Author: bonniebraw

Garden bulbs wait for promised spring,still deep earth. I ring the bell.You open the door, red braceswide smile, peppered chin, you lead me in.'Would you like a cup of tea?'Yes please'I only have soya milk'That's fineYour sitting-room is as it's always been;Aladdin's Cave of books, russet and green.Sofa cushions lean into our conversation.You bring a… Continue reading Dennis

(for refugees at the Polish Border)Let me pass my friendcolour of berries is bloodsnow and soil unite.

From my 2017 collection. The war in Ukraine forces me to remember that we seem doomed to repeat the same tragedies again and again. Sky Trees There are trees that are older than you or I shall be, their roots hold secrets of the soil. He pointed his plane, locked onto another and shot it… Continue reading Sky Trees

We have forgotten stories winter told-cherry blossom whispers lies.

Rushing in, I'm a volunteer, I'm late. Coat off, 'Hellos' and 'Happy New Years'. Hat and Scarf is laid on a box of forms, a young woman waits for direction. The table is stacked with tests, crush of information leaflets. Swab in nose, six drops, two on the window, watched as the liquid rose. I… Continue reading Gateway Centre

I lost the first blush of morning, plane trees naked on West End Lane waiting for footsteps, cars and buses. Salted air, toddlers in knitted hats, drainpipe jeans and tethered gloves; conversation chirrups on. The last blush came and left, a blackbird creeps into his nest; the city sighs and turns to night. The moon,… Continue reading Fortune Green

I Am! BY JOHN CLARE I am—yet what I am none cares or knows; My friends forsake me like a memory lost: I am the self-consumer of my woes— They rise and vanish in oblivious host, Like shadows in love’s frenzied stifled throes And yet I am, and live—like vapours tossed Into the nothingness of… Continue reading First Day of March

Street Giant Living on the street reduces you to scuttling on pavements with outstretched hat and stretched out smile. A young boy bounds up, puppy-energy; 'hello trouble'. A greeting given and received. You grow before me, vault the height of a giant, taller than sky-scrapped stars. Copyright Shereen Abdallah

Writing Struggles I have taken a sabbatical to volunteer, write and rediscover music. This is a rare opportunity, and yet, what a struggle to write. Why is that? A job has a job description, goals, set points and a manager to keep you on track. If you are; a pat on the back, if not,… Continue reading Why Write ‘Just be ready for what God sends’

Heart Fragments Crimson poetry My heart is like a poem the fibres of dark lines bind odd imaginations; sturdy muscle pulses inky words around my body. Mirage He's over there, in the desert distance, and I will wait him out; the blue-eyed man strong enough to fold me in his arms with neatly laundered creases.… Continue reading Valentine Gift