Misty Islands
Upon misty islands where I was born
Where I have trod across hill moor and snow
Since I was a lad
Where my father’s father and forefathers before
Of generations now long ago gone
That did toil and reap
Plant and sow
Did cut and fashion from oaks
Both broad and long
Tall ships no more to languish
On these tender shores
But to set forth across open seas
To explore...
Wednesday 14th December 2016 11:30 pm
Sixpence
Shorts and thoughts of the shop
Half way up or half way down the hill
Depending which way you came
It was the day of sixpence
Burning in my pocket
Burning hot and sweaty in my hand
The eager clammy fingers for
Sweets and treats
Some stacked on counters
Others in row after row
Of huge glass screw topped jars
Carefully positioned on shelves lining the walls
Cough ...
Thursday 1st December 2016 7:24 pm
King and country
He always sat in an upright dining chair
Close to the table
Never slumping
One of his great arms sometimes resting on the table
Whether watching T.V. or just chatting
He was proud of what he had done
Doing his bit
Serving in the Great War
Rarely talking about the pock marked scars
That ran up one arm
And one side of his chest
Like large drill holes
Where th...
Thursday 17th November 2016 11:27 pm
It was one of those nights
Warm summer
Dark steamy night
Hair trailing half way down my back
The car stereo blares
Out into the dark
As I cruise down country roads and lanes
Hamlet cigars and lighter
In waistcoat pocket
Arm resting on open window
The night breeze
A brief reprise
From the sticky and the hot
Flared jeans cover
Desert boots
Cassette whirrs and clicks
One track ends
...Saturday 5th November 2016 1:29 pm
When mercy sleeps
When mercy sleeps
Compassion dies
And love cries for all that’s gone
Because grace has stopped searching
For the lost and vulnerable
And pity has become a dirty word
That lines the rubbish bins of those that have
And all those who have not are perceived
To bite the hand that feeds them
Because they are apparently
Filthy scrounging and greedy
As the needy and h...
Sunday 30th October 2016 2:50 pm
Wimpy bar days
Ice cream sundaes
Lemonade or coke
Blowing bubbles through a straw
Sucking out the dregs
Makes an interesting sound
Like coming up for air
On the menu hamburgers
And strange shaped sausages in a ring
Bacon rashers and chips
Outside kicking stones and cans
In streets of idle pleasure
Looking for who knows what
Who knows where?
Among the flashing lights an...
Tuesday 18th October 2016 10:31 am
Biscuit tin
In a biscuit tin
On top of the cupboard in the living room
Is where she keeps all those little things
The bits and bobs that are precious
That are worth nothing and the whole world
To nobody but her
A sewing needle
Two paper clips
A drawing pin
Some newspaper cuttings
She keeps meaning to put in an album
Now already a bit tatty and frayed
The small gifts from Ch...
Wednesday 5th October 2016 10:02 pm
The black and the white
In the early rising dawn
When I wore shorts all the year round
And winter was just another blister
On the sole of life
The world in which we lived
Ate dressed and walked was
Mainly black or white
With just a few shades in between
The people
The buildings
The cars and the streets
Were all a dirty shade of brown and grey
There was of course the odd exception
Li...
Sunday 18th September 2016 9:15 pm
Wills breath
Poured out from page to mouth
That sound of fear and rage
Of loss and pain
Captured and pressed
Along papered lines
Ranked in copied verse
In forest sheaves of lives
Cut and refined in numbered leaves
Stitched and bound are
Telling tales of sorrow and distress
Of commitment blood and anger
Adventure and betrayal
Loves lost and loves found
The few among the m...
Friday 2nd September 2016 5:53 pm
Sons
Are we not the sons
Of the destructive
Self defeating other ones
The ones who know
Who feel
Who think
Say a lot but never speak
Are we not the silent majority
Who do
But whose feelings are left behind
Locked
Imprisoned in a room of bars
But nothing to drink
After all we are taught to wave the fist
To take the initiative
To run the race
Take the ...
Monday 22nd August 2016 11:29 pm
Retail parks
From this day forward
To have to hold
To possess
To say this one is
Mine and no one else
Tuesday 16th August 2016 9:29 pm
Your words
Your words
Your mouth
Your voice
All meld into one
Your words say
It’s not you
It’s me
But your mouth
Your eyes say
You have had enough
And you have found someone else
You expect me to turn up the collar
On my coat
Hide my face
Turn around
And walk away
But our lives are not a running film
Caught in a wild wet dark night
Me soaked to the s...
Monday 1st August 2016 10:28 pm
Going up
My bedroom
Is upstairs
Yet every day
My aching feet
My tired legs
Have to climb
To lift themselves
As I stretch and yawn
Shaky and troubled
...
Sunday 24th July 2016 6:42 pm
Here are the people(part 2)
It is all so comforting to think of
The people wrapped up in their blankets
Cosseted in the street
Talking to the neighbours
Exchanging pleasantries
In the morning
Talking about the weather the flowers
And a bit more beside that night
Across the garden fence
Here he is
He who lives at no6
But spends a lot of time with her at no4
And here is she at no7
Tw...
Tuesday 12th July 2016 10:28 am
Here are the people ( Part 1)
Here are the words
Here are the pictures
Here are the stories
Of the people places and things
Of that which is never told
In houses that are filled
Each with their own little drama
One upon another
Stacked in order
Some neat and kempt
Others overrun and exhausted
Across from an avenue
Near the close
In the place they called the street
Here are the peo...
Wednesday 29th June 2016 12:09 am
A tug of peace and of war
This arm
This shoulder
Can it forever remain sturdy?
At peace
Knowing what has been done
These lips can they remain silent
Knowing what they have bid
If only I were a man not of state
But of trade
The blacksmith
Is he not the honest son of an honest son?
His strong arms that work the forge
Faithful to fire and hammer
Striking blow after blow
Through s...
Monday 13th June 2016 11:06 pm
Perfectly formed
When worn is warm
As comfortable as freshly buttered toast
He is used to the poured out scorn
Of other peoples comments
Inlaid in tired and sweaty smelly trainers
With stained track suit bottoms
And blue on blue lettered hoodies
Whilst dark yellowed stained fingers
With just a hint of shake and wobble
Try to roll another perfectly formed handmade cigarette
Twirling tw...
Sunday 5th June 2016 10:54 pm
Under the bed
Under the bed
Under fed
Under weight
Under nourished
Forgotten never seen
Out of sight
Out of their minds
Out of food
Out there in the great beyond
Undefeated
Full of courage
Some barely living on grass
Hanging on by a t h r e a d
Left behind
Left for dead
Left hidden under the bed
Drawn out
Sketched to the world’s attention
By ...
Tuesday 24th May 2016 2:48 pm
cholrine days
It probably went the way of the squash court
But in the 60’s summer of teenage heat
The swimming pool was
Bright welcoming and blue
Inviting you to enter
To break through
The tranquil undisturbed glass
Prepared and ready
A large aquamarine oblong bowl
Chlorine enhanced
A choking daring do
Of sanitised delight
Cool and refreshing on a hot hazy
June day
On t...
Thursday 19th May 2016 10:51 pm
Out driving
I was out with you yesterday
We were driving
And you were looking at women
You said you like blondes
It was great for a moment
Because you weren’t
Thinking about your troubles
You weren’t worried or anxious
The frown had gone and
You smiled
For a moment the future wasn’t black
You realised it’s not just orange
It’s purple, blue and green
Red, white and grey
...Monday 9th May 2016 12:23 pm
sleep
Come heavy sleep
Come upon me
That I would know thy countenance
That I would not make light
Of thy lifting smile
And gossamer tones as light as feathers
That which thy bring to all
Who hope
Who desire
Who would drink deep from the draught
Of unbridled rest
The peace of God’s blessing
Upon their burdened furrowed brows
Come rest upon me
And my fellow s...
Sunday 1st May 2016 9:09 am
Rosemary
Rosemary
The smell of rosemary filled the house
It was the aftermath
Of lamb infused and bruised
With garlic and rosemary sprigs
Cut from a garden bush
Reminding me of that which
I love to brush past
The scent that lingers upon my fingers
Something I want to hover over
Time and again like a frenzied
Demented bee
Nectar to my nostrils
To all of my senses
Li...
Saturday 23rd April 2016 5:55 pm
In Dickens
My head is buried in Dickens
Oblivious to passing
Hedge wall and fence
The train chitter clatters
Ignored in open fields
By disinterested cows and sheep
The tiredness and regular rhythm of the train
Plays on my ability to keep awake
Until it slows and pulls into the station
Sighing with a jolt where the doors slide open
And we the passengers are greeted
By the movi...
Wednesday 13th April 2016 3:04 pm
The suits
Now the suits have closed the doors
Closed the works
Closed half the town
Closed ranks
Whilst tumbleweed blows
Between the ears of those in charge
The suits chase the brown
Wearing grey, blue and black
Not even apologetic
Except it’s not personal
It’s just business
In a place now less frenetic
A place half dead
All that’s left the bookies, the chippy
The p...
Monday 4th April 2016 6:02 pm
Just a minute
Just a minute is all it takes
To get up
Get dressed
Take a shower
Take a leak
To decide which way to go
To share a coffee with a friend
To smile and laugh
To catch the train
To reach the airport
It takes just a minute
To wait
The check my passport
To make the decision
Which route to the boarding gate
Just a minute to hear the boom
To fall to the...
Sunday 27th March 2016 7:57 pm
Wedding dress
Wedding dress
I’ve still got the picture of you
The one I carry round with me
The picture of you
In a wine stained wedding dress
The photograph has faded now
Like the vows of your wedding day
But my memory won’t forget
The day it all spilled out
The words the people
The laughter
The promises you could never keep
The horror and delight
You the blushing mo...
Sunday 13th March 2016 5:23 pm
Dawn is dusk
It is a time
When dawn is dusk
And winter shows its hollow husk
When sun is torn across open sky
Like silken cloth
When river is brown
With rushing tide
Over stumbled rocks
With urgent desire
To pull and push its way
Through battered banks
Is it only then that we feel winters?
Driving crush
Its desire to stake its claim
Its place
Now leaves have go...
Tuesday 1st March 2016 5:18 pm
Five minutes
I lay my head back
Cupped behind my hands
My eyes fixed
My mind wanders
And the day slides
Into being
A distant dog barks
Its demand for attention
And light fills the room
The mist pushed back
The sun proclaims its presence
And I lie in perfect repose
At peace with self
With the world
For just five minutes
Before it starts again
Friday 19th February 2016 12:41 pm
Amy
This chanteuse
This woman in black
This flitty bitty girl
With bouffant mad hair
Spindly legs
Eye shadow and lips
This long lost soul
Always, always on the go
No luck in love
No luck with drugs
Cracked up on smack
Booze and fags
This little girl
Who had every thing
But not enough to be her saving grace
Burnt
Burned out
With little choice
The gi...
Wednesday 10th February 2016 11:05 pm
Drowned
From salted lakes
And brackish ponds
Comes wash and water
With tethered swans
From raging seas
And blackened mere’s
Comes stories of long lost souls
And forgotten lives
Of all and nothing
All at sea
In tales of messaged bottles
Passed on from hand to mouth
From ear to ear
In winning sounds
From clucking hens
Words and letters
Some of regret
Some h...
Thursday 4th February 2016 9:11 am
Beige
Once I was of an age
When everything was black or white
When everything and everyone had possibilities
A time when I had not allowed myself
To be screwed or nailed down
By the deception that which all we do
Is set up to make a gain
Where all the fire in my eyes
In my belly never went out
But just changed direction
Where the focus was to grab
To have and to hold
...
Monday 25th January 2016 11:20 pm
You and I
I stir
I hear
I feel the gentle purr
Of your breathing
In the half light of another dawn
That time between night and day
Your sleepy smile
Awakens my desire
To stay
To remain
With you longer
Before rising for another day
The smile
That makes my heart rejoice
That we are still in that place together
After so many years
That we remain
You and I
Thursday 21st January 2016 6:53 pm
Smoke room
Still embalmed is the smell, the taste, the colour
In what was once the room of smoke
Where carefully contoured rings blew across
Louche sofa’s and upright leather bar stools
Served by barmen or brassy barmaids
In rooms filled with jaded freshly tousled men
And up and coming starlets, strumpets and harlots
Those once well thought of
Some notorious
Others vain glorious
...Monday 11th January 2016 10:35 pm
The enemy
The enemy isn’t each other
Somebody of a different race, belief or colour
Somebody that says I’m right and you’re wrong
The enemy isn’t a person
Your father or your brother
A cousin an ex-friend or lover
The enemy is the very thing
To which that you do not want to admit
The enemy is the secret you have to keep
The enemy is the pain that gnaws away
At your own bel...
Friday 1st January 2016 3:19 pm
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