A painting

A painting in a shop spoke to me the other day, it was enigmatic, the tenseness of the characters made me come back to it several times. A couple in a cafe. I wanted to try the reverse of the saying 'A picture paints 1000 words' so here's a sonnet -
A POEM PAINTING A PICTURE:

Still Life

Low watts in cornered light bulbs hide her clenched
left hand and unseen bruises form where knees
appear demurely placed to please entrenched
conventions. There, glare reaches in to tease.

Her shadowed back triangulates the contrasts,
colours draw the eye past clothes, to lips
that shimmer, partly open as light shone casts
focus on the way her smile slips.

He leans away as one bright finger points
out worry on his brow and strokes a line
diagonally down. A spark anoints
his wedding ring - that slashed round warning sign.

They met for drinks but guilt keeps them apart.
The painting hangs unframed inside her heart.



GREAT MINDS DISCUSS IDEAS
AVERAGE MINDS DISCUSS EVENTS
SMALL MINDS DISCUSS PEOPLE

sold

I went to town today and signed our place away.
Potential buyers fought and upped the price I thought
we'd get, by quite a lot. So now I'm on the trot
and checking houses every day. I'll limit what WE'll pay.

GREAT MINDS DISCUSS IDEAS
AVERAGE MINDS DISCUSS EVENTS
SMALL MINDS DISCUSS PEOPLE

My father

He's gone and only memories will keep
my father from oblivion - that hell
where, stripped of voice, death-rest is all we reap.
And yet he's here, for I remember well...

Insistence on high standards in all speech,
on logic, understanding 'what' and 'why'.
Yes, I recall his criticisms, each
a wing-clip meaning we soon yearned to fly.

He showed he cared with knowledge shared; it seemed
as though his mind was packed with filed facts.
A clever man, not hinting that he dreamed
for us or for himself - but that was Max.

He lay there lifeless in that coffin bed
but I can hear him still, inside my head.

Michael Barrymore, Gary McCormick, Tim Shadbolt

One week to go and then we have, two weeks of holidays.
I seem to wish my life away by counting down; it says
a lot about my attitude to work and time away
particu'ly the weariness that's settled in to stay.

But lately I have socialised a lot (for me) and been
to watch a famous travelling show, I dressed up, really keen
to see "Chicago" live and thought that Barrymore would mean
a top performance from a cast to match his brilliant scenes.

Yes, he was charismatic and the other leads were good
but all in all it wasn't great and "My Fair Lady" would
outclass it any day in my opinion. Could
the Napier Operatics go professional? They should.

Then Thursday night I sat upon a barstool laughing hard
at jokes that poured like spirulina, thick and fruity. Bard
and entertainer, Gary McCormick played his every card,
then Invercargill's mayor came on and both of them then sparred.

But now I'm on a downer, silly. That's what happens when
you spoil yourself and gad about and see a lot of friends.
The real estate 'for sale' sign is up; it's helped to send
5 buyers through on tours, so each night I clean till 10.



GREAT MINDS DISCUSS IDEAS
AVERAGE MINDS DISCUSS EVENTS
SMALL MINDS DISCUSS PEOPLE