I get off the train

I get off the train,
see a girl sitting reading
the same book as me.

A moment's terror

A moment's terror:
disorientation from
sleeping in the day.

Clearest day for months

Clearest day for months –
horizon refocused sharp;
waterfall-fresh air.

Reach the top, the views

Reach the top, the views
join up, and the city is
solved like a crossword.

Roof of the Pennines

Roof of the Pennines
and the lumbering coach does
sixty through the clouds.

Train to Nottingham

Train to Nottingham,
watch bands, sleep over, come home:
my small miracle.

Wet February

Wet February
plays with butterscotch sunsets,
starts rumours of spring.

Before the vista

Before the vista
of the great, unfurled city,
a blue tit jinking.

In injury time

In injury time
we score and defeat those who
left before the end.

Staring at the wall

Staring at the wall,
aspiring to its blankness,
while you get X-rayed.

I take two months on

I take two months on
one book, two days on the next.
Time is like sugar.

The trains through the park

The trains through the park
to London and the south-west
barely make a sound.

If days are just songs

If days are just songs
this one's a downbeat number
and rain is its riff.

Between the taxi

Between the taxi
and the door, one more busy
engine still running.

Just to feel something

Just to feel something
I let the cat bite my arm,
and then feel silly.

In the hot stillness

In the hot stillness
of a mid-morning bath I
hear my own heart beat.

It's a hundred hours

It's a hundred hours,
this wet Monday morning, since
I was last alone.

The sun can stay down

The sun can stay down
and the next time I sleep I
want to stay asleep.

A blink of her eyes

A blink of her eyes
and the world could turn to snow.
That white cat is bad.

Through the pub window

Through the pub window
three of us watched a woman
carrying a rose.

A sky full of snow

A sky full of snow
and weirdly dim neon pinks
for this night only.

When snow is coming

When snow is coming
you can give up control by
stepping on the train.

They sound clumsy, but

They sound clumsy, but
cold fingers on guitar strings
can also thaw hearts.

Lost is waking up

Lost is waking up
today in the belief that
it's Christmas next week.

Not a cooked breakfast

Not a cooked breakfast
but love and sweet indiepop
cured my hangover.

Treading an empty

Treading an empty
pitch while, eighty miles away,
my team wins six-nil.

It's been a long time

It's been a long time
but I'm glad to see you now,
5pm daylight.

Walking in to town

Walking in to town
at evening rush hour, I watch
my film run backwards.