I’ve returned to university to do an English paper on poetry and prose. I hope to improve my writing.

I hadn’t written poetry before, so it was a bit of a shock to be confronted with assignments that involved being poetic! If you know me, you’ll understand I’m just about anything else but! It turned out to be fun and here is a short poem which my next new book will revolve around. Let me know what you think?

Refugee Grace

Sensible shoes beyond the Blitz,

Naked hand grips black kid gloves.

They stroll Queen Street, WWII refugees.

Young, hand in hand, can’t get close enough.

Porcelain skin smoulders with love and hope.

Survivors. Desire lasting their lifetime.

Far away from War’s pitiless self-destruction,

Silenced jack-boot rhythm softens their dreams.

He tall, eyes Delft-blue, clutches her arm tighter,

Shoulder to shoulder with Pavlovian fear,

Of swooping Luftwaffe dive-bombing their future.

Shattering their happy new-found world,

Explosive crush, baking them into

The safe New Zealand pavement.

Content in love for sixty-five years,

Surrendering their terror, ashes to ashes,

Merged together, buried beneath ancient Magnolia trees.