Geoffrey Winch
Meeting Places
Alone—all her friends having gone home—a child of Ruardean Woodside in the Forest of Dean sits within the ring of forget-me-nots beside the spring. The man comes from the shadows of the woods, traverses down the sheep-made trail and, smiling, asks her for a drink. She takes the cup, fills it to the brim, and gives it him. He raises it to his lips, drinks deep and long, smiles again then enters the lane that leads on down to where he crosses over the stream. She watches him ascend the further hill wondering if she will ever meet him again.
a stranger waits
beside Jacob’s Well
in Sychar City:
a woman comes for water—
he confirms to her his ID
Shopping along Whitley Street when Reading has been her long-time home—the aromas of fruit and flowers, fish and meat are all around. In the heat, bag-and-parcel-laden, she knows for a minute it is him who is walking at her side. Then, as she walks alone the last half-mile home, her bags no longer are a burden.
by a leafless tree
Didi and Gogo meet
to wait for Godot.
Godot does not show:
they’ll wait again tomorrow . . .
About the Author
Geoffrey Winch, a retired highway engineer, writes free-form poetry, haiku, haibun, tanka, tanka prose, and cherita. He is the author of five poetry collections and lives on the south coast of England.