Response Poems 

A Clear Summers Day

by Rembrandt Clarke

kites flutter overhead aspiring

to be hot air balloons

little boy pulling wings

off wasps in his sandbox

ants orgy around a spilt blob of jam

left behind from a picnic

housewife on rare day out

pours a glass of milk

two renegade loves holding hands

litter floats obnoxious in a rare breeze

you can hear schoolgirl laughter in the distance

further still the dull roar of a ring road

occasional clink of a wine glass

workaholic suit dreaming of financial sheep

crows stay away out of decency

& there’s a low winding path

brokering its way towards the summit

of a long leaning hillock

it holds in its grasp

an elderly couple

without a cloud in the sky

walking closely

lacking concept of time

just to watch the aspirations

of bright young kites

ducking and diving on a clear

summers day

a summer evening

by Catherine Kanaan

I sit on the rock and watch

the clouds

ballooning off into the distance

feel the long curls of  wind

I see the picnickers below

fold up blankets

pick a few stray bits of paper

empty out the dregs of beer onto the sand

they stare out to sea

not wanting to leave

but it is time

I have the whole day

free

and will sit here

and watch the waves

try to find the line of the horizon

as the sun sinks

into the water

only then will I wind homeward

against the pull of the water

sundown mele

by Frank Prem

a penny for your dreams

when the sun goes down

he gets brighter as he leaves

behind the ocean

past the clouds

let him kiss you with his glow

how warm the sand

but when he’s gone you’ll know

his touch has left your hands

and then the night time

the moon walks

in shadow

whispers in the dark

while the hours pass

midnight

comes and goes

still you wait

in your heart you know

black will turn

into a lightening of grey

a new dawn

and the sun

is coming back

to play