I am that distant dot.
Up here the world is calm –
the turquoise sea is still
and all the globe is quiet.
Suspended up above
the angry clamour ceases:
perspective changes every-
thing. I long to stay.
In a fit of courage, I may have accidentally stepped off the edge of Bagadad, 1800m up… Glorious!
(12.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
It’s time to buy the New’est Looks,
Stock up on all the latest fashions,
There’s only one place we can go,
We’re off to Delboy’s International!
And after that perhaps John Leviz,
For modern homeware and cigarettes,
Then Adidaz and Skeechers trainers,
With Gücci bags from Sportz Direkt.
And last of for holy luggage,
Try Jesus’ bags and leatherware,
Admire his creepy mannequins, for
The best fakes found almost anywhere…
There are some gloriously named stores and fakes in Olüdeniz. I’m not convinced that Sainsbury’s is part of the well know chain either…
(11.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Iridescent kingfisher blue lined with
a sandy olive, tints of turquoise flow
from gentle sea tide ripple. Shoals of silvery
fish, inquisitive and supple, dance
between our legs and toes, as silhouettes
repeat upon the shimmering bed below.
The air is warm, a tint of azure salt
upon the lip, dreamy seasoning
intruding into true. We dive on in.
Today we revisited the lagoon where we came a few years ago with the Alsatians that adopted us. A beautiful place.
(10.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Kayaköy, your bleached stones bloom before me.
Mourning your children snatched before their time,
your silent wailing groans throughout your homes,
echoes disturbing graves and gathered grime.
But even as these tears descend there’s hope:
chaffinches become redemption’s raucous choir
and nature’s tendrils reach around each stone,
their blooms composing a far more cheerful flower.
We hiked back to revisit Kayaköy having been there a few years back. A place of terrible atrocious which is gradually being taken over by an abundance of wildlife.
(09.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
The tips of Turkish mountains rise above
the whipped cream clouds. Upon their ivory crests
the trees appear like sprinkled treats. I long
to taste their paths and tread their ancient streets.
What gain in winding around its many layers;
consuming but never making it to their end?
The unexpected view of nature’s gifts,
the joy of exercise and feeling spent.
The hills around Olüdeniz are calling. Planning a good walk in then at some point during the week we’re here on the old Lycian Way.
(08.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
The wings extend, reaching for the horizon.
There the gentle earth curves from our sight,
whilst up above the hazy blue invites us
like freshly laundered duvets. We dive in.
Below the fields stretch out, a honeycomb
of every green from darkened moss to sun,
detailed by hedgerow lattices and throbbing
tarmac veins. Soon distant trees compress.
Lazily we rise and patterns change
blurring in their complexity and scope.
Individual fields combine. Gradually
we dissipate and all is reconciled.
Flying to Turkey in an unexpectedly sunny morning.
(07.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
No teenager’s room, the clothes
were neatly arranged, the face
cloth folded to the side –
no need for panic here.
There’s no runaway or theft,
no missing person to file,
just hope born from a stone
casually tossed away.
A quick poem at the end of a busy Easter Day.
(05.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Dylann Hendricks | 딜란 on Unsplash
Tomb like, the chrysalis hangs
inert and stoney cold.
All breath has gone. Death’s boney
touch is resident here.
What was has gone, the door
is sealed, its full-stop placed.
What hope, that nagging whisper
of a different punctuation?
The day after the day before? Or the day before the day to come.
(03.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo Armon • CC BY-SA 3.0
Two outstretched arms
Pinned like a butterfly
Collected under glass,
Its beauty cruelly faded.
A rigor mortis shrug
Perpetual question posed;
What does this execution
Mean? And why like this?
Two thousand years on and this question still demands reflection.
(03.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Wim van ‘t Einde on Unsplash
Ode for the Day 