THE IDIOCIES OF MARCH

"i write it all down in my almanac
a volume of minutiae
a journal as a life slips by"
since my last almanacal addition
four weeks have flashed by in a blur
just like a lunatic driver
taking his chances
down a one-way street
so here they are
the ides of march
milestones relentlessly advance and recede
the spring equinox has come and gone
the clocks have yielded up an hour of dawn calm
to the evening's cool softness
little green shoots pierce the damp earth
huge clumsy bumble bees take wing
but i nearly didn't make it
so close to being the trophy
to catch the gleam in his eye...
it's the end of a long day outdoors
i am trapped
a lone two-wheeler
stranded among the gridlock
of the after-school crush
dust in my eyes
petrol exhaust in my face
a wall of vehicles blocking my path
the lights go red
i make a dash for it
to avoid the roundabout
duck down a side-road by the three horseshoes
i spot a gap in the traffic
launch myself forwards
and suddenly find myself
the meat in a metal sandwich
one lunatic driver accelerates off the roundabout
another car overtakes into the gap
in vain i apply the brakes
my front wheel buckles
the camera freeze-frames
i am airborne
looking up at the sky
my bicycle is flying through the air
my silver saddlebags are flung in opposite directions
i seem to hang suspended
then suddenly i'm lying on my back on the road
wondering if i'm alive or dead
picking myself up
and dusting myself down
to preserve my dignity
i discover that i am indeed alive
alive, kicking and miraculously unscathed

TIME MARCHES ON

a great full moon
the sunrises advance
the nights retreat
the sun warms the frosty ground
little flowers push their tentative heads up
through the hard earth
and say 'yes, we're ready'
first the snowdrops
then the crocuses
purple, yellow, white and pale blue
now the daffodil shoots
their flowers will bloom soon
on my way back from sarehole mill
as i turn the bend into corvedale
i meet sweet barbara anne
out on her own
for a bracing constitutional
in the winter of life
she emerges into a new spring
a spring like no other
a bit of a spring in her step
it's been a dark gloomy winter for the family
a winter full of uncertainty
of difficult questions
and inconclusive answers
but we may have turned a corner