Having flown a century ago

        Having flown a century ago

        from a kerchief-tied knot of seeds

        out of a Suffolk countryside.

        Brought here for tea and sweets and ale

        a balm for coughs and colds

        now it flourishes around the farm

        filling in forgotten corners. Wrinkled

grey-green leaves paint the season

        with a curious musky smell after rain.

        And everything around conspires

        to spread the soft cushion of its harvest,

        the careless brush of sleeve or scarf

        to its barbed nestled nuisance in our socks.

        An old tough expatriate

        who having found a kinder earth

        refuses to go home

        secure in winter flood

        or under summer's pitiless sun

        the horehound holds its ground.

These poems are from my new collection IN THE APRICOT DARKNESS (view the cover and contents below in my recent posts). They are now being published individually, daily under 'recent posts' on my blog and will be available shortly as an eBook that can be read online or downloaded for free.