“I am looking for something a little bit cheaper”
He said on his mobile phone
As he walked all alone
Among the dead.
I passed by
And thought of the Grim Reaper
Who has a place for all to stay
All men pay
Though not in the market way
I met a ghoul on a train
Who showed me his very big brain.
I said to him “ghoul!
You are truly a fool!”
He said “no! I’ve a big brain!”
I recall
Collecting conkers and acorns
From woodland lawns.
Some came over the wall
To lie
on the path.
I gathered them
As I passed.
I was a boy back then
And loved Autumn.
I love her still
And know I will
As all men
Become as those conkers and acorns
I gathered in childhood
From woodland lawns.
I have held them tight
Although I know
Come the end of night
They must go
And I will be left,
Bereft
Thinking on butterflies
Who pass
And lust,
Fragile as glass.
I have heard the hours
Tick by
And grown old
In arms I can not hold.
But Spring flowers
Provide a temporary
Relief from cold.
I have sought
The flower’s heart
And fought
With the same
pleasure and pain
Over and over again.
In the end only art remains
For blooms must fade
And the poet leaves behind
Merely a rhyme
On ink stained page
