the Gerbera sends up a third flush of flowers: the shrunken green heads perch on ridiculous fat stems and wait to take on colour

the caterpillars match the green of the broccoli leaves perfectly - it's not enough to protect them from this gardener

a glob of foam clings to the rim of the bath and slowly shrinks

on the pavement

scattered pieces of jigsaw, an empty orange Rizla packet, a shard of glass, fallen and trodden-on blooms

posy: cosmos and lavender

yellow flecks on the ridged white silk, straight stems seen through glass, a cluster of lavender flowers smell of themselves

salt and vinegar heaven

fresh fish, freshly battered

old tensions find cracks in the veneer during a game of Rummikubs, threaten to errupt

Ventnor Botanical Gardens

Tucked away behind the temperate house, a bench with a brass plaque: HARVEY - A VERY SPECIAL CAT. Underneath it says it just isn't the same without him. The sun beats down.

outside tap

washing the crud from the compost bin, I bash the leaves and get a hit of mint

after breakfast

a purple smear of jam on the chipped white plate, dotted with blackcurrant pips like deep sea creatures

Time for tea

A ring of scale has grown on the red where the kettle meets the lid. In the quiet aftermath of boiling, it ticks.

The goldfinches always came in pairs to delicately dab at the niger seed. This one comes alone.

At the entrance of the probation hostel

She's laden down with hold-alls, a suitcase, plastic bags. She leans towards her friend, who in response reaches behind her to take a firm grip on the back of the waistband of her trousers. The trousers are hoiked up, her pale flesh covered.

a seed lands on my palm

the plump oval centre is luminous orange, wrapped in a papery husk like a UFO

a glass of water on the window-sill brandishes a full hand of garden spinach

Birdworld

Crested Screamer
Boobook Owl
Greater Necklaced Laughing Thrush
African Spoonbill
Silver Pheasant
Lilac-breasted Roller

White-bellied Go-away Bird!
White-faced Whistling Duck!

"Go quietly, quietly."

"...into the world's tumult, into the chaos of every day."

in the kitchen

bin-stink

in the hedge outside my window

the blackberries mass (clenched tight) waiting to plumpen, sweeten, blacken

At Gloucester station

plasticky gulls stand still or promenade on the platform roof

one small cup of coffee in a tatty faux-posh tea-room opposite Harrods: £3.60

the field of scraggy closed-up dandelions open up in uni-sun

Home again home again jiggety-jig, to sit with my loved-one and eat fish and chips.

Aeroplane drone.
Wind-in-leaves strings.
Wood pigeons mull it over.

Found in the fold of my pocket

Yesterday's bright leaf, the red of new wellington boots, has crumbled into brittle flakes the colour of dried blood.

a snail in the crook of a glossy leaf, his shell whorled black and white: a boiled sweet

A shout from outside

'All I want is the truth! And it's just lies and lies and lies!'

WUD-MUD... bing! bang! WUD-MUD... bing! bang!

Not music from the room above, but construction sounds as this brand new house grows wooden floors and walls.

Inside the suitcase

Filofax. Socks. Umbrella. Pens. Rolled-up clothes. Journal. Ear plugs. Paper. Toothbrush. Pens.

the cats line up to watch me hang out the washing

hanging down in the front of the coach

a stuffed sheep, his tongue hanging out, his jumper saying 'I owe I owe it's off to work we go'