When the Dogs Bite

Monday, 9 February 2026

9th February 2026

sleepy kitten

demanding attention

dogs waiting

This pollarded stump may dream of lofty height

for in its roots dwells still a mighty soul

that burrows through the stone with ancient right

to reach an all-due majesty above these plains of boule.

I know not of what fruit thou brings to bear

when spring will coax thy freshest stems to shoot

and summons forth thy fragrance to the air

for bees to gather nectar from thy fruit.

This region of the French Dordogne is known

for grapes to make the wine of days long passed

but thou art cut too tall for summer's vine

and suspect that thou bring forth plums at last.

For now in winter's slumber doth thou rest

and I'll return ere autumn time to test.

Sunday, 8 February 2026

8th February 2026

low cries

as I step out of the shower

walk time

Stage Tw0

He is not dead but merely gone from sight

in what is deemed a political ploy

his body switched out in the dead of night

and gone to Israel, the darling boy

beloved of so many men of power

who relied on him to sate their dark desire

for ladies who have not yet reached the hour

of menstruation in their undeveloped fire.

Lady Hervey, Andrew Windsor's ex

explains a guard had seen the switch in NYC

and that the peddler of teenage sex

is living as respected Jewish man quite free.

And what of missing homeless city men

whose faces seem to echo those with names of note

collected, fed and cleaned 'til they resemble them

who must perforce withdraw from public gaze by rote.

Saturday, 7 February 2026

7th February 2026

happy sounds

as I'm greeted with grunts

contented boy

Morning in Eymet

Night has tucked away her skirts

and with those, the drape of darkened clouds

for now the sun releases early light

and the promise of a dawning spring is vowed.

Bright blue the jigsaw pieces of the sky

are slotted still with white and darkened swells

while early walkers dot the still-damp streets

and footfalls echo with the sound of tolling bells.

An older man walks past, his face now turned

as fixed in place by startling gorgon flare

or be he rapt by Aengis' squatting poo

rather than my fading, flaming hair.

An hour past and we are headed home

but stop outside the lovely L'Etabli

where majestic fluffy hound awaits outside

to exchange a morning pleasantry.

Friday, 6 February 2026

6th February 2026

away for the week

a small sale made on eBay

I'm not there.

Now in my later years I had no thought to see

awakening of Nature's strongest power,

how is it then that I have come to be

in depths of love for such a gentle flower?

And though I know that this be summer’s honey breath

before the winters of infirmity and age,

what can I do but bless devoted Death,

for every day she stays her hand another page

is writ upon sweet Branwen's book of deeds.

This jewel in my life I will now cherish

for all the inspiration it might feed

for lacking love is what it means to perish.

Be not afraid to dance within the light

and be assured that love be thine by right.

Thursday, 5 February 2026

5th February 2026

politicians

incensed by gender fluidity

protecting paedophiles

On the Onset of Dementia

I've borrowed one of those folding tables

-- the sort people use to paste wallpaper

before forgetting which side faces upward--

and set out each of my thoughts and memories

in jars and bottles, collected over the last year.

Some are Kilner jars, big and heavy;

sealed lids to contain my darkest opinions;

the ones kept safe lest the authorities arrest me

for my opinions that gender is irrelevant

as long as everything is consensual;

Or that religion is just a framework

Where people can hang their prejudices on display.

Nobody wants these, even when I price them

at less than the empty jars

while other, in jam pots and mustard jars

are filled with easy listening,

like "Tuesdays should be coloured blue"

and "why aren't swallows yellow?"

And over the day the table is gradually emptied

Not by passers-by taking an interest and making a purchase,

but by some local lads who tip over the table

and smash the bottles and jars

Until my mind is gradually emptied

And all that is left

is my need to ask for pudding for breakfast.

Wednesday, 4 February 2026

4th February 2026

morning in Eymet

gathering the sweetest grass

happy old boy

On the Discarding of Heads

I cannot remember the name attached

to the head of the blond young man in my hands

At some point he must have been important

my sense of Reason informs me; rather coldly,

I thought, though Memory just shrugs and says "Whatever."

and there is no sense of urgency about this man;

perhaps a college friend or client of the wilder days

when I was younger and in need of ready cash

for paint or canvas or just for electric meter meals.

I send him on to the realm of the dead and wonder

if his white-toothed smile was ever really real

or just a social construct. Today there was a tuppence

face up on the dirt floor of the old cattle shed;

loose change that fell from denim pockets

when trousers were at ankle height;

a discarded condom hung like a trophy from a rusty nail.

Tuesday, 3 February 2026

3rd February 2026

avoiding the pastries

in the boulangerie

free petit pains

tell me all about thy greatest canine friend

and how they look at thee with such devotion.

Explain to me how such connections never end

and how they greet thee with commotion.

Dost thy beloved pooch wag their glorious tail

until their bum falls off allotted balance.

Do they resent the presence of incoming mail

and when told to stay do they still silently advance?

Art thou shown their favourite stick or toy

when thou has been gone just a little while

and are they not the goodest girl or boy

whose presence is enough to make thee smile?

They occupy a portion of thy life on earth

and yet thou art their whole, the centre of their world.