Gerald England

Tanka 11 tar wagon pulls in to moor-top carpark, off-loads two wicker baskets- three dozen pigeon sweep out circle twice, then head for home Vacation Time Through the windy pass frozen waterfalls cling to fell sides In the valley park the river is rapid with melt To a young boy swans are just big ducks The bypass-building bulldozers menace bank-holiday traffic At nightfall the weather howls between trees Over the radio comes news of strife and hardship Inside minds are still with sleep Puzzle solutions are put back to bed again The Bay At The Back Of The Ocean At the Bay-at-the-back-of-the-ocean a boy wrote his name in white sand and drew a rude picture of mummy whilst his brother picked at the grains and bottom-shuffled towards the blue Hidden behind the cow-climbed Dun beyond the sheep-trodden tees and greens, at the Bay-at-the-back-of-the-ocean where the machair stretches smooth and clean a man and wife looked toward more distant isles At the Bay-at-the-back-of-the-ocean a boy cried out to the warming wind and waved at the royal Atlantic whilst his brother crawled towards daddy, sand penetrating nappy, caking face Whilst others ascended to the Abbey one walked, one buggied, with parents trekked to the Bay-at-the-back-of-the-ocean searching for colours in rocks hiding pools and crevices where pink flowers grew

Gerald England is a British poet, living on the edge of the Pennines with his lace-making wife, a son and a Manchester terrier. He has been active on the Small Press Scene for over 27 years and edits New Hope International. He has published ten collections of poetry and been translated into several languages. His work has also appeared on various websites and he is a member of Cyberscribers, a group of writers on the Internet. Gerald's new collection of poetry LIMBO TIME with a foreword by Mabel Ferrett will be published early in 1998. Homepage