Seeing

On the incoming tide waves are lapping
The warmth and happiness of an evening walk
On a family holiday.
                
College-bound one night by train
Glinting solitary lights are felt as
Signals of humanity.
                 
The illuminated drab wallpaper of my rented flat late at night
Tremors of anticipation and fear of
That which lies beyond.
                    
Trees and buildings slide and move one across the other
                                          and across the landscape
                                                    and across the sky
This play enacted just for me
As I walk upon the shores of Nether Stowe Pool, Lichfield.
                       
London-bound I stop to follow the Long Walk at Windsor
Keeping my eyes upon its culminating Mounted Hero
Diverting only for the supposedly essential.
                     
Did I really see the eagles that flew up in front of me during my
     early morning walk and flapped their way to the nearby island
     and then moved off up the loch?
What a wonderful world we live in!
What a privilege.

And now,
      With eyes turned both outwards and inwards
           What lies at this junction of two worlds
                                                          
Feeling is latent
      Thoughts no longer all-pervading
           A wave of relaxation brings warmth and well-being
                                          
Our kitten is attacking my pen and paper.

Keith Allnatt