THERE IS NO END OF THINGS IN THE HEART


Abbreviated love, that will not fade
and can't come back - surprise
in the manner of  Chinese verse - as peach
or peony, as hair piled up
and pinned with jade and silver and gold;
as the seasons of waiting and parting of ways.

Out of the warm

OUT OF THE WARM



Conjuring oblivion
to keep oblivion at bay,
I have this image of snow
drifting into the grey, tall flank
of a North Atlantic swell,
as I take some side road
above the tree-line,
assured that all I need
do is nothing
when the cold and the dark
set to work and I feel
the immunity that comes from
having our worst fear confirmed,
secure beyond all saving.