At the end of the day

At the end of the day
Somewhere along the way
We had to push the envelope
Pull out the hymn sheet
And sing out of the box
All together now, once more
Dear friends once more
We few, we lucky, phew!
Who drank the mountain dew
Under a sky so blue
All the trees made invisible
In the proverbial forest

We are all on a journey
At the end of the day
Sailing around the bay
Hoping to think or swim
And to do so on a whim
To feast on bread and butter
After the horse has bolted
And I again have been sorted

You have neither heart nor mind
I'm not one-eyed, you are not blind
You are not cruel and I am not kind
Your words speak to me but not of love
They do reveal to me your treasure trove
Your voice is always coming from above

Haiku - winter morning

Old hotel roof
Dawn rushes in
Crest of a wave of fire

Haiku

No spark, nor tinder
Only the warmth of fire
is remembered

A road is built

A road is built
by cleverly conceiving certain journeys
the rest is just measuring obstacles
flatenning the weaker ones and
working above, around or underneath the rest

but roads are neither trips nor destinations
and if you feel a new road will bring us closer together
you'd be partly mistaken

A road is built
by craftily harnessing hope and distance
and weaving them together on the landscape

The rest is up to us.

Disparate romantico

Come share with me the open road
and be my love, while love will last
and under heavens overcast
pedal our bicycles abroad

Come sail with me in the same boat
and, tied together to the mast,
head for the storm and leave the past
in some remote part of the coast

Come for a walk up the green hill
the rainiest weekend of October
to enjoy with me fog, hail or thunder

The two of us won't sit still
if you will let me be your lover
till death -or fate- put us asunder

Blank page

The four restrictive corners of the page:
A field to be ploughed
A sea to cast your net in
A desert to journey across
And to get lost, discover or explore,
Colonise, inhabit, cultivate,
Runsack, loot, take by storm
A clean bed, empty but waiting
for weary sleepers or contorted lovers
The ultimate frontier, the last space

After a night in town, with Jack Daniels

On nights like this Death cannot come too soon
as I lay awake, on my bed, in my room

and hours fall on me like drops of rain from a leaking ceiling
they quickly form a pond, around me first,
eventualy inside me, a deep well of bitter water

When I wake up, the neighbours' grand oak tree has been blown off its roots
Taking with it half the garden fence, some of the roof
and the new concrete garage - now reduced to rubble

Atop my own roof my grandfather's weathervane
spins wildly and triumphant
having conjured up a storm

How much my life has changed since I met you

Corte una rosa

Corte una rosa - la que mas queria
la de mas color, la que mas brillaba
corte la rosa que mas me importaba
y fue porque la sabia ya perdida

Corte la rosa que perdia la vida
y la entregue a la mujer que amaba
senti en mis manos que suave temblaba
mi roja rosa de mi se despedia

Hoy mi jardin brilla bajo la luna
mientras mi amada a mi lado yace
y yo despierto recuerdo a mi rosa

Cuando al fin duermo, mi buena fortuna
me regala otra, que en el jardin nace:
una nueva vida aun mas hermosa.

-----------------------------

I cut a rose, the one I loved the most
The one most colourful and bright
I cut the rose that to me most mattered
and it was because I knew it to be already lost

I cut the rose that was losing its life
and gave it to the woman I loved
I felt it tremble in my hands
My red rose saying farewell to me

Now my garden shines under the moon
while my beloved lies by my side
and I, awake, remember my rose

When at last I sleep, my good fortune
gifts me with another one, born in the garden:
a new life, yet all the more beautiful.

Romantica cantata - 20 anhos despues

Mi coraza es mi corazon
que es al mismo tiempo
mi casa
mi ventana
mi puerta
y mi cancion

(e.1985)

My armour is my heart
which is at the same time
my house
my window
my door
and my song

(w. 1985)

My lady sleeps - draft 1, utterly OTT

My lady sleeps with dreams of summer crops
beneath the old apple tree, now barren.
I listen to her breathing, her heartbeat I imagine
like the sound old trains made on victorian railroads

My lady shines with crown of purest gold
and to the light reflected by her pearls
She adds the magic beam of her blue stars
and the breathtaking silver of her soul

My lady in her sleep is without tears
Her dreams sustain her through the valley of sorrow
I listen to her breathing dissipating her fears

and I guard her sleep - none was ever most dear
for I know this to be but a moment I've borrowed
and the end of these dreams can be nothing but near.

Divertimentos de botadura

Resbala el blanco velero
resbala hacia el verde mar.
El viento lo ha de llevar
muy lejos del astillero.

Oh blanco ejemplo de esmero
hecho para navegar:
no lo habra de doblegar
el tifon mas duro y fiero.
-----------------------

The white sailing boat slides
slides towards the green sea.
The wind is to take it away
far away from the shipyard.

O white example of care
made to sail the high seas:
It shall not be deterred
by harsh or fierce typhoon.

Naturaleza muerta

A bird lies dead outside my patio doors
there is no sign of struggle: did he suffer?
An old woman - my neighbour - tends to her budding flowers
with a watering can and a small garden trowel

It is the height of May; I'm having breakfast
The children are awake and watching television
The sun shines from the East. A tabby cat
reaches the top of the fence and with mighty hind legs
propels itself into my garden quietly
and takes away the bird's carcass. I can hear no sound
but that of the television as my children await their breakfast
way, way high in the food chain

The lock keeper

The unkempt and grim abode of the lock keeper
The colourful but dreary canal boats
The men in grey & shabby overcoats
The rush of water in the lock, making it deeper

and fifty years on, the tourist tea shop
families of fours out during Fathers' day
carrying a pot of tea and cream scones in a tray
the canal not a way, just a suitable stop

Castillos en la arena

Mis castillos en la arena
mi corazon en el aire:
abreme los ojos, madre!
que me muero de la pena

Latiendo en mi pecho sueña
y este sueño entra en mi sangre:
Deja que en sueños te guarde!
Que de mi sangre eres dueña

------------------------------
My castles made in the sand
and my heart up in the air:
Open now my eyes, mother!
for I am dying of grief

Beating in my chest it dreams
and its dream enters my blood:
Let me in dreams guard over you!
for you of my blood are the owner

2 Divertimentos climaticos

Ay, ciegame, luz del cielo
porque al ver tanta belleza
la mas oscura tristeza
cubre mi alma con su velo

Corazon, levanta el vuelo
y con valor y fiereza
asalta la fortaleza
de mis penas y desvelos

Vista desde el Bridgewater Hall

Fuente de agua de dia,
de noche espejo de mi alma!
Regalame de tu calma
igual que de tu alegria.
----------------

Fountain of water by day,
By night, mirror of my soul!
Give me the gift of your calm
just as that one of your joy.

Romanzoneto de la torre invencible

Nunca he de rendir la torre
de mi asediado castillo:
he puesto en cada ladrillo
Ideales y fervores

Ergo, Angelica, no llores
cuando el odiado enemigo
haya acabado conmigo
y tomado mis colores

Cuanto eso ocurra, se buena
y ven a visitar mi tumba
entre la mar y la arena!

Oh diosa amada y terrena
sobre mis hijos alumbra
y sobre mis huesos truena!

Divertimento enthomologic

With genuine sense of adventure
and a little bit of sorrow
I wait for the coming morrow
to receive my new dentures

The descent

With simple words I try to build a picture to remember
The river of your laughter under a sky of fire
And two gleaming stars, as deep darkness veils
My sense to all that is real and my journey
Into your unfathomable abyss hereby commences

Dusk in June

Light of the sun
Light of the sun upon our faces
Fly away, fast and skimming the waters
Shine over my love's garden flowers
And blessed be the morning

Silvery moon
Silvery moon behind a cloud so lonely
You bid your time, proud and with severe face
Watch over my love's garden flowers
And blessed be the evening