From the Ferry

A Fictional Life

I have travelled around the world, seeing things
I could only dream of before now.
Fighting battles, winning wars, married and divorced
And many many children; I have had it all.
Falling in and out of love, with people, with places.
Changing religion, appearance, and even my gender.
I roam the globe, constantly running, from myself,
My past and my future.

Tea is served and I am wheeled back to the day room.
Annie takes the book from my hands.
I reluctantly put down my glasses and proceed to eat.
Ham sandwiches and stewed tea bring me back to earth.
‘Corrie’s on soon!’ Annie says brightly. ‘Come and watch’
Parked in front of the television, I cannot reach my book.
I am trapped in this interminable hell.
No strength to protest.

 
Ode to a Bonny Langsome Siamese Cat

Da cat wheeches doon tae da loch and stauns peerie wyes
He watches sleekit for da peerie mootie deuk
Up in da skies a muckle bonxie skröls a warning
Tiger skelps back to da hoose, greetin aa da way
Back to neeb aside da roose
Nae more work for dee, du bonny langsome cat.

(Written in Shetland Dialect for a competition for Burns Night)

Seventeen Shades of Grey

Monday morning brings seventeen shades of grey.
Earth, sea, sky and tarmac converge in a monochrome gloom.
Sullen clouds hang heavily, draining energy and hope.

A mid morning breeze rips a vent in the clouds.
Azure blue peeks through, and the sea turns to teal.
The wind quickens, whisking up the spray in a clumsy bouquet.

Blue wins the battle for the skies, Sun joins in.
A fleeting glimpse of Spring, a promise of warmth to come.
A riot of glorious Technicolor returns – do not adjust your set.

Before too long, grey regroups, battle lines drawn.
The wind changes sides and calls for reinforcements.
As evening falls, it brings back seventeen shades of grey.

Moving Swiftly On

A decade has passed by, how did that happen?
I took my eye off you briefly, and then you were gone.
If I had known then when I kissed you last,
It would really be the last time we loved,
I would not have let you go, I would have held fast.

Anger and hurt blinded me to the things that mattered
I was unyielding, unforgiving, wrapped up in pain.
I could not see, nor did I wish to,
My contribution to our great undoing.
A decade has passed by, how did that happen?

You live now in another land, another life.
Six hundred miles, ten years, another wife.
You are so far away from me, in so many ways.
But everyday I look into your eyes, your face.
Our son grows more like you each passing day.

We have been apart longer than we were together,
But we remain entwined in shared history, a shared life.
Anger has receded, good memories have not.
Still, it is time to let go, say goodbye, move swiftly on.
You live now in another land, another life.