1 It’s captivating to watch a character Lost in an inward moment Unaware of the watcher and the artist Immersed in their own drama Vividly alive A realization Like Saint Jerome alone with his pen Crucifix and skull Transfixed by a spiritual revelation Yet mocked by the two attendant angels He doesn’t even see Or […]
Okay my friend I’ll get you With that silly white hat And your non-parlez vous The ride into town Is only a mile But I’ll take the long way As I chatter and smile I’ll point out the sights Give you the grand tour And charge twenty Euros Instead of just four You won’t understand […]
A picture window on the world This silver ribbon ride A swift and silent sweep Through the French countryside Live with poplars Powerlines Fields A fluid landscape Vivid Unreal Frame by frame The vista rolls Through a fold of colour and light From a lounge chair At a coffee table In the falling veil of […]
Few of the Londoners I know own cars They all leg it and catch the tube Leaving the streets Congested With Porsches and Bentleys Those gleaming Gatsby toys © Ian Lilburne 2010
The Godfather must live in the gym He’s there every day Holding court in the corridor café His girlfriend always beside him The younger men come up To pay their respects And seek his advice Sullenly he reflects On their weights And repetitions (Always that gold chain flashing bling) One day he was working out […]
Apprehensively I reach the frontier The solitary traveller Softly outside But not seasoned so Having always taken The proven path But this time I’m branching out Smuggling a secret That sets me apart Not the usual contraband The expected indiscretion Ripe for reprimand But something more personal A dark unknown That threatens my safety And […]
Bulked up on bravado And testosterone Like insouciant peacocks They strut the gym Grunting They drop their weights Egregiously On the rubber mat Then circle in a stupor Drawing attention To their mad obsession From the outside I watch Reassured in my invisibility The awkward old bloke No-one takes seriously © Ian Lilburne 2010
I last walked down Regent Street On a cool autumn’s night Legging it with English friends In muted lamplight From Leicester Square Past Piccadilly and Eros The street deserted The shop windows numinous Their winter displays Coats Hats Scarves A frozen world Wondrous by half A flying visit A surreal tableau The charisma of London […]
A bull of a man With a grizzled beard Black Barrel-chested Brutal His gold chain flashing bling Crouched on the bench Behind his younger White Bulked-up Girlfriend Lying forward sinuously Curving into the curve of her spine He barked her through her dumbbell routine Double-weighting mine ‘Four more Come on You can do it 18—19 […]
Out to escape The pressure and pace They sit on the grass Or under the trees Sometimes in pairs But mainly alone Stripped back In the sun To reflect Or read Their naked shoulders Frail In the heat The odd jogger iPod wired Pants past Out on the Heath The lonely crowd S c a […]