"Forever Autumn"

“Forever Autumn”

I arrive late with autumn
with a Woodpecker clutched in one hand
with a Ronco compilation tucked under my arm
the glow of lava lamp on vinyl grooves
is a Van Gogh swirl
is the gleam of low watt candelabra on my hair
or is it rain
or is it too much Cossack
or the season’s first freezing fog

the ghost limbs of a silver birch
still draped with remnants of green raiment
form the impression of her body
beneath the avocado sheath of polyester
as she greets me with a kiss
or is it the blade of a sycamore seed
that spirals onto my cheek as it falls
and is her hair a spider web
spun across the doorway

the daring plunge of her party dress
reveals the crenulated cleavage of spine and shoulder blades
or is it moonlight on a dry stone wall
and is her perfume windfall in the orchard
and are her lips tart scrumpy on my tongue
and does mistletoe garland her shoulders
or some cheap tat from Ratners
with a matching cigarette lighter to spark her Rothmans
while Mars burns red above less fragrant clouds

and is it sex
or am I deluded by diazepam and de Kuyper
to stumble into the Christmas tree’s embrace
fake pine fingers and tinsel ligature
sensual curve of brittle baubles
or do I mean marzipan and her double divan
false nails and her dressing gown’s faux silk cord
and nipples warm as roast chestnuts
and who put Justin Hayward on the hi fi