HOCKNEY
shots of light
mesmerizing the surface of the pool
his LA exile
looking like bad photography
surfaces bisected
by light and shade and colour
a flat pack world
not as you might imagine
unlimited blue water
reflecting the vast sky
a static take
on that vibrant splash
his real interest
the intersection of that boy
with this water
the way the white bottom bobs
CAVAFY
the barbarians are still needed
a century on
Xenophobia justifying itself
his quest began
looking into the eyes of old men
and ended with the splendidly oiled body
of that remembered youth
a journey without end
as if that were the meaning
Alexandria a way point
to exile Ithaka an ideal
loss and longing
(his Fourteen Poems illustrated with
line drawings by Hockney)