Spring

I look at someone older than me

And tell myself I am not there yet

He shuffles along before me with

The air of a tortoise enjoying a walk

I imitate his slow gait and stumble

My feet are used to a different pace

And protest this momentum drop

Green shoots on the bare branches

Have appeared without fanfare

The torn old leaves have not all fallen 

It is like grandparents and grandchildren

Seen together, the leaving and the arriving

Spring comes to every tree and plant

Without any prompting, sans supplication

My winter is beautiful because it is spring.

Such a sea

The moonglade glitters across the sea

As if it is a golden path to eternity

The incessant waves sound like the mind

With its eternal chatter and entreaties

The harbour cranes loom in the distance

Huge fishing rods angling for prize fishes

This is the second flight heading out

Twinkling stars with a cargo of wishes

The sand under the feet slips away a little

But the cool waters take away so much

All the past that meant so much so long

Does not mean much when the sea is such.

Rain

The flickering silences of a

Cloudy sky are like melodies

Yet to reach the chosen ears

A river from nowhere rushes past

The other bank cannot be seen

A butterfly meanders in search

Of flowers that scream at its sight

The wind too blows the pollen about

Love brims over in the fragrant air 

Seeds are on their slow way to light

The lone bird is set to find its voice

The soulmate is all eager to hear

The rain cannot wait, bursts into song.

Wrong turn

You can't ask the trees not to litter

It's how they make over for summer

Along the streets the yellow leaves

Have been swept into little piles for

Being set on fire, smoke from which

Stokes stabs of nostalgia for a city

Receding into remote corners of a mind

Fast losing its words, places and faces

Children from a passing vehicle cheer

The weekend freeing them of classes

I remember my son waking up crying

On Saturdays thinking he had school

His smile of relief after was precious

I take a wrong turn and find myself lost

For a while in a neighbourhood no more

Recognisable with its fancy new shops

The frightening dreams of losing my way

Seem to have found their way into waking.