the lifting dark -

the sounds of traffic

miles away

the waters above the earth

Whernside, Ingleborough, Pen-y-Ghent

and the waters below

the heron in

shallow water -

stitching

victorian weighbridge

at the museum -

estimating moss

on the washing line

a pair of socks

and a face mask

two socks

and a face mask - 

line of the times

flying ants

in mid July -

dressed for dinner

the hare watching 

from a farm gate

I run faster

blackbird
his beak
full of summer

ironing your clothes
in the steam
your scent

applauding themselves
pigeons haul
their bulk aloft

the pale undersides
of oak leaves-
storm winds

both particle
and wave -
skylark's song

heralding daybreak's
westward flight -
dawn chorus

stone gate posts
and iron railings -
enclosing wilderness

leaves filter
the morning mist -
listen

or

listen as
leaves filter
morning mist

skipping molehills
as I run -
parallel lives

blackbirds looking right
then left -
abandoned railway platform

rosebay willow-herb
and dandelion clocks -
the old railway station

casting nets
on woodland paths -
high noon

where once stood
a stately home -
peacocks calling

sowing seeds
I hear the flap
of pigeon's wings

cycling downhill
mouth tight shut -
summer insects

my car bonnet
thick with dust
and cherry blossom

a glass of malt
and an unsolved death -
Saturday night in

pigeons bob and peck
under the stern gaze
of the scarecrow

measuring the
week's progress -
garden bird feeder

last years
sapling unzipping
her corset

Coronavirus day six
jet washing
the jet washer

two bluetits
on a sunlit twig
for best effect

garden shadow's 

sharp edge - 

frosted grass

in the stratum of sunlight
above the shadowed garden -
bluetits

the rising sun
slowly changing
the geometry of shadows

self isolating
Amazon delivery -
knock-a-door-run-away

racing pigeons
flashing silver
under heavy skies

March blossom
on the cherry's
sunward side

starter main course
and dessert
three puddles of vomit

my heel slips
on vomit -
Friday night out

crow solves
the burger-box problem -
processed food

texting whilst walking
I find myself
in the ladies loo

revolving doors
and escalators -
timing is everything

the mechanical digger's
sharp elbow -
praying mantis

two fat pugs
chase a frisbee -
the memories of wolves

above Westminster
the union flag flies
from left to right

coloured cables
on the tunnel walls -
underground map

keeping my
identity safe -
self storage

the square pond's
flat plane -
frozen still

close-ranked
under the war memorial -
January daffodils

five magpies
on the road -
bar code

white on blue
in high bare branches -
tesco bag

I place two stones
on my shadow
and walk away

nine white ducks
under the tree -
town hall meeting

a glass of malt
and a book of haiku
beside my chair

the long shadows
of two bicycles -
rippling the winter hedgerow

how slowly
time passes -
speed awareness course

fourteen yellow leaves
the bare
tree's crown

drab autumn hedgerow
marbled with
green ivy

two clocks ticking
to different beats -
syncopated time

a mother's love
revealed in the
tenderness of stone

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golden coins
at the tree's base
an unexpected windfall

the beeches
trembling leaves
clinging to summer

with St John's head
on her platter -
Salome slicing

fresh-kneaded dough
and my grandmother's memory
rising together

accepted by Robert Epstein for the Signature Anthology - currently in draft

the white butterfly
circling the snowberry -
season's change

old friends
round a table -
bread and wine

late summer swallows
wheel and circle -
winging it

persistent drizzle
under grey skies -
washing the solar panels

overlapping circles
on the lake's surface -
unexpected showers

the stillness
of a drawn bow -
waiting spider

in my
arrow's flightpath -
dancing dragonflies

walking along
his nose in a book
on a collision course

jet fighters
fleeing
their thunder

a seagull
descends with the breeze
as another rises

little lizard
on a stone path -
panic attack

harvest spider
keeping pace with my boots -
briefly

upturned shell
on gravelly beach -
emerald bottle glass

two cormorants
on a black rock -
white spume

sharp slanted
sea rocks
green surging wave

horizontal trunk
and vertical branches -
square roots

a vivid
blanket of moss -
roots and stones

wall ferns
brush my fingertips -
blackberry thorns

all the trees
bend to point
the wind's way

ancient treetops
and younger saplings
directing the wind

the old
stone wall's
mossy tonsure

beyond the
flexing treetops
a sunlit hillside

wasps unwelcome
at the picnic -
summer semaphore

bloody feathers
in a circle -
dinner plate

crossing the
cattle grid -
size thirteen boots

butterfly bush
between the tracks -
inter-railing

a tiny sail-boat
skimming the water -
downy white feather

green grass under
thunder clouds -
electric blue

dragonfly over
sparkling water -
carpe diem

the campsite's
distant corner -
a rocking caravan

blank eye-sockets
of wall mounted deer -
roast lamb dinner

wedding anniversary dinner
we discuss
the cutlery drawer

right in the middle
of my telescope lens -
a huge spider

the women
greet one another
with falsetto cries

new mum gazes
at her new baby -
dad takes selfies

two gossiping friends
stick the knife in -
lunch is served

old stone lintel
above the
bricked-up door

she's away
for a few days -
the seat's up

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three pairs of spectacles
and a denture -
bedside companions

riding the breeze
the bee tracks
the moving leaf

order of service
for the funeral of...
my growing collection

a bee pauses
momentarily -
double yellow lines

late July
the chestnut's
brown-edged leaves

magpie takes
the zebra crossing -
black and white and...

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eight lanes
of motorway -
a sunlit hillside

the drunk
recalls his ex
under the lychgate

a fine rain
kerbside puddles -
the funeral car

minnows align
within the flow -
I ponder retirement

message whilst cycling
and you'll die -
predictive text

a sapling
in the bell tower -
church growth

a swift arc
the ball's flight
a tiny splash

the bee flies
over water
beside the bridge

a motionless willow
under heavy skies -
crashing thunder

chocolate cake
under a glass dome -
smash-and-grab

crow in two dimensions
the breeze
moving its feathers

sheer granite face
a lichen ring
making a foothold

the derelict airfield
shaped by
the world's horizon

an old man
browsing cheap wine -
tasselled shoes

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two tiny birds
in arial combat
death wish

white van
in the poppy field
three hi-viz jackets

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watching
the morris dancers
open-mouthed

through two windows
I see her tears
at the traffic lights

Monday morning
bathroom scales
fake news

published by failed haiku

white on blue
the lark's thin trill
invisibly high

an archery field
the swallow's
precision flight

the crow squats
momentarily
then springs into flight

a motorway verge
eight crows inspect
a ruined fox

tilted gravestones
the hum
of insect life

powerpoint
and teacher talk
I'm not learning

pretending to
take notes
writing haiku

published by failedhaiku

desolate winter valley
shaped to contain
a glacier

close-jointed brick
the wall fern's
puckered edges

the door opens
and in comes
the cool smell of rain

she leaves the elevator
with the scent
of stale tobacco

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cloud and sunlight
banding the
mountain's flank

a silver birch
patched with moss
on one side

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three granite boulders
worn to spheres
by time and ice

as the sun rises
the blackbirds golden beak
speaks a silver song

the shower control
beyond the cascade -
a risky moment

the weed growing
on the wall's top -
seeking better prospects

the songbird's cascade
and rain's percussion
making liquid music

breeze blown
hedge sparrows
flying backwards

the dawn chorus
is singing
in complete darkness

at the bronze
plinth's base
a scented hyacinth

published by poetrypea

windmill sentinels
of distance
describing circles

spring hedgerow
alive with movement
and birdsong

the cherry's
pink explosion
held in air

three pairs
but where
are my spectacles?

fresh snow
on the slopes
at my barbers

little black dress
and little black bag
of dogshit

daybreak
threaded with
robins' song

February's daffodils
are leaning
slightly forwards

power lines
and starlings
making music

still dark
between midnight
and birdsong

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unheard
the village bell
measures darkness

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