Literary Vegan

I always stepped off the bus  By the bombed-out church  When the sky was navy blue And falling into streetlight stars  On lamp-posts. Bold Street lit up The red brick outline, The blown-out windows, My hollowed-out heart. The trees inside were  Shadow black, But the friendliest ghosts - They marked the start  Of the unknown night Steps and cobblestones Towards something. For the first time in my life,  I felt free  Not to choose - I wandered off where there was music, The silent walls behind me. C. LJ Ireton 2023

It is all for Days like these - Typing while the tea Seeps and cools on the side,  Crows with anxiety   Raise cat eyes at the open window Triangle breeze - Enough of the world  For now. Everytime the clouds tease A divine moment, White fur rolls towards the  Square of Sun. There is no obligation To 'be' any type of person - Even yourself, Scattered on the floor Somewhere with your clothes - You can pick up the bits you choose Tomorrow, Use the same cup If you want.  C. LJ Ireton 2023

  I do not want to see a rainbow sometimes -  I want one, always, in my hands; To carry mystery-coloured flame through  The smokey street of tired people. Some will say: ‘I want that’. Others will find it ‘distracting’. Those who favour grey will complain that it’s not ‘Appropriate’. And while they argue, I will stroke the original ghosts Of colour, Untouched by fumes or opinion And keep walking. C. LJ 2023

I stretch out Winter under the water Muscles yawning into light blue - Blinking away black skies, Stillness  And who I was on land. C. LJ 2023 

I sink my skin into the soil Place a beginning Under a black, damp blanket. I am an instrument Of the making magic - The Sun says so. I touch more places, But some only see dirt - Ask me to clean it up. I can not understand resistance  To scattered bits of beauty. I have faced it all my life. What kind of soul  Would  not want  This earth Filled with flowers?  LJ Ireton  C. 2023 

 The gardener, sowing seeds all day Doesn't expect to see trees by nightfall. Yet I fold my arms daily In frustration, waiting. LJ Ireton 

There was noise And people speaking - So much thinking, Thinking Thinking. Now, with just my cats Quiet smiles And sleepy blinking. LJ Ireton