Thea & Dino

I dreamed her name
and when I looked it up
the mention of deep-pooled eyes
just suited her.
An adventurer, she's
always first to explore new territory.
She becomes more graceful every day,
except when in a 2-storey game
of tag with Dino (upstairs, downstairs, round the sofa).
Dino looks younger than his 6months
calls Thea as a lioncub calls his mama
though she's really his sister
Shameless charm already,
lying back in my arms
Jake-like to be tickled
It seems like they've been here such a long time
and yet they only arrived on Sunday.
Stay safe my kittens, stay safe,
You are home.

LMC 7 Sept 11

Absence of cat

A space curls around me
It weighs down my chest when I wake up
Not kneading, not purring
Downstairs, Brian asks the air
if it's made him a cup of tea
An emptiness, a fail-to-greet-me
When I come home
Absence of cat

LMC 25Aug11

Sketch's last day

Right now it hurts to see a
photograph of your last day
I wish I'd spent it curled
around you, purring in the sun.

One day I'll see you as you come
sidling round the door
faintly, just a shimmer
and I'll know you're home again

LMC13Aug11

Reaction

No more cats, he says
and, in my head,
I know he's right
the road is just too busy here
to be safe for cats.
Yet in my heart I shout
so let's move house!

Sketch

From tip-paw timidity, tail trembling,

poised ready to flee,

to sitting confident on my chest

purring, kneading and looking

me straight in the eye;

her curious way of entering my dreams;

So scared at first that we felt blessed

when at last we gained her trust.

All ended by a speeding car

that never even bothered to stop

yesterday at 4pm her light

went out of our world.

LMC11Aug11



Last night of the proms

don't wave your bloody union jacks at me
how can you so blindly sing
that britons never shall be slaves
without any shame
for the millions made
in Britain's slave trade?

lmc14-6-11

The first goldfinch

A tiny, red-faced bird lands,
First goldfinch on the new feeder
So much hope realised
In one so small
Come on! Bring your friends!

LMC 28 May 11

15 May 2011

It took me by surprise today,
the date. Was it the shock
that meant it hit me harder?
32 years on, it’s rare
for the memory to floor me
Stupid, I'm now too wobbly 
to drive to Margate, to his grave

Alexander Technique

I follow my cat down the garden
To my favourite seat
She stalks like John Wayne
Though lighter than air

I follow, practising poise
Alexander-style
Trying to recover
A child-like grace


This way of sitting
Is certainly kinder
On my back, and stairs
Now rarely pain my knees

As I float into my new blue seat
It seems this way of moving
Can be effortless,
when I get it right



LMC 8May11

freedom

freedom's in sight today
an end to this
pre-redundancy ghostwalking
it's a new day
and I'll probably work harder
than I ever have
to make it good.
Just as well
I relish a challenge

LMC 21 Jan 2011