Grief

I've wept the tears
Of a lifetime
On a single night
The strangers
With their condolence faces
And cliches of comfort
Have all disappeared
Leaving behind a house
That has turned
A stranger without her
I switch off
Even the zero light
To hide my eyes
A hush as when the clouds gather
Seems to hang in the air
Beside me a howling vastness
Darkness giving way to darkness ---
I dread the break of day

Child's play

It is enough,
A flight of stairs
To run up and down,
A wall to bounce
A ball off,
And a neighbour
Who, even when he has
No child of his own,
Knows children have to play.