Night Thoughts in Spring

East Kent, 3 July 2019

February has a long face

but March is lit by a smile

snowdrops in meadows

jostle for space

jonquils and daffodils 

grassy banks beguile.

Lying still in my bed

weary I yearn for sleep

wakefulness takes me

hostage instead

in a room faint-lit by stars

this world now mine to keep.

Somewhere a cat flap

swings like a metronome

insomniac musings

to wryly entrap

rhythmic breathing beats slow time

In my sleep-drenched home.

Suddenly a thermostat

gentle gurgling will trigger

letting out exhausted sigh

a fridge falls inanimate

tyres squish on wet road

carrying home an adulterer.

Waves uncoil on stoic shore

futile repetitive protesting

till at just about half past four

in tangled ivy and sycamore

such a bird-chorus as to hear

wonder in their singing.

February has a long face

but March is lit by a smile

snowdrops in meadows

jostle for space

jonquils and daffodils 

the grassy banks beguile.