just before daybreak

my dog and I sit outside

looking at the stars

early morning stars

sprinkled across a dark sky

gazing in wonder

below this old house

the valley quietly sleeps

a distant dove calls

time moving slowly

watching the lichens growing

on a country wall

parked in a layby

the rustling of autumn leaves

that old copper beech

2 January, 2022

popularity

weak and shameless masquerade

the bare-faced unmasqued

2 January, 2022

my sister-in-law

a dervish preparing food

on family days

1 January, 2022

home from Italy

prone on the floor, my brother

bonding with our dog

1 January, 2022

ever thankful for

those mellow days when the air

itself breathes of love

January 1, 2022