Mother  I know that you are near please do not weep for me Nailed  Although the pain is great I see only Heaven in front of me Condemned  My life is beginning to ebb away please pray for me

I can hear your girlish squeaks from above the trees But cannot see you from my window The crows and the blackbirds are aware And are awaiting your next visit You are the most feminine of birds And the most timid by far Lesser birds often chase you away To the amusement of other creatures…

The military had requisitioned all of the buildings on the edge of their base and were beginning to block the roads This said they took little or no notice of me as I cycled back and forth along the rural lanes I was told that there had been some resistance but this had soon been…

I have a knife said George   It has a wooden handle     I have knife said Polly   It has a metal handle     I looked at them both and noted that I did not care what material the handle was made from The blade was the most important part of the…

For many years I would watch my sister as she played the piano in the music room She would always sit naked on her piano stool with her back to me I would sit in my late father’s armchair quite often with my eyes closed and listen to her gentle music During our many hours…

In the shop of tombs the floors had been washed bright And were gleaming in the shadows of the afternoon light Christ had been seen in the streets of this village small And was waiting in his great church to greet us all

I am trapped in time at this station of my own design My trains electric arrive and depart elegantly in rapid succession The platforms are polished and reflect the artificial stars above Everything is symmetrical like the humours of a fine clock Occasionally in memory travellers leave flowers at the foot of my plinth But…

When I lost my job at the factory I was paid off with a cheque dated the 2nd of August 1877 It is natural to say that I was not very thrilled and protested straight away The head of payroll told me that this was the only cheque left in the company and there was no…

What passionate fruits you hold Above your beating heart My courtyard is illuminated by your presence Such stillness cannot be shared       After the painting by Julio Romero de Torres 

I spend most of my days in a salad bowl You may think that I am a red tomato But I am just a common house brick My father was a Serbian           A Serbian (2021)