Compacted

(By Sil, the 25th of June, London)

Growing into love
I had to learn from trees
Who confine
An infinite thirst for light
Inside small, delicate panes of leaf
And as I see the source
Of my contentment
Compacted down
To one man’s form
His fingers play to quell
This startled heart’s
Un-restful pulse
His whispered plea:

"Hush, now, my love.
Time is the master ghost
Who redeems all broken souls."

Strange Attractor

(By Sil, Hanging Bank Cottage, the18th of June, 2011)

I sit with you
In the terror
Of your precision

Words become
Little toy-cars
I cannot kick-start
The wiring and the track
Seem intact
But the flow is not the circuitry
Puzzled, I silently sulk

I have but a map of your world
Etched in my mind
A mute story of fear and dread
Of turning away
Of Protest’s
Hardened bread

I make a mistake
And then another
There’s no other way to communicate
That I wear the coat of your language
Second hand
That like you I swim
In turbulent waters
Not walk on solid middle-ground
I know all too well the taming powers
Of correction
Delivered with a heavy hand.

With every swipe you take
With every tiny speck
Of imprecision removed
There’s less and less of us

Communication is
A Strange Attractor
Forever gravitating
Around an empty space
Once you remove all error
There’s nothing left but
The silent perfection
Of a white page

A Seeing-Through

(By Sil, the 5th of June, 2011, London)


The merchant of silks
Sized me up
And declared:
“You’re one who escaped and explored”.

Yes – I dug my claws into the mortar
I cried from the ancient rooftops:
I’ll never be trapped behind walls.

Only in dreams I tread
The grand old mansion
Grounds
Where ladybirds
Cusped by inquisitive hands
Were lost on epic journeys

Only in dreams I still wonder
At the hollow
Jet-less fountain
And wallow
In the scent of
Ripe elderflower

I was tired
Lied on your bed
Strange unhomely pod
Buried deep into
The pad flesh
I could still feel the pea.