Cavies

Cavies - Honey & Bethany © Jennifer Phillips

Irises among the lemons

Irises among the lemons © Jennifer Phillips

Pink rose

"The Endeavour" pink rose © Jennifer Phillips

The wild iris

Blue iris at night © Jennifer Phillips

At the end of my suffering

there was a door.

Hear me out: that which you call death

I remember.

Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting.

Then nothing. The weak sun

flickered over the dry surface.

It is terrible to survive

as consciousness

buried in the dark earth.

Then it was over: that which you fear, being

a soul and unable

to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth

bending a little. And what I took to be

birds darting in low shrubs.

You who do not remember

passage from the other world

I tell you I could speak again: whatever

returns from oblivion returns

to find a voice:

from the center of my life came

a great fountain, deep blue

shadows on azure seawater. 

by Louise Glück

Wide lovely eyes

You wave at the sky with wide lovely eyes

Waves and waves of love goodbye

Through the garden with your secret key

Down the tunnel that leads to the sea

Step on the beach beneath the iron skies

You wave and wave with wide lovely eyes

Crystal waves and waves of love

You wave and say goodbye

Your dress sighs with your wide lovely strides

All along the street and lately the stories abound

They've dismantled the funfair

And they've shut down the rides

They've hung the mermaids from the streetlights

By their hair

And with wide lovely eyes you wave at the sky

And near the high window watching you ride

The waves of blue and the waves of love

You wave and say goodbye

The night expands, I am expanding

I watch your hands like butterflies landing

All among the myths and the legends we create

And all the laughing stories we tell our friends

Close the windows, clear up the mess

It's getting late

It's darker and closer to the end

Through the tunnel and down the sea

And on the pebble beach your laces you untie

And arrange your shoes side by side

You wave and wave with wide lovely eyes

Distant waves and waves of distant love

You wave and say goodbye

by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

A stolen kiss

I stole a kiss

Upon thy cheek, 

And now another 

Kiss I seek.

Not on the cheek though, 

This time on the lips.

Your hands on my body, 

My hands on your hips.

No space in between us, 

Your eyes staring at mine, 

Then share our first kiss

With our hands intertwined.

When that day comes, 

If this wish comes true, 

Our kiss will finish with

“I love you” 

by Dean McInerney

If it be your will

If it be your will 

That I speak no more 

And my voice be still 

As it was before 

I will speak no more 

I shall abide until 

I am spoken for 

If it be your will 

If it be your will 

That a voice be true 

From this broken hill 

I will sing to you 

From this broken hill 

All your praises they shall ring 

If it be your will 

To let me sing 

From this broken hill 

All your praises they shall ring 

If it be your will 

To let me sing 

If it be your will 

If there is a choice 

Let the rivers fill 

Let the hills rejoice 

Let your mercy spill 

On all these burning hearts in hell 

If it be your will 

To make us well 

And draw us near 

And bind us tight 

All your children here 

In their rags of light 

In our rags of light 

All dressed to kill 

And end this night 

If it be your will 

If it be your will.

by Leonard Cohen

Evenfall moon

Is the moon tired? she looks so pale

Within her misty veil:

She scales the sky from east to west,

And takes no rest.

Before the coming of the night

The moon shows papery white;

Before the dawning of the day

She fades away.

by Christina Rossetti

Evenfall moon © Jennifer Phillips

After precipitation

It has rained in the night.

Every leaf in this city today is two degrees greener;

Every passion, two degrees cooler ...

Except the thirsty heat that has made its home in me,

Which is not slaked by shower

Nor doused by downpour.

Impermeably sheltered from every storm but you,

It resists all lightning but your lips,

All thunder but your heart,

All flooding waters but your sudden turns of tide.

To these it uncovers itself,

Flaming, magnesium-like, at their approach,

Hotter, thirstier than ever.

by David Singleton

Water droplets © Jennifer Phillips

Star of wool and nails

Star of wool and nails by my 8 year old son © Jennifer Phillips

A star of wool and nails he made - 

it caged the shade.

Suspended spider’s web

hid the blade.

Caught shadows and light - 

patterned shapes overlaid.

© Jennifer Phillips