THE CLOAK MY LOVER WEARS
The day I saw the world
Through your eyes,
Was the day I knew it was pure
Beneath all the lies.
The day I tasted the world
In your mouth,
Was the day I found something
I couldn't live without.
Lover you were born for me
Lover, I was born to be,
With you.
The day I smelt
The scent of autumn's breath,
Was the day I found out
About my lover's death.
The news was rushed to me
By the falling of the leaves,
Whispering you are free now
To chase your memories.
Lover, you were born for me
Lover, can't you see
I am you?
But you are gone now,
Gone as the vanishing snow.
Still in my heart you live on,
Forever my love will grow.
The day I felt
The snowflake rest on my ear,
Was the day I knew
The cloak my lover wears.
****
BITTER
You said you would stick by me
"Until the bitter end."
Well I'm bitter now,
Where are you?
****
PARADOX LOST,
Subtleties of ironies
Distilled in a furnace;
Flames welcome
In merchant cities.
Where dog-eared sailors
Swap stories of retribution
And the ghost squads
Haunt previous acquaintances
With an endless desire for vengeance.
Hate-filled shorelines
Take centre stage
In the novels of remembrance.
Greed seeks out greed
To an unerring tune of violence.
Celibate I remain,
Even as I see you
Across the dance hall,
Across the school hall,
In the midst of a circling passion.
Winged by the desire for fate
To play out it’s mesmerising score,
In buildings that scrape mountains
And replace leaves with windows,
Tinted, they ask no questions.
Some came then, some then went,
Others stood in the background.
A bugle played
As trees began to dance,
Forests returning to their mansions.
THEATRE
A strange spiralling downwards
Into the heart of matter.
Heart Matters. Matters of the Heart.
The drawing back of red curtains
Reveals a stage lit from within.
Three dancers stand side by side
Retracing steps from an old dance.
Moving their bodies in surrendering glances;
Movement advances forward
As smoke rings from a scattered audience
Float softly through the air and caress the spotlight.
The circle fell out of your mouth then,
And I knew everything was complete.
THE MERMAID SONG
As I was sailing in my boat this morning
I came across a girl.
She offered me a flower
And I offered back my world.
She said "don't you worry darling
Whatever you give, I will receive.
Your hopes and dreams and failures,
Whatever you want me to believe."
And as she swam around in the water
Her face, it looked so alive.
But I had no way to reach her,
If I wanted my feet to stay dry.
She said "why don't you come in here with me,
You, who are always so bold?
For although you don't know where I'm going to
I promise the water's not cold."
I sat down on the edge of my boat,
Not knowing what else to do.
Should I trust this lovely lady
Who seemed to be so true?
Or should I trust my memories,
Of how things turned out once before?
When I was left alone in the middle of a sad ocean
Three thousand miles from the shore.
But as I sat there thinking these thoughts,
The lovely lady began to disappear.
I knew then that this must be a moment
I'd been waiting for all those years.
So I dived into that ocean,
Not knowing how deep it was.
For this time I would catch that mermaid
No matter what the cost.
And as my face hit the water,
I felt so truly alive.
My heart exploded in wonder
And the woman, she just smiled.
SUMMER RAIN
Oh sadness you imbibe me!
You drink of my every move.
Taking me, raping me,
Lusting after me as I dance in the meadows
Of the secret Garden.
Where fertile whips of honey burst through
Cracked earth.
And the One who see's watches
The unravelling mystery of time.
You, naked and unwashed.
I, clean, but unabashed
Laying together awaiting the storm.
For therein lies our destiny:
Admist the rising steam of a twelve emerald oceans.
Through the One Eye of the Crow
Jez Hughes
(Nightwriters Press £3.95, available from City Books, Hove)
Poetry is a much-overlooked art form, generally judged for its length and general complexity over its genuine emotive responses, a problem stemming for many from being forced to dissect The Wasteland line by line at school. Jez Hughes collection of songs and poems redresses the poetic balance, employing a gentle turn of phrase that is contemporary, accessible and yet feels classical. There is a passion behind the words, an honesty about love, life and the battles both bring, which is seductive to read and beautiful to listen to.
Jez Hughes is a local poet, which may be why he is so readable. Living in the same arena of influences, the great power of the sea at the end of the road and the pub drama on a Friday night, reading Hughes feels like you've discovered your own personal treasure-trove of poetry. One that you can feel smug about finding first.
Victoria Nangle
REVIEW FROM LATEST SEVEN MAGAZINE
To order a copy of
Through the One Eye of the Crow
please call 07915 082370 or email jezhughes@secondsighthealing.co.uk
