream
as embers slip
and settle
crackling flames leap

icicles form
on gutter and pipe
and
the silent earth
holds its breath
waiting
for
life giving
spring



written for Magpie Tales  #Mag247

Identity

 Each day
I struggle
with who I am
blending into the crowd
a nobody

but in my head
I am different
from anyone else
special
unusual

individual

there is only one of me
unique
rare and precious
unduplicate

multi-faceted
with talents unseen
hidden behind a mask
I lose myself
to indifference

ask me who I am
and I say
just an average Joe

I'm no one really

just me

Written for poetry jam #identity

Nocturne

driving at speed
foot down to the metal
alone on the road

but for

ghostly cows
 in unseen fields
lit only by stars
and a gibbous moon

neon flashes
of
blue light exposure
tail gate following
mile
 after
 mile

into the darkness
an encompassing womb
swallowing you whole

radio playing
late night lullaby
a soft voiced DJ
your only friend


 road never ending
destination unknown
motorway markers
 affording no clue

follow the lines
as cats eyes blink
stay awake
concentrate

it's later than you think


Written for Magpie Tales #Mag246
 

Dreams

your breath quickens
and slows
the darkness enfolds and caresses
as you slip
into your dreamscape

drifting
into an imaginary world
 a thousand realities
of multi-coloured hue

mind aswirl
image clear yet strangely undefined
transparent
encapsuled into stories
of your imagining

memories of people and places
like paint on canvas
daubs of reality and fantasy
otherworldly

past and present
a melting pot of desires
and night terrors
out of your control

slowly you rise to the surface
emerge from sweet slumber
try to remember

but like wisps of cloud
the dreams disperse
lose shape
and form

out of your grasp
fading into sepia


Written for Poetry Jam #dreams

Star Spangled Banner

star spangled in her nakedness
 Miss America is she

state of the union

undressed

a flag-wrapped beauty
 publicity shot

 carefree all American
with flowing hair

brown limbed
and
long legged

arranged so artfully

entrapped
enwrapped

positioned carefully
amongst the folds

hoist the flag
start the parade
and set her free

from her photo opportunity



Written for Magpie Tales #American - Tess provides the image, we the story

 

Pebbles

pinterest



Ancient cliffs
Giant leviathon
Lashed by the sea
Crumble

Millenia pass
Tides ebb and flow

Rocks rumbled and tumbled
Smoothed and shaped
Each one different
Unique
Never two the same

Drawn back and forth
Their journey limitless

Infinite pebbles
Pulled and pushed
Drowned and reborn
With each passing tide
Until sand is formed

Each grain a shadow
of its former self


Written for Poetry Jam

War Games

 

Sticks and stones
will break my bones 

childhood games

of
toy soldiers

in miniature forests

Where anything is possible

a tulip for a gun
a leaf bayonet 

Cowards become heroes

and heroes win the day 

 

But when

reality bites
a game no longer
the garden becomes a battlefield
the toy soldier becomes a man

Fighting for his life

in a war

where there are no winners
 

 

 

 

Written for Magpie Tales #Mag 244 - Tess provides the image, we the story