In celebration of my renewed enthusiasm for collaborative poetry and the arrival of a new season here is a poem by Ali Benning and I.
Scrabbling for change
in Ashton Court car park
Just enough left over
for Kit Kat, four fingers and coffee
Two each to dip
It sits
Between us
Lots of foam
Perfect end to autumnal roam
Bright eyes, warm jumpers
Zest and sweetness, timing and trust
Hands held up in gratitude
A beckoning awareness
Soothed in by stillness
Peace sharpens
with the changing
colour of the leaves
Brightening steadily, blushing hues
Squeeze life back in
to the core of things
Oak and beech
Still green, lean
On our whole
The extremity of giving hangs mid air
Colour pushed to the edges
and eventually loss, fall and fall
Twirl into a cycle of decay
Each day life renews
The jilt and hilt of dropped leaves
The dirty nourishment into our core
A relentless rhythm,
showing us the way
Change of colour
Skin felt
Drunk in
