(k35)

between extremists
gallons of bath water flow
filled with thrown babies

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 3rd February 2002

Unpublished

(k34)

murky weather
in a feed full of sheep
seagulls gather

© Gerald England

Composed: Bolton, 25th January 2002

Unpublished

England's Openers

A blackbird lands
A good beer-barrel
A man sits in a cave knitting
A theatre in Copenhagen
Abask the sea-wall
Alice was demure and O
All the way to Bury
Amid the heather
Among the lupins
And after little suzie
And it was his grief that kept him travelling
And the baby miscarried
And the gulls woke me at half past
Apple bread, champagne dip, Easter egg,
As a clashing cymbal in the discordant darkness of the night
At the Bay at the Back of the Ocean

Bare midrifs above belt-like skirts
Bedraggled daffodils line the lanes
Belladonna is unlucky
Beyond the wooded embankment home
Big Irma

Child lost in big store
Come to our raveup in York they said

Damn the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation
Deeply Katy threw her dress open
Dementia patients ramble on the freeway of her face
Don't smother the fire, mother

Everyone's going to heaven

First catch your crow
Friendly face peeping

Gillamoor looked great that day
Going to Glimps Holm

Hair dressed up in curlers
Have you ever watched a snail
He, bold, brassy, Geordie

I carry the weight of the world on my back
I do not like telephones
I got some tissues with my coffee yesterday
I knew of your visit to the blacksmith
I was a teenage werewolf
I was taking about Cleopatra
If God is dead

Kettle on coal fire
Knickerless Nicola

Labeled with a sticker on our lapels
Leaving Oldham
Lesbian bodies take advantage of patient work
Lost down country lanes

Moo
My son builds with his Lego
My wife is talking

Nodding drowsily against his winter habit

On the far side of Hope
One corner of the tarmaced field
Outside the X-ray
Overwhelmed like fish

Poor Peter
Possum roadkill

Queen Victoria

Real nude women mourned new ale
Re-listening to sixties protest songs
Rent a bench
Reproduction strictly prohibited

Sat in the car on Royd Moor Lane
Sharing its route with slow canals
She is Mother England
Sheep suckle their lambs
Skin was slit like the opening of an envelope
Sleet at the window
So this is Brighton
Somewhere I saw a South-West wind
Sunday-morning sex

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheeba
The dog dodges puddles in the road
The fox comes nightly to her garden
The geese do not know which way to turn
The taps are dripping all over the city
The wind that whistles over Oldham Edge
There hadn't always been a rainbow
There were several entrances
This is a multi-part poem in MIME format
Through the windy pass

Up Ingleborough

Victims of the bottle

We had a very quiet Christmas
When Margaret first met Malcolm
Why are your poems so full of country images

Yeah, yeah, I know what I said
You said you wanted to live

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 23rd January 2002

Publication

2007 Famous Poets and Poems (Internet)

(k32)

at Deansgate Station
by a floodlit poster
a lone woman waits

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 9th January 2002

Unpublished

(k30)

taking the crib down
my son calls it a horse
-- the donkey

© Gerald England

Composed: 6th January 2002

Unpublished

(zip 1)

the thawing rain /\/\/\/\/\ underfoot
___ sheets of ice _________ remain

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 6th January 2002

Publication

2004 Raw NerVZ (Canada)

(k29)

coach journey
missing the scenery
by reading haiku

© Gerald England

Composed: between Manchester & Liverpool, 22nd December 2001

Publication

2003 Time Haiku (UK)

(k28)

December morning
though we shiver with frost
the low sun blinds

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 15th December 2001

Publication

2002 ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY ASTROPOETRY 2002 (Bucharest, SARM)

*****
decembrie dimineata
desi tremuram de ger
soarele palid orbeste

Gerald England
(in romaneste de Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)

Publication

2001 Sarm Newsletter (Romania)

The Labyrinth

THE LABYRINTH

On the far side of Hope
ears pop;
my head spins.

Queuing for water
from the town well,
winds from up the dale
blow in one ear,
exit less coolly.

At the top of Long Hill
we rest;
views of the valley
are but a misty panorama.

I feed on a bacon butty,
drink hot black unsweetened tea.

The journey home
will be fraught with uncertainty;
not all traffic lights
turn green on approach.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 23rd November 2001

Publication

2004 Aesthetica (UK)

October Forecast

OCTOBER FORECAST

“Bright with sunny periods
some cloud, occasional showers”
says the local TV forecast.

It has been persistently precipitating
for more than twelve hours.

On the doorstep
a soggy mass of pulp
is all that is left
of my note to the milkman.

The dog wags her tail
in a desperate message;
I open the back door,
she steps out,
stops,
looks round,
then dashes for the nearest
patch of green,
does that she has to do.

Back inside,
the hearthrug
doubles as a towel.

Only an incoming aircraft
breaks the greyness
of the birdless sky.

Outside my window,
the sodden rosebush
drips.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 26th October 2001

Publications

2002 Curlew (UK)
2007 Famous Poets and Poems (Internet)

Passing On

PASSING ON

(for Gail and her mother)

"grandma has no pulse"

the boy hugs his mother
tears flood
forming a river
that crosses
continents and oceans

strength passes
between young and old

a mother's passion
nurtures
a daughter's spirit
nourishes
a faint heart

waves of pure hope
clean the beaches
the island heaves
with fire

beyond red sunsets
memories live
in the eyes of children
who will forge
their own future

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 23rd October 2001

Publication

2001 Zimmerzine (Internet)

(k25)

days after
uncountable candles
light the world

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 17th September 2001

Publication

2001 World Haiku Wall (Internet)

(k24)

downpour
before venturing out
the dog thinks twice

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th September 2001

Unpublished

(k23)

from his sick-bed
watching the rain pour
and not caring

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th September 2001

Unpublished

Stargazing in New Zealand

STARGAZING IN NEW ZEALAND

Collected in a transit van
the Japanese astronomer
takes us out of the village
and across two rutted fields
to his tiny observatory.

It is a clear, cold evening;
the heavens are looking beautiful;
we are shown the stars
as they appear before our naked eyes.

He points out the constellations
and the planets, Jupiter and Saturn;
deep inside the milky way
helps us to clearly see
the position of the Southern Cross.

Whilst observing the sky
we catch site of the Mir spaceship
one week before it is due to
splash down somewhere in the sea
between here and Chile.

Inside the observatory
a large telescope is trained on Jupiter.
Through it we can plainly view
swirling gas clouds and four moons
one to the norwest;
three almost in a so'west line.

Outside in the field
smaller telescopes are set up.
we behold Saturn,
its magnificent rings resplendent.
All I can say is
"Wow!"

We also look closely
at the Jewel-box constellation
and the Orion nebulae.

Reluctantly
we return to the warmth
of our lakeside lodge
dreaming of uncountable stars.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 3rd August 2001

Publications

2002 ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY ASTROPOETRY 2002 (Bucharest, SARM)
2006 NHI (Internet)
2006 Curlew (UK)

*****
PRIVIND LA STELE IN NOUA ZEELANDA

Suntem culesi intr-un camion de tranzit.
Astronomul japonez ne poarta in afara satului
si ne traverseaza doua campuri imperechiate
catre micul sau observator.

Este o seara senina si rece;
cerul arata frumos;
suntem expusi stelelor,
cum si ele apar inaintea ochilor nostri nuzi.

Astronomul puncteaza constelatiile
si planetele, Jupiter si Saturn;
adanc inauntrul Caii Lactee
ne ajuta sa vedem clar
pozitia Crucii Sudului.

In timp ce observam cerul,
prindem si site-ul statiei Mir
cu o saptamana inainte de cuvenita-i
prabusire in mare
intre aici si Chile.

Inauntrul observatorului,
un telescop mare este fixat pe Jupiter.
Prin el putem vedea deschis
nori de gaz invartejati si patru luni,
una spre nord-vest
si trei aproape de linia sud-vestului.

In afara campului
sunt fixate telescoape mai mici.
Observam Saturnul
si magnificele-i inele stralucitoare.
Tot ce pot spune este
"Wow!"

Privim de asemenea indeaproape
constelatia Cutia cu Diamante
si nebuloasa lui Orion.

Fara convingere
ne intoarcem la caldura
casutei noastre de langa lac,
visand stele nenumarate.

GERALD ENGLAND

(versiunea romaneasca de Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)

Publications

2001 SARM-news (Romania)
2006 NHI (Internet)

(k18)

RAF jet --
thunder attacks our eardrums
there it was - gone

© Gerald England

Composed: Crainlarich, 26th July 2001

Unpublished

(k17)

fogbound viewpoint -
we cannot see the island
but know it is there

© Gerald England

Composed: Arnisdale, 25th July 2001

Unpublished

(k16)

Knoydart -
somewhere in the greyness
sea and sky meet

© Gerald England

Composed: Arnisdale, 25th July 2001

Unpublished

(k15)

below the ring
of cloud-topped mountains
still waters

© Gerald England

Composed: Arnisdale, 25th July 2001

Unublished

(k14)

scampering uphill
out of the rhododendrons
a young deer

© Gerald England

Composed: Loch Quoich, 25th July 2001

Unpublished

(k12)

waiting for our boat
the incoming tide
climbs three steps

Composed: Inner Farne, 23rd July 2001

Unpublished

(k11)

yellow clumps
of scarce fiddleneck
between the thistles

Composed: Inner Farne, 23rd July 2001

Unpublished

(k10)

a pied wagtail
darts between picnickers
by the lighthouse

© Gerald England

Composed: Inner Farne, 23rd July 2001

Publication

2007 Ginyu (Japan)

(k9)

on Inner Farne
the incessant screams
of arctic terns

© Gerald England

Composed: Inner Farne, 23rd July 2001

Unpublished

(k8)

the rat-tap flap
of puffins flying
from their burrows

© Gerald England

Composed: Staple Island, 23rd July 2001

Unpublished

(k7)

between two rocks
an abandoned shag's egg
fallen from the nest

© Gerald England

Composed: Staple Island, 23rd July 2001

Unpublished

(k6)

squawking seagulls
more the angry brigade
than dawn chorus

© Gerald England

Composed: Seahouses, 23rd July 2001

Unpublished

(k5)

an unwanted pint
my note to the milkman
gone in the gale

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 11th July 2001

Unpublished

Following the Final

Composed: Gee Cross, 9th July 2001

Publication

2002 Curlew (UK)

Singapore Storm

SINGAPORE STORM

Labelled with a sticker on our lapels
dispatched from the hotel by taxi to the quay
our status as tourist recognised
we are personally escorted aboard the junk.
Encouraged by our Chinese lady captain
we help ourselves to coffee or coke.


Beyond the skyscraper surrounded harbour
ships anchor offshore in the South China Sea.
While passengers sit in plastic seats
or test their sea-legs on the swaying deck,
the captain reels off streams of statistics
stressing Singapore’s financial standing
over Hong Kong, its trading rival.


Past the shoreline of Sentosa,
the sky darkens; the rain comes down;
canvas curtains are lowered;
the deck awash,
we move bags onto chairs,
drift towards the drier, sheltered decks,
balancing cups.


Braving the downpour,
at Kuso Island,
we run along the gangway,
through dripping trees
to the temple.
A television plays
in the kitchen
where a girl prepares food;
a snake slithers in a cage
by the shrine.
Incense mixes with the moistness.

***

Dressed only
in tee-shirts, sandals, shorts,
after the rain
sun soon steams us dry.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 28th June 2001

Publication

2006 Sons of Camus Writers International (Canada)

(k4)

lightning forks
i count to twenty-three
no rain -- as yet

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 26th June 2001

Unpublished

(k1)

my wife is talking to her computer rain lashes the window

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 10th June 2001

Publication

2004 Raw NerVZ (Canada)

(z41)

an open window
a little creepie-crawlie
drops on my keyboard

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 29th May 2001

Unpublished

(z33)

at the hand car-wash
the language of the cleaners
is filthy-dirty

© Gerald England

Composed: Hyde, 5th May 2001

Unpublished

(z30)

on top
of the RSPB sign
a gull screams

Composed: Southport, 4th May 2001

Publication

2012 Time Haiku (UK)

(z28)

banks of daffodils
battered by hailstones
- english spring

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 28th April 2001

Publication

2012 Time Haiku (UK)

(z27)

deleting his name
from my email address book
tears fall on keys

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 21st April 2001

Publications

2001 World Haiku Review (Internet)
2001 Aabye (UK)

(z26)

flying east
alongside the sunset
clouds on fire

Composed: en route to Singapore, 30th March 2001

Publication

2012 Time Haiku (UK)

(z24)

airport lounge
a thousand ways
of waiting

© Gerald England

Composed: Auckland, 30th March 2001

Publication

2007 Bogg (USA)

(z24)

bridge shadow
out of it
a shag flys

© Gerald England

Composed: Katikati, 23rd March 2001

Unpublished

(z23)

over the bridge
two women pass
a whiff a perfume

© Gerald England

Composed: Katikati, 23rd March 2001

Publication

2012 Time Haiku (UK)

(z22)

splash of water
trickles down the stone
finds its own pathway

© Gerald England

Composed: Katikati, 23rd March 2001

Publications

2001 Land of the Long White Cloud (Internet)
2008 Ackworth born, gone West (Internet)

(z21)

possum roadkill
the feeding harrier
flys wrong way

© Gerald England

Composed: Katikati 23rd March 2001

Unpublished

(z20)

her first catch
12lb rainbow ~
breaks the line

© Gerald England

Composed: Rotorua 22nd March 2001

Unpublished

(z19)

vineyard stay
woken by harversters
at 6 a.m.

© Gerald England

Composed: Rotorua 22nd March 2001

Unpublished

(z18)

© Gerald England

Composed: Rotorua, 22nd March 2001

Unpublished

(z17)

New Zealand customs
before letting us in
they wash our shoes

© Gerald England

Composed: Christchurch, 3rd March 2001

Unpublished

(z16)

long-beaked birds
scavange under tables
Botanic café

© Gerald England


Composed: Singapore, 1st March 2001

Unpublished

(z15)

weaving in and out
of the heavy traffic
Singapore trishaws

© Gerald England

Composed: Singapore, 1st March 2001

Unpublished

tanka 32

the Hindu temple
through the open doorway
people at prayer
over them in a dark sky
sickle moon and Jupiter

© Gerald England

Composed: Singapore, 1st March 2001

Publication

2017 Cosmopetry (Internet)

(z14)

inflight snooze
snatches of conversation
blend obtusely

© Gerald England

Composed: en route to Singapore, 28th February 2001

Unpublished

(z11)

blinded
by low January sun
Paris to Hades

© Gerald England

Composed: Holmfirth, 13th January 2001

Publication

2012 Time Haiku (UK)

Eclipse Sequence

ECLIPSE SEQUENCE

January 9th 2001

*

bright full moon
shines through thin cloud
~ a plane flies over

*

the shadow bites ~
level with big planets
Capella shines

*

four-fifths gone
more stars appear
Venus fades

*

from her sick-bed
my wife watches the action
on television

*

frosty night ~
deep red disc
in Gemini

*

light rays spread
to Pollux and Castor
~ crescent emerges

*

half moon
Procyon and Sirius
twinkle low

*

small shadow left
the biting wind
sends me indoors

*

the whole moon
south in winter sky
~ curtains close

*

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 9th January 2001

Publications

2001 ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY ASTROPOETRY 2001 (Targoviste, SARM)
2006 Other Voices (Internet)
2007 Ackworth born, gone West (Internet)

*****
SECVENTELE ECLIPSEI
de Gerald England
(in romaneste de Andrei Dorian Gheorghe)

*

luminoasa luna plina
straluce prin nor subtire-
un avion zboara deasupra-i

*

umbra musca
nivel cu mari planete
Capella straluceste

*

patru-cinci duse
mai multe stele apar
Venus se ofileste

*

din patu-i de boala
sotia mea priveste actiunea
la televizor

*

noapte inghetata
disc rosu adanc
in Gemenii

*

raze de lumina se raspandesc
spre Castor si Pollux-
crescente rasarind

*

luna jumatate
Procyon si Sirius
licaresc incet

*

mica umbra scade
vantul muscator
ma trimite inauntru

*

luna intreaga
sud in cer de iarna-
cortinele se trag


Publications

2001 Astronautica (Romania)
2002 SARM News (Internet)
2007 Ackworth born, gone West (Internet)

(s27)

above snow-clouds
Jupiter - Saturn - Venus
this clear Christmas night

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 25th December 2000

Publication

2001 Spin (New Zealand)

(s25)

huddled at the door
at the end of a long lead
dog on the lawn

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 13th December 2000

Unpublished

(s24)

December storm
-- on the shed roof
our garden gate

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 13th December 2000

Unpublished

(s23)

3 a.m. gale
contents of a wheelie-bin
blowing down the street

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 13th December 2000

Publication

2004 PATH (Spalding, British Haiku Society)

(s22)

Haiga © copyright Kuniharu Shimizu, 2000
freezing weather
collecting warm spring water
from the town well

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 3rd December 2000

Publications

2000 Kuni's Haiga Gallery (Internet)
2001 Ukku (Internet)

(s19)

river in full spate
ducks on the high bank
waddle in a line

© Gerald England

Composed: Dunsop Bridge, 10th November 2000

Publication

2001 Haiku Headlines (USA)

Bonfire Nights

BONFIRE NIGHTS


weeks before
our peace disturbed
by bangers

November 4th
a twelve hour siege
in the noise-zone

in the morning
the dog sniffs stale smoke
is off her food

November 5th
explosions all evening
the house shakes

despite the gales
rockets light the sky
illuminate rain

November 6th
still the sound of fireworks
in the street

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 6th November 2000

Unpublished

(s16)

fat swans feeding
as I get near
they hiss.....

© Gerald England

Composed: Thorpe Acre, 8th October 2000

Publications

2000 Haiku Mania (Internet)

tanka 31

on the haiku walk
needing supermarket conveniences
falling down the bank
hands and arse now muddy
needing supermarket conveniences

© Gerald England

Composed: Thorpe Acre, 8th October 2000

Publications

2000 Haiku Mania (Internet)
2002 Bogg (USA)

(s15)

the tops of fence-posts
linked by thin cobwebs
catching sunlight

© Gerald England

Composed: Thorpe Acre, 8th October 2000

Publication

2000 Haiku Mania (Internet)

(s14)

ancient pathway
stepping carefully
over the dog-dirt

© Gerald England

Composed: Thorpe Acre, 8th October 2000

Unpublished

Under MacGillycuddy’s Reeks

UNDER MACGILLYCUDDY’S REEKS

under MacGillycuddy’s Reeks
rain pours relentlessly
sheep scatter as vehicle approaches
a three-way junction
two leading to where cars are banned
unless they come with four feet
smoke rises from the fire
where a tinker is encamped
yellow flowers bloom in grass
growing down the middle of roads
that climb and twist above the top
of raging waterfalls and cross
gaps between mountainsides
passing places are precarious and few
mists and clouds curl over the peaks
until we reach a remote bar
over lunch we watch the world news on TV
while the locals converse in Gaelic

© Gerald England

Composed: Kenmare, 15th September 2000

Publication

2005 DARK LULLABY (Pittsburgh, UnMon America)

(s11)

seagulls
flying faster
than the ferry

© Gerald England

Composed: St George's Channel, 12th September 2000

Publications

2001 FRAGMENTS (Sutton Bridge, Hub)
2002 World Haiku Association (Internet)
2003 Version (Internet)

*****
Чайки-то
Быстрей летают
Чем паром!

Gerald England; Russian translation by Ull

Publication

2003 Version (Internet)

(s10)

3.30 pm
mothers and granddads gather
outside the school

© Gerald England

Composed: Taly-y-bont, 11th September 2000

Unpublished

(s9)

by the roadsign
"Welcome to Shropshire"
a dead squirrel

© Gerald England

Composed: Foel, 11th September 2000

Unpublished

I Will Go To The Bank

I WILL GO TO THE BANK

(a postmodernist sonnet based on words by Walt Whitman)

I will go to the bank by the atmosphere
for my heart's sake;
I am mad for to be in contact with
the smoke of my mouth forever;
The passing of blood and inspiration
is for my respiration and naked;
I am in love with me.

The passing of the atmosphere
is for my mouth forever.
The smoke of the wood and air
through my heart,
I am mad for my respiration and naked;
I am mad for my heart;
I will go to the beating of my heart,
to the passing of blood
And become undisguised and
naked ripples.

The wood and air through my own breath,
silkthread, buzzed whispers,
Loveroot, crotch and inspiration;
I will go to the wood
with air through my heart.
Echoes of my lungs beating
crotch and vine,
I will go to the beating of blood
and become undisguised and naked.


© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 28th September 2000

Publication

2000 The Studio (Internet)

(s8)

hot afternoon
moorland sheep doze
under stones

Composed: Rannoch Moor, 26th July 2000

Publications

2002 World Haiku Association (Internet)
2003 Version (Internet)

*****
жаркий полдень
дремлют овцы между камней
на поле вереска

Russian translation by Polay

Publication

2003 Version (Internet)

(s7)

on the tiller
of the lifeboat's dinghy
fat seagull

Composed: Tobermory, 25th July 2000

Unpublished

(s6)

Ardnamurchan
cattle blocking the road
reluctantly move

Composed: Tobermory, 25th July 2000

Publications

2000 Poetry Scotland (UK)

(s5)

single track road ends
30mph sign
can i speed up now?

Composed: Laga Bay, 25th July 2000

Publications

2000 Poetry Scotland (UK)

(s3)

quiet motorway
keeping to seventy
takes con cen tra tion

Composed: Stirling, 24th July 2000

Publications

2000 Poetry Scotland (UK)
2002 World Haiku Review (Internet)

(s2)

coalfields long shut down
lush trees grow on the sides
of old pit-bings

© Gerald England

Composed: Stirling, 24th July 2000

Unpublished

(s1)

(Publication pending)

Composed: Hawick, 23rd July 2000

Unpublished

(m52)

stacked wood
behind the garden shed
overrun with bindweed

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 12th July 2000

Publication

2001 FRAGMENTS (Sutton Bridge, Hub)

Scilly 2000

SCILLY 2000

We are travelling through Cornwall and due to catch a plane next afternoon to the Scilly Isles. Taking the scenic coastal road out of Falmouth, past Mawnan Beach the narrow, twisty road climbs steeply. Just past a bend I try to change gear and loose it altogether. We are causing a major traffic blockage. Somehow I manage to crash it into first gear and nurse the car up to the top of the hill where I can pull in and allow traffic to pass. My wife is left to walk up the hill about a mile in the pouring rain! It takes about 45minutes for the breakdown service to get to us. The mechanic spends some time under the bonnet but to no avail. He tows the car 25 miles to the main-dealers in Penzance and we find very nice overnight rooms just up the street.

Cornish backroads
getting the guided tour
in a tow-truck

Monday morning. It is still raining The garage will look at the car and get it repaired while we are on the Scillies. I telephone the airport for advice. They say that their bus is on its way into Penzance and will pick us up from the hotel. It takes us to Lands End Airport for 10am where owing to the strong winds there is nothing flying out.

horizontal rain
would-be flyers view
deserted runway

We are bussed back to Penzance for a late afternoon helicopter to the islands. On arrival it is practically a gale force wind and it is hard even to just walk from the copter to the terminal building. A bus takes us to our lodgings on Garrison Hill. Later we have a meal in a room overlooking the harbour and watch the boats being tossed around mercilessly. We learn on the news that back home all the main roads are closed by snowdrifts.

During the week we take tours of the island by bus. The driver of the vintage bus is very knowledgeable and tells us all about the islands, their history, government, education system, gig racing, wreck-salvaging, daffodil harvesting. He points out the various wild flowers that grow on the island. It stops at a potter's studio. The rival tour varies its route by going down some rougher tracks to viewpoints the other bus cannot reach. The view from the golf course right across the middle of the Hugh Town isthmus is especially magnificent. On the way back into town we see Mary Wilson reading in the garden of her bungalow. Back in Hugh Town we visit the local charity shop where I pick up a very nice sweater for £2 while my wife finds a woolly hat for 50p.

after Mothers' Day
daffodils left unpicked
in the fields

Another day we make our way down to the harbour and get tickets hoping to see the puffins on Annett. However, we get on the wrong boat and are off to St Martins instead. A rather blowy crossing that lands us at "Lower Town" by a luxury hotel just 12 years old. In the lounge is a roaring open fire by which we sit. The Australian waitress, who hails from Sydney, serves "madam" with frothy coffee and "sir" with lemon tea. Nicely warmed up we set off to walk the length of the island's road. We can only take it slowly, but there are seats along the way and we stop frequently. The profusion of flowers in the hedgerows is wonderful with wild garlic, hottentots, splendid lilies, geraniums &c. The views are of little rocky islands with sandy beaches, fields, that had been full of daffodils but are now dying off, ringed by hedges that keep the full force of the winter winds off thegrowing plants.

island field
a goat and two kids
frolicking

In the evening we go to the Church Hall for a concert by Wayside Music. The music is played on old instruments including a cornish bagpipe, a lizard, a symphonium, tenor and bass rackets. There are also slides of various aspects of Scilly life even including some of the experimental catamaran that broke up in the seas here only a week ago. Whilst waiting for a taxi back we see a meteorite descending through the Plough.

on the island
moonless night
how bright the stars

Saturday morning we get on a boat for the Norad rocks. This takes us out to the uninhabited islands in the northern part of the archipelago, with such names as Mincarlo, Scilly Rock, Men-a-vaur, &c. The captain of the vessel gives a very intelligent commentary on the birdlife we see. Mincarlo hosts a large group of breeding shags, shearwaters, gannets and puffins. The puffins give us several splendid fly-pasts while the boat hovers around offshore. We also see about half-a-dozen seals, two of whom are basking on rocks in a wide sheltered channel between two islands. We pass Shipman's Cove and Hell Bay before entering the channel between Tresco and Bryher from the north. Unable to berth first at Tresco, we land at Anneka's Quay on Bryher to let people off and then cross to Tresco where others disembark leaving about nine people for the return to St Mary's. On the way back the boat stops to pick two men up from the strand at uninhabited Samson. They have to climb a plank to get aboard.

on rocky ledges
waiting for morsels
squawking shag chicks

On our last evening we get a boat to St.Agnes. There are 17 passengers and going over the sea is not too choppy. Whilst others go for a walk, the less energetic take the short stroll to The Turks Head. Strangers gather around the tables to eat, drink and talk. I have scampi and chips, while my wife has crab and prawn with herbisized potatoes.

retired scientist
drinks wine –
disparages both young and old

Coming back it is very dark and the winds are easterlies. We see the new moon shining clearly with Saturn nearby, but as we get nearer to St Mary's the boat pitches quite a bit. We are repeatedly hit by cold salty sprays and arrive back like frozen, drowned rats! We shelter in the dark telephone kiosk on the harbourside and phone for a taxi to take us back to our lodgings for the final time.

The airport bus comes for us at midday and we have our last journey along the lanes of St Marys.

she remembers
half-way to the airport
new hat left behind

Back in Penzance we are surprised to find that the bill for the car is much less than expected. All they had needed to do was to adjust the clutch. We come off the A303 just after Wincanton and travel down some narrow lanes, rather lost. We come out on a main road and see a guesthouse across the road. We pull over and discover they have a very nice ensuite double-room. In the morning it is raining and continues raining all day with the exception of a few brief spells. Between Ashbourne and Buxton the rain turns to sleet, the outside temperature dropping to 3 degrees Celsius. My wife sleeps in the car while I shop at a supermarket outside Buxton to stock up on food before getting home about 6pm. There are eight messages on the answer phone.

the week-old message
greetings we had longed-for
our absent son

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 29th June 2000

Publications

2001 Time Haiku (UK) (part only)
2001 Sparrow (Croatia)
2003 Haibun by Contemporary Writers (Internet)

(m49)

swarms of starlings
sweep across the maram
-- reclaimed land

© Gerald England

Composed: Southport, 24th June 2000

Publications

2001 FRAGMENTS (Sutton Bridge, Hub)
2007 Ginyu (Japan)

(m48)

sparrow trapezing
on the telephone cable
worm in its beak

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 13th June 2000

Unpublished

(m46)

the smoke
from next door's barbecue
dog sniffs and wags

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 14th May 2000

Unpublished

(m44)

starless heaven
only the moon
brighter than the city

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 28th April 2000

Publication

2011 Shamrock (Internet)

(m43)

outside the dentist's
amidst the cherry-blossom
a lone blackbird sings

© Gerald England

Composed: Hyde, 28th April 2000

Publication

2011 Blithe Spirit (UK)

(m40)

after Mother's Day
daffodills left unpicked
in the fields

© Gerald England

Composed: St Mary's, 4th April 2000

Unpublished

(m41)

on the island
moonless night
how bright the stars

© Gerald England

Composed: St Mary's, 5th April 2000

Publication

2001 Time Haiku (UK)

(m39)

Haiga © copyright Kuniharu Shimizu, 2000
blown in by the gale
butterfly settles
on cut flowers

© Gerald England

Composed: St Mary's, 3rd April 2000

Publication

2000 Kuni's Haiga Gallery (Internet)

tanka 30

we don't pass the sign
Methodist coffee morning
a welcome break
before leaving on our way
they pray for our safety

© Gerald England

Composed: Weston super Mare, 1st April 2000

Publication

2005 Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society (Internet)

(m37)

accepted for a forthcoming publication

Composed: Thornsett, 1st April 2000

Unpublished

(m35)

ninety-four years
-- at her funeral
grey hair is in vogue

© Gerald England

Composed: Rochdale, 8th March 2000

Publication

2011 Blithe Spirit (UK)

(m34)

behind the jet
streams of meteors --
night-time landings

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 7th March 2000

Publications

2000 ROMANIAN CONTEMPORARY ASTROPOETRY 1999 (Dambovita, Societatea Astronomica Romana de Meteori)
2003 PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL METEOR CONFERENCE FROMBORK, POLAND 26-29 SEPTEMBER 2002 (International Meteor Organization)

Eating Crow

EATING CROW

first catch your crow
pickled salt flung from a
size nine catapult

pick, gut and clean
decapitation is optional

baste with fresh butter
and crumbs from a loaf
of wholemeal bread

roast on a anthracite fire
but only in November

when cooked
serve on a bed
of aubergines and salad

eat your lover's crow
until the earth moves

if she does not come
throw the roasted bird
to the dogs

the cat will lick butter

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th February 2000

Publications

2000 Worm (Internet)
2003 Blackbird (USA)

(m30)

on moulting mare's back
jackdaws picking at loose hairs
lining for their nests

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th January 2000

Publication

2002 ANTHOLOGY HAIKU COMPETITION AN4-2001 (Novi Sad, Haiku Club)

*****
Kobila se linja
cavke joj cupkaju dlake
oblozice svoja snjezda

Serbian translation by Vladislava Felbabov

tanka 29

in distant Tonga
the millennium rises
from silence erupts
the Hallalujah chorus
and the fireworks begin

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 31st December 1999

Publications

2000 Zimmerzine (Internet)
2000 Poetry Monthly (UK)

Avalon

AVALON

Beyond the deep channel
the sides of two dark cliffs
loom above the fog

approaching nearer
we see a jewel set
within the bedrock

reflected from cream and white
buildings the sun reveals
Avalon rising from the sea

© Gerald England

Composed: Catalina Flyer, 13th November 1999

Unpublished

Rent a Bench

RENT A BENCH

rent a bench

can i put it anywhere?
sit down whenever my feet
go on strike?

can i choose between wood
and iron?
plain or ornate?
what colours can i paint it?

can i share it with
wannabe sweethearts?

can i eat my lunchtime sandwiches
in the cool of a grove?

can i take an option to renew
in the spring?



what!

i cannot move it
use it
alter it?

only advertise on it!

i’ve half a mind
to sue you
for misrepresentation

do you know the number
of a good bench solicitor?

© Gerald England

Composed: Los Angeles, 12th November 1999

Publications

2001 Green's Magazine (Canada)
2006 Other Voices (Internet)

California Bound

CALIFORNIA BOUND

thinks he’ll get up
in about half an hour or so
— the alarm bell rings

turning the taxi around
to go back for her front teeth

sparking an alert
camera left in pocket
by first-time flyer

moved to an earlier flight
due to fog in Amsterdam

sun shines on snow-scape
we are flying
above the clouds

spreading wobbly marmalade
at 29,000 feet

Schiphol Airport
miles and miles of walkways
between the gates

frisked by a security man
for the second time today

hot hand towels
crossing over Scotland
heading towards Iceland

over the top of Greenland
filling in a green form

the whole way across
the Atlantic — still
only halfway there

high above Manitoba
his feet have fallen asleep

inflight movie?
videotape is corrupt
millennium bug?

homebound Emily age four
cheers us with her chattering

after the last meal
long queues
for the toilets

unaccustomed to the heat
we sweat in the Customs Hall

catching a "shuttle"
it encircles the airport
for twenty minutes

afternoon rush-hour freeway
back home it is past bedtime

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester - Los Angeles, 10th November 1999

Publications

2002 WEBBED SKYLIGHT OF TALL OAKS (York, Fighting Cock Press)
2004 The Same (USA)

The New Rose

(Poem still under consideration)

Composed: Gee Cross, 4th October 1999

Unpublished

(m27)

on a web twixt door
and wing-mirror - a spider
riding the highway

Composed: Manchester, 8th September 1999

Publication

2008 Ackworth born, gone West (Internet)

Survivors

SURVIVORS

the ex-gamekeeper
an octogenarian
with gray-less black hair
recalls the ball of lightning
hover outside his window

never reaching ground
it suddenly exploded
masses of water
his wife is on the toilet
the bang nearly frightens her

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 31st July 1999

Publication Panda (UK)

(m26)

in the morning breeze
a hawk hovers over trees
the dog runs full length

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Unpublished

(m25)

grasshoppers at dusk
but to my city-tuned ears
they could be crickets

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Publication

2001 Haiku Headlines (USA)

(m24)

evening meadow
are they moths or butterflies
flitting past by eyes?

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Publication

2001 Haiku Headlines (USA)

(m23)

Photograph © Gerald England

on the muddy bank
the black decaying boat-hulk
pointing up-river

© Gerald England

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Publication

2001 Haiku Headlines (USA)

(m22)

Photograph © Gerald England

across the ha-ha
and thistle-littered park
the river seems still

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Unpublished

(m21)

flying in and out
between the high thistles
red admirals

Composed: Nacton, 27th July 1999

Unpublished

Ode to the Avant-garde Poster

ODE TO THE AVANT-GARDE POSTER

This is a multi-part poem in MIME format.

it is time the walrus said
to have a crack at the painful
avant-garde poster

he likes his outlook free expression
it comes with natty stationery
and animated gibes
spewing miles and miles of code
how pretty it looks
on the screens of the blessed

he doesn't care a u-bend
how looks his double-gobbledegook
to sufferers of indigestion
hugging the bandwidth
like the middle-lane hogger
on the M62

NextPart_000_000C_01BE9BA8.AFF606E0
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-2022-jp"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

(meta content="3D"text/html;" charset="3DcsISO2022JP"" equiv="3DContent-Type")
(meta content="Inconsiderate" little="" begger="")
(color=3d#000000 size="3D2")
&aspace&my&kingdom&horse&for&how&the&mighty&fall

unquoteunquoteunquoteunquoteunquote

getyourgetyourgetyourgetyourgetyour

nettiquette

blinkersblinkersblinkersblinkersblinkers

here

EOF

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Gee Cross, 11th May 1999

Publication

2002 Fire (UK)

scifaiku 2

SCIFAIKU 2


full lunar eclipse —
the sky is now dark enough
to view the comet


© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 11th May 1999

Publication

1999 Romanian Contemporary Astropoetry (Romania)

*****
translated text into Romanian by Andrei Dorian Gheorge unavailable

Publication

1999 Noi Si Cerul (Romania)

[4y]

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 1st May 1999

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

Eight Eights

EIGHT EIGHTS

1

and though she knew despite her vow
the significance of the set
and how from that remote retreat
to make arrangements to keep safe
those who were given just a part
her own passage seemed pre-ordained
across a troubled continent
where even sisters can’t be sure

2

and the man on the bicycle
led her along the city streets
to meet someone from whom she wanted
that which could not then be given
and though she saw the second corpse
it only emerged days later
dragged out of the dark river
from which she knew she had to flee

3

and when in the height of passion
he called out not her own name but
that of her departed sister
her own rapture intensified
not sensing then that their child
would be born many miles away
across the sea and the desert
under the eye of one greater

4

and having secured two carpets
her advantage remained obscure
when the trans-continental car appeared
but only feet find dark locales
where hides the captive who can fly
to choose the one who will pass on
to follow footsteps from the past
venturing deep into the sands


5

and now accused of treachery
she felt herself free to return
not to avenge her accuser
but another whose treachery
was against herself and her sister
and having committed the act
it was by a double disguise
she herself was not sacrificed

6

and the singing sands tore across
reducing body shells to rust
so four feet transported two feet
escaping then by charter flight
unheeding the coded warning
only the biting of ankles
allowed their passage to the waves
but the dogfight wasn’t over

7

and having crossed first the channel
to talk in the gentleman’s club
she then traversed the atlantic
seeking the father of her child
before ensuring he married
the woman who could harm her most
yet held the key to her success
and she only then drank deeply

8

and after sailing up river
the long lost brothers met again
antique furniture was destroyed
international relations
were laid open to the world’s gaze
it was time at last to take on
the chance for immortality
the chance to bury the past and

© Gerald England

Composed: Rathmore, 5th April 1999

Publication

2002 Fire (UK)

(m19)

pied wagtail on lawn
sleek black kitten stalking it
— not a chance

© Gerald England

Composed: Mullinavat, 1st April 1999

Publication

2000 THE ART OF HAIKU 2000 (Hyde, New Hope International)

(m18)

mothering sunday -
under the weeping willow
daffodils open

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 14th March 1999

Unpublished

[5y]

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester, 13th January 1999

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

January 3rd, pre-Millennium

JANUARY 3, PRE-MILLENNIUM

Christmas was dull and only full of rain
then the cold was here before New Year tolled.
Beyond the mill-town, hills are capped with snow
where Sunday adventurers venture out.

Parked vehicles line the road where walkers leave
to take the precarious Pennine way.
Low ice-clouds driven by the bitter wind
keep Bleaklow hidden from our nearby gaze.
Past Doctor’s Gate, compare the bare white scree
to the brown of fir trees rising skyward.

Green-wellied children in slush strewn lay-bys
construct snowmen out of embedded cones
On the eighth of twelve days we start to sing
catching the mood, though a little too late

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 3rd January 1999

Publication

1999 Zimmerzine (Internet)

[5x]

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 1st December 1998

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review

scifaiku 1

SCIFAIKU 1

old sf authors
wedded to their typewriters -
internet luddites

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 30th November 1998

Publication

1998 Scifaiku (Internet)

Experiment 1037

EXPERIMENT #1037

Irony to the left
irony to the right
going round in circles
in the poetry laboratory
distilling vats of words
counting out the commas
adding up the quotes
subtracting all the clichés
dividing the syllables
into logistical heaps

all along the internet
electrons fly
across computer buses
dots that re-arrange themselves
into words upon a screen
interpreted by brains
that scan with eye and mind

all of it filters through
but little of it sticks
a thousand years of dust
composting a pile
of failed experiments
breeding pedant blind mice
running ever after
the buxom farmer’s wife

© GERALD ENGLAND

Composed: Gee Cross, 4th October 1998

Unpublished

(m15)

over the flat stones
shadows of passing seagulls
flicker at my feet

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 28th August 1998

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)
2004 Karolina rijecka (Internet)

*****
Preko kamenjara
Sjene prolazecih galebova
Trepere na mojim stopalima

Gerald England

Translated into Croatian

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)
2004 Karolina rijecka (Internet)

(m14)

begging for bacon
the smokey-grey tomcat
purrs very loudly

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 28th August 1998

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)

*****
Moleci slaninu
Prljavosiv macak
Prede vrlo glasno

Gerald England

Translated into Croatian

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)

(m12)

drinking tea in bed
we watch blackbirds in the field
catching early worms

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 28th August 1998

Publications

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)
2003 Blackbird (USA)

*****
Pijuci caj u krevetu
Motrimo kosove u vrtu
Love prve crve

Gerald England

Translated into Croatian

Publication

2000 Sparrow (Croatia)

(m11)

three little white ducks
waddle through the farmyard door
B & B guests stare

© Gerald England

Composed: Gwernaffield, 27th August 1998

Unpublished

(m9)

below the city
a kingfisher streaks across
as the tour-boat turns

© Gerald England

Composed: York, 24th July 1998

Unpublished

Time Trilogy

TIME TRILOGY

(1)

On the cave wall
Trog draws his vision
of a future world
where his art
is arrowed
to the moon
then relayed
by boomerang
to a being
on the underside
of the earth

(2)

Wilma is wondering
on her way back from the Pterodactyl Ball
whether future generations will forget them
or even choose to ignore their inventions
only to reinvent them all from the beginning again.
She has been having this recurring nightmare
in which some catastrophe destroys them
leaving only the dinosaurs alive
to carry their culture
to future generations

(3)

the tracks of the time traveller
unearthed by archaeologists
spawn several theories
two new religious sects
a university honours degree
a professor’s resignation
and a slim volume of poems

© Gerald England

Composed: Salford, 20th July 1998

Publications

2000 Pennine Platform (UK)
2006 Other Voices (Internet)

*****
TRILOGIA TIMPULUI

(1)
Pe peretele pesterii
Trog deseneaza viziunea
unei lumi viitoare
in care arta sa
tinteste
catre luna
apoi retransmisa
ca un boomerang
unei fiintei
din strafundurile
pamantului.

(2)
Wilma se intreaba
pe drumul de intoarcere de la jocul de pterodactyl
daca generatiile urmatoare ii vor uita
sau vor prefera sa le ignore inventiile
doar pentru a le reinventa.
Are acest recurent cosmar
in care vreo catastrofa ii distruge
lasand doar dinosaurii in viata
pentru a le perpetua cultura
generatiilor urmatoare.

(3)
Urmele calatorilor in timp
neacoperite de arheologi
nasc cateva teorii
doua secte religioase
un titlul universitar
demisia unui profesor universitar
si un volum subtire de poezii.

GERALD ENGLAND

Romanian translations by Octavian Blaga and Florentin Smarandache

Publication

2000 The Fifth Season (Romania)

(m7)

the awkward silence
of the early arrivers
on opening night

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 15th June 1998

Unpublished

The Last Time Ever

THE LAST TIME EVER

1 am peering through blackness
2 am i feel your heart pounding
3 am your fingers running up my spine
4 am my beard between your breasts
5 am sun rising over the pyramid
6 am ordering coffee and toast
7 am showering together
8 am locking both suitcases
9 am spreading marmalade on bacon
10 am clouds gather over the street
11 am the sound of steamboats on the river
noon black smoke from belching buses
1 pm gunshot heard in the desert
2 pm you tell me not to cry
3 pm at the Art Gallery not looking at portraits
4 pm eating ice-cream in the park
5 pm the drive to the airport
6 pm holding on to your passport
7 pm watching the DC10 climbing
8 pm falling asleep in the departure lounge
9 pm a taxi back to the city
10 pm the silence in the room
11 pm closing the curtain
midnight will last for ever.


© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 25th May 1998

Publications

1998 The Writer's Challenge (Internet)
1999 Purple Patch (UK)
2007 Famous Poets and Poems (Internet)

*****
ULTIMA DATA

1 a.m. strapung cu privirea intunericul
2 a.m. iti simt inima batand
3 a.m. degetele tale de-a lungul coloanei vertebrale
4 a.m. barba mea pe pieptul tau
5 a.m. soarele rasarind peste piramida
6 a.m. comandand cafea si un toast
7 a.m. dusul impreuna
8 a.m. intingand marmelada pe sunca
9 a.m. norii se aduna peste strada
10 a.m. sunetul vapoarelor pe rau
amiaza .fum negru din autobuse
1 p.m. foc de arma in desert
2 p.m. imi spui sa nu plang
3 p.m. la Galeria de Arta evitand portrete
4 p.m. mancand inghetata in parc
5 p.m. cursa/drumul la aeroport
6 p.m. nedespartit de pasaportul tau
7 p.m. privind DC10 urcand
8 p.m. adormind in sala de asteptare
9 p.m. un taxi la intoarcerea in oras
10 p.m. linistea camerei
11 p.m. tragand draperia
miezul noptii va dura pentru totdeauna.

GERALD ENGLAND

Romanian translations by Octavian Blaga and Florentin Smarandache

Unpublished?

(m4)

two days of hot sun —
when our dog does her business
the long grass tickles

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 17th May 1998

Publication

2011 Time Haiku (UK)

Mayday

MAYDAY

A tanka sequence

The postman is late
he brings three pieces of junk
two picture postcards
a letter from your mother
and my tax return

Calling to be paid
our local window-cleaner
verbally attacked
by the little barking bitch
still wagging her tail

Coronation Street
interrupted by the phone
my son calling home
18 months since TBI
arranging to visit us

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 1st May 1998

Publications

1998 Mayday (Internet)
2000 Panda (UK)

Drowning by Degrees

DROWNING BY DEGREES

for Stevie Smith

Shrewd secretary secretly smiling
in your white socks and unfashionable shoes
you were never understood
by those who would flee suburbia
never taking the tube
to an office in the city

You were always Peggy from Palmer’s Green
to your authoritative aunt
living in nomansland
well removed from that sea
where the father you hated
waved in the salty water.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 14th March 1998

Publications

1998 The Self-Help Poetry Kit (Internet)
2000 Panda (UK)

(m2)

the horse looks skyward —
sends a neigh of approval
as the eagle soars

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 5th February 1998

Publicaton

2004 Sons of Camus Writers International Journal (Canada)

Waiting

WAITING

a solo alphenga

always the long wait
to see the doctor
at the eye clinic

blue flowers in a vase
starting to wilt

caught short
the little girl squirms
her mother looks cross

dreading the needle
middle-aged man shivers

early morning
terrier barks furiously
at approaching milkman

fog-bound passengers
phoning their loved ones

gulls wheel
behind the cruise liner
expecting scraps

holy mountain
hell for climbers

in the gallery
next to the nude
a portrait of mary

january sales —
city traffic gridlocks

kicking the habit
ex-smoker spits out
chewed up pencil ends

licking his lips
at the bride’s first meal

master cueman
escapes the snooker
and pots another red

neon lights flashing
above the bordello

only one customer
enters the doors —
the pub with no beer

preparing for her night’s work
the stripper gets all dressed up

querying the bill
angry diner swallows
the torn-up pieces

resolving the argument
in adjacent beds

stuck in the quicksand
tractors and ladders
work against the tide

tempted by salesman’s offer
her nest egg cracked open

under lock and key
his collection
of used underwear

vacuuming the carpet
her latest fetish

winter storms forcast
they struggle with tarpaulins
to cover the boat

xeroxing the plans
for the christmas party

yellow crocuses
emerge early —
frostless New Year

zealously guarding
his innermost thoughts

© Gerald England

Composed: Stockport, 27th January 1998

Publications

1998 Still(Internet)
1998 Thorny Locust (USA)

Class Visit

CLASS VISIT

In the City Art Gallery
a group of children
chatter and squirm,
snigger at the nudes,
disrupt the concentration
of other visitors;
the teacher apologises,
feigns disgust
at her pupils’ behaviour

Back in the classroom
other lessons than art
will be taught

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester, 27th January 1998

Publication

2001 Greens Magazine (Canada)

The Uncalm

THE UNCALM

as sky and moor merge
the distinction
between
hillside and cloud
blurs

we are waiting
wondering
just when the wind will
drop
and the snow
fall

shivering
anticipating
we hurry
to complete chores
hoping soon
to get back
to the safety
of home fires

there we wall ourselves
in
from winter’s
desolate whiteness

© Gerald England

Composed: Stockport, 17th December 1997

Publication

1998 The Endless Mountains Review (USA)

(f45)

writing a letter —
i stop to watch a robin
perched on the rose bush

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 4th December 1997

Publication

2011 Time Haiku (UK)

sijo 6

fluffy white clouds in blue sky foretell the lifting of morning haze;
the postman appears from round the corner just as I let the dog out —
I haul the lead in rapid before someone gets hurt.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 7th November 1997

Publication

1998 Sijo West (USA)

[6m]

© Gerald England

Composed: Stockport, 28th October 1997

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

Sparking

SPARKING

(for Joy R.)

we move in different circles
you and i
running rings around each other
snatching at tangents
that turn into curls
which spiral outwards
aiming for stars
we cannot reach

sometimes we spin
in opposite directions
and sink into a vortex
from which there is
no escape

one day
a tiny spark
will ignite the flames
that lie dormant in our hearts
fusing together
a möbius strip

then there will be no sides
just an infinite continuum
we will travel along together
into your moonless space

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 27th October 1997

Publications

1998 Images (Internet)
2001 Skald (UK)

Limbo Time

LIMBO TIME

two-thirty in the morning
i am wakened by my wife
with “do you want a cup of tea?”
a rhetorical question
it is already made.
we sit in bed supping the welcome brew
“the clocks go back,
we can have an extra hour in bed”
mentally i count them,
bedside, microwave, video,
computer, grandfather …
a baker’s dozen or more
it will take me at least an hour
to adjust them all
it is two fifty in the morning
or is it only ten to two?
we are living in limbo time
have we lived an hour twice
or did time stand really still?
i turn the pillows over
and try again to sleep.

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 26th October 1997

Publication

1998 LIMBO TIME (Hyde, New Hope International)
2008 Poet in Residence (Internet)

Truth?

TRUTH?

There are 16 million shades of grey
There is no black
There is no white
You have to draw your own line
It may or may not be straight
There are always mitigating circumstances
Judgement can only be based
On passed-down wisdom and self-experience
Stopping to take stock
Is not an option
You can never find yourself
You can only conform or differ
From each perceived image
The cataracts of common sense
Can never be removed
Focusing on reality’s a fallacy

© Gerald England

Composed: Hyde, 28th September 1997

Publications

1998 LIMBO TIME (Hyde, New Hope International)
2007 Famous Poets & Poems (Internet)

*****
ADEVARUL?

Exista 16 milioane de nuante de gri
Negru nu exista
Alb nu exista
Trebuie sa-ti trasezi singur linia
Poate fi dreapta sau nu
Exista intotdeauna circumstante atenuante
Judecata se poate baza
Doar pe intelepciune si experienta proprie
Oprirea pentru a cantari
Nu este o optiune
Pe tine insuti nu te poti gasi
Poti doar sa te conformezi ori sa te diferentiezi
De fiecare imagine perceputa
Cataractele bunului simt
Nu pot fi indepartate niciodata
Concentrandu-te pe inselatoria realitatii.

GERALD ENGLAND

Romanian translations by Octavian Blaga and Florentin Smarandache

Unpublished?

What is Good for the Goose

WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE GOOSE

half an hour per pound
and three-quarter hours more
gas mark 6
middle of the oven
don't forget the roast potatoes
horse-chestnut stuffing
goes down well
oops
wrong kind of goose?
goes up well
crowded bar
on the way out
just one finger
make sure your mate
is right behind you
to catch the lefthand
slap to the cheek
look shocked
walk out quickly
do not look back
better be a turkey

© Gerald England

Composed: Gee Cross, 26th September 1997

Publication

2005 Outlaw (UK)

Background Music

BACKGROUND MUSIC

sharing breakfast
with my son
in the grease-spot
I rock my feet
to the sounds
of a 30-year old
top ten;
Dylan, the Beatles,
Elvis, the Rolling Stones,
Tell Laura I Love Her.
My son eats his beans
tucks into his toast
smiles at his dad
knowing he’s happy
if he’s happy.
We drink up
rush away
to catch a train
leaving the 60s
a memory
still ringing
in our ears.

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester, 27th September 1997

Publications

1997 Gallery Zandraat (Internet)
1999 Pennine Ink (UK)

September In The City

SEPTEMBER IN THE CITY

Autumn breezes blow coolly
through City Centre Manchester;
a peek-a-boo sun creates sparse warmth.
The peace of Piccadilly Gardens
is shattered by the presence
of Gore & DeKoning’s Family Fun Fair;
loud rock music drives away the pigeons;
teenagers scream on the dodgems;
children dance to the incipient beat.
Queen Victoria surveys the buses
that leave for Glossop or Stockport;
she has her back to the noise;
she is not amused.

© Gerald England

Composed: Manchester, 14th September 1997

Publications

1998 LIMBO TIME (Hyde, New Hope International)
2004 The Same (USA)

San Remo Coffee Bar, Rochdale

SAN REMO COFFEE BAR, ROCHDALE

The same formica-top tables;
wood-grain-effect wallpaper
lines the lower half of the walls
the upper — emulsioned plaster-relief;
the ceiling is polystyrene-tiled;
in the centre a huge rotating fan;
wall-brackets at intervals
hold forty-watt bulbs that glow
through plain, frilled lampshades;
above each is a framed picture of Italy.

The young couple with four-week old Melanie
remind me of how in love we were
meeting here twenty-four years ago.
They are drinking the same
frothy coffee;
nothing here has changed.

© Gerald England

Composed: Rochdale, 13th September 1997

Publications

1998 LIMBO TIME (Hyde, New Hope International)
1998 Poetry Monthly (UK)