Uncommissioned whale haiku

Ocean's prince rises,
blows, breathes, dives; air is life, but
water is living.

Bespoke whale haiku

A black rose thorn cuts
the surface. Bullet body,
Sontaran head follow.

Sunset in Tenerife

A spear of gunmetal grey cloud
thrust across the sky, over the darkening Atlantic,
and dropped not a drop of rain on us,
an impotent threat emerging from a dark coven
of storm clouds to the north,
while still the setting sun brightened a distant island,
left patches of sky Kingfisher blue,
and turned less obstreperous clouds
to salmon pink.

Carry on

He walks his dog on Merrow Common.
Hard to say which is more arthritic, who puffs more,
but when he stiffly fumbles off the lead,
the aged beast breaks into a shambling trot, and
follows the memory of exciting odours.
And day by day he carries on,
and walks his dog on Merrow Common.

She makes a pot of tea for her guests,
half blind now, but knowing the place of each cup,
each spoon and strainer and sugar cube.
And she asks after their children,
and shares their grandchildren's successes,
and they leave, affirmed and cheered,
and she tidies up and carries on.