benafim
benafim archive of published lines and poems on Linespedia.
"…And Angels Cried The lino in the living room was frayed, near the kitchen door unpolished floor boards peeped through. Furniture of the simple sort bought second hand years ago and on walls blac..."
"The Creed On a dump we found a painting of Jesus. Wanted to put him in a gilded frame, but we didn't have any money. Nailed him to the wall instead and since the unknown artist had made him sligh..."
"Winter 1971 Early morning dread, too much wine last night remembering the coldest night of all. It was the year of brutal winter, first crisp Christmas snow gently fell; then it rained for two day..."
"My Tree Today the good sun warms soggy, green landscape and the first shy buds on my almond tree have appeared. If the cold fingers of night frost doesn’t kill them at birth, my tree will soon be..."
"This Day…My Time Today clouds hang low and the landscape mourns while I paint a transparent rose in a vase, on a canvas made of misty window glass. In the olive grove, fog hides trees and a lam..."
"Paint Me A Monday I sit on the roof and see that day has settled into afternoon, morning rain has dried, only a few damp patches in the back yard and under the apple tree where the sun doesn’t q..."
"Paint Me A Tuesday The sky is innocently blue and to think that it has been raining for days…dogs are coming out of their shelter, yawning, scratching looking for scraps of food. In our village th..."
"Paint Me a Wednesday The day is cold, but it isn’t going to rain. The sky is a great coat dipped in icy water and left in the deep freezer overnight. Dogs have got the blues, can’t shake it of..."
"Haiku A visit by spring. Got the timing rather wrong. It’s snowing now. Red rose on a wall. Spray painted by a hooligan. Beautiful sight. Seven nights ago a full moon dripped silver on birch tr..."
"The Past is an Old Movie. The sky at night has many stars once Archie was one in his lifetime. in Bristol a left handed man dressed in a suit made of green dots, released balloons, each one had..."
"Rat Island (Or the missing link) The fearful creature of the blue lagoon meowed swam ashore and shook itself. The ship’s cat which had fallen off a cargo ship, a stormy tropical night, licked sa..."
"Zen. Memories are foam on the bleak ocean of nothingness Written January 10th, 2002 © on Jan 10 2002 05:56 AM PST 0 • 13"
"The Sandbank When the river meets the ocean it strives to remember its nascent and a sandbank of sadness forms. A ship can, in moonless nights, run aground and get stuck in deep melancholy and h..."
"The Seagull A large seagull, spotless white and grey, circled my cottage three times. So beautiful that first I thought it was an angel in disguise, its eyes held all of nature’s wisdom, aristocrat..."
"The Intellectual Blond “I read a good book by Tolstoy only I have forgotten its title, something about love and betrayal” Jane the barmaid said. Don’t bother your pretty head about that drinkers..."
"The Unlucky Hero When Joseph, the cook fell, overboard from the cargo ship, he was drunk and everybody assumed that he drowned. Not so! Joseph swam and swam in waters known to have a fearsome shark ..."
"Old Lady Sitting Hands folded by the table, a birds tired wings at rest. Eyes looking inwards to the lost land of her youth. Memories, paint a golden picture, sun filters through vine and she smile..."
"Nature Fights Back The mountain slope looked like a green blanket thrown over the back of a chair near an open window, sunlight on wool. Thorny bushes protected the slope from humans, foxes, rabb..."
"When Fear Rules They stole the children and invaded our dreams, turned a green vale into wasteland. Brooks of blood ran slowly in a white landscape where we walked on crushed skulls to a lake no..."
"The Senescence Closer and closer They came With faces made of Dried up lava. Bodies of soil a Year of severe Drought. Dead oasis Shimmered In a halo Of brittle hair. They slowly Stomped on ..."
"Her Juvenescence. Spring nipples And sweet Belly button Pert nose of Youth. Sun and sand Golden dawn Shimmers in her Eyes. Melodious she Snores, The sound of The well Contented . She is May, Wint..."
"A Little Moment Sunlight through the open kitchen window shines and the green plant, on the table trembles; its shadow softly touches a newspaper, a tea mug and a yellow ashtray with a stubbed ou..."
"A Rocket Scientist Yesterdays man a briefcase full of plans that are sadly passé, lives on his renomé. Those in power still receive him, but they have stopped listening long ago. Often, these days..."
"The Big Cat On the wall, in a hunting lodge, hangs a moth eaten tiger pelt. The once fierce animal, shot by a red faced colonel… and now? A dismally, forgotten trophy. There are no tigers in Benga..."
"The Cherry Tree Sonia, when walking her dog, fell down a narrow burrow, slowly slid till she reached its base, covered in dark soil. Her little dog barked for her to come back up thinking it was ..."
"The Bull Elephant A big hall, an indoor fair in Glasgow where a bull elephant chained, rocks to and fro. It had cried but was angry now a deep ire against mankind. Then the chains snapped, it b..."
"Mother Rat The big mother rat sat outside, near the sewers exit, cleaning her face and enjoying the first light of morning. Contented smiled had just eaten a month old abortion. She had no percep..."
"The Pig The spotted pig grunted happily digging its snout into soft soil, in the trench behind the tropical island’s whorehouse. So much human waste to eat that he was getting fatter than is normal ..."
"Untitled In zero stillness there is a hum that never alters nor stops. It is the hum of nothingness that sings through the universe. Written February 1st, 2002 © on Feb 01 2002 05:59 AM PST 0..."
"Dance with Mortality Salvesen expired on the smooth dance floor of a posh restaurant doing the tango, very fast, not a good idea considering his dodgy heart. A half smile wide open eyes, women..."
"Our Town Every building in our town is round, no corners where to stop talk to friends or piss manly up against a damp wall, in a dark alleyway, while drinking cans of cold lager. In our town ca..."
"A Lyrical Walk A mighty carob tree tries to make an arch across the lane, it only manage a half one trucks cut its branches short. In a field nearby a farmer has planted beans colourful plastic bag..."
"Haiku (Rain) Large snowflakes gently fall on wet asphalt winter meets spring Heavy clouds part delayed rain on bushes transient pearls. Dog in doorway watches rain drip from roof Is it coun..."
"Next Week Dear The plumber’s wife left him because he never got around to fix a leaking water tap. For a while she lived with a carpenter in a house of jammed and creaking doors. For the mo..."
"Liberated. Blackbird, how I envy Your flight. I'll kill you some day. Sharp eyes, yellow beak Look down on me. Do you pity me? Fly high, higher still Hunters with guns are Watching you. They will s..."
"Hungry Dog Boiled two eggs for my breakfast, one was Very big and I hoped it had two yolks. But when I cut its top off the devil's head Popped up, grinned and said: ‘Eat me if you dare" I gave the..."
"Infidelity It is morning now dust is moist and somewhere near a cockerel crows, welcoming the day after a night of moral betrayal. Written February 11th, 2002 © on Feb 11 2002 03:01 AM PST 0 •..."
"Once It Was Their Spring On the wall in a café, in a deep vale near a stream that runs grey and bitter in winters, but sings clear glad in May, a black & white picture hangs on a wall that needs ..."
"Secret Lovers? Into my café comes the lady who has a flower shop next door, she wears a morning face, pale and slightly puffed. Later, at the back of her shop, she will put on a painted face and sm..."
"As It Never Was. Strawberry flavoured lollies On a hot summer's day, Drops of ruby on my singlet. Flies tried to kiss my sweet Rosy lips and cool was the grass In the shadow of a pine tree. The..."
"An Accident Unfolds Driving along a mountain road a rock loosened from a cliff face, man and car crushed like an ant by a thumb A second from impact to certain death can room within it all the a..."
"Christmas Eve 1971 Raised, angry voices forbidden words spat out between hateful lips, words picked up by a frightened child, in his dark bedroom and remembered more clearly than a lullaby A s..."
"The Shriek The bar’s door opened and a nicotine infested shaft of light was thrown out. Above corny music, hoarse laughter. The door slammed shut and the hurt but not mortally so, shaft crawled ..."
"Nave Das Sobreiras The shimmering light green bush by the wayside was made of condensed spring air, …and by touch as soft as the aroma of Danish pastry. It had sprung up at dawn, this transient..."
"A boy and A worm The child counted blades of grass on the lawn, came to hundred which was as far as he could count when he was distracted by a worm, it was yellow/brown and almost transparent. ..."
"A Romance Remembered Morning sadness by the kitchen table remembering a woman I once loved…Do I still? Or is it the memory of my infatuation that I love? Can’t see her face clearly anymore, bu..."
"Kitchen table, morning shadows, coffee. The perception…a sense of rejection, a haze of gloom making the day grey. The same question keeps repeating itself: “What are you doing here in this foreign ..."
"The Long Goodbye Drove down to the airport this afternoon, don’t like airports, ferry terminals and train stations. Dislike seeing people leave, tearstained faces, awkward goodbyes and lies told..."
"The Slaughter It was Monday morning when José and his brother came for her. Slowly she got up and looked at them with friendly, pale blue myopic eyes. But when they tied her legs up, till she c..."
"The Trail It’s an old trail, old as the landscape; older than the trees, which exposed roots boldly cross it like petrified brown snakes. Mule hooves and man have made it deep and barren, but no..."
"The Opera Singer. They found him in a field of poppies, weed and flowering almond trees. Slowly sinking into ground, the skin on his face had the colour of soil. A nuisance when alive singing ru..."
"The nice and coldly correct people from the social department came to his cabin in the glen, told him that they had a place for him at the aged peoples home down the valley. He didn’t want to go: ..."
"A Rendezvous with Forgotten Years Driving off the ferryboat a group of blind people, dressed Brazilian jute sacks still smelling of coffee beans, banged on the bonnet of my car demanding eyes so t..."
"A Rendezvous with Forgotten Years Driving off the ferryboat a group of blind people, dressed Brazilian jute sacks still smelling of coffee beans, banged on the bonnet of my car demanding eyes so t..."
"Sharing a Moment With sticky fingers a girl of three touched my knee and offered me a sweet which I accepted but didn’t eat in case she wanted it back I was sitting in my café at the time reading ..."
"The Push Hadn’t seen her for awhile, she didn’t return my calls. Then she rang and said, meet me at the new hotel at five. I was glad to hear her voice so melodious and refined. she wasn’t alone an ..."
"Leaves of Life It was difficult to find the hotel’s exit, so many rooms with curtains drawn where smartly dressed and artificial tanned people sat reading or watching T.V. Outside nature had be..."
"The Cry In The night Awoke, the child in the broom cupboard cried…neglected for years now it could not longer be ignored…Unnamed, an abortion left behind in Japan, blood on a white sheet. Heartb..."
"A Night Not Like Others Evening is approaching, heavy clouds no stars tonight. A door slams shut the draft is unworldly. Switch on the table and try to chase the spooks away before they crowd y..."