*
the human body
is not soap wearing thin to a hole
in the scented water bowl
nor is it ever wholly
of the past, always of the here and now
glows through the deadwood
not easy to dispatch
it creeps up like a snowdrop
through the carbon patch
and what was pining, barely alive
shut away within its bony cage
now floods into the dark recesses
to happen again
new life emerges when hope is no more
and you stand there, empty-handed and unsure
*
they travelled a long time
longlongtime
dumbstruck stillstanding trees
not-earth and earth pressed close
builder’s yards morgues fly-tips
skyfail palewhite
bluehills skywarmed
up and down the road and the road
swallet
grim
droop
spinybroom
steep
stonecrop
cumb
the unbending river vodopr’
can’t swallow enough water –
its shame next to the
perfectly round hills
they call the hills ‘mounts’
and we walked on the mount
we strolled in ornamental gardens
reflected in the long shanks of birch