August Collection

August... The month when leaves and flowers start to look tired. Here in the UK there's a chill in the air some mornings and the days become noticeably shorter. As summer fades into autumn it is the perfect time to celebrate those hazy days.  

For the first time in way too long I am proud to collaborate with my dear friend and fellow poet Joe Praks. You can read four of his poems a little further on down the page. 

I hope you will enjoy our collection of August poetry.

A young boy kicks a ball

Along a cracked street

Sees a flower peeping

Through shards of glass

Its beauty shining

From deep within

Carefully he picks it

To give to his mother

Because all she does is cry

Since his daddy went away

He ran home
Through the dust

To the sound of shells

Heralding a new day

Rushed into

His mother's arms

With trust in his eyes

She took the daisy from him

Gave a watery smile

Twirled its 

Feather-like petals

Holding him close she said

"No good ever comes out of war

It's a malignant stain

On this world of ours

But we must be like this flower

Resilient true and full of hope

That one day the destruction ends."

Rainbow skies

Mirrored

In deep water

Reminded him

Of what they had

Chameleon emotions

Passionate red

Zany orange

Sunshine yellow

Natural green

Blue the colour

His world turned

The day she said

"It's time

For me to leave"

Eyes of indigo violet

That still haunted him

In his broken dreams.

Marigold pixie

Splashing through rain soaked petals

Making sweet mischief.

Fluttering flowers

Soft and fragrant to the touch

Geranium love.

(Photo courtesy of Tony)

Floating yet static

Pale origami whisper

Unfurling lily.

From a grassy bank

I watch distant ships sail by

Observe the rugged landscape

Manicured only by time and tide

There is not another soul in view

Nothing left open to misinterpretation

Sleepy sunset river

You have a charm of your own.

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The next four poems/photos are by Joe.

Sometimes

But any time I close my eyes

I can hear music

I can SEE and FEEL music

She comes to me with silence

Or with pouring rain

She vibrates with the broken

Beat of my heart

I can feel her scent when

Thunder roars

As the wind blows

I can see her light

When darkness is all around.

The night is approaching

As the light is leaving this world

Everything is getting still

Or it seems so

I never know what to do or think

When the sky is playing

Her scene of the day

Clouds forming

In shapes and colours

To alter my fantasy

I'm trying not to wink

Not to lose a thing.

Have you ever wished

To have un-met someone

You'd loved so much

You couldn't move, nor move on

Or carry on

To un-kiss this person's lips

To un-long for that person's touch

To un-hear all the nice words

You were repeating to yourself

Before you went into a dream

It's a useless deed, my friend

It can't be done

It won't ever be done

Nothing can be undone

The only way to get out of life

Is to continue to love and to live

As only the sky sets the colours

Into white, black, or bluest blue

No matter what

I will always love

YOU.

Piano getting dusty

We thought you

Just needed a wee break

As anybody else

We didn't see it coming

Until there was nothing to hide

Anymore, anyway we're still

Waiting for you

With our mood of blue

Our guitars untuned correctly

For our random Aida

Talking blues

Boy do we miss you.

If you would like to read more of Joe’s work he can be found on X and Instagram.

<><><> 

Painted canal boat

Life slides into slow motion

When you sail away.

He kept vigil by her bedside

Another day spent navigating

Tangled forests of emotion

Running tired fingers

Over her closed eyelids

Whispering her name

Yearning for a flicker

Yearning for the mundane.

Summer colours fade

Misty August morning haze

The cusp of autumn.

A garden sprinkled 

With pixie dust

Where the air is heavy

With the scent of lavender

Is the most magical

Place on earth.

Energised by rain

The glorious dahlia

Twirls and pirouettes.

I saw an extrovert butterfly

Full of sass and attitude

Boldly spreading painted wings

Against a pebbledash wall

I asked why she had not settled

On a rose or a leafy tree

She said

"Because I needed a break

From all the tweetin' and buzzin'

Of those pesky birds and bees."

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Thank you for taking the time to read. You can find me on both X and Instagram under @jillwebbwords. Links are provided below.