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Shearsman 61 |
Robert Saxton
Two Poems |
Lost Manuscripts of DublinThe Goatherd
The Liffey rang last orders in the night.
Across the Halfpenny Bridge he piped his goat.
Pub crawlers noted nothing of any note.The gypsy princess on her barge of state
was fishing with a safety-pin for trout,
her bait a maggot liquoriced in stout.Across the Halfpenny Bridge he piped his goat.
The gypsy princess on her barge of state,
where Egypt's wobbliest sailors navigatethe wildest waves, noted nothing of any note —
only the drunken reel of a flashlight
high above her prospecting the velvet nightfor jewels, the trade winds swollen with stout,
and cross-currents of educated debate
in honour of dark Cleopatra lying in statebelow the Halfpenny Bridge, so late.
The Song of SituationsMind's a river, never empty,
tree forgets while axe remembers,
skies make far from easy walking,
friends flow on when sorrows whisper,tree forgets while axe remembers,
even tigers have their off days,
friends flow on when sorrows whisper,
like the rainbow no-one noticed,even tigers have their off days,
on the delta's lazy steamboat,
like the rainbow no-one noticed,
gambling, loving, cheating, losing,on the delta's lazy steamboat,
strangers annotate their purpose,
gambling, loving, cheating, losing,
one may one day be your saviour,strangers annotate their purpose,
parrots parody the moment,
one may one day be your saviour,
champion of the clouds' regatta,parrots parody the moment,
skies make far from easy walking,
champion of the clouds' regatta,
mind's a river, never empty.
Copyright © Robert Saxton, 2004
| Robert Saxton's collections are The Promise Clinic (Enitharmon Press, London, 1994) and Manganese (Carcanet Press, Manchester, 2003). He was born in Nottingham in 1952, and now lives in north London, where he is the editorial director of an illustrated book publishing company. |
