Thursday, 27 May 2021

Bouncing Along in my New Shoes.

Bouncing along in my new shoes
I am deftly walking on air 
Knowing that I will meet you at the ceilidh tonight
Among the loud voices,
Your greeting smile broader than windows
In the open house of my heart.
I will be holding you to that clear promise
You made in Derry last winter
As we sauntered down by the Foyle,
Snowflakes damping our hair.
Real love is more than honest,
It can be a brutal emotion,
Wrecking the souls it has lost.
Our lives will be trashed if we do not answer its call.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
May 27th. 2021.

Abelard and Heloise were right. (Alternative Version.).

 Abelard and Heloise were right.
Defying the wrath of Fulbert they confirmed
That love is more honest than common sense,
More absolute than social does and don`ts.
By breaking custom they made clear the truth.

Free as a bird my love for you transcends
Sly innuendos leaked from timid minds
Afraid to overturn the status quo.
Meanwhile we dance together in the spotlight,
Castanets crackle fiercely as we circle
Slowly face to face, foreheads locked together,
Flamenco in our hearts.
A crowd shouts out our names as we embrace the music,
The quick fire clash of heals on courtyard stones.

She is a Roma Gypsy and he a retired clerk,
And old enough to be her Da - I think.
They are two fools together.
But thinking has no part in real life stories,
The cohabiting of folk from different classes,
Of different generations and ethnic make up,
The realist and the prophet.
Old age is not a hindrance, but can be made a blight
Deep in the soul caused by ignorant talk,
The need to make our grandparents lie low,
Keep their proper places.
Ageism is self hatred. - Racism? Just plain mad,
& social climbing? A stupid game for kids.
Our love for each other breaks down walls and shackles
Devised to keep the status quo intact.

Abelard and Heloise were right,
(Although no pope has ranked them with the saints.
Although the wounds they bore are sacred to true lovers)
Its the kindnesses we share that last a lifetime,
They sanctify the fellowship of true minds.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
May 20th. - 21st. - 27th. - 29th.  2021.

Monday, 24 May 2021

Plum Garden of Kamata.(Prefered Version)..

Red and white taffeta snow
Litters the mown lawn.
The two girls standing by the lake
Talk of who they used to be
Before the leaves fell,
The flowers shrunk to nothing.
Looking into the lake they note how
Their faces shatter when the wind sighs.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter. 
May 24th. 2021.
Poem No.5 The month of May, Hiroshige prints on my 2021 Calendar.

Thursday, 20 May 2021

Saturday, 15 May 2021

Goka no Sho, Higo Province.

Blue mountain.
Sky the colour of peaches
ripe on the bough.
The man, crossing the chasm
on a fallen log
that spans great echoing depths,
sees only his fear.
The beauty that surrounds him is simply illusion.
His concern is every footstep that he takes,
edging forward on the tilt of the log
high above fierce torrents.
He climbs up through a canopy of wild trees
that cling tight to the rock face.

Standing outside the frame
I observe the whole of the picture
noting its beauty,
the sense of peace that it gives me.
I cannot hear the thunder of the melt streams
hidden by white cloud,
but their presence is made known to me by the terror
in the eyes of the travelling man.
The stick on his hunched shoulder is so overladen
that he is forced to stoop as he walks,
almost losing his balance.
He would rather be at home with his wife and children
than trudging this path alone.

When I was young I struggled just like this poor man.
Now I am old I write him into this poem.


Trevor Joh Karsavin Potter.
15th. May 2021.
Poem No. 6, for the month of June, in the Hiroshige Calendar Prints Series.

Tuesday, 11 May 2021

The Robins Nest. (Revised).

 There, lodged between the church door
And the wooden door handle,
Deep in the narrow dark, the hand deep
                                                     chasm,
Protected from the rain by the entrance
                                                     porch,
Was the neatest of robins nests,
So neat and tidy it should have won prizes,
Or at least a brief mention
In a house-care magazine.


I peered into the narrow dark, marvelling
                                                  how small
And cramped a living quarters
This family of robins required to feel at home.
No thing out of order, each twig slotted into
                                                              place,
All things plain and useful, no thing overdone.
Saint Francis would have approved of such 
                                                        frugality,
Remarking how safe and warm this fragile
                                                           nest is,
Discretely out of view in a public space.
A well kept home, snug behind the door 
                                                     handle
Of a quiet suburban church.


And now, as I sit at my desk, writing this
                                                         poem,
I wonder why I need eight rooms and a loft
To feel at ease in;
The front door chained and bolted, the windows
                                            always locked.


 Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
May 6th. - 11th. 2021.

Sunday, 9 May 2021

Winter Night.