Paul Reed Poems

I can see myself now
From the outside looking in
What a fool I've been;
Congratulating myself
...

The Wear washed it's way through Durham as ducks with their ducklings
Were swept over the mini ledges that form crescents in mid flow;
Above the dense, swaying green of the trees the Cathedral peered down on us
Little figures on the tow path, as with figures from long ago;
...

There were only six pieces
To make the little bookcase
Two sides, a back, two shelves
And underneath all these a base
...

Now that the storm seems to be over
The dust has settled and the air is quiet
Now that the drums have stopped beating
In the vacuum after the riot;
...

The high-pitched shrieks and noisy shouts
With giggles and laughter all about
Rough barks and frenzied screams
Fair maidens held in dreams
...

Not possessing the range of the blackbird,
Nor the tumbling cascade of the wren
Or the skylark symphony set on high;
But your voice told me
...

The optimism of morning;
When all is laid before us,
When plans are made
And courses set
...

With these crumbs that are left to us
We will feed gloriously
And, as if the hanging boughs never shimmered,
We will ignore the rights and wrongs
...

Our fingers were stained with strawberries
That we had picked from great long rows
Some were really funny shapes
"I've never seen one of those! "
...

Our lives are strung together
By seasons three months long
All stretched out in a long, long row
With binds between so strong;
...