Family Life

Sisters

It’s a lonely world without you,darling sister.No longer your familiar kind voicethere to listenwhen I worry about my boysor my grandchildren,or have problems with one

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The Surprise of Tears

Just as you think you’re doing well,You’re feeling strong,you’ve got it all sorted,so cool calm and collected,they catch you,out of the blue. It’s a hand

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A Hat Well Chewed

The day Teal ate your hatyou weren’t best pleased.He chewed it well, that dear dog,his sloppy yellow jaw gnawing awayat the brown felt and trim.

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Life’s Playlist

This afternoon I trippedthrough black vinyl and battered covers of vanished years. Lost my mind as I tasted Stevie Nicks’ Bella Donnaand tangoed in the

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National Poetry Day 2016

You walked beside mesome forty years or more,my right-hand woman,leaving footprints on the pavements,in the sand, in my home. You saw my babies born,and die,

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National Poetry Day 2016

In a Chelsea restaurantthe young boy sits stiffly,school blazer straight-backed,hands flat on flannel grey,darting glances at his father,whose fingertip commandmesmerises waiters to his wide. Father

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Fantasy Life

You were 26 years old,witty, handsome.You worked for a fashion brandbehind the Royal Academy,relished a young man’s London life. After I heard the news I

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No Connection

In a Chelsea restaurantthe young boy sits stiffly,school blazer straight-backed,hands flat on flannel grey,darting glances at his father,whose fingertip commandmesmerises waiters to his side. Father

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Days of Farewell

The double doors had rubber seals. They swung open with a crash against the wall. A porter pushed your stretcher through. It was April Fool’s

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