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8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encountering-me-a-few-poems-2 1/17
htt p://si n nal u v va. blogs pot.co. u k
htt p:// malsf acto r y. blogs pot.co. u k
revised & expanded edition 24 April 2012
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encountering-me-a-few-poems-2 2/17
GETHSEMANE
A type of Gethsemane. Not so much the pain – more the agony.
Not the absence of sleep –
more the ache;
an ache which penetrates each sinew. If only one had slept
like others do. Oh, how you’d love that luxury. Wait
for the next event – everything burns, each pore secretes anxiety. Has it
all come to this? Who knows what follows the restless night.
Malcolm Evison
09 June 2005
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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ACCORDION
SometimesI feel
like an accordionsqueezed
by somedisembodied self
each chordvibrates bruised reeds
each inspirationteases out
a latent voice -
rarelyto be sustained -
almost as if
it chokeson its ownrespiration.
Malcolm Evison
29 September -02 October 2009
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encountering-me-a-few-poems-2 4/17
THE BODY SNATCHERS
The body snatchers calledand found me void –
where once there wasa vibrant heart,
and thoughts teemed
endlessly around -
a residueof aches and pains
delineates the core -
and Sisyphus rejoicesto have found
a new companion.
Malcolm Evison
30 June 2005
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encountering-me-a-few-poems-2 5/17
BEING
God spoke –
I dare not listen.
I could not facethe stillness
of simply being there.
God spoke:there were no words –
I simply saw
the suffering of others.I could not share
the stillnessof simply being there.
One day I knew
God could not speak -I used my eyes,
I saw and feltthe suffering of multitudes –
I listened to their cries –
then cautiously I whispered“I am here”
and from my helplessnessI knew -
that God was there.
Malcolm Evison
28 July 2005
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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AUBADE (sans le soleil)
Wrapped futilelyin the realm of beauty sleep –dawn rarely dawns on me.
Long after the appointed hour,the room is thunder-black -
draw back the curtains.
The sky has lostits breathing space –
choked by the clouds,
voluptuously hangingin their mourning drapes –
symbolic of a troubled world.
I sigh, and seekthe duvet’s solace –
for me the dayhas not yet quite begun.
Malcolm Evison
26 October 2006
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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CONSULTATION
These visits areby now routine -
on entering
the lion's den,expect a smile
and beckoning wave
to take a seat.Obediently, you sit
and start to contemplate
time's passage.Words fail, as always,
to express
the visit'sraison d'etre.
Malcolm Evison
5 July 2005
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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EMERGING
and this morningstill abedmy legsare mercury ladenknitted lead
the armsfolded or stretchedscream outfor postures new
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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Restless Night
frantic and staticcolludeto break the spirit -
the chorussed screamof roll and stretchweaves counterpoint
against the searing acheof stasis -the chinese burn
of movementresiststhe planned escape
Malcolm Evison
30/01/11 – 01/02/11
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encountering-me-a-few-poems-2 10/17
ON REFLECTION
Sunshineon puddled rain
reflects
the prideof plantsrefreshed
by elementalforcesit lifts
my spiritsI hope
they won't evaporate
as I baskcalmly
in the afterglow.
Malcolm Evison
21 May 2009
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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Flutter By Moment
it alightssofter than a whisper
on my sleeve
almostas if it sought me out
I sit
relax
breathe in the gentle air -the butterfly
spreads out its wings -this moment
I am
at onewith nature
sharing the fragility
imagininga place where all
could feel secure -
wearingthe butterfly
like a heart
on my sleeve
Malcolm Evison
17 July 2008
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/encountering-me-a-few-poems-2 12/17
RECLAMATION
Just anotherlightly throbbinggritty grey day
a second chanceto modify one’s outlookdivert one’s gaze away
from the reality -begin to playthe game
of life regained.
Malcolm Evison
29 January 2009
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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SPLASH INTO SPRING
A sprinkling splash,a sudden flashof ruddy gold -
the first spring stirrings.A long, slow, turgid restsupplanted
by these vital chimes.Todaythey share the sunshine's joy -
and ripple wilfully.
Last seasons debrisstirred and shaken,the fish escape
their sedimentary rest,herald the promiseof brighter days to come.
Like me, they must have feltthey'd plumbed the depthsfor far too long.
Malcolm Evison
14 March 2007
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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RUDE AWAKENING
The telephonic shrillurgents meblearily into dawn.
Discomfited I rollmyself acrossa seeming endless
counterpane,
set footon an insecure floor,retrieve the handset
and receivea droning earful.
Bliss was it in that dawnto be asleep,to be awakened serves
to remind oneself they’re far from heaven.
Malcolm Evison
4 August 2007
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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A PALE REFLECTION
The shadowsof the taller trees
cast silhouettes
across the pool -they overlaya pale reflection
of the moreimmediate scene.Sometimes
I fail to graspimmediate delightsallow
my darker memoriesto shield mefrom the light.
Malcolm Evison 21 May 2009
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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SHATTERED
he rails exhaustedlyagainstthe unrelenting night -
shatteredby restlessness
he groans
a welcometo a new daybreakprays that it's not
an uninvited dream -still rails againstthe unrelenting night
then collapsesinto sleep
Malcolm Evison 10 September 2011
8/3/2019 Encountering ME a Few Poems (2)
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just another day
striving to ignorethe sundry aches and painsthe flesh is heir to
I sit and watchthe rains incessant flow –
birds flitfrom shrubbery to feederswallow in puddle baths -
I strugglewith a vague desireto don a coat
wonder if Idare venture outto taste
the sodden air
Malcolm Evison
19 April 2012