STELLA JONES
Indian Kings
Forest green bejeweled
with the call of rainbows
bedecked with crested life.
Each separate, their quality
entwines with leaf and stem.
Still with shadow, expectant
light stitches calm water
as one by one emerald voices
curve into and below, return
to rest before the next dive.
Singapore (a Tale of Two Quarters)
Outside a bubble-wrapped
coffee connoisseur,
Mariana bay
tempts cold seduction,
taunts eyes, jet-lagged red.
A bristle of pinnacles and spires
pierce skin-tight air.
The sky stains paper chains,
paints the tail on a fancy kite.
I know, close by,
there will be green space,
open parks and laughter.
But today I am branded,
tamed with a cross here, walk now,
put your cigarette out there, way.
I want to be a jay-walker, not follow an orderly line.
On the other side, on Tek Lim road,
master tailors sew, art tattooists needle,
artily promise a beautiful body.
They have tried here,
tried hard to sanitise
where the street vendors sell,
but I like the bustle
of business
that takes all day
and old men that consider chess,
gamble with their god.
Here history is torn, rents raised,
yet culture soars spicy and bright.
And when antiquity trickles
through shuttered doors
I watch paper dragons flame the night.
The Walk
Bwlch-y-Ddeufaen (Pass of the Two Stones)
The wind urges the rain, romances her
as I step to the whisper of legends.
The faint footfall of ghosts dance
to her rhythm.
Myths excite a dulled imagination
and there's no clock-tick to where
I ought to be.
Through springy moss, vertebrae boulders push.
Telegraph complaints of sheep fade to eternal dusk.
On this day, in this place
thoughts form to fill the universe.
I am as helpless as the grass
bent low in the rain, as distant
as that star I will never touch.
Yet close to those who trod this land
so long ago.
I close my eyes, raise my arms,
and know I can fly.
Stella Jones lives on the Wirral in the UK, and is married with two grown sons. She has been writing poetry for about twelve years and is a regular performer on the open mike scene. She has co-miked poetry nights with the aim of encouraging new and established poets to perform before an audience. Stella has been involved with the Wirral Festival of Firsts and other poetry events which bring the world of poetry to the public. She has been lucky enough to be published by a variety of magazines and her work appears in several anthologies. She has also enjoyed some success in poetry competitions. At present Stella is discovering the delights of tanka.
