A Little Less to Cut – a poem by Edward Alport

A Little Less to Cut


I know where I will lie,
Down where the hawthorn and the blackthorn
Hide the water and the sea,
And keep the goats at bay.

I may not know how many times
I’ll cut the grass and trim back the hedge.
Every year a little less to cut,
Another patch to weave the mower round,

Another friend of mine, named in stone
Another face who knew me as a kid.
They all wait for me, and to them
I’ll always be the kid, and always was.

I know where I will lie.
Part of the village memory.
A name. A place, ordered in a record book.
‘Wasn’t he the poet?’ That’s what’s left of me.

Edward Alport is a retired teacher and proud Essex Boy. He occupies his time as a poet, gardener and writer for children. He has had poetry, stories and articles published in a variety of webzines and magazines. He sometimes posts snarky micropoems on Twitter as @cross_mouse.