FMS Pictures & Poetry

Like an illustration
On the page of a storybook,
A fairy-tale
Read quietly and clearly
By parents in the darkness,
Illuminated by bedside lamps
Or the romance of flickering
Candlelight,
I saw them there
Standing squat in a line
At the end of my garden.

Shielded by long grass
And the shadows of night,
Their faces were hidden
But a collective expression
In glowing green
Beckoned me into the cold,
Snowy woodland.

One was taller than the rest;
Tall, beautiful and female.
I recognised her
And she knew my mind
For she’d seen it before
I left her
Some years ago.

The perils of falling were clear
But I would risk being discovered
Naked and bleeding
In my own surroundings
Or caught and accused
Of perversity and insanity.

Others who’ve known me
Understood my score,
Written in pencil
Rather than ink.
No need to convince
Such welcome visitors
Of its validity.

The sensations of freezing,
Sharp leaves on my ankles
And the shrivelling of a penis
That had yet more sense
Was real and lasting
Though my friends,
Now much closer,
Had vanished out of sight.
Even she had left me –
She who attracted me most.

But, now I knew that
I’ll never again gaze
From the safety of my bedroom
Into the woodland,
Carpeted in shades of
Green and pink,
And feel alone and afraid.