watching the swimmer

as she passes
through patches
of light

(her bent arms
bracketing
each breath)

she slows

as though
the weight of
the sun
is dragging
her

down

snowball assassins

me
and john
and pete
and keith

are pissing
in the snow

writing the names
of our true loves

louise
and molly
and laura
and jo

but with fumbling fingers
and shivering hands
(and only half a can of coke
between us at break-time)
we can only manage

l-o-u
and m-o-l
and l-a

except for keith
who stands triumphant
with pen in hand

and while we mock him
for having a girlfriend
with only two letters
in her name

we are secretly jealous
of the exclamation mark
he has added to the end

'i am shouting her name'
he manages to proclaim
before he is cut down
in his prime
by the three evil
snowball assassins
of class 4H

haiku 2006 one

pausing in the snow
a robin, fresh from murder,
looks me in the eye

reef

my arms around your neck
your legs around my waist

we are knot in love