Buteo

Buteo, Buteo

Wherefore art thou Buteo?

On what holy wooded hedge

Where you make our hooded ledge

And wherefore do you fly?

Forever a convict of the sky

And conviction yes

More is the less

As with auspices make your pledge

Your blood bond to swear by

Vow your vows

Bow your heads

Here comes the vouchsafe

Of your lives

Give money, give roses, poses of heather

Black is the beak, brown is the feather

The air in some torpid atmosphere

Breaks like breakers of a wild sea

Snapping like a belt of leather

Sends up vapours

On whose thermals see thee

Oh how grubby are the praying hands

When they come together

Beneath wedding bands

And marriage yet between

Sky and land

Though thou art unknowable times of sand

For where do you come from?

Who is your mother?

Thy father is every falcon

Every hunter back to the age of man

But how many mothers can

Give birth to your skill

Your art is the destroyer

How learnt thou to kill?

Who taught you? Treacherous sky and wind

Tempest belly was thy womb

But land that keeps your harboured pledge

Vouchsafe in him

Your meat and bread

Father provider to a son born of the air

Always crossing the sun

But what cares the sun for poor Buteo Buteo?

He is forever a traveller

In search of his carrion loot

In search of dead gold

When the sun is treasure chest

Enough for this pirate

Who sails blue pastures

What more wealth can be searched for?

When wisdom is the treasure the sun has in store

And he but transmuted

The vessel of nature’s law

Sign giver and guide all those

Who worship him and him adore

Yet his auspice given, rewards

Neither love nor hate

But like the majesty of heaven

Reigns down equal upon those from His pearly gate

Questions Where AM I?

 On what enlightened bay

Do the tides of time descend?

On how sweet an afternoon

Of light astray

Can the scarlet pimpernel festoon?

Where do the oysters catch?

And where do the gulls loom?

In the fasted Lapis sky

Beneath the hay making sun

How does the bracken grow?

How weaves the stinging nettle?

Through what thistle do the finches whistle?

Or over what cliff is heard

The peregrines steaming, screaming kettle

How comes it that I am here?

For to tell what enters mine ear?

And why for do the black birds mew?

Or the crow caw, caw

Or why do the rabbits run, lapis lapidary

Lapin lapping the blue from the sky

The yellow from the chicken sun

The silver from the harvest moon

The white from the clouds undone

How comes it the temperate chain lies unbroken?

The wind to cool, the sun to heat

How is it that words left unspoken?

Best describe this nature’s beat

Dripping Cove

 Dripping Cove

The running iron stove

That bleeds its red blood

From the islands heart

Out to the orange buoy

Who has floated like a gob stopper

In the rivers mouth for years

And that Pirates Bay

With smuggler’s caves

Where the sea like a milky basin sways

In the murmuring moonlight it waves

And its murderous intentions

Below the looks

Of monks from above their books

Below the sounds of the farmer’s plough

And the hob nailed boots of soldiers on their way

Dripping cove, ebbs out its life blood precious

Mixes the islands blood flow with the seas salty spray

Views from Flat Holm

 When the land is on its knees

And it seems like pickle and cheese

Laid out in slabs and chunks

All along the coast of the seas

And the sky is striking blue

As a thunderbolt in a bucket or two

Emptied in, the repository of wind

Which takes it hurling up the channel

And after the storm

The white windmills clearly blew

Like the arms of those reborn

On the hills of Calvary

Like jacks that God threw

Tumbling down

From the back of his hand

Fallen between divine fingers

The way across the bay

Seems so near yet is so far

The beach beyond out of reach abscond

The cream teas and fish and chips

The happy shoppers and laughing lips

The merry go round and carousel

The Big Top turning I know very well

The pier like a playground, for grown up kids

The steep climb to Brean Down

Where many a walking boot skids

And the fort which looks out back at us

Like a mirror seeing its own eye through binoculars

Its gun turrets and batteries and military shielding

Matched by our own battlements and the Victorian's building

Conjoined like three weird sisters Brean Down and two islands

 

Steep Holm the steepest, its gradient highlands

Like a potters clay mound cut and turned

On the wheel of the sea

Its edges carved steep by is cupped hands

Flat Holm the lizard lounging down flat

Sunning itself, by the wind, ironed like a mat

Brean Down so colloquial, provincial almost

With Weston the hub of local stage post

And Cardiff is there gleaming and white

Shining out through defiance against the storm’s might

Metropolitan and buzzing splashing its wealth

Like an elephant in a mud bath all over itself

On the hill Penarth

Proud and self-fulfilled,

Looking on the works of former days willed

Collated like a kaleidoscope

The world swirls around

As a lesser black-backed gull

Swoops down to ground

Ocean's eleven -or Rhyme of the ancient mariner Revisited

I set off for eleven oceans

After I'd sailed seven seas

Four more I could not fail

I thought it would be a breeze

I was a lonesome vagabond

in search of riches, tourism and drink

But on that eleventh ocean

was where my ship did sink

A-drowning I was ship-wrecked

my raft it was marooned

upon the shore of a far off Isle

by a whale I had Harpooned

For where is this poor countree

that ye have towed me to?

He said well lonesome vagabond

I've towed ye to Peru

Peru I said and startled up

Where canst a man walk home?

Neigh dear lonesome Mariner

For too far have ye now roamed

But Lo what Majestic sky turned out

When I did turn me Head

For Heaven displayed a plethora of stars

One if followed must home me led

To orient I fixed the whale

Again out on the ocean

And told him hence to beat his tail

And thus from this dark Isle we shall give motion

And so on the crew of one did wend

It's starlit toiling passion

For the sea was as green as a wild monster

Calling my heart's courage to ration

Never a boat had thus put sail

Upon these treacherous seas

Nor chart or map to orient

Our pathless way to ease

We journeyed on without rainfall,

Our mouths were parched as sands

And the rats which fled from my raft

The searing heat they could not stand

Then to me appeared a visage of a friend

One I had known but now long lost

A man I had betrayed in love

And now before me visited his ghost

Accusing eyes they pierced me

And cut me to the quick

That I should live, while he had died

No candle burns a faster wick

Then flames in cohorts filled the scene

And seemed to set a light the timber

And in each flame a visage appeared

Of a man who was my crew member

They called to me and cried still worse

Why have you forsaken your brothers?

Because your life and ours were tied together

Now our deaths will be your curse

So, on I fled, crying “take me away from this guilt”

And soon from the air came a wandering dove

The evil which gave voice to these spirits

Had been dissolved by a face of love

The dove joined my vessel and led the

Whale towards dark cliffs,

“It is land “I cried

And so grateful was I

That no line written could tell of my bliss

Thank you said I, but then down did he die

Exhausted upon the deck

My future still lay in the balance, so for luck

I wore the bird around my neck

The Island was old and grey from a distance

But with speed became more familiar

It was the very spot I had sailed from

In June fifteen long years past clear

The wedding guests had arrived and there

I went with utmost haste

Now to you I regale my tale

Of eleven ocean's to which I lay waste

Meet me on the island

Meet me on the island
I'm drowning, I'm drowning
Meet me on the island
Of a thousand crownings

A thousand brown hens
Crowing the morning
A thousand cockrels
Cock adoodling a warning
Meet me on the island
Of sacrifice
Meet me on the island
Called paradise

I've been over the cold iron bridge
And I've been stuck on
a hot fiery ridge
Been too close to the sun
On my midnight run
Been down to the brook
To read a book
And lay down by the stream
To take sometime to dream
Now meet me on the island
We live in the promised land

We'll row over there one night
Under cover, out of sight
And draw our bows from the withies
And we'll stretch our strings
From twine that bark brings
And make a harp that sings
In the starlight

And you'll brood in the rude rushes
In a hood where you stood under crushes
Of the night when it fell
When we heard the tolling bell
Ring out like a warning through the reeds

So meet me on the island
Where all of it bleeds
And it mixes in the river
And its carried in the flood
I can see your eyes full of water too
Like you could cry by the riverbank
But darling can't you tell
The island is ours as well
So let's keep it a secret
And give thanks
To keep it


Kick out the kites
And Deliver the doves
The gulls are so bright
Silouhetted crosses above
Where the crows crowd in a parliament
And parle about the world outside their branches
They sit on the wires,
like old men around fires
Discussing the government
Like cowboys on ranches

Hoopoe

James saw a Hoopoe
Flying high above
Funny to be on an island
And not to feel love

He caught it on his I phone
Him phone Her phone
He and She
This Hoopoe was caught
In a net whoopee!

James saw a Hoopoe
This is all I can say
It was many years ago
From here an eternity away

I call back to my past
My bird song echoes
But it will not last
As all the love
That we must one day
Let go of

The Hoopoe
Was as transitory
As a cloud shadow

He picked out its dimensions
Zoomed into its pixels
Like some wanted fellow
A felon escaped from prison

But it had no talons to speak of
Only this strange head
And then of course a distinctive call
To recognize miles and miles
Above the island of the dead

How many skulls have reverberated
This sound?
Called out for another's answer
Thinking themselves
The only other Hoopoe around

How many wood pecker skulls
have hammered the tree
And cracked like nutshells
Before they can get free?

How many skulls hear the ringing bells
How many hear the poetry?
Just the Hoopoe
Just the Hoopoe?

Coal eyes burning

Coal island bound
On the ship
On the rocking waves
I'm on my way
To the black coal face
I will work in the gutters
The shores of respite
Will heal my soul
And my ship will be scuppered
On that island of coal
I've hurt and I've suffered
For the whys and the Hows
The whos and the whats
But if I had to tell
What it was I learned
I can't say a lot
Apart from how and when
To be a fool to myself
When someone rings a bell
I jump
When they start to yell
I slump
Like a puppet on string
Held by you

The puppet island sailors
Are calling now
Writing letters
To the roving butterflies
That are blown across oceans
Whose pupae have squirmed
Chrysalises shake
In the mid Atlantic wake
Of the Ships
That go sailing by

Reflections on an Island :Letter from an Island

The wind is howling now

A gale out to sea

The gulls all look pale

In a marked misery

They are petals

Collected on the flat rocks

Which lie who knows why

When around them

Are all jagged vertical alumni

I’m writing home

On a Saturday

To say

The visitors never came

The sea it was too rough

Hopes candle dwindled

To a low flame

We occupy our time

In occlusions from the high eye

Victorian built bunkers

Where are stored work tools

Where we make driftwood benches

And walk along the shore

On our feet are Wellington boots

In our hands are bow saws

We topple and slip and hop

 Over the newly wetted rocks

Look in at rock pools

By the white sea-foam fringes stop

At first I thought a bird had died

But it was not feathers

Rather lathered up plankton water

Aerated by the belts of wind like leathers

Across waves as if chastising unruly sons and daughters

At night we wait until the last light from the sky has gone

Before turning on

The bulbs of electric

And a fire is a blessing every few days

Because there is nowhere to go

We become important to each other

And habits of meal times are sacred things

Not to be broken

As marriage vows and rings

Conversation usually goes well

Few things stand as tokens

Except doing unto others as you would have done unto yourself

The unwritten authority of the warden in most things

Is left unspoken

We defer to him as lost sheep

Sometimes he is our shepherd

What he has an abundance of is confidence

And a love of food

In some respects we may not get on without him

Gem Stones and Cross Bones

flatholm

Gem Stones and Crossed Bones

Albert the albatross

Met Gary the gull

From their perch

They search the blue horizon

And fly off to find

Where their spirits will guide them

And off and on, they swing in song

In the salty arms of the sea

In the up lifting palms

Of a rising swell

In the vapours which like volcanoes bellow

And toss them and turn them

Like pancakes in the air

Like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire

They dance the midnight air

 

Until they alight on an island

And they’ve been gone for a month long

And the Briny had bind and bridled them

And like husband and wife

They endure much strife

Until the island may find and unbind them

Unwind in curls of curlews

And the coils of the spiralling vines

And the grapes dark juice

Like blood in vermouth

And fresh water they drink from the well

And the sluice will wash

Their feather downs on them

And that let it be said,

What cannot be said

Is that Albert was somewhat of a pirate

And Gary the gull did not know very well

And he went along like an innocent fledgling

To the plots and the schemes

Of the Trosse’s grand dreams

Of what he could stow on the island

And they came one day

To a ship all at bay

With a skull and cross bones a flag it

And as a swarthy swag

Albert swooped down onto a bag

And carried it off down beside him

And the ship’s crew blew

Their voices so blue

The whole sea could have come up from inside them

And they cursed the birds

And what was worst they swore

To track down and find them

Soon Albert and the gull

Had made land fall

And found the swarthy crew not far behind them

Jogging up and down in their boats

Mad as wild goats

Hopping in their rage to the island

Now the bag that Albert took

Was heavy as a book

Weighed down with the words of the lord

But when they opened it up

With a swift cut

They found there the work of no good book

Only that of an evil sword

For there in the black

Lay shining flax

Of gold as if thread to fine hair

And entwined around

A broach and a crown

With a ruby and a diamond set square

Now these gems had belonged

To a king for not long

For just after his coronation

He was mugged while on Royal tour

The jewels lugged to smugglers off shore

And the all the islanders said what an abomination

And these same pursuing pirates they were the culprits

But Albert could not preach from his high pulpit

 On which with Gary now he perched

For he too had become thief

But his life would be too brief

If to its rightful owners he did not make amends and be researched

So Gary stood true

To the Law which he knew

In his innocent way he must follow

And persuaded Albert likewise

To be as wise guys

And fly with him south to the king like the swallow

So off they went

Not soon enough had they vent

When the captain of the sailors he them espied

And taking direction and wind speed

Guessed what course correction they would need

And so in hot pursuit his ship smartly replied

Now to the islands of Fiji

The birds fondly journey

With cusp and a weight to their throw

For as the gull flies, so likewise the crow

(And less so the burdened Albatross)

So like a true cross

This martyred Albatross

Had to carry his weight for mankind

In the one hope to tell

That there would await no true hell

But a Kingly welcome in Fiji they might find

And just like a thief

Albert felt the relief

When he at last confronted his benefactor

And hoping his good news

Would prevent the King from his own abuse

Or shoot the messenger as malefactor

*****

Dropping the crown jewels

And broach at the king’s feet

Who now rode in a caravan of mules down the street

Instead of a crown of gold

He wore a crown made of reed

But his people still loved him for he was only good without greed

Albert spoke to Gary

Look how they tarry

They are in no want of jewels and gold

But Gary said to Albert

They won’t be fooled by the dirt

When they see their stolen crown as brass is bold

So they alighted in front of them

The caravan of mules

And their presence soon arrested it

Like they had brought from heaven some new rules

And between the gap

Albert emptied out the bag of jewels

And the King slapped his lap

And instead of a crown

He wore a hat made of reeds

But his people still loved him

For he was a good king far from greed

Albert spoke to Gary,

“Look how they tarry

They are in no want of jewels and gold.”

But Gary said to Albert

“Do not be fooled, this is no Port Talbot

And those jewels you carry there

Were stolen and not sold.”

So they alighted in front of them

The caravan of mules

And their presence soon arrested it

To a face down like a duel

And between Albert emptied the bag of the King’s jewels

And said here your Majesty, please take back what belongs to you and yours

Well the king was overjoyed

But asked these skyward buoys

Wherefore and how they came into their possession

And Gary smartly explained

That a Captain now complained

And pursued them both with a mad obsession

“He has sailed seven seas

Crossed pacific and Atlantic,

In a condition quite frantic

In his search for a purchase on his lost treasure

And it would be his pleasure

To tear us wing from wing

If he could only catch us at our leisure

But we have hardly slept

For this burden we have kept

To return it to the rightful King

But I fear you may expect

A visit from this prime suspect

At a day and hour soon in the offering

So king and country made their plans

And excited the caravan

To bring the jewels back to his fortress hold

Which though it be a meagre island in the chain of many

The King’s stronghold could not be said to be short of a penny

And for a goodly while the birds felt quite safe

Except for one day when the black flag was spotted bobbing in the bay

And they knew without delay

That come what come what may

The Captain soon would make his appearance in their stay

And sure enough at dead of night

With cutlass and flaming torch light

The terrible pirate gang made their press

And they scaled the high walls

And fired cannon balls

And brought to its knees the King’s fortress

But it was at break of day

On that terrible troubled bay

That the Albatross faced down the Captain

“You may step not forth

On this King’s berth

You must turn back and go the other way.

But the Captain’s steel cutlass sang

A song so close to the Albatross’s pang

That he feared stand long

Or the pirate’s path to cross

Then to his friends need

Came Gary the Gull of brave deed

And pecked the Captain on the nose

Oh what a bleed!

Now as every ship’s mate knows

The Captain’s red, red nose

Is about as weak as papyrus reed

And he hit him on the spot

That happened to be hot

With some Pacific Island type of Fever

And it burst and went on bleeding

All over the King’s ceiling

And the Captain ran off red faced

His crew in tow

 

So let that be a lesson

That it is a privilege and indeed a blessing

To say Bless You to a Captain

When he blows his nose

And even to a whaler

Who bewares an Albatross’s ill favour

And from then on he has been a friend to all good sailors

As this story shows

And your mind may begin to think

Whether Albert and Gary still do link

And a friend informed me who I know quite well

That they yet wander the big lonely drink

Like best buddies they give a wink

And happily climb up over the next sea swell