A Break in the Battle...



It lasted no longer than it takes to write these lines,
How can I forget the sanctuary you gave?
A fragment of a cold afternoon when we had time,
Lying in the grey half-light of November,
Wrapped like the Egyptian dead,
Limbs entwined like branches,
One breath; one heart.
Scared to move lest this perfect unity be lost.
Somewhere, in another land, the phone rings;
The clanging metallic bells surrender, unanswered.
Encouraged by the Autumn gloom, serenity returns.
Silence now, save the litany from the streets.
It meets the ears filtered through glass and eiderdown;
An underwater world where no-one drowns,
Except in you.
Slowly I sink...

East London St. November 1984...