In the 1990s there seems to be a shift towards simpler diction, brevity and the use of rhythm and observation to convey changing perceptions, actions and thoughts.<\/p>\n
Walking the dog<\/strong><\/p>\n
three adders along the track<\/p>\n
clouds of butterflies above<\/p>\n
pale-seeded grass<\/p>\n
whilst first arrivals come to<\/p>\n
the scout-field picnic, we,<\/p>\n
the dog and I, trail the shadows<\/p>\n
of larches and oaks<\/p>\n
we trudge through deep<\/p>\n
red clay where horses have<\/p>\n
stamped into sagged and puckered<\/p>\n
hollows<\/p>\n
a buzzard, unused to company<\/p>\n
in this dark and solitary<\/p>\n
hour, takes his slow-flapping<\/p>\n
leave<\/p>\n
a wood-pigeon, cornered by<\/p>\n
surprise and lost imagination,<\/p>\n
ignites into fistfuls of wings,<\/p>\n
cleaving the silence with<\/p>\n
ill-tempered grace<\/p>\n
what can the dog do but<\/p>\n
bark and run at empty air?<\/p>\n
[5 July 1992]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Question<\/strong><\/p>\n
what is it that we meet<\/p>\n
turning in the quietness<\/p>\n
of a shadow?<\/p>\n
what is it that moves<\/p>\n
the air on the edge<\/p>\n
of the dark pond?<\/p>\n
and here in the city,<\/p>\n
where police inspect<\/p>\n
the night by helicopter<\/p>\n
and an ambulance hunts<\/p>\n
for fugitive pain, what<\/p>\n
is it that we meet in<\/p>\n
the crowded street<\/p>\n
between the takeaway<\/p>\n
and the bank?<\/p>\n
[10 July 1992]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That look<\/strong><\/p>\n
the woman has that look<\/p>\n
of bone-like shock, as if<\/p>\n
her body was no longer<\/p>\n
inhabited but left to<\/p>\n
carry on its daily tasks<\/p>\n
unaided, and she carrying<\/p>\n
the feathery bundle of<\/p>\n
a child<\/p>\n
running from sniper-fire<\/p>\n
is no way to raise a family<\/p>\n
[25 July 1992]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A night in the caravan<\/strong><\/p>\n
roof scuffed and brushed by<\/p>\n
narrow-leaved arms of the wind<\/p>\n
cones and scales of<\/p>\n
bark fall to the<\/p>\n
ground<\/p>\n
this morning\u2019s hymn is to<\/p>\n
moving air, to ceaseless<\/p>\n
mobility of branch and<\/p>\n
cypress frond<\/p>\n
what fury the wind ignored<\/p>\n
by rigid timbers raised against<\/p>\n
cloud-whipped sky<\/p>\n
[22 August 1992]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Poetic licence<\/strong><\/p>\n
according to Giraldus Cambrensis,<\/p>\n
the Welsh priest and historian,<\/p>\n
writing in 1188:<\/p>\n
an eagle is said to know<\/em><\/p>\n
the place where it can find<\/em><\/p>\n
its prey, but not the time<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
a raven knows the time,<\/em><\/p>\n
but not the place<\/em><\/p>\n
[August 1992]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New Forest<\/strong><\/p>\n
all these charred and twisted<\/p>\n
shards of heather, like so many<\/p>\n
bones scattered across a misty<\/p>\n
plain<\/p>\n
in the shallow wet light of this<\/p>\n
August evening even the pines<\/p>\n
seem to float and shiver as<\/p>\n
the choirs of silver birches<\/p>\n
gather to sing<\/p>\n
[25 August 1992]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the 1990s there seems to be a shift towards simpler diction, brevity and the use of rhythm and observation to convey changing perceptions, actions and thoughts. Walking the dog three adders along the track clouds of butterflies above pale-seeded … Continue reading