Printed copies of Fran's poems are now available to buy. They are self-published and printed in collections of 16 in small A5 booklets. The idea is that they could be sent instead of a card. Those printed so far are: Solva Poems, Cats and Other Creatures, I think so....., and Trip Round Europe. If you would like to buy a book, please contact Fran directly by email at fran34hb@gmail.com or by mobile on 07377059265.
Gardens of the Villa d'Este
The Terrace, like the crow's nest of a ship,
Hung above a rolling sea of trees
A sea of cypress green and olive grey
With cresting waves of pink and purple flowers
And lazily the piping of the birds
Rose above the murmur of the streams.
The steps were shallow, shady, worn and grey
Descending to the caverns of the sea
Where thought was soon submerged beneath a flood
Of deep sensations, beautiful and clear,
Until remained not knowledge but existence.....
Cooled by the touch of water.....
Fresh with the scent of water.....
Drowned in the roar of water.....
Held to earth by probing rays of sun.
Italy, Villa d'Este, Outside Rome, 1962
Como in Spring
Thin mist hides the terracotta
Glare of summer
The walls are washed in pastel
Like the sky
The massive mooring post
Shivers liquid in reflection
And white gulls drift
In ice-tanged air
And dappled lake
In circles of their own making.
Italy, Lake Como, March 1997
Roma Termini
Here all journeys end
In cool dim marble halls
At the centre of the world.
The ribs of the curving roof
Are etched against old walls outside
And dark trees and statues
From another age.
And busy people, dark and light
Move slowly to and fro
Murmuring like bees...
Italy, Rome, 1990s
By Fran Barker