[F.F. Teague]

Thanks, Martin. I'm glad you enjoyed 'Song of the Stones'; I did quite a lot of research for it!

Thanks for enjoying the solar eclipse poem too. I wrote this one in a bit of a rush, which probably explains why it's not entirely clear. One sunny summer morning R caught up with me while I was walking from our halls of residence to the school. Sparks flew, until my dad turned up at the garden gate, with his slightly sinister smile. R made some sort of excuse to be elsewhere and didn't talk to me again, preferring to engage in watching, lol. I liked that; I was only 20 and I liked the attention. He was involved in the drama group and sang tenor in the choir.

Yes, I have wondered about the Moon; thanks for the enlightenment. I am fond of the Moon and often observe it during the evening as it climbs the sky. My studio faces east 8-) (watching, watching, watching)

Here's a poem I wrote this morning, possibly for an anthology with the theme 'Beauty in Normalcy' (I've been invited to submit). I figure it's okay to post it on this thread, as it describes a situation on Planet Earth. I'm going to post it in Met too.


Five days of coleus

They're tiny now, in one small shade of green,
these weeks-old infants in their perfect rows.
Already, though, I see them start to lean
towards the East, tenacious on their toes.
He told me that there isn't much to do:
just keep their bedding damp, no need to flood.
I tend, recalling nineteen ninety-two:
the drownings, accidental, in the mud;
and all my errors through the teenage years
then adulthood – neglect while I was high
and shining smiles or low and raining tears.
He's confident, these days, that they won't die.
They'll leave me soon, returning to his house
to find the summer sunlight all around
and, as he pots, some jazz hits sure to rouse
to pink and purple flames on Cotswold ground.

🌞