PURELY EDUCATIONAL

The expert talked at tremendous length
About history,
About sculpture,
About ecstatic revelation
Through painting
And surprisingly, about knitting.
Or, maybe, it could have been weaving.
She’d lost consciousness for a moment there,
Lulled into sleep by his steady voice.

Of course! Weaving!
Well, whatever it was,
That scrap of gold cloth
Was ancient and beautiful
And should be languishing in a museum.
Exactly where it was now.

Without pausing for the expert
To catch his breath,
The little group found they had moved on
Into the room full of Roman heads.
Meeting all sort of ears and mouths.
‘And this!’ the expert gently intoned.
A finger hesitating over a perfect marble nose,
Then sliding down the air.

Not touching the lovely curving lips
That disturbed the smooth and shining face.
‘With, look!’ the expert breathed,
‘Look at this tiny indentation of the chin.
This,’ he went on, ‘is why I love them.
‘Love them,’ he repeated huskily.
For these heads are the most beautiful
That have ever been.’

She woke up then.
He loved them? He did!
She could see the tears in his eyes,
Feel his passion for that unsmiling marble face
She was hungrily gazing at,
As it caught her in its eyes.

In the end, it was love at first sight.
Ignoring the yelp of the expert
She cradled that cool face between her warm hands,
Leaned in for a kiss
From those curving, sensuous, waiting lips,
That she swore, kissed her back.

They had to make her let it go.

 ©  2024 Gwen Grant

                 

Going through a difficult time, thoughts of all those we loved
helping us back to a much needed balance, brought this poem.
They bring with them prayers, some spoken out loud, some
spoken in the heart. All we love, cherished.

WORDS RISING

Hope,
Tough as old boots,
Flowering
In the hardest places.

Stem,
Leaf and colour
Defeating
Time.
Demolishing
Distance.
Bringing Love.

Making it new
All over again.

                   © 2024 Gwen Grant

THE TOOTH! THE TOOTH!

To my certain knowledge,
I have never done anything
To that tooth.

Never bitten straight down
Onto a walnut shell,
Never forgotten to clean
The wretched thing,
Brushing on brand new toothpaste
To keep it clean and shining.
And this is the thanks I get.

A devil with a pitchfork
Prodding its pulsing perfection
Into flame and furnace.
Laughing when streaks of pain,
Volumes of agony,
Pour into this demented molar.

‘Bit sore, eh?’ smiles the Dentist,
Holding over me the longest needle
The world has ever seen.
‘A sharp sting,’’ he grins and plunges
This vicious implement straight in.

Which is when the Road Mender appears.
DuhDuhDuhDuhDuh, he drills,
And my whole body freezes,
Until I hardly dare move for fear
My face will fall to pieces

‘All done!’cries the cheerful torturer.
The pain has gone and I’m up
And out of that chair in a flurry.
In case he finds something else to do.

But I’ll tell you one thing,
I won’t forgive that tooth in a hurry.

                             ©2024 Gwen Grant.

There were two of them, taking turns going up the tree and drumming their
beaks on the bark. We were attracted by the movement at the bottom of the
garden and when we saw the Woodpeckers, it was like winning the Lottery! Such
beauty and such perfection was a gift we won’t forget. They came for a couple of
weeks and we watched and waited for them but then a couple of days they didn’t
come and we knew these magical visitations were over. We very much hope they 
will come back.

I was always used to being surrounded by birds, all kinds of birds, and took them
for granted. But as the years moved on and I saw our bunch of sparrows in the
garden thin out and as visits by other birds grew less and worries over the welfare
of all birds everywhere, grew, it became clear there was a lot wrong for them. There
are efforts being made to help all birds now and we can only hope they are effective
and that our fields and gardens, woods and hedgerows and the world
itself is once again flooded with these beautiful visitors.

                 WOODPECKERS

The woodpeckers were a surprise,
A bonus.
As if nature’s good will
Had finally caught up
With us.
A small beauty
Filling the world.

            ©2024 Gwen Grant