A Christmas poem by Stephen Leake

Presence

Across the dark, a robin learns the Winter.
A candle dissolves; frank and sensuous
Against the extending light.
The streets remain illegible with snow.

I travel through you; uncurling
Where weather decorates the night
And naves of Christmas pines
Grasp human shadows.

Alone I go, echoing carols
In powdered places. Echoes that are glorified.
Prolonged.

Until I find you on the bench
Pressed with our pasts.
A child again. Tricked and traced by
Memory’s gift. Lasting. Imprinted.

A proof of the year’s new world.







This Christmas poem 'Presence' has been scored for orchestra and choir by Jon William Jones and was premiered at Gettysburg College, Dec. 2008.
It will also appear in the Times Literary Supplement this month.

Swoop by Stephen Leake

Swoop

So they arrived, over the window,

Flying into my marooned frame

Suddenly. Their eyes radiating

Through the iron drifts of cloud;

Their voices, grazing the air.

They brought memories of words

In their worldly beaks and I ran to

Them …seeking refuge in their

Flight-paths, their lost discords.

Now, mere gasps in the strengthening

Wake of light.

For more info on Stephen Leake:

www.writesight.com/writers/sleake

* Look out for his Christmas poem 'Presence' to be printed in the Times Literary Supplement, Dec. 2009.