no time for streams
or those that look at hills
you learn to love
passing your early youth
amid the smoke of cities

lofty firs
taller than the old steeple
village news

the vicar’s collar
a house big enough
for ten rough sleepers

autumn shadows
spray-painted on a boulder
by the rail-track
in huge red lettering
Joanna Rocks

Paul Conneally

First Published LYNX XVII:1 February, 2002