cold nights on the farm， a sock-shod
stove-warmed flatiron slid under
the covers， mornings a damascene
sealed bizarrerie of fernwork decades ago now
waking in northwest London， tea
brought up steaming， a Peak Frean
biscuit alongside to be nibbled
as blue gas leaps up singing decades ago now
damp sheets in Dorset， fog-hung
habitat of bronchitis， of long
hot soaks in the bathtub， of nothing
quite drying out till next summer：
delicious to think of
hassocks pulled in close， toasting
forks held to coal-glow， strong-minded
small boys and big eager sheepdogs
muscling in on bookish profundities now quite forgotten
the farmhouse long sold， old friends
dead or lost track of， what's salvaged
is this vivid diminuendo， unfogged
by mere affect， the perishing residue of pure sensation
