Hartshead Moor

HARTSHEAD MOOR

One corner of a tarmac field
is littered with cars and coaches
hugging warmth
signed by cold neon.

Most vehicles are empty
their occupants refuelling themselves
inside with coffee
and insipid sausages.

Others who have come from nearby towns
sit eating their fish and chips and peas
drinking own-brewed tea
from a thermos flask.

Beyond here the swift way runs west
over barren moor that still
fights the traveller
with its winds.

Fierce winters bring down icy fogs
that lure lemming speedsters
into flesh-torn traps
of twisted metal,

while in summer the sun shines on Scammonden
where yachts ply on peaceful water
and gliders hang
from a nearby cliff.

Leaving the Services on this cold, bright night
we think ahead only to the warmth
that lies in the bed
at journey's end.

© GERALD ENGLAND.

Composed: Oldham, 1st March 1978

Unpublished

Winding Rhyme

WINDING RHYME

Baby what shall we do with you ?
What are your windies going to do ?
Are they going to come right up ?
Are you going to give us a bu'p ?
Or do you think that they'll go down
Or merely rumble round and roun' ?

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 2nd January 1978

Publication

1981 DADDYCATION (Ashton under Lyne, New Hope International)

He Who Would Speak

HE WHO WOULD SPEAK

My friend came with a problem
I did not know what to say
I feared the consequence of my words
I stayed a while silent
I did not speak to my friend
My heart spoke with the Lord
The Spirit interceded and
gave me a question to ask
My friend did not answer me the question
But the Lord answered his problem

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 1st November 1977

Publications

1987 Christian Living (USA)
2003 SOUNDING HEAVEN AND EARTH (Norwich, Canterbury Press)

On Watching The Birth Of My Son by Caesarian Section

ON WATCHING THE BIRTH OF MY SON BY CAESARIAN SECTION

Skin was slit like the opening of an envelope
A head with hair was revealed
Skilful hands worked with precision
Blood and water gushed, drenching sheets
And emerged a baby, alive and whole,
covered all over all green The cord cut
my baby son was carried to a table
Several seconds of intensive wait then
all in the theatre thrilled to the cry
of the earth's latest inhabitant
The pedeatrician pronounced him a fine seven-pounder
while the doctor finished his work and sewed the scar
They were wrong who feared I might faint
I was far too busy being overjoyed
at this wonder of creation to feel other
than the very best I have ever felt
A father proud of his son and his wife
praising his own maker and the doctors and nurses
who all played their part to produce
one more miracle

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 22nd September 1977

Publications

1978 Pennine Platform (UK)
1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)

One Monday

A DAY'S WORK (MONDAY 19/9/77)

A prose-poem


© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 20th September 1977

Publications

1979 Christian Poetry (USA)
1981 DADDYCATION (Ashton under Lyne, New Hope International)
1990 Prakalpana Literature (India)

Ballade of a Male Chauvenist Pig

BALLADE OF A MALE CHAUVINIST PIG

I took my wife to a Chinese restaurant to eat;
egg fou yung, sweet and sour, she declined;
said she fancied a nice fat piece of meat
like gammon ham with a juicy rind
A woman always has the right to change her mind
so I got her fish and chips and peas
and then we felt we'd truly dined
Why is a woman so difficult to please ?

Yesterday my wife complained about her feet,
how climbing stairs was such a bind
and how she couldn't stand the heat,
that this year's weather had not been kind
and how for a bit of sun she pined
I went and booked a holiday in Greece
but now she hasn't time I find
Why is a woman so difficult to please ?

Once my wife for a bit of a treat
went to the house of a man who was blind
to clean and make it tidy and neat
but when he stood up and slapped her behind
then found herself in his arms entwined
she said, "Excuse me, I want to sneeze!"
and left with her cheque still unsigned
Why is a woman so difficult to please ?

ENVOI

Prince, when I come home from the daily grind
if I bring her milk she asks for cheese
It's no wonder my face is wrinkled and lined
Why are women so difficult to please ?

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 1st September 1977

Publications

1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1998 Boggers All (UK)

The Wall of Faith

THE WALL OF FAITH

My faith was like a wall
built of sound and solid brick
but in my sin I failed
to mix a mortar strong and true
so that it crumbled in the wind
and dissolved in the rain
and my wall fell down
in the storm

My second wall was built on sand
When the storm came
the ground began to swell
and solid to liquid turned
The bricks sank in the mire;
the whole construction began to sway;
the foundations collapsed
and, unsupported, the wall fell

My third wall was built
upon the word of the Lord,
fashioned with bricks baked
in the fire of truth,
fastened with the mortar of love;
a strong wall to withstand
the buffeting of any storm
or attacks of fiery darts

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 1st August 1977

Publication

1985 Broken Streets (USA)

On Finding An Anonymous Wreath

ON FINDING AN ANONYMOUS WREATH

Who are you?
Why did you leave a wreath
on our baby's grave?
You are not anyone we know
Did you have so many wreaths
that you spared one for a quiet grave?
or had you a baby that died
and have no grave of your own to visit
so chose ours?
Whoever you are
whatever your reason
we thank you for your kindness
Share not our sorrow
but share our joy
knowing that our baby
is not in barren soil
but in a many-mansioned place
where we through grace may follow on

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 17th July 1977

Publications

1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1992 ANGELS OF THE HEART (Bath, Paula Cruttenden)

Encounter

ENCOUNTER

He saw the sand - turned
looked at me for assurance
I nodded - following with my two feet
Encouraged he bounded off
Straightway - a fluttering of wings
and a squawking of beaks
from seagulls chased
but dogs can't fly

Then he found the sea
He ran at it
but a wave barked back at him
He retreated
Cautious steps forward
another leaping return
then temper flared
and like a New-Year-Ice-Breaker
he dived over the waves
landed splashfull in a skinsoak of sandsaltsea

I too attempted retreat
from watershedding shakes
As I sat watching the tide retreat
and estuary mist give way
to green sights of opposite land
he groomed himself almost dry

We resumed contact and left

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Exmouth, 7th June 1977

Publication

2000 Skald

Monday Morning

MONDAY MORNING

Beneath the row of nettles
the dock leaves grew
and ivy up a tree
Out at sea the destroyer plied
its silent way while the raucous sounds
of toucans, macaws and cockatoos
filled the tropical aviary
One white-cheeked touraco, with shining
scarlet eyelashes hung firmly
to a twig for his long-lost nest
Two little guinea-pigs shared their home
with the cockatiels
A white peahen looked uninterestedly on
at two peacocks, tails afanned
and bottoms shaking a furious courtship
The Alexandrine parakeet took
the tomato and held it in its claw to eat
Neither we nor they cared for the rain
The mist destroyed any sight out at sea
and the trees dripped

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: St Lawrence, IOW, 5th May 1977

Publications

1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1981 New Hope International (UK)
1993 The People's Poetry (UK)

The Word on Eyes

THE WORD ON EYES

The wise man's eyes are in his head
but the fool walks in darkness;
his eyes are in the ends of the earth
They that tarry long at the wine;
they that go to see mixed wine;
they have redness of eyes
Better is the sight of the eyes
than the wandering of desire,
which is vanity and vexation of spirit
The eyes of the lofty shall be humbled
The rebellious have eyes and see not
The eyes of the pure in heart
shall see God
The eyes of the blind shall be opened
The eyes of the Lord are in every place
beholding the evil and the good
The eyes of all wait upon Him
and he gives them their meat in due season

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 6th April 1977

Publications

1977 EYES (Huddersfield, Sight Saving Association)
1992 The Third Half (UK)
1993 Unicorn (UK)

The Eyes of the Blind Shall be Opened

THE EYES OF THE BLIND SHALL BE OPENED

At Nazareth
the eyes of all those
that were in the synagogue
were fastened on him
who was sent for the recovering
of sight to the blind

In former days
we groped for the wall
like the blind as if
we had no eyes, stumbling
at noonday as in the night -
a foolish, rebellious people
which have eyes and see not

Now like the disciples
who walked the road to Emmaeus
our eyes are opened
and we know Him
We say, with Simeon,
"Mine eyes have seen thy salvation"

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 4th April 1977

Publication

1982 Dowry (UK)

Erosion

© Copyright 2006 RichTea.
EROSION

At Mappleton the road
runs right on over the edge
of the crumbling cliff which
the grey foam of a sulky, green sea
continually devours.
Remaining are outline foundations
of houses now removed
to safer places farther inland.

Much farther inland are the huge
Holderness haystacks - built
four-square and solid -
topped by thatched-type roofs
held down by building bricks.

More building bricks and concrete
form suburban Hull in whose
outer housing estates we loose
ourselves among winding drives.

The farmer ploughs his fertile land
and builds his stacks of hay
but they are not defense enough
against the nibbling encroachments
of erosion on either side
from the city and the sea.

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 1st October 1976

Publications

1984 Weyfarers (UK)
1990 2nd Rapture (UK)
1992 STEALING KISSES (Hyde, New Hope International)

Bealach na Ba

BEALACH NA BA

(Pass of the Cattle)

The signpost warned us in advance --
narrow, one in five, triple hairpin bends --
Unsuitable for Learner Drivers -- it said.
We climbed into cloud, blindly negotiated
the hairpins before descending into sunshine.

At Applecross and Toscaig the sea
was a clear crystal, bright and blue
as sea is always meant to be
not grey or green as it's usually seen.
Raasay and Skye seemed only offshore land.

The cloud had moved on for our return.
We rested at the summit, surveyed the sea
laden with islands, the land punctured by lochs,
and pondered how cattle could ever pass
over such a hostile and precipitate way.

Descending to Kishorn where an oil-rig
was being assembled like a meccano toy,
we looked down as gods over the mountains,
uncountable peaks of barren rock
stretching to an infinite horizon.

© GERALD ENGLAND.

Composed: Oldham, 1st September 1976

Publication

1984 Ocarina (UK)

Dinner at Elshieshields

DINNER AT ELSHIESHIELDS

The hitchhiker had brought a black tie
Jeans, sweater and a haversack he thought
might not be right for dinner with a Scottish laird
The gaunt aristocratic lowlander up his purple rhododendron drive
was a daunting smoking-jacketed prospect for the invited youth
We had no fears for him
seeing the sheared sheep at Kirkmichael
as white as whitsun goats and large as mules,
or the playful rabbits of Ae, darting into Nithsdale
with fat black wood-pigeons flying in front of us
Our breakfast came with the morning sun

© Gerald England

Composed: Closeburn, 24th June 1976

Publications

1977 Counterpoint (UK)
1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1983 Green's Magazine (Canada)
1995 Northwords (UK)

The Dog

THE DOG

The dog dodges puddles in the road
but is fond of creating them -
does not drink water he cannot see
the substance being transparent
Milk he sees and partakes of
with the vigour of a cat

At the coast he makes himself a sight
chasing stones into the sea
then running from the attack of waves
that roll and roar defiantly back at him

A daft dog that goes eagerly out
during the heaviest downpour
of rain or snow patiently
to wait soaking behind the door
until he is let in again
to shake himself, lie down and lick his paws

Ever eager to explore the house
only the sound of a running bath
will set him adamantly staying put
refusing all incentive to bound upstairs
Once there he submits, knowing
he must be dirty to deserve a bath

Dogs and water make strange companions.

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 15th May 1976

Publication

1987 Outreach (UK)

(c8)

he spoke loudly so
that he could keep his hearers
some distance away

© gerald england

Composed: Oldham, 3rd May 1976

Publication

1990 Prophetic Voices (USA)

(c7)

it's not the pressure
that counts but whether it is
rising or falling

© gerald england

Composed: Oldham, 3rd April 1976

Publication

1987 Prophetic Voices (USA)

Calvary

CALVARY

And who owned the nail ?
Who the hammer ?
Who the hand that hammered ?
Whose symbol is the hammer ?

Hammer, hammer nail the hand
Nailed hands cannot comfort
Nailed hands cannot heal
Nailed hands can't forgive

Was it my nail and your hammer ?
Or mine the hammer yours the nail ?
Who will take the hammer from us ?
Only the hand that we have nailed

Extract the nail with the claw of the hammer
And let the hand that was nailed
rise up and lift the hammer from us
Free us from the hammer's hold

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 1st February 1976

Publications

1977 EYES (Huddersfield, Sight Saving Association)
1977 International Biographical Centre Magazine (UK)
1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)

Child

CHILD

Child, you were nourished nine months
while your mother grew
Skilfully you were removed from that home

Child, tube-fed in an incubator,
you would not learn to suck
till illness and hunger forced

Child, you lived and fought three weeks
resisting pain, refusing death
till in the end your heart gave way

Child, you gave us three and a half weeks
of memories our minds will cherish
long after the tears have dried

Child, we are happy you came to us
We praise God for the joy you brought
into all of our lives

Child, beneath the soil of your little garden
you have staked for us a place
in the cemetery we love

Child, you only saw faces masked
and women who wore white aprons
outside your oxygenated hot-house

Child we don't know the reason
why you came but only thank you
that you came

Child, our child, our first, we pray
remember us with love as now you sleep
We who remain awake remember you

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 25th October 1975

Publications

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1976 Pennine Platform (UK)
1977 Compassionate Friends Newsletter (UK)
1990 International Poetry Suplemento (USA)

Homage to Ruth

HOMAGE TO RUTH

On the seventeenth you came
from your mother's womb
sixty-plus years and a day
after the grandmother
whose name you bear
And on the seventeenth next
you were lowered into the tomb
freshly dug for you and
for your family that follow

The Lord gave you to us
and for three heavy weeks
you were our joy, our hope,
and our future

Your little life fought hard
You showed your will
When the nurses fed you through your nose
disregarding pain your tiny hands
yanked out the plastic tube
your nose upturned in contented peace

Late on the twelfth your heart gave out

We thank God for those three weeks
We praise him in our grief
He wipes away our fears
and dries our requiescent tears
We have learnt what it is to grieve
We have passed through the severity
of our sufferings

and we are finding that incomprehensible peace
which always will be yours

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 25th October 1975

Publications

1977 EYES (Huddersfield, Sight Saving Association)
1981 DADDYCATION (Ashton under Lyne, New Hope International)

(c6)

the trouble with John's
wife is that she has two tongues
but only one ear

© Gerald England

Composed: Oldham, 5th May 1975

Publications

1981 Magma (UK)
1987 <1>Red Pagoda (USA)

******
tomo no tsuma
nimai no shita to
mimi hitotsu.

Japanese translation by Sakuzo Takada.

Publication

1987 <1>Red Pagoda (USA)

(c5)

from the fence he could
see either side but never
both sides together

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 5th April 1975

Publications

1990 Prophetic Voices (USA)
1992 STEALING KISSES (Hyde, New Hope International)
1992 And What of Tomorrow (UK)

(c4)

and i used to en-
joy philosophy until
i discovered sex

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 1st October 1974

Publication

1981 Magma (UK)

Rivington Castle

RIVINGTON CASTLE

We were not the only ones
to drive down the river,
discover the vast arena
of unmapped stone
Forty miles to the west
the sun lit the sea
From terraced walls
we surveyed the land between
Terrace upon terrace upon terrace
descended from the tower
past the weedgrown bath
arched over a stonestrewn track;
beneath each wall a
wilderness of peace
In the amphitheatre
a lady in white had camped
Each tree became a soldier
water oozing like blood
from neglected wounds
This fortress
manned by three legions
is left unfenced, unsigned
for the venturesome to find

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Oldham, 30th June 1974

Publication

1975 Pennine Platform (UK)

(c2)

a cabbage should not
be despised for at least it
continues to grow

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Droitwich, 23rd June 1974

Publication

1990 Prophetic Voices (USA)

(c1)

those people who eat
biscuits in bed shall sleep on
the crumbs that remain

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Droitwich, 23rd June 1974

Publication

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)

Two Souls United Make One Angel

TWO SOULS UNITED MAKE ONE ANGEL

Quietly a hospital lost another patient
while a son was being driven
to his sick father's side too late
It was Sunday but the wrong time of the month
and a woman ill at home in bed
waited the return of the driver
Somewhere in a distant bed
the mother of his child
was mourning for herself
Another mother left her sick child
to attend the bereaved
on a warm afternoon walk
Sympathy saturated souls
sought out the threads that bound
That afternoon
at least one angel was made

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Shaw, 24th April 1974

Publications

1986 Quickenings (USA)
1991 Omnific (USA)
1998 The Wings of an Angel (Internet)
2002 Poetry Chain (India)

House Hunting

HOUSE-HUNTING

In the little Methodist chapel
edging on to the moor
the couple drank tea,
preparing themselves for a journey,
the rock-backed house only
yards away their hope
A staircase spiralled skyward
The pure melodic line
of the chattering chaffinch
was harmonised only by the ivy,
climbing like a solicitor's beard
enveloping hollow walls
There was nothing to fear in the reservoir
bursting its dam in the next valley
A choir sang in the crystal water
The couple drank deep

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Shaw, 24th April 1974

Publications

1974 Intak' (UK)
1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1988 Aireings (UK)

The Stones of Grewelthorpe Moor

THE STONES OF GREWELTHORPE MOOR

There there were stones,
glacier-deposited on Grewelthorpe Moor,
stones shaped like door posts
too big for a man alone to move,
but for a group of men to move,
no monumental task.
It was a man from Kirby Malzeard
needed doorposts,
wanted the stones.
The other men had pledged him their help.
It was not the men of Grewelthorpe
who needed the stones.
The stones that were there
were their stones.
No other needful men could have
what they, one day, might need.
The stones stayed,
were not removed from the moor.
Doorposts were quarried elsewhere,
machined and transported.
The stones were never used.
They lie there now,
shaped by the wind -
weathered monuments
to the men of Grewelthorpe's greed.

© GERALD ENGLAND.

Composed: Sheffield, 14th April 1974

Publication

1984 The Old Police Station (UK)

Beyond The Sun

BEYOND THE SUN

Beyond the sun
beyond Andromeda
beyond the black holes of the Anti-Thou
in the white light of eternity
our souls will mate
You sit beside me in the car
The slow policeman
whom I dare to overtake
on the motorway
is en route to a rugby match
I do not know who won or lost
There is fog on the tops
returning
This time I do not dare
to overtake
I put my trust in the eternal Thou
And beyond the sun
or in an upstairs room
I am not afraid of the Anti-Thou
I shall continue the journey
with you beside me
We shall proceed
protected
travelling at a safe speed
We shall fall into no black holes
In the white light of eternity
our souls will mate

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 12th February 1974

Publications

1994 International Poetry (USA)
1997 Dark Planet (Internet)

Destitute Woman

DESTITUTE WOMAN,
AFTER PABLO PICASSO

Art Gallery of Ontario

       The woman is seated
                  leaning
                          almost
       against the blankness of the wall
       She is covered entirely in her cloak
       Her eyes are closed in sleep
       her pale face tilted
       From the closeknitted brow
       runs her sharp bone nose
       to a tight mouth that is not smiling
       Her hands are closed beneath her cloak
       She remains here
                 nearly
                        sleeping
       Her tiredness
       is what binds her to the world
       which itself is closed in tiredness
                               to her

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 2nd February 1974

Publications

1980 Leeds & Harrogate Graphic (UK)
1980 PENNINE ANTHOLOGY 1980 (Huddersfield, Woodhead Publications)
1991 Apostrophe (UK)
1992 Quickenings (USA)
1994 Purple Pastiche (UK)
1998 Ygdrasil (Internet)

[5j]

© Gerald England

Composed: Royd Moor, 30th January 1974

Publication

1991 Peace & Freedom (UK)

The Rainbow

THE RAINBOW

There hadn't always been a rainbow
only it was there when needed
impressing itself upon her
needful or not
She wanted the rainbow
even though she never saw
seven colours clear
Sometimes and it was usually winter
she could distinguish five
But mostly there were three
with a merging in between
Inside there was violet -
flowers and blossom when his kiss
gave bloom to her becoming
In the middle of it all the blue
of the clear sea on the sand-dunes
where they had loved when she
no longer liked him coming to her bed
The tide had rolled over them
as they heated the night
into the outer red of passion
and the violence of tearing apart
She had wanted the rainbow
It was real
She had analysed the spectrum
measured every wavelength
knew it as she could only know a man
But she wanted more than the rainbow
She wanted the pot of gold
that was not of the rainbow
but lay beyond its end
She did not find her pot of gold
She had by then destroyed the rainbow
She had lost reality for the wanting of a dream

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 11th January 1974

Publications

1977 Pennine Platform
1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1997 Poetry Today OnLine (Internet)

The First Poem of 1974

THE FIRST POEM OF THE NEW YEAR

Somewhere I saw a Southwest wind
and I heard a sun rise in the distance
These are the only signs
of an Early Spring
The year is but a few days old
It has been a frosty start
Winter has still to accomplish her work
So little seems to change
So much continues as before
One day seems much like another
I should not have given the old year such a kick with my boot
I cannot welcome the New Year with bruised toes
It deserves better,
especially if there is to be an Early Spring
There is ice lying on the upper moor
I slipped and fell,
rolled in the brittle standing grass,
grazed my knee on a hard rock
The injury has healed
but even in the valley there is no heat
I want to warm the New Year with kisses,
to give it my whole body,
but I have been deaf to the rising of the sun
and blind to the Southwest wind
I will throw all that remains
on the fire
I shall use all the fuel at my command
I will force the fire to burn
It will be an Early Spring

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 1st January 1974

Publications

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1989 Working Titles (UK)
1999 Helicon (UK)

Funeral

FUNERAL

He would have been buried
two days ago
but Christmas intervened
I watched them bury him
in the New Cemetery
on the village outskirts
He booked his spot there
when it was opened twenty years ago
For twelve years
his has been the only empty grave
He helped to lay the track
of the railway line
that ran behind the graveyard
The line of the track
makes a good footpath
The embankment is fine for viewing
his funeral from
He used to play dominoes
in the Boot each Saturday night
I took his place
the day he died
We won every game we played

© Gerald England

Composed: Ackworth, 30th December 1973

Publications

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1988 Waterways (USA)
1993 Pomes (UK)
2004 Curlew (UK)

The Questioner

THE QUESTIONER

He questioned all the time,
sought the source of sustenance
It was not that he had none,
although he had none
They could have driven him away
but they did not,
because of his questioning,
because they were willing to be generous
They all answered him
- if you are short of food,
take, share ours -
It was not that they had it to spare
It was not that they were being generous
It was rather they wished
to fill his mouth with food
to put a stop to his questioning

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 12th December 1973

Publications

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1988 Gypsy (West Germany)
1992 Attitude Problem (USA)
1998 Ygdrasil (Internet)

******

CEL CARE INTREABA

A intrebat mereu,
a cautat sursa sustinerii
Nu ca n-ar fi avut niciuna,
desi nu avea vreuna
L-ar fi putut alunga
dar n-au facut-o,
datorita intrebarilor lui,
pentru ca vroiau sa fie generosi
I-au raspuns cu totii-
-daca duci lipsa de mancare,
vino, ia dintr-a noastra!
Nu ca ar fi avut prea mult
Nu ca ar fi fost generosi
Ci mai degraba pentru ca vroiau
Sa-i umple gura cu mancare
Ca sa-i intrerupa intrebarile.

GERALD ENGLAND

Romanian translations by Octavian Blaga and Florentin Smarandache

Publication

2000 The Fifth Season (Romania)

The Unresting

THE UNRESTING

And it was his grief that kept him travelling
There were resting places -
some that he could still direct himself to
He enumerated them on the fingers of his hands
but they all lay now beyond his reach
He had run out of fuel
He had lost the will to restart the journey
Besides it wasn't the time of the year for travelling
It also wasn't the time of the year for sorrow
He could move
only within himself
and dying in isolation
he lived

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 2nd December 1973

Publications

1988 Waterways (USA)
1989 The Affiliate (Canada)
1992 STEALING KISSES (Hyde, New Hope International)

*****
A PERTUBACAO

E foi sua tristeza que o manteve viajando
E hava lugares para descansar
para alguns dos quais ele ainda podia ir.
Ele os contava nos dedos de suas maos
mas eles estavam todos fora de seu alcance agora.
Ele perdei suas energias
e seu desejo de sair.
Alen de tudo ainda nao era tempo de viajar este ano.
Ele podia mover-se apenas dentro de si mesmo
e morrendo isoladamente
ele viveu.

Translated by TERESINKA PEREIRA.

Publication

1986 International Poetry (USA)

Leaving

LEAVING

There was nothing dramatic about your leaving.
As two strangers in a museum
we viewed more the objects of our own past
than those relics cased behind glass.
You poured the words from your soul
but kept back your heart -
I put my hand into yours,
offering the nothing I had to offer.
A child, staring at us,
found this live picture more interesting
than the works of art his parents persued.
Staring back into his puzzled, questioning eyes,
I tried to pass their warmth, but you
were unaware of any eyes except your own.
You will carry a part of me with you when you leave.
It will remain with you a long time.
The hardest part of leaving
is the waiting.

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 1st December 1973

Publications

1990 Aireings (UK)
1992 STEALING KISSES (Hyde, New Hope International)

Father to his Chance-child

FATHER TO HIS CHANCE-CHILD

Ther's sum at say at what Ah did wer wrang
an it's nobbut reight Ah sud hev to pay
But them at talk knaw onny haiff a tale
an Ah doesn't allus knaw what to say

Ah luved thi mam, thowt she luved me
Luv tak its course, sin we boath wer free
- oppen air fahn, i a wood o pine
wi scarcelins a thowt at two maks three

We'd med plans to be wed e'en afooire we knew
but summat happened, though Ah canh tell what,
cos t' thowts o a woman ther's no man kens
- said she luvved me ne mooire an that wer that

Wimmin soa offen change ther tune
an soa Ah thowt at she'd wed me still
As tha knaws to thi cost Ah wer wrang
She tuk her hooik, said she'd hed her fill

Dunna thi fret, doy, thi daddy luvs thee
i spahte o all o things at folks mahte say
though Ah can do ne mooir ner pay me due
fer yer mam she hes to hev her awn way

They'll call thee a name at Ah hate
but thi mam an thee 'll someha fend,
soa tak ne notice an laugh it aff
fer Ah knaw tha'll grow up strait i t' end

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 12th November 1973

Publication

1983 Orbis (UK)

Freedom

FREEDOM

She kept a bird in a gilded cage
He sang so lovely a joy to hear
And she loved her bird in the gilded cage
until people told her it was cruel
to keep a bird in a gilded cage
- Birds like yours need their freedom - they said
- Set it free, let it roam, let it scavenge for food -
So she opened the door of the gilded cage
but the bird stayed inside, sang louder
- See - she said to her taunters - he wants to stay -
- You feed him too well, you are cruel -
When the bird grew hungry he left the cage
found food and then returned to the gilded cage
The bird sang louder, happy inside
She was happy too
since the bird returned always to the gilded cage
It was free to roam and free to return
But the bird will one day not return,
find food in another's cage,
sing for the new provider of his food,
sing louder still though the door be shut.

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 7th November 1973

Publications

1987 Z Miscellaneous (USA)
1991 Lo Straniero (Italy)
1992 STEALING KISSES (Hyde, New Hope International)
1998 Ultimate Ceasefire (Australia)
2008 Ackworth born, gone West (Internet)

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheeba

Image copyright Lambert and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE QUEEN OF SHEEBA

The arrival of the Queen of Sheeba
was a spectacle no more surprising
than the arrival of you
I, all day getting hotter and hotter
you, all day pining, wanting, hoping
It was the summerest of evenings
we walked in the grounds of Southwell Minster
As we entered through a side door
--
"The Arrival of the Queen of Sheeba"
--
assailed our ears,
the organ tuned to the key of the clock's chime
This was our moment of arrival
not that first intimate encounter
three nights previous
that never-completed goodbye kiss
We shan't find again
the refuse-tip entrance, the back-lane alehouse
With Handel's music in our heads
you talked of moving in
of handling our lives afresh
My Queen of Sheeba had arrived

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 1st November 1973

Publication

1992 The People's Poetry (UK)

The Way Ahead

THE WAY AHEAD

(for Vivienne)

For him the dance is done
despite continued clattering of guns
What matters now is not
the point nor mode of death -
only the life that went before

You have to feel your grief
And you have to live beyond
to keep the memory but loose
the sense of loss

Even in your solitary time
you are not alone, my love
He and I and we, we all are one

The mystery will remain unsolved
for we who have yet more to live

All endings are but a passing on

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Sheffield, 22nd October 1973

Publications

1980 THE RAINBOW AND OTHER POEMS (Heckmondwyke, Fighting Cock Press)
1993 East & West Literary Qtly (USA)
1995 Current Accounts (UK)
1998 Ygdrasil (Internet)

[3e]

© Gerald England

Composed: Ackworth, 10th October 1973

Publication

1990 The Yellow Pages (USA)

[3d]

© Gerald England

Composed: Ackworth, 4th October 1973

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

[4k]

© Gerald England

Composed: Ackworth, 25th September 1973

Publications

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1981 DADDYCATION (Ashton under Lyne, New Hope International)
1982 Interstate (USA)
1993 FOUR SQUARE REPLAY (Leeds, Krax)

[7e]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 20th September 1973

Publications

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1985 Printed Matter (Japan)
1986 International Journal on World Peace (USA)
1996 AN IDEA OF BOSNIA (Reading, Autumn House)

[6f]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 15th September 1973

Publication

1993 Kangaroo & Beans (USA)