Late March, bye-line You find yourself fallinggiving in to the last fracturethe final tease of green hairlinea grass pretence for another year Lying among the washed-out leavesEye to eye with the levelled-out day Rolling over for the smack of skythat shadow vending sun solicits with hopethe callous of dry ground veined to breakwan from summer’s … Continue reading A seasonal poem which found a home in 100 Poets Flying Islands 100th poetry collection celebration edition

https://www.themilkhouse.org/made-in-milk-and-other-poems-by-james-walton/

I start on the wing but it’s like running out on to the MCGThere’s a slight twinge in my hammy from too many church stepsI make for the centre to cut off the fast breaking anchoviesThe cheese blind turns just out of my reachThe platter seems to be getting bigger the match is tightI need … Continue reading Pizza in Lucca/ the Sporting Nemesis

Along the promenade the old grandeescast coy smiles from behind a fan of roadwayapartments now a glimpse out of folded drapeslooking down to last night’s dusting snowWhere lovers on the river path redeemthe drooping abandoned halos of early morningan after dawn held for a precious momentin a highlight fallen from a Caravaggio Miles Davis is … Continue reading Firenze Fragment

And I am sliding down the hard wall of your messageit is Christmas Day my seventy years felledthe foundling rings of life spiral slipping the cortexa speeding ticket from a front on with the floorWasn’t it only yesterday we pasted words?Their faint blossom still colours the keyboardI tried to promise Castlemaine sometime the next weeka … Continue reading Dear Rob

We thought the summer would kill us.The can opener sun so jaggedly,drained all the days tipping out,the dying pumpkin seedlings watered -soldered by early morning thereto the ground under the iron bark. The mountain will not wear the road,one day it will shake it off breaking the bridle,at the place the drays paused for passageafter … Continue reading Autumnal Refugees

Tilting Sancho, it is a time to hurrythis ochre land of sulphuris poultice to a failing queststalked by my own journeyI grow afraid these robesof castaway identity bleed Don, it is time to sit and eattake this moment of sandremember we scolded those merchantswho in the village squareput out the eyes of bullfinchesto make them … Continue reading Tilting

I slip slide my way to the garden         ice on the deck between ussitting by the unseasonable onionsclinging to their underground life        and the house ravens flophoping for some kitchen salvage         Every day has its glory My coffee    hanging breath in aira spinebill on the toe of my boot        its head tuckedin furtive … Continue reading I slip slide my way to the garden

How to bake the best breakfast scones, in easy steps Remove overfed cat from kitchen benchwipe down (bench) and remove hairwipe out mixing bowl removing furscrub pastry board, unblock sinkplace wad of cat (from sink) in compost bucketfrom pantry remove flour etcand furball in entrance, yes that 3am noise was realfind (chewed) packet of yeastopen … Continue reading How my cat made it into a review.

Ragnarök in the Coles supermarket car park I found Jesus in the kitchen, latehelping himselfto the sour dough loafsome roast beef, mustardI thought I’d take the chancemy lower back – a small miraclebut he only had advice, gentle exerciseback stretches. The Holy Ghost was hangingliterally, from the saucepan hooksI’d expected a big irradiating dovedropped to … Continue reading Very happy to have my poem Ragnarok in new issue of The Belfast Review.