Bard

Shall I tell yer a story of grandma, a bonnet; shall I tell yer a tale of a pig and her brood? Look out at that beanstalk, a bridge and a billy goat, ancestors of bears and uncountable wolves. Around they go baby - old stories like fountains - and, after all the axes and giants returnin’, shall I tell yer a story and make it anew?

How to speak

There’s nothing there at first;

nowt at all,

until the start of a small bubble

expanding sound,

growing up rapid

like a seed of beginnings

swimming in softness

ready to birth

out from the lung wrench,

in-breath, then out-breath

- crucial in moments -

touting a burp from

intent - and a climax;

‘Send out the dove’

Capability

Hands, my aging hands;

thumbs can gather

and horny fingers

pulsate a guitar

or draw blood, scratch skin:

available to

hammer with tools,

build up an igloo,

fish into currents,

pull me through water,

capable of toil

with pen or shovel

and touch, at the palm,

another hand – yours.