For Lisa too

I believe you
I love you
And I will always be here.
You deserve love.

For Lisa

An intimacy that needs no words
A companionable silence that brims with love
An understanding that has ever been.

When we talk,  it has value,  brings joy.
When we talk,  even of nothing, love is conveyed
Without words we love,  with words we engage.

A whole family that is other and mine
An inclusion so touching as to bring tears
That is what you give me, and I love.

Croydon Nights

A low level chuntering tune

signifies the continuing work

of an air conditioner

in need of service.

Six lights around the room

allow sight, yet still somehow

a gloom lingers, and the warm

neutral colours seem muted.

seven hangers dangle

one coat between them

mocking the extraneity of

its empty brethren.

A tv sits unwanted, 

unwatched, and a phone 

lies bored, unused.

overpriced into silence.

A functional bed awaits 

an occupant, pillows awry 

from earlier spreading out

it promises warmth

but not sleep.

Contrition inside a foggy window

In the dark splashing rain I stop the car. 
Thanks are given,  kind words said,
A hug,  a peck on the cheek before exiting and then it happens.

Our lips meet.

Our actual lips

Actually meet.

It is brief,  it is asexual,  it is innocent.
gratitude expressed with an every day gesture,

She knows of my past sins, 
Of my ridiculous youth

She knows of my inane babble.

But briefly she indicates that these
may not make a mockery of long held hopes.

Briefly,  with her lips,  and my lips
She grants me hope again

I drive home that night smiling.

Perspective gained

Lying beneath the stars
on a cloudless night,
their distance humbles,
our failure to grasp
the infinite reinforces
just how small we are.
We need that sense,
perspective gained,
through taking time
and watching them.
Guessing only
how much there is
we do not know.