A tang of salt

Lebanese flatbread, Spanish sausage, Greek feta and Icelandic Skyr, with a glass of Scottish spring water. I may not be a traveller anymore but these days the flavours of the world come to me.

from the quiet

of my balcony, a glimpse 

of the sea

a container ship

overtakes the ferry

Blithe Spirit Vol.36 No.3 August 2026

Witness

Weary of the news channels’ predictable narratives and relentless focus on explosions, I seek out livestreams from the Middle East. They bring me the steady beat of rainfall in Beirut, the darkness of crows crossing the Tel Aviv skyline. Once in a while, in the night, I see bright streaks of tracer-fire from interceptor systems. Even more rarely a target is hit, but most often the camera, obedient to official directives, changes focus before the strike, the view obscured at the moment of impact.

a man

meets the gaze of

someone

who he cannot help—

and will not look away

contemporary haibun online 22.2 August 2026

A gift

We are the only customers. In a street of restaurants there are only a few people in each. It's lunchtime, I'm sure evenings are busier. After our meal the chef chats with us, about how he orders his spices direct, his son who is studying to become a doctor, the regional variety of cuisine, how all meals are celebrations. 

My neighbours have their food delivered in boxes, I often see them on their doorsteps, a set of pre-prepared ingredients, ready to unpack and assemble, like flat-pack furniture. Food for two, or maybe one. Chosen from a menu offering neatly boxed, consistent, reliable diversity. Italian, Indian, Chinese, Mexican. 

The chef tells us he has chosen not to have peshwari naan on the menu, only plain and garlic naan. Western taste, he says, is to have everything sweet, but some plainness helps you appreciate the subtle mix of spices in a dish. 

under grey skies

a gust of wind delivers

pin-pricks of drizzle

a gift of 

hot chai 

Blithe Spirit Vol 36 No 2 May 2026

almost 60 years

since the first bootprint

on the moon

am I still capable

of gazing up in awe?

Blithe Spirit Vol 36 No 2 May 2026

silent
for twelve years
he clears his throat
and
apologises

Presence Issue 84 March 2026

an abandoned

building...

I play with

the idea

of going missing

Presence Issue 83 November 2026

under a pile

of legal papers

a seed packet

Hope: The British Haiku Society Member's Anthology 2025

things

my hands remember...

how to

make stale bread

into comfort food

Blithe Spirit Vol 35 No 4 November 2025

Becoming

I'm softening, letting go. Now I'm something drifting, buoyant, almost weightless, almost liquid, floating and warm. At first it's disconcerting, but then I let my mind relax too. My friend is disturbed, asks me not to go. I try to explain that it's alright, I'm not really going anywhere, just changing, that it's a good thing that's happening. He softens a little too but then resists, stays solid.

 

thunderclouds

piling 

white 

pillows

on a blue bedsheet 

Blithe Spirit Vol 35 No 4 November 2025

Someone Else’s World 

I will not fight. I reject the propaganda. They call it “fake news” now, I know, but that's just a rebrand. It's as old as war. A tale of how to be acceptable, a narrative, a script for those who find themselves unsure, confused, afraid. 

Today, I read another moving story of one who, having bravely conquered illness, is welcomed back into the world of the well. The names change but the outline is always the same: the challenge, the battle, the victory, the smiling portrait of an inspiration. 

I don't fit the role and so remain in exile, outside the walls. I overhear the questions, with their tone of suspicion. “Why won't she fight it?” “Is she really ill?” “I get tired too, you have to push through, don’t you?” “Why doesn't she just try harder?” “Doesn't she want to get better?” “It's all in her head really, isn't it?”   

I don't fight, but when this thing makes its malign existence known, with the first shimmer of migraine aura, or the chill before an advancing wave of fatigue, I give it a nod of recognition, sit down, and go on living in my peaceful world. 

contrails
across a clear sky
in seconds
someone else's world
reduced to rubble 

Drifting Sands Haibun Issue 33 September 2025

in the darkness
of a summer night
a halo
of green leaves
around a streetlight

Blithe Spirit Vol. 35 Number 3 August 2025

in the end
there is no need
for commentary
just embers dancing
in the night sky

Presence Issue 82 July 2025

a kaftan
in psychedelic colours
in retirement
she re-discovers
peace and love

a new flower
added to the bouquet
in remembrance
a sunflower
among the poppies

Blithe Spirit Vol.35 Number 2 May 2025