Travel-Worn Satchel, I-VIII

I
safety video
plays while I watch
the jet of steam

II

phonecall from Shanghai

hello - I think your wife

took my suitcase

III
toddler chooses
the next track for our journey -
God is a DJ!

IV

all the questions

are provided in advance

Chinese press meeting

V
flapping in the breeze
the hem of her summer dress
caught by car door

VI

england, nether-lands

separated only

by clouds

VII
no! no! not ours!
she squeals as I point at the
yellow ferrari

VIII

fat loud abusive

learning new words -

beijing taxi

Cambridge Snow, I-VIII

I
cambridge snow
melts on contact with starbucks
and james brown

II

bacon espresso

orange clouds winter sky

train to cambridge

III
woman carefully
applying her eyeliner -
train hits a bump

IV

the speeches begin -

alone in the garden

with tea and scones

V
five miles of tunnel
the traffic jam hides my voice
singing Guns & Roses

VI

pines mountains snow

calm Lake Tahoe untouched

pines mountains snow

VII
aeroplane window
are those tiny cricketers?
howzat!

VIII

under a jumper

dreaming of thunder and rain -

my college sofa

Academic Year, I - VIII

I
on my bicycle
from classroom to lab
eating my lunch

II

winter rain

running past another don

our gowns tangle

III
the New Year's eve
college quads are silent -
except for my boys

IV

governing body -

fifty gowns flapping

fifty opinions

V
on easter sunday
one does not simply walk
into Balliol

VI

teapot for two

beneath the old buttery

pear tree

VII
under the table
in my college office
we play hide-and-seek

VIII

singing responses

in the college chapel

to my sons

Beef and Cheese, I-VI

I

mealtime again -

massachusetts institute

of beef and cheese

II

changing timezones -
more tired at 8 a.m.
second time around

III

old cigarette ends -

disused flower garden of

the cancer ward

IV

never waste a snowdrift -
english footprints made deep in
american tyretracks

V

looking down on

the English, I take my place

among them

VI

two thighs

makes plenty of room
for two boys

---

Notes have been added to the 2006 Yiwu from 12 Gentlemen - after ten years, this has become a very tasty cake.  Many thanks to Shah for the suggestion.