Hemmed in by the days

 Talewater Evenings

He was my friend, but he escaped

Further from the lavish beechwoods south of our youth

Far above the individual houses, sequestered in gladed roads

Their lights that punctuate the night

To greet a winter stroll

Safe

Or leafy summer with an endless season ticket. 

He was my friend, but could never stop

Careless of those island zones of wealth

Free over their gardens tamed from the escarpment

Held in perpetuity or not

Insulated

From there he was always separated

Unbounded.

Between the ring-roads on the council estate

Tarmac shimmers under the rainy night

Each close and kerb lingers inside 

Their shrubs, their broken cars, their numbers

Put to sleep

And curtains shield our sight.

Wrought from marsh, this housing island too, refuses to float.

She was my friend, and more than that

Separated together, we were glad!

We had everything and travelled richer hills

To share beneath the red cliffs

Happiness

And a patient disdain for the human world 

Knowing real life is elsewhere

Unbounded.

Now it’s time to go for good

We’ve had enough of compromise

She is my friend yet more than that

I see the truth behind her eyes

Patience is a virtue I have lost

With chalk and sandstone, hope and trust

She is my friend, but the world is not.

Lawrence Freiesleben 

Title painting:        Talewater Evenings        Gouache & Oil Pastel 55.8 x 76.3  1989

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