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)

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)

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)

[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)

[4h]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 30th August 1973

Publications

1976 MEETINGS AT THE MOOR'S EDGE (West Kirkby, Headland)
1985 Printed Matter (Japan)
1993 FOUR SQUARE REPLAY (Leeds, Krax)

[5h]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 28th August 1973

Publication

1990 Peace & Freedom (UK)

[7c]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 20th August 1973

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

[7b]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 4th August 1973

Publication

2005 World Haiku Review (Internet)

[9c]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 29th June 1973

Publication

1985 Printed Matter (Japan)

[4e]

© Gerald England

Composed: Sheffield, 26th June 1973

Publications

1981 DADDYCATION (Ashton under Lyne, New Hope International)
1987 Prophetic Voices
1993 FOUR SQUARE REPLAY (Leeds, Krax)