Three Poems by Digby Beaumont

 

That Day

 

If I’m no longer here

Remember that day you taught me to dance The Twist

You’d appeared in a sea mist

Asked if my name was Blomquist

Told me you were a relativist

Wore your late mum’s bracelet on your left wrist

That day you taught me to dance The Twist

 

If I’m no longer here

Remember that day you said love sets us free

We hugged a tree then you hugged me

And after, we went home for tea

Put coloured lights on the Christmas tree

Watched the Queen’s Speech on the BBC

That day you said love sets us free

 

If I’m no longer here

Remember that day we promised we’d never be apart

We were looking at an exhibition of local art

And you spoke about the philosophy of René Descartes

Your new patent leather shoes, they looked so smart

And the look you gave, it squeezed my heart

That day we promised we’d never be apart

 

 

                                                                    Before You Go

 

Does it rain in California?

Does coffee stunt your growth?

Do bumblebees have knobbly knees?

Do you ever dream a little dream of me?

 

Did Romeo love Juliet?

Is the age of innocence really dead?

Do you still knock on wood for good luck?

Do elephants try hard to forget?

 

Did The Beatles have a lot of hit records?

Did you get a fuzzy feeling the first time I took your hand?

Did Elvis have a pair of blue suede shoes?

Was Picasso really good at art?

 

Did Andy Warhol die a virgin?

Did Albert Einstein know a thing or two about science?

Will this old world keep on spinning?

Do you remember us counting stars?

 

Do you still move like they do in Babylon?

Do you take the old walks alone?

Do you see what I’m trying to say?

The questions seem simple enough to me.

 

 

                                                                Holiday Postcard

From The Edge

 

Beach clean

Hotel alright

Prices obscene

Money tight

 

Weather fine

Sea blue

In bed by nine

Nothing much to do

 

All alone

Feeling blue

Can’t wait to come home

Missing you

Digby Beaumont is a widely published English writer. His flash fiction and short stories have appeared in more than 100 journals, magazines and anthologies, including the international anthology, The Best Small Fictions. His collection of one-page stories, Dancing Alone and Other Lessons, was released in 2020. Digby is also an artist. His artwork has been published extensively in collaboration with writers of poetry and fiction.