In my     in what I     in
in the way     how I     we     how we
which of necessity which     of     of necessity
in the way that we do     that we have come to do     in the way
knowing of course     knowing

 

When I look out     when I look     when I see
torpor     stillness     heaviness     a heaviness
and confirmation as it were
and that we can make     that we can make of them the objects of thought
which of itself would     of itself     by itself     would     in itself
where I
I

 

Seeing in one thing     something of another     in the one thing
something of the other     in the other
if the difference is

 

Any     any of them     any one of them
in their own     on their own
and who always speak of themselves     about themselves     concerning themselves
how it is     what it is like     what it is to be
in which     that     which     of which
thinking     thinking how     thinking that     how
with     with the slightest the least     the slightest     with
with
difficulty     what difficulty     at one level everything is clear
this garden     this place     this full of things

 

Of the quality of     or the nature     the nature of     of the quality or the nature of

 

Attaches     attaches to
and what we love     what we love about     or in     what we love in
in the dark     each other     the dark     of each other     in each other
in the place that     in the place where
what might or could have been
unimaginable     the warm scented air     come from afar

Beside     beside     alongside     beside

 

Where I
hearing     hearing or listening     listening
would almost certainly     almost certainly     would
in another or different     another     different     another
considering     considering how     considering the way
that we     we

 

And the sudden outbursts effusions     so sudden as to be wholly unexpected

 

Even     even now     even when     at this time     even
in the end     simply     perhaps     in the end     perhaps     simply
not that I
would surely     would     would surely     surely

 

Copyright © Geoffrey Squires, 2006.

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Geoffrey Squires was born in 1942 and grew up in Co. Donegal. After reading English at Cambridge he lived and worked in various countries including Iran, France and the USA, and is a translator of French and Persian poetry. He lives in Hull. His most recent print publication is Untitled and other poems 1975-2002 (Wild Honey Press, Bray, 2004); in June 2006, Shearsman published an e-book of a recent poem, Lines — see here for access.