See how winter conspires

See how winter conspires

        with the lemon tree

        for brightness.

        A slight concession

        of the season

        against dark settings.

        So many small cold suns

        crowd upon green galaxy of leaves.

        Beyond that hangs

        the black heavy menace

        of a storm.

        Later it will distil in drops

        to glaze the yellow rind to gold.

        The snail slides from lush to verdant

        on the permission of July

        a silver promise

        that turns on the tree

        a secret store of summer lights.

 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.