The stranger
An older gentleman
On the Monday evening
In chilly November
Walks the student streets
Litter picking
Care for community
And environment alike
The stranger
Who doesn’t look
Like he lives here
Makes a space
Nicer for everyone
Quantify Love – R.W.
I don’t think love is an absolute emotion
We’re having a text debate
You’re mad at yourself
Telling me you can’t love
Your current man enough
Because you still care for the last one
I don’t think you have X amount of love to give
Nor do you have to give a single person
A certain amount
To me love is the care you reserve for that person
You love your mum
Without not having enough love to give your dad also
I think you can love as many people as you want to
Toy Dog – R.W.
Every so often
My father in law
Steels away a weekend
With his girlfriend
A precious few days
Just the two of them
When they do this
We get the dog
A tiny toy thing
Beautiful and sweet
That fits in the palm of your hand
But for such a little dog
She takes up space
In attention and room
Wind – R.W.
Hit full in the face
Like a baseball bat
Only made of wind
Caught with my windows down
In the storm
That’s come in from sea
Lashings of rain
A beating of air .
The tress shudder and shake
Everything a force they’re unfamiliar with
After Glow – R.W.
A virus
Tore through the streets
Ripped to ruin
Cantina, bar and cafe
Desolate
Over grown relic of despair
Plants retake the streets
A sense of gloom and loneliness
Just there
As the people creep back
Unsure how to take this brave new world
Little by little
The wildness is kept at bay
A new sign here
A lick if paint there
Tonight
The lights lit up
Warmth in the chill of the September sky
Alive again
With the souls of party goers
The glow of hope
Rests in the background
Promises to my future child – R.W.
I will not hold you
To the standard I set myself
Nor treat you like a fix
To the faults I find in me
Your life is your own
Your soul to nurture and grow
My honour to watch
The expectations
Of what you do with you life
Your calling
Your friends
Your habits
Will all be yours
Yours to determine yourself
I promise not to live vicariously through you
Nor accomplish challenges I never set myself
You won’t be me
And I won’t expect you to be
An ode to valley’s girls – R.W.
What is it about valleys girls?
Ancient cities
Built where the water flows down to
The centre point
A sun with its rays
Spears jot down
Increasing in value
Until you reach
The rich head of the city
Out in the valleys
Homes with
Little money
Yet an endless amount of love
No one cares as deeply as a valleys girl
No one loves you like they do
Dolling up for their weekends in the city
Girls girls
Your best friend you just met drunk in a bathroom stall
Whatever it is about valleys girls
You could learn something
Lockdown 2.0 – R.W.
Were on the verge
Of lockdown 2.0
It’s been announced
And the countdown is on
6pm Friday
Once again the world shuts down
This week is why bother week
Most are at home
Safe in their beds
And home office’s
A few like me
Wander the usually packed park
The weeping skies
Deepening the autumn colours
Yellows and browns punctuating
The still lush green
It’s never this quiet here
The cities most used green space
A tranquility
Hearing the ducks quack
And the pitter patter
Of rain drops in the trees
A change is coming
Even nature feels it
Saturday Morning on the Cycle Path – R.W
Run
I tell myself
You’ll feel better
I tell myself
Against the grain
After the Friday night bar close
Tired already
Let alone the fight against the wind
A stream of people pass me
The girl who looks like she runs to post sweaty selfies
The middle aged man trying to get fitter as age and lifestyle catch up
The soldier, or so I presume, everything square and uniform from his hair through expression to movement, precise and determined he presses on
It seems everyone comes here
On a Saturday morning
For the same reason as me
Maybe I’m not so special after all
Emerging From COVID – R.W
Times are tough
But they’re getting easier
Unprecedented in these modern times
A curfew
Quarantine
Don’t touch
Don’t leave the house
Essential trips only
Now its easing
We’re allowed out
Within reason
And my heart fills with joy
For these days are getting better
