Heatwave

11pm in the garden,

the air like velvet on my bare arms,

unexpectedly warm.

A soft breeze caresses the leaves.

Two owls squabble

under an orange moon

as I savour the silky night.

Nights like this belong to other places.

Reluctantly I return indoors.

The owls sing me to sleep.

Cold snap

This week I have been curled in upon myself

like a fern frond

waiting beneath the snow

for spring warmth

and lengthening days

as the bitter eastern winds howl