Autumn Edge

Posted on by celfypridd

Autumn edge

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I count the species in the orchard hedge

Maple, Blackthorn, Hawthorn and Hazel thrive

Blackberry and Honeysuckle intertwine

Overgrown Elder pruned and cut hard

Two Oaks, two tall Maples break the line

A Red Admiral sits on a Buddleia leaf

Needing to find a place to hibernate

An idyllic scene a man laying a hedge

The clear blue skies under an autumn sun

But never far from my mind that other world

Of war in Syria, the unrelenting brutality

And the suffering of people in these times

And of the silence of people of my kind

And of the silence, the silent unravelling

Of the myth of the Wests superiority

Of the myth of the Wests democracy

Of the myth of the Wests morality

We assume the cloak of Pontius Pilate

And wash our hands of responsibility.

 

RAC

Preparing

Posted on by celfypridd

December 2015 002.jpgPreparing.

 

In this quiet time before winter draws in the light

We prepare the ground for the months of rest

Bill-hooks, sickles and cutters are sharpened

And so it’s a day to shorten and lay hedges

Birch and poplar are shedding their leaves

Oaks begin to turn though the change is slight

I hate to look at the Ash my favourite of trees

Diseased leaves hang in blackened bunches

But now is the time for the heavy work to be done

And in bad weather winter days writing begins.

Drowning

Posted on by celfypridd

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Drowning

 

I felt the shove

At my back

And tried to turn

To find something

Firm to hold

To prevent my fall

That’s when I saw you

And my breath

Gave out

Hitting the water

But then the sinking began

The dragging down

By my wet clothes weight

Into the depths

I felt the deepening cold

Of lake water

Enter my body

And the fear too

Uncontrollable shivering

Is never

Pleasant

I sank slowly

The surface

The light

Dimming

It was the slowness

That frightened me

I needed to free myself

Of the weight

That drew me into darkness

Shedding clothes

That gripped my body

The barrier

Between life and air

There have been

More recent times

When falling into darkness

And the gut twisting

Feelings of despair

And the coldness of fear

And it was the need to let go

That saved me

And the urge

To grasp life

And head for the light.

Matahara

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Matahara

This morning I stopped

to listen to a robin singing

in the tall birch tree

that overhangs our garden.

 

It is mid-August in Wales

but the robin’s singing

was the wistful and shrill

notes of an October song.

 

And it’s on cold clear

mornings like this

that I am reminded

of a small town

called Matahara

in the Rift valley

A lorry stop

on the badly cambered

rutted out road

from Addis to Djhibuti.

 

And of staying overnight

in the old school

over-shadowed by the cauldera

of Mount Fantalle

 

And woken by the sounds

of camels and the shouts

and whistles of men

returning safely again

from the long search

for nourishing pasture

emerging through

the rising dust

that shrouded and gauzed

the clear light of morning.

 

The sight of a man

running and carrying

a new born camel

on his shoulders.

 

And the sounds

of the joy of children

welcoming the men

their fathers, uncles

and brothers safely

back to their homes

 

All this will stay with me

for the time allowed

as I hear that the rains

have failed again.

 

RAC

 

Published in “Uncertain Times” Octavo Press 2016.

A blue dark shawl

Posted on by celfypridd

Camels posing again.JPG

A dark blue shawl

 

The evenings grow

Dark and cold

Even though

Its midsummer

So I gather

An Ethiopian shawl

Round my shoulders.

I feel weariness strain

In my neck and arm

And the need to rest

But the struggle continues

To keep this openness

To listen and hear

And remember

What we learned

From another

People and place

That will remain

Forever close

To my heart.

 

Karrayyuu people

We cross arms.

Lament for the girl of the morning sea

Posted on by celfypridd

Lament for the Girl of the Morning Sea.

 

A premonition of merciful peace has emerged

In the morning of this day.

 

And as if in agreement

Your hand opens to the waves.

In a movement of gratitude,

A moment of quiet acceptance.

I have heard you sing

To the waves crests,

Rise, rise from your depths

Rid me of all pain

I am alone wash over me.

 

In this bright early hour

You are at once transformed.

Peace adorns you,

Rests on your face.

I have seen you whisper

To the open sky

Touch me, cleanse me

Rid me of all fear.

I am alone wash over me.

 

Your hair hangs tangled

Stiffly on your eyes,

Green-water droplets

Trickle to your lips.

Your fingers grasp

The waters edge.

The shoreline pierces you,

Welcomes you, calls to you.

I am alone wash over me.

 

And you lying unseen

A curved silken spine

Broken by spite

The savagery of indifference

And the brutality

Of unmourned death

Move without moving.

Knowing nothing, knowing nothing

In your quiet sadness.

I am alone wash over me.

 

I have heard you sing

To the waves crests’

Rise from your depths

Rise from your submerged stillness.

I have heard you sing

To the open sky,

Touch me, cleanse me,

Rid me of all pain,

Rid mew of all fear.

I am alone wash over me.

 

Your mother cries for you in her silence

And mourns for another in her isolation.

I am alone wash over me.

 

Published in “Uncertain Times” Octavo Press 2016.14359016_1268703409830325_6191519944459544144_n