When I was a child I sat an exam.

I brought them as seeds and thenWatched them grow.No, said the wind. That’s not true.I blew them across the moor and sea,I blew them up to the grave’s door.They were a gift from me.They came of their own accord,Said the celandine.I know best. They’re brothers of mine.I am Death’s friend,Said the crow. I ought to…

If only I had followed my true intentIf only I had done the things that I meantIf only I had done the things that I couldAnd not simply done the things that I shouldIf only a day had lasted a yearAnd I had not lived in constant fearMr Ifonly sat down and he cried:I could…

What kind of mask? asked the poet.A rose mask, said the poem.I’ve used it already, said the poet,I’ve exhausted it.Then wear the mask that’s made out ofa nightingale’s song, use that mask.Oh, it’s an old mask, said the poet,it’s all used up.Nonsense, said the poem, it’s the perfect mask,still, try on the god mask,now that…

‘It’s got no scales, no fins and no gills,And ignores the impassable dam.’‘There’s something new in the trees.’I heard a bloated thrush sing.‘It’s got no beak, no claws, and no feathers,And not even the ghost of a wing.’‘There’s something new in the warren,’Said the rabbit to the doe.‘It’s got no fur, no eyes and no…

I dressed, sneaked down the stairsAnd opened wide the door.I had not seen such snow before.Our grubby little street had gone;The world was brand-new, and everywhereThere was a pureness in the air.I felt such peace. Watching every flakeI felt more and more awake.I thought I’d learned all there was to knowAbout the trillion million different…

Am never likely to go again.Faces are lost, and places passedAt which I could have stopped,And stopping, been glad enough.Some faces left a mark,And I on them might have wroughtSome kind of charm or spellTo make their futures work,But it’s hard to guessHow one person on anotherWorks an influence.We pass, and lit briefly by one…