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All of these poems have been written by David Cammegh. 

The Great Big Clock

There was once a clock;

Great big it was,

So that all Creation

Was safely inside locked.

Tick tock tick tock,

Was the gentle sound

Of the great big clock;

The clock that never stopped.

Many cogs it had;

Some large and some small,

Some good,

And some bad.

There was a huge cog,

So big it was,

That the other cogs

Called it ‘God’.

Tick tock tick tock,

Was the gentle sound

Of the great big clock;

The clock that never stopped.

The biggest cog,

Which they called ‘God’,

Was as big as the mill’s water wheel,

Which was a little odd.

Slowly it turned;

And, as it turned,

All the cogs turned,

All at once, not taking turns.

There were many small cogs;

There were less medium cogs;

There were even less large cogs;

There was one huge cog.

They turned at different speeds,

Fulfilling their individual needs;

But all at one they turned,

Which was some cause for concern.

For many cogs had no idea

That they were of one clock;

And so they often fell down in tears;

For being of one clock can be a bit of a shock.

Tick tock tick tock,

Was the gentle sound

Of the great big clock;

The clock that never stopped.

One day all the cogs, big and small

Heard a great big wake-up call:

The clock was chiming

And everything was shining.

Then all the cogs knew

The happy selfless news:

That they moved as one,

And that being one clock was really great fun.

Tick tock tick tock,

Was the gentle sound

Of the great big clock;

The clock that never stopped.

Chatting To The Turtle

The boy said:

‘How can I find God’s Will?

Should I swallow a pill?

Or go out and kill?

Oh, how can I find God’s Will?’

The turtle said:

‘Everything is God’s Will;

Even swallowing pills;

And going out to kill;

Look for it and you will find God’s will.’

The boy said:

‘But it’s my will to swallow the pills;

It’s my will to go out and kill;

It’s my will;

Not God’s will!’

The turtle said:

‘Your will is God’s will;

And, when you know the two are one,

You will rise like the Sun;

And everything will be done.’

The boy said:

‘Then I shall run wild;

I shall swallow pills;

I shall be like a child;

Because my will is God’s will.’

The turtle said:

‘To know God’s will

Is to know all is one;

And when that is done,

You will find many ways

To have good times;

And some very good fun.’

The boy said:

‘I have been running wild;

I have swallowed pills;

And I have only found

Loneliness, and the cold hard ground,

Of dungeon floors and the executioner’s sound;

Is this God’s punishment that I have found?’

The turtle said:

‘Part of the fun

Is to know that everything is at one;

Which is to know that everything is done;

And if you do your sums,

You will find that your time in prison cells

Is all part of God’s will,

And yet, my boy, it may seem like hell.’

The boy said:

‘Yes I am in hell in my prison cell,

But now I know that everything is done,

And that everything is one

My hell is quickly gone…

Everything will go,

And everything will come.’

The turtle said:

‘Yes, but now that you are free,

You are walking the streets,

So you have more to ask,

To complete your task.’

The boy said:

‘If my will is God’s will,

Then how do I not get

Lots of money and pretty girls?

Oh!  And when it’s raining,

I still get wet!’

The turtle said:

‘I have this to say:

We are all players,

With our lines in our heads,

And we enjoy our parts,

Only when we consider the play.’

The boy said:

‘Thank you for your wisdom;

For I am now an old man,

And, as I lie here dying,

I hold you in my hand;

And with unity’s vision,

I see another land.’

BECAUSE YOU CAN ASK

There was a spider on the wall,

And she said to the sky:

'I am a spider, kind Sir,

Will I live, kind Sir,

Will I live when I die?'

The Sky opened wide,

And, smiling, he said:

'There is nothing we can hide,

And because you can ask,

You will live when you die.'

WHERE CAN WE POSSIBLY GO?

Said the man to the boy:

'Where can we go when we die?'

Said the boy to the man:

'Where do you go when you dream?'

Said the man to the boy:

'But that's just what it seems!'

Said the boy to the man:

'If I meet you in a dream,

And asked, "Dear Sir, where are we now?"

You would tell me not to ask such silly things,

You would say: "We are where we are, which is here, daft boy!"

Then you would tell me to go off somewhere,

Somewhere to play with my games and my toys.

And, so, kind Sir, there are places you know,

Places right here, but where the body cannot go.'

Said the man to the boy:

'Thank you, young man,

Now it is clear;

Now I understand.'

FOCUS NOW

Focus now on one thing,

And you are one thing;

Focus now on two things,

And you are two things;

Focus now on three things,

And you are three things;

Focus now on All Things,

And you are All Things.

AN ENGLISH COUNTRY AUTUMN SATURDAY

Under the green trees going brown,

They gather in the centre of town;

Flowers woven colourfully around;

Then there's the dancing up and down,

To musical things, making merry spiral sounds.

Lipstick on the woman,

Top hat on the man,

Things being loaded by the boys,

Who leap down from the van.

A row of old roofs;

The sound of horses' hoofs,

And cart wheels rolling,

Going round and round and round;

They wonder: 'Will the weather hold out?'

It's hard to park the car;

But colourful tents there are,

And sellers of beer and clothes,

Slices of bacon, and hot meaty rolls.

'Where's the hidden horror?'

Dare you ask.

'Where's the hidden misery that lurks behind happy sociable masks?'

Dare you ask.

Well, you'll find them if it's your sorrowful task;

But it's far better now to enjoy what you can see,

To sit back in this fine Victorian chair,

And to enjoy the perfect cup of tea.

GET OUT OF YOUR BED

Make life last;

Start doing something well;

Show you've got class;

Commit to the task.

Take that flight,

Go bravely into the night;

Keep your guard up,

Don't sit down;

Get up with fight,

Don't hang around;

Remove that sullen frown.

Know who you are;

Know your potential,

But don't push too far,

And make sure you can laugh;

Yes, that's essential.

Put on some rock,

But don't fall and roll;

You're from good stock;

Keep a firm hold.

If you're going it alone,

Get a new love,

I don't want any excuses,

Because you're turning to stone.

Get out of your bed,

Listen to what I've said;

Life should be a blast,

And it's going too fast!

TALKING TO CLAMS

Magnetized Mark

Was a woman

In the dark.

Close Up Len

Was a distant man

In his body and in his head.

Purple Faced Mike

Loved the pretty girls,

Who rode fast motorbikes.

Bouncey Goliath Gary

Was a rolling polling man,

Like Tiny Fatty Barry.

And they all lived

In a wig wam,

Where wigs were made,

And where they talked to clams.

Until that grim Nazi Noddy,

With his wonderful wooden dolly,

Told them to try not to laugh,

And to get on with some graft.

TOMMY'S CEILING

When little Tommy

Tried to sleep,

He saw the golden feet,

Of whom he thought

Was the Angel of the Lord,

Standing there holding

A giant sparkling sword.

Then Tommy's ceiling vanished,

And a bright light appeared,

Which Tommy thought was Spanish,

Because there were men with fine beards.

But they were not from Spain;

No, no, not at all:

For everything was shining,

In a great, dazzling hall.

And their beards were not black,

Like matador hats,

But shone with many hues,

Many were red, many were orange, many were blue.

The men stood aside,

The Heavenly Hall was wide;

It rose up high

To the brightest white Light

That was indeed all Life,

And it shone down from a throne,

Made from The Eternal Stone.

There was not a sound,

But then Tommy soon found

That everything was said

In his heart and in his head.

The Light reached for him,

And he reached for the Light;

He was glowing without and within,

With the unspeakable joy of Absolute Life.

He wanted to smile,

He wanted to laugh,

But tears of happiness fell,

And soaked into his scarf.

Then an invisible hand

Guided him back to his bed,

And from his pillow,

He gazed at the shining land,

Until a gentle voice said:

'Your ceiling will now return,

For you have clearly learned

What you will do

With your great good news.'

And all of a sudden,

They closed all their doors,

Then the blazing land vanished,

And he could see it no more.

But he knew it was there,

On the other side of the ceiling;

And so he no longer cared

For bad news or bad feeling.

THE OLD OAK TREE AND THE ACORN

The Old Oak Tree is whole,

With all its acorns involved;

So the acorns are a part

Of the tree and its bark.

And says the Old Tree:

'I am One and Complete;

Because the Whole, you see,

Yes, the Whole is me!'

Thus, on this fine autumn day,

The acorns -

The acorns, they have nothing to say,

For they are part -

They are part of the tree,

Until, that is, a gentle autumn breeze

Causes them to fall,

Into what they think is nothing,

That is, nothing at all.

Then one acorn says:

'I cannot believe -

I cannot believe -

That I have things -

Things in my head...

... And what is a tree?

Is it just a word,

Just a word I have said?'

Said the Old Tree:

'You want an answer?

Then try looking at me;

For I am you,

Can you not see?'

And thus the acorn grew

Into a fine, big tree;

And it was then that it knew

How to say with great ease:

'I am me, yes, I am me!

And thus the acorn from nothing became

That very same

Old Oak Tree,

Who knew how to be

Very happy,

Thank you very much,

Very happy indeed.

THE MESSENGER

You ask who I am,

Well, don't you understand?

I am your man,

The Messenger, from a distant land.

Listen to what I say,

Make it fit into your day;

No, you don't have to pray,

You can do as you may.

I say 'distant land',

But don't you understand?

It's not made from soil,

Nor strife, nor effort, nor misery, nor toil.

Fulfilment approaches,

In Heavenly coaches;

It's time for you to smile,

And to go the extra mile.

THE HAPPY MAN

The scientist sat back;

And he had a funny old knack

Of being complacently involved

With what he could measure,

And what he could hold.

The materialist weighed his money,

And liked weather that was sunny;

His house was set,

Where no one would forget,

With its great high walls,

And glittering halls.

The correct man of religion,

Who thought a dove was a pigeon,

Measured what was right,

And how to to behave,

By locking himself tight

In a stiffly interpretated phrase

Of glorious words,

From a distant age.

'But,' said the Happy Man,

'You cannot measure temperature

With hour-glass sand;

You cannot measure height

By what is legally right.

And don't tell me,

If you will, if you please,

That you cannot fathom Truth,

From stars and planets in the distant, dark blue.

And just because you cannot measure and hold

Shining spheres, bright lights and Spiritual Gold,

With didactic books, rulers and clocks,

Bank balances and pretty frocks,

It does not mean to say

That there is no Heaven above,

Or no Eternal Life,

And no Eternal Love.'

(NB - The image is a real image of an 'hourglass nebula')

DEEPLY ROOTED

The past sits in the soil

Around my roots;

Past pleasures and past toil,

Continually turned into something new.

Father's father's father's father,

Distant history;

Mother's mother's mother's mother,

Weaving together my story.

Lives from years ago

Glide through me,

Like cool waters flow

From the ground to the leaves.

So, love your past,

Whatever it may be,

For your future is cast

In the mould of history.

LAUGHING ANGELS

Angels have every reason to laugh,

As humour flutters in the wag of their golden wings;

For they often think that we're so completely daft,

With our dalliances,

And loves of such silly things.

A CHARMING MOMENT

Sinful Sally

Took a boy down the alley;

She smiled a smile

That you could see from miles;

And she said,

'Do not wait!

Do not tarry!

Perform very well!

And make me happy!'

SPORT ISN'T ALWAYS THE ANSWER

Nigel The Horse

Looked like a cat,

But he was good at the sports

That needed a bat,

And he had a broken heart

Because he had lost at darts.

A VISITOR FROM NOWHERE

Dark Thought

Knocked at my door,

And he said, 'Can I come in?'

I said, 'What for?'

He said, 'To test your mettle;

To see if your heart has settled.'

'Oh,' said I,

'Then come on in!

I'll give it a try.'

And so he came inside,

And then changed into many horrible shapes

To see if I would mind,

But I made him some tea,

And he sat on the settee.

'You have great faith,' he said.

'No,' said I.  'That's all in your head;

I only have Love -

That's Love, water, tea and bread.'

'Thank you,' he smiled.

'You have passed the test.

I must now go to frighten a child,

And all the rest.'

'No!  Stay!'  Said I.

'No! No!'  He cried,

'I have played my part;

You are now free to laugh,

And I must, if you please,

Hastily depart!'

And so he returned to nothing,

And was swallowed by the dark.

HICKORY DICKORY SPOCK

Hickory Dickory Spock,

The rat swam across the dock,

The cat came down,

The world spun round,

Hickory Dickory Spock.

BAA BAA BABY

Baa baa baby,

Have you any wool

In your little cot?

No sir, no sir,

No, I have not!

MADAM SORROW

If you don't know why you live,

Meet that sad-eyed seductive one, Sorrow;

Embrace her, yes,

But do not follow.

For that desperate shadow

Does not exist;

So if you want to enjoy tomorrow,

Stand peaceful, gently happy and firm,

Then let her go, and she will desist.

Yes, she will one day return,

But you will know her ways,

For you will now have learned

How to enjoy life's golden days.

MAN OF THE WORLD

I am the Human Race,

But I am a man now;

And my colossal past

Can never be traced.

The ages passed,

Time went fast,

Nations grew,

From old to new;

And I was a man,

Or a woman,

Just like you.

You could look me in the eye,

But you would not have known

That I was you,

And nor would I.

People passed from life to death,

Eventually they made their last short breath,

And merged totally with my Single Mind,

Eternal peace,

I think you'll find:

The Golden Fleece,

No body, no time.

But I continued on my way,

Still a man,

Or a woman,

Living day by day,

Dying now,

Dying then,

Being born somehow

Time and time... and time again.

Now this is my last life here,

And so a reservoir of Mankind's tears

Will wash through my deep, deep soul,

Drowning all fears,

Yes, yours and mine,

Reaching right back

Through all our time.

And everyone's soul is part of mine,

So now that I am complete,

Now is the time,

For fulfillment and peace

For all Mankind.

And so I now know who I really am:

Human Kind -

Some call it Man;

But listen now,

Listen if you can,

My message is bold:

The Creation, you see,

Is in the plam of my hand.

FOLLOW THE SUN

THE ELIZABETHAN SPIRIT VISIT

I spied the sprit

Through the portal of Heaven,

And I recognised him when he said:

'Look not to the Light

With a mournful eye;

Fear not the sadness

When loved ones die;

For vibrant is life here,

Vibrant and alive.'

Then he smiled,

Waved a gloved hand,

So natural, so like a child,

So happy in his land.

As he looked on me,

'Adieu!' Said he,

'To God I go;

And remember!  Fear not!

Don't waste tomorrow

On being seduced

By leaden sorrow.'

Then he returned,

receded into that Light,

Where exciting peace burned,

Dazzling in my night.

And then the portal closed,

Like camera shutters do,

And soon later I arose,

For the Sun was now up,

And everything was new.

THE CURE FOR PARENTAL PAIN

The heavy care of a dad

For a daughter who is ill,

Or a son whose life

Looks nothing but bad,

Is like a barbed knife,

Immovably deep,

Cutting into sleep;

For there's nothing to be done

To change daughter or son,

And so let life do

What it does best -

Allow empty love to shine through

And it will do the rest.

A LIGHTNESS OF TOUCH

Death conquers all,

Or that's what they say;

There's nothing at all,

But to get through the day.



Dreary heavy feet,

Leaden with fear,

Drugged, thick and deep,

With a torrent of tears.



Lift yourself up,

Without trying at all;

Misery's an illusion,

It's hilariously small.

EMPTY LOVE FILLS ALL

I have been told that love

Is as full as pain;

That the claws of a dove

Strike only in the rain.



I have been told that death

Is miserable to behold;

A skull with no breath,

Shadows and cold.



But clear seeing

Is eternally freeing,

For even a tiny fountain of love

Is always more than enough.

THE VACUUM OF LOVE

What is it

That joins me to you?

Is it love,

Or thick, green glue?



Or can I sit,

Happy and clear,

Without being torn to bits,

By modern love's sickly veneer?



Empty yourself

Of all that is within;

Let the vacuum of love

Let unity begin.

THE ROMAN WALL

Standing between the midday sun,

And the damp lifeless pond,

White stone,

Against blue sky,

Is the Great Roman Wall,

Just twenty feet high,

But a million miles long.

Between what is good,

And what is bad,

What is dead,

And what alive,

With glowing corona about his head,

And fierce peace in his eyes,

Stands Archangel Michael,

Dismissing all lies.

At the gates of Heaven, they say,

He will wait,

Tireless and ready,

Until Judgement Day.

Not a shadow will pass,

Or a sullen word,

He will move very fast,

Cut them down with his sword.

So when you speak to him, know;

That your heart is on show,

Not a shadow will withstand,

The mighty touch of his hand.

And thus where there are gaps,

In the Great Roman Wall,

Now matter how long,

No matter how small,

Shadows will vanish,

As easily as that,

Like that happy old boy,

When he pulls on a beer,

And puts on his cap.

THE ASPIRING DICTATOR AND THE SUN

The aspiring dictator,

Who found no favour

With the good and the great,

Thought it was almost too late

To live in the Tower

Of Unfailing Power.

So he spoke to the Sun,

Who said, 'Aha! It has begun!

But you have a choice;

Listen to more than your voice,

Be urged by more than your desires,

And your ambition's unruly, feral fires!'

'Accept what comes into your hands,

Be it just an apple or the finest palace in the land;

Never manipulate for a position,

Make only heartfelt, decent decisions,

And you will be where you are meant to be,

Neither burning in fire, nor drowning in the sea.'

'But Sun!' Cried the man,

'You have power all over the sands,

Over the seas and over the skies;

Surely you have dabbled, deceived and lied?!'

'No! No!' Said the Sun with a dazzling smile,

'I do what I do, because I am on fire;

I blaze over the skies and over the land,

Because my friend, it is what I do - it is what I am;

And if it were not,

Then I would simply stop.'

The aspiring dictator knelt on the ground,

He tried, but his lips could not make a sound,

Until after a long while,

He spoke with a smile,

'Thank you,' he said,

'I had lost my head,

For manipulation, greedy power and lies

Give strength only to pain at the moment you die;

And so I shall go,

Empty handed, empty of sorrow,

For the flow of life

Will bring me tomorrow.'

THE TADPOLE

The tadpole looked up

To the watery sky;

And there it went!

A frog just flew by!

'I want to be one of them,'

The tadpole said;

'Oh! You will!  You will!

And you will change your head,'

Said the coot,

With a funny little hoot.

And the day came,

For the tadpole had changed;

And so he climbed onto a stone:

A new dimension,

A new home.

He looked down at his friends,

Still tadpoles,

Still not changed,

Still down below.

So, he dived back in,

And told his friends

That they would soon be with him,

Leaping across the Fenns;

'It's a whole new universe,

And it never, ever ends!'

UNREQUITED LOVE

'Let me love you!'

Said the boy to the girl;

'Oh! Please let you not!'

Said the girl to the boy.

FOLLOW THE SUN

A baby opens his eyes,

For the first time,

Wild eyes,

Moony eyes, terrified.

Parental love,

The perfect thing;

It's more than enough

For this newly living thing.

Excitement beckons,

As wild Youth calls,

Love of lovers is best you reckon,

Now that the parental love palls.

Thus Venus smiles;

And so the goddess beguiles,

From miles and miles ... and miles;

Yes!  The adolescent awakes within the child.

But slowly slowly,

Love is confused,

Everything holy,

Is horribly refused.

And thus our powerful soul

Raps charming Venus for being so bold;

And brings forth a body that's broken and old:

Cool flesh, cool lips, everything cold.

Venus bows her head and glides away,

It is, after all, the end of the day;

But the old man smiles and says to the Sun:

'Finding you is now my task;

Foolish living is done;

You see, Venus,

The Evening Star,

Is far too dim,

She will never lead me far,

Of that, my friend, I am now convinced.'

A SONG FOR THE OLD

As I sit, old and alone,

Wrinkles, loose skin and prominent bones;

I am invisible now;

But there's no more sorrow,

No more knitted brows,

No more pain,

No more gain;

I am completely full

Of life and love;

Yes, it's against the rules;

To be a happy old fool.

But now what is below is above;

And what is above is below;

Thus all is one,

And, frankly, I'm enjoying the show.

TO THE GIRL

Cocaine’s a drug like caffeine,

And alcohol’s in her blood,

From the last angry scene;

She asks God for Noah’s flood

To cleanse her agonising life

Of late nights and white lines,

Vodka and the mugger’s knife:

She’s determined to shine.

Blessed with wisdom and love,

From her gentle mum and dad,

To whom she waves heaven above,

And starts the longest trip she ever had;

And her two sisters are smiling,

With pride as they are looking,

Her long red nails she is filing,

But she’s not doing the cooking.

Her brightness is now glowing,

From behind her lashes curling,

No longer any more pining

Days of lawless plate hurling,

As she steps onto life’s stage,

Inspiring everyone she meets,

Without knowing it she’s a sage,

With life’s understanding, she’s replete.

A NIGHT OF LOVE

Your beauty is blessed

By Venus’s spell

Enchanting, briefly wielded

Magically unfulfilling

Totally enrapturing

Full lips, curves and lips

And petal-like flesh

The flush of your cheeks

Eyes deeply looking

Eyes burning bright

Like Tiger’s soft fur

Dangerously bite

Deep into my veins

Setting me alight

A frenzy of mystery

In a web of delight

Round buttocks of silk

Sensitive warm breasts

And soft deep valleys

Or slowly inhaled breath

Ecstatic hands clawing

The downy soft hairs

The droplets of sweat

The melting of cares

Into misty hidden perfume

Darkly embracing the room

As all this beguiles me

And a million more yet

Irresistible to Time

As the black night’s horses

Hooves thudding in line

Too fast to dawn stables

As love slips to the past

From Ancient Egyptians

To the regal Roman shores

To the great lovers of today

And the end of the world

Like the river’s red moon

Captures sleepy young moths

But the sharply cut shadow

Of the sun’s cruel role

Shatters enchantment

With textures of gold

So that your answer

Deep Beauty

Is impossible to hold

GALACTIC TIMING

The mighty black rock

Is different at night

It’s the universal clock

And the timing is right

Because deep space speaks

The plans in God’s mind

As information is leaked

The next step for mankind

Wise men can easily see

Through star-gathering eyes

That soon we’ll be free

From Earth’s plume of lies

No longer the scientist, alas

With his scalpel-like thoughts

Because it’s time for his last

Logic alone comes to naught

Imprisoned by equations

But it’s been necessary

To be so very wrong

Thinking everything’s energy

Because then we can know

How to step out of here

Like shedding our clothes

Experience the crystal clear

For seeing with the soul

When yes can mean no

And a definite new role

For the people who know

So let’s be prepared

For our great new reward

Millions of years shared

Now we’re all called

We’ll be going through space

Without a rocket in sight

Travelling at great pace

Coming back if we like

It’s the best of all time

It’s everything you see

It’s the universal prime

The real meaning of free

Welcome our new friends

Our blazing new selves

There’re messages to send

New ideas to delve

And soon that mighty rock

Will be an antique indeed

We’ll have no need of a clock

Travelling through time at speed

So let’s sit back and wait

Look out for the signs

It won’t be too late

Because this is our time

ANOTHER EVENING OUT

Smoking her tears away

In a large glass of wine

She’s out on the town to play

And tells her friends she’s fine

But work’s a designer bore

And she wishes she had kids

Not the great career chores

Making stock market bids

Her yoga body is fitting

Into the email box of life

And her fruit salad is sitting

In the food magazine she buys

Where’s the hope? She inquired

Of the wayward clairvoyant eyes

I can only think of the buyer

And the fat on my thighs

So she goes home in a cab

And lies down in her bath

It’s all fighting the flab

And having bitter sweet laughs

Sleep, though, is an easy thing

Because of the pills

But hope for a wedding ring

Is round about nil

THE REMAINS OF THE FAMILY

She drinks at her life

With its gallons of strife

Measured in the bars

Where she fills big jars

Of white wine and cigarettes

And tickets of bets

Neither lost nor won

Because the horses can’t run

When it has rained too much

And she’s way out of luck

For at the end of the day

As football managers say

She goes home to her fridge

Where there’s no food for the kids

Who are staying with their dad

The man who went mad

Said the lawyers of law

Who shut the court doors and swore

That the family that was

Has become no more

THE TOWER

I built a stone tower around me

And I believed in its walls

They reached up to the sky

But now around me they fall

I tried my best to hold it together

Went to the doctor to fix my face

To make me look much younger

Bend the rules of the human race

I grasped my oil paintings

Of ideas and visions I had

But I never had good ratings

Everyone said they were bad

There was far too much to grip

As my life fell around me

And down the cliff it slipped

Into a black bubbling sea

If I tried to hold on much longer

I would have tumbled there too

But letting go made me stronger

And now I have nothing to do

So I stand with the mocking wind

As it hurls ice into my eyes

My thick hair has thinned

Now I know every man dies

So I’ll sit still and wait

No more building for me

I see it’s never too late

To let the sun shine for free

THE FAMILY OF FATE

The boy moans his pain

As his father watches on

They say he’s insane

But he can’t even run

And the mother sees her hopes

Sitting caged by her side

Too responsible for dope

She has nowhere to hide

Life’s anvil is unforgiving

And we are shaped by and by

Our choices in living

Can make it easy to die

A MORAL TALE

I have been taught to fight

To stand up for what’s right

Then the man who said

Go deep into the head

To find the sense inside

Where it’s all in the mind

So I changed my ways

And sought a flurry of days

On the snowy hills of God

Where I found a blue lightning rod

And in a blazing moment of sight

I saw that what’s wrong could be right

BY THE RIVER BANK

As she unwraps her life

Watching the passing skies

Offering the picnic pies

Smiling at the May flies

On the river bank she sighs

What in the future lies?

Visions of the endless sun

Cooled by the breathing moon

For old age has come

As youth goes too soon

Then Death and his broom

Sweeps her out of the room

NEW WOMAN

Ah! Woman!

You’re so strapped

In your lovely new car

That you’re trapped

Like a wasp in hot tar

With your children

Running to and fro

Like wounded hens

With blood in the snow

The passions that lay in your bed

Are now long gone and lost

They are words just said

Dusted down in the frost

Where are your polished dreams

That fluttered past you so fast

In strawberries and cream

Where wedding vows last?

A tears-stricken face

Like a haunted window pane

With rain rolling down in a race

A one way trip to that cold, muddy lane

But the deeds are now done

And you’re not free to run

So sit quietly in the sun

And think what you have done

A QUEST IN AUTUMN

The trees with the fluttering leaves

Mighty with silent ease

Against the loneliest fly

Left in a golden peach to die

Then with the day gone and night begun

The stormy sky answers none

A lonely man with questions to ask

Falls silently upon his difficult task

But the windy air with tongues of rain

Is never enough to remove the pain

So try he must to battle on

Sighing deeply with confusion

Stuck in the woods beneath the bough

His heart the questions does not allow

But slowly the torment will come to an end

And the morning sun peace will lend

With spirit emboldened by the strife

Enriched he advances into life

Leaving behind the lonely fly

Trapped in its golden peace to die.

A WALK IN THE WOODS

Walking through the woods

There’s a gale in my ear

As cold air’s going through my hair

And my mind’s full of those slim moments

With that girl and her soft face:

There’s a still picture in my heart

A split second in my life

That affects so many days

And leaves me in a haze

When she gave me a trace

Of love, and her eyes told it with grace

As the sun sprays through the twigs on the trees

And the ice over the puddles breaks beneath my feet

Then there’s a man and his gun

And my love falls with a twist

As a bird dies in full flight

The wind blows my hands into a fist

And a rabbit is killed as it runs

Before being picked up in a dog’s bite

And the mirror in my mind

Is on the wall

Reflecting what I don’t like, don’t like at all

As the sleet begins to fall

From wrestling clouds in a squall

There’s a great muddy hill

With chalky stones and green

It’s so steep it invigorates or kills

And in a bush to my left

A bird takes off terrified of its death

But I just go on

Now excited about the sun

That opens the clouds

Over the woods above

I’m smiling now

She’s definitely gone

I WISH I WAS A RABBIT

I wish I was a rabbit

Yes I do

Yes I do

I wish I was a rabbit

Yes, yes, I do

I could peddle my way

Through burrows and holes

On my red tricycle

So that I could hear other rabbits say

That they don’t want to be moles

Who are so round

With big fat hands

While never making a sound

As they go walking

Walking slowly underground

HILARY

Hilary said she was the tallest man in the world

Yet she was a man

With the wrong-sized hands

And delicious cake

Wrapped up in a bag

With lots of pastry flakes

And a fluttering mind of lost birds

As they went to and fro

And thus she slept soundly beneath a short tree

With much confusion over her sexual identity

SITTING BY A COFFEE AS THE RIVER FLOWS BY

A newspaper and a coffee

The scented sun pours down

As the scarlet flowers weave

And wave beneath the breeze around

And my mind has tripped me again -

A plan has gone awry

In the past they would cry

But now they can see

That I’m not altogether me:

I’m a twist of a mood

A flutter of a whim

A reaction to tasty food

Or a soft impression on red skin

Or the river flowing by

As it reflects the changing sky

So I’ll write this on paper

And I’ll see you goodbye later

Meanwhile I’ll read this a newspaper

With its well-written stories

About shooting star wonders and celebrity glory.