The small Leper colony in the woods down the hill with its Saint Thomas Chapel dates back to the 12th Century. We have been coming here on our walks for the last 15 years. It is surrounded by a high flint wall now taken over by the rampant vegetation.
Leprosy and La Chapelle Saint Thomas Read Post »
We were sitting on the steps of an orthodox church, its gold-tipped dome shimmering like a glorious crown in the sun. It stood on a bluff above the sandy clamming beaches, overlooking Cook Inlet and from our vantage point we could see in the distanc…
An Orthodox Tlingit in Alaska Read Post »
On the barbed wire fence by the farm up the road we counted 120 moles strung up in the sun like socks hung out to dry. A gruesome encounter. The local mole catcher had been by. He gets paid per mole, has to prove his catch and he’d clearly earned …
Alternative medecine: moles Read Post »
Master mountain sighs his enormity
weeps in small gullies at the weight he holds,
despairs of immensity, too big to hold himself
mountain shifts, avalanche of granite and schist
slate sliding down to a clear glacial stream.
Yet he holds his head…
Master Mountain, Denali, Alaska Read Post »
He flies in ribbons like my hair undone
loosely in this arctic breeze
like a kite in the wind his long tail trailing
above melting icefloe, along costal freeze
Jaeger Bird, Barrow, Alaska Read Post »
Like a queen’s downy bed fluffed up for the loving
featherlace wings drifting aloft
they glide with the wind
two graceful lovers sweep over Cook Inlet
calling to the snowbound range.
It echoes back beckoning
they sway over scree
brittle legged…
Cranes, Cook Inlet, Alaska Read Post »
He hangs out his wings to dry
soggy his dive
lazy on lava he loiters, waits
for whatever flounder dare wander
in harbour waters
beneath his razor-sharp rock.
Hungry, daggerbeak hook-tipped
aloof
quick wing-tuck, neck-stretch
so sudden the plunge to survive.
Cormorant on the Westman Islands, Iceland Read Post »
Cup in hand I take my tea at midnight
down a darkening track
lush chestnut oak and elm hang heavy
wheat field hushed, summer breeze between the husks halted.
Silence is a darkness too familiar.
Breath of cattle huddled by the fence
shadows si…
It’s the call over still water
echoing round the bay of my mind
some yearning, undefined
A loon owns this lake
at dusk and at dawn reminding us
of things unresolved.
We row out to find him
smooth grey feathers impervious to rain.
King of …
Loon (on Lake Denise, Soldotna, Alaska) Read Post »
like a crease in the mouth of your womb
you are melting in sighs
I hear breath and the wrench of the first opening
as you yield to the world’s warmi…
Exit Glacier, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska Read Post »
Razor clams here are the size of babies’ hands
opened up to catch the midnight sun.
They roll in with the tide and lie on sand
full and fleshy, their tumbling journey done.
Above, a Russian church, its golden dome
a gleaming refuge for those who…
Clamming in Ninilchik, Alaska Read Post »
English (UK) 
Français