Paul Tristram- Three Poems

Mirrored In A Raven’s Eye

I held her wrists,
they fitted perfectly in my hands.
Her breath carried wishes
more musical than melody.
I strained and absorbed,
tender and transparent
I felt each feeling
envelope the next.
Mirrored in a raven’s eye
is the love I feel,
it is watched from above.

© Paul Tristram 2009

Published in Decanto, 40th Issue, April 2009

Phoenix In Chains

How long can it last,
this weight that is upon me,
this curse that twists
and binds my fate?
Constantly no give,
wrestling with the tension,
suspended at the point of explosion.
My will is unbreakable.
I shall succeed,
as triumphantly I rip
through into glory.
Then, unshackled at last,
with my captive ruins
beneath me,
I will shine like diamonds
birthed in the heart
of the midday sun.

© Paul Tristram 2005

Published in Phoenix New Life Poetry, Autumn-Winter 2005

Bar Room Drawl

As a young boy I would love walking
around town in the summer
past the pubs with their doors open.
The smell of beer wafting out
onto the warm Neath pavement.
To hear the voices, the singing,
the laughter, the shouts and swearing
from deep in the smoky darkness.
It used to make me smile
and give me a strange yearning.
I would stop and inhale deeply
trying to listen to the tone of each voice,
hoping to hear a grown up Tristram
amongst them.
These pubs were the dens and the caves
where my heroes hung out
they were full of pirates and highwaymen.
I would give a nod of respect
to the darkened doorway
then I would walk on up Windsor Road.
Each footstep a little closer to adulthood
when my own voice would be heard
in amongst that wonderful and colourful
Welsh bar room drawl.

© Paul Tristram 2012

Published in The Neath Guardian, October 2012


Paul Tristram is a Welsh writer who has poems, short stories, sketches and photography published in many publications around the world, he yearns to tattoo porcelain bridesmaids instead of digging empty graves for innocence at midnight, this too may pass, yet.