Friday, 25 March 2022

Tuesday, 22 March 2022

I Hardly Noticed Winter. (Revised).

I hardly noticed the winter this year.
A shadow passing by my bedroom window -
                                                        perhaps?
Yes the wind blew and took away half my fence,
But that could have happened in late August,
Or early July.
No - the winter did not impinge much upon
                                            my life this year,
Just a shadow passing by my bedroom window.


I must admit I dream a lot when I`m alone,
The past and future interacting - a riot of moving
                                                          pictures
Deep inside my brain.
Yes, I did not notice the winter much this year,
But the dreams have been more vivid than expected,
Like a sudden slap taken on the face,
Raw nerves of hope - of dread - and of contrition
Exposed to self contempt.
And a deep regret for love not understood.


I`ve never got our love right Marianne.
But your presence has impinged upon my dreams
And made me think about the paths not taken,
And the paths we took that led to loneliness.
But hope comes with the Springtime, don`t you know,
And this morning when I opened wide the curtains
The sunlight flooded deep into my rooms.
I blinked, and every shadow seemed a mirage.


Yes, I hardly noticed winter pass this year,
But this dazzling morning took me by surprise;
A brilliant dawn revealing dark interiors,
Leaving no place to hide.
Dreaming of the past is not a helpful occupation
Unless a chance of reconciliation is implied.


 Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
22nd. - 23rd. March - 5th. April 2022.

Thursday, 17 March 2022

Two Short Poems Sketched at Midnight.(Revised).

                      1

Spring equinox this weekend;
I wonder why the winter passed so quickly,
I was beginning to enjoy the dark 

                       2.

Saint Patrick`s Day already;
My birthday soon, don`t make me think about it;
I would rather be an eagle soaring far
Without a clock or visa,
Without the power of radar to direct me
Toward somewhere I do not need to go.
Growing old is something I`m not good at,
Just leave me be to contemplate the view,
A grounded eagle, wing clipped and tarsus chained,
But with a mind that looks far over mountains,
The fields and villages, the lakes reflecting stars. 


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
17th. - 18th. March 2022.

Monday, 14 March 2022

A Sort of Credo. March 2022.(Completed).

Debussy in my soul.
Bob Dylan on my mind.
Delius in my senses. 
Mondrian all around.
Art defines the world for me.-
Not politics, - Not war.

I was born in nineteen forty three.
A bomb blast knocked my mum downstairs
In the black out - all lights turned low,
And so the house seemed built of shadows.
My mother then was six months pregnant,
She would never use the garden shelter,
It was damp and feted, a rats hotel.
Upon my back there is a mark
From when her belly hit the bannister.
A nearby house became a tomb.

My mum, determined I would never be
An airman or a private soldier,
Taught me to draw, to copy pictures
Found in books and magazines.
I spent late hours listening to music,
My head tucked underneath the blankets,
Feigning sleep when father looked in.
He had been a sailor.
He believed in brute force.
He tried to restrict my use of the radio - & books.

Debussy in my soul.
Picasso on my mind.
Art is my refuge,
My motivation.
Delius in my senses.
Mondrian all around.
I live to paint pictures
Vibrant with colour,
Defying this epoch
That is violent to the core.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
March 14th. - 15th. = 16th.  2022.

Thursday, 10 March 2022

Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Goodge Street Finches.

The pub was my safe space.
I drank very little but read lots of books
As I sat quietly in the smoky forum,
Those early evenings before the music started.

I read Persian poetry - not just Omar Khayyam,
I was in love with the east, especially Azerbaijan,
The fire temples, mosques blue as the sea.
I read Anna Karenina and War and Peace,
And therefore was considered a devotee of Tolstoy
By friends who were beginning to dig into Trotsky,
Revolution being their cup of tea.
I read Alan Watts, his Way of Zen
Severely slowed down my intake of Guinness
As I puzzled and puzzled over one hand clapping.
I found out I did not have to seek beyond Europe
When I settled down to The Cloud of Unknowing,
A home grown book that opened my mind
To vistas that Buddha had yet to show me.

I have no idea how I read all these books
In the spaces between devouring rumours,
Chatting up girls and bantering with friends
Who thought I was weird because I loved books.

But I was the one at the heart of that scene
Who helped to write songs we all loved singing
When the crowds packed in after 8 pm.
When the chatting stopped and the music started.

And that is how I made sense of the nineteen sixties
Believing I could integrate fun and learning.
Believing that peace could conquer the world
With songs and books, not squaddies in trenches.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
March 8th. - 9th. 2022.

I am too angry to write about Ukraine,
Too angry and full of tears,
So until I am ready I shall write about other things,
That is when I can put clear thoughts down onto paper.,
When I know I can do good with what I write.#
God Bless Ukraine. God Bless the lovely people of Ukraine.

Saturday, 5 March 2022

Winter Night.