From, A Country Diary

Westmorland

afternoon faded

afternoon

or birds or sheep

or birds faded away in  –

or sheep or birds

away in a wild sunset  

or sheep or birds

a wild sunset and  –

or sheep or birds

and the first  –

or sheep or birds

the first stars  

or sheep or birds

stars began  –

or sheep or birds

began to  –

or sheep or birds

to peep  –

or sheep or birds  

peep out –

or sheep or birds

out from  –

or sheep or birds

from this  –

or sheep or birds

this direction

or sheep or birds

direction and at –

or sheep or birds

and at this  –

or sheep or birds

this time of  –

or sheep or birds

time of day

or sheep or birds

day with  –

or sheep or birds

with huge banks

or sheep or birds

huge banks of  –  

or sheep or birds

of cloud

or sheep or birds

cloud building  –

or sheep or birds

building up  –

or sheep or birds

up all  –

or sheep or birds

all round

or sheep or birds

round and  –

or sheep or birds

and not  – 

or sheep or birds

not a sight  –

or sheep or birds

a sight of  –

or sheep or birds

of trees

or sheep or birds

trees  –

or sheep or sheep

or birds or sheep

or birds or sheep

or birds or birds

From, A Country Diary

Sydenham Damerel

against the blue sky

against the stone

the road stone

blue sky

and from the road

and sunlight in smoke

from sunlight catches

catches

in smoke

catches

lanes and lanes

farmsteads and isolated farmsteads

and bounded tracks

pheasants, and isolated bounded tracks thread

shelter pheasants

thread past that shelter

past stubble, kale

that stubble

turnip and kale

turnip crops

maize and crops

for sheep

belts of maize

for sheep hilltop with belts of hilltop copses

pastures with copses

strips undulating

pastures

strips of woodland undulating

of steep, steep woodland

leaves of primroses

leaves of polypody ferns

and polypody ferns

primroses, celandines

of pennywort and celandines

honeysuckle greenery

of pennywort

honeysuckle and winter greenery

and even the winter

even bluebells enhance the bluebells

enhance bluebells

enhance bluebells

of shadows

of asphalt

wet asphalt

shadows and out in tractor ruts

and wet and out in the water filled tractor ruts

 and the open

on puddles

water filled, open

the sun, its brilliance on puddles

the sun reflects

reflects its brilliance

reflects

From, A Country Diary

Wenlock Edge (seventh)

dark bird

a dark marsh and marsh bird

a shower

pools and shower

of the flood pools

of rain over the flood

rain passes

passes over

passes

it arrives

it arcs and arcs

arrives

it goes

the waters

and it goes

opening silvers the waters

opening the sky

and gold

silvers the sky

for red and gold

for a visionary flash that turns trees red

a visionary flash of sunshine

of sunshine

that turns trees

of sunshine

From, A Country Diary

Warblington Cemetery

grass overhead

grass ragged like ragged overhead crows

and the air like crows and jackdaws

through the air jackdaws wheeled

wheeled through

wheeled

toppled and weatherworn

toppled graves on graves

and weatherworn and wizened holly placed on

and wizened holly berries had been placed

berries clung to the wreaths that had been

clung to the wreaths

that clung to the wreaths

that clung

amid the dead

amid a blackbird and a blackbird

the dead sprang bloom

and sprang new full bloom

new life in full

life beside

were in beside the daffodils

were the kissing gate daffodils

kissing gate

kissing gate

kissing