Poem From A Photograph: ‘By The Sea’

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One day we will live by the sea,
take our time like we always said.
We shall walk along the strand
come rain or shine,
while dinner cooks slowly back home.
Though we won’t have much,
we won’t ask for any more: it will be enough.
Contentment is making do,
inevitable like the tides,
the changing season
and the portals of life

copyright Francis Barker 2020

Poem From A Picture: ‘Doorways’

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The ruins of Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire, England.

Doorways to nowhere,
ghosts whisper from parallel worlds
where alternate timelines run,
better worlds than our own.

copyright Francis Barker 2020

Poem From A Picture: ‘A Firm Distant Memory’

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Flower festival Crowland Abbey, Lincolnshire, England. Summer 2019

It’s iconic now,
England versus West Germany,
countries no longer existing,
old adversaries meeting
on a dappled pitch in late July,
still embroiled in controversy;
such as goals which were not goals,
views strictly dictated along partisan lines,
or the keen eye of a Russian linesman.

copyright Francis Barker 2020

Poem From A Picture: ‘Tidy’

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The church is a tidy corner of my mind,
a space safe from intrusion,
for only like-minded souls may enter.
There is a code, not for dress, but for respect
and yes, the truth – true as light enters
from the south window and door,
as sure as nature rules over us
by allegory and design

copyright Francis Barker 2020

Haiku: Cafe Culture

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Prague 2019

We deserve something
Just a little break somewhere
Cafe tucked away

picture and haiku copyright Francis Barker 2020