Pale rags of cloud
       sweep across
the pale morning sky
       pearl grey day
yet to be infused
       with light

A single magpie
       waits for others
to join it in its play
       in the background
the desultory song
       of thrush and robin

my mind a haze
       of broken dreams
a spidery web
       of disconnected
thoughts and feelings

In all these years
       the ragged elms
have barely changed
       those that witnessed
my birth : from winter frosts
       to summer storms
they’ve weathered it all

Time stretches out
       its ragged horizon
: roses and daffodils
       and autumn leaves
the measure of me
       love another — times
I met a fair wind
       and a warm heart

John Lyons