On the Taking Up, and Casting Off, of Spring Raiment

Just as the trees start
donning their new leafy coats,
the students shed theirs.

On the Nurturing Sage

The scholar waters
his plant on the windowsill;
his prose he keeps dry.

On Spring Thinking

These gleaming snowdrops
standing about with bowed heads.
Scholars in the quad.

On Externalities

How busy they look!
Figures in lightened windows,
seen from far away.

On Lending and Loss

The gaps between them

make old friends lean drunkenly,

these books on my shelf.

On Afternoons in the Tower

Daylight fades away.
My computer screen glowing
in the dimming light.

On the Benefits of Ivory Towers

Clustered under eaves
of great temples of learning
watching the downpour.

The Narrow Road to the Far Conference VI

No-one questions you?
This enormous silence shouts
louder than your talk.

The Narrow Road to the Far Conference V

Coffee cups clinking
ravenous scholars descend -
biscuits and contacts.

The Narrow Road to the Far Conference IV

At the podium -
this room of academics
now almost silent.