The Night and the Moon and the Water

Walking on the beach when the sun has set The soft sigh of waves rolling in Water laps at my feet and recedes Tinted gold under the rising moon One by one the stars appear Their light obliterated by the closest star of all But now as we turn our backs to the sun Their…

Dance in the Rain

Looking at the sky, I wonder Do clouds smell like rain Or is it the heavy scent Of maybe-rain, not yet realised Waterlogged air laden with potential Hearing, distant, a low rumble of thunder Like a knock on the door Heralding an imminent arrival And then, a single drop spatters on the ground The way…

The Drowned Lands

Stand on the shore of the lake at midnight Wait for the moment and soon there will be Voices whispering up through the waters Songs from the drowned lands calling to me Bells toll fitfully, lost in the darkness Children’s laughter echoes below Lights flicker faintly through the dark waters Up through the years from…

The Painter Observes

Sitting in a rowboat Easel carefully balanced, brush and palette ready The painter observes the scene The sun shines, fluffy clouds cruise across the sky And a soothing breeze sighs along the water The river takes shape under his hands The greenery of trees and lush grass lining each bank follows Red-tiled farmhouses on the…

Surrounding my Solitude

Fresh clear stream clambers over rocks And giggles its way through the forest glade Wildflowers explode in a rainbow of colour There’s no one here but me And the stream, and the infinite sky The forest in all the shades of green Surrounding my solitude It is easy to feel lonely In the noise and…

A Story of Creation

A story written in the patterns of the air Following the wind’s road in all its winding Over cloud and under star Looping back on itself and starting again A story scratched in earth and stone Following the winding of water and root Over rock and under soil Renewing and starting over again This is…

Truth, Like Water

What is a bowl But a thing which contains Its function defined By the space inside People are the same Made to contain Soul and heaven Flesh only the housing For the truth within Truth, like water Runs through all parts of life You need only find the stream And drink your fill Becoming past,…

Towards the Welcome

Weathered rowboat pulled up on the lake’s edge Oars folded neatly inside  Red horizon fading As white stars burn fire across the heavens Thick-barked conifers shiver as the night wind picks up And the deep blue water tickles and pats The sandy shore Find the way by starlight Down toward the wooded headland To the…

Like a Dream

Sailing on mist-covered waters Drifting gently on unconscious tides Shards of life and mind flicker past All fluorescent colour and static noise Jigsaw pieces come together in bizarre pictures And splinter apart, and reform Stone scent of fresh water Mist leaves tang of reeds and algae on the tongue Creaking timber underneath, sails flap overhead…

Water lilies and Water ways – the magic of Monet

Claude Monet (1840-1926) was one of the founders of Impressionism, a type of painting founded on the idea of painting nature as it was perceived, especially outdoor painting (en plein air). He would often paint multiple pictures of the same scene, at different times of the day and at different seasons, in order to capture…