Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Whales

All life's glorious shipwrecks
Come finally to their rest
We are Titans becalmed by fate
Upon calm seas of fine threads
Where rocky pillows of instance
Break hubris to a lapping loyalty
The whales of fortune have dived
Fled into the deeps of younger seas
But all wonder is not yet vanished
As a lover, I was alas, poor interest
So now only as a warm companion
Welcome onto my watery divan
And we may still caress, or embrace
Though no pearls will we now find
Upon a sandy décolletage at dawn
Like a languorous foam on slow tides
We shall float away the remaining days
Indolence will triumph on the high sea
Though no good people of elegance
May stay buoyant and free forever
We shall let the waves, take us away
On one last journey over the horizon
Following the day's descending sun
Till we are under the new rising moon
And then the sea may close about us
For life's voyage is not so bad, after all

Sunday, February 26, 2017

Walk

The Amazonian was felled
And we wreathed the victor
In a crown of incredulous awe
And now all is quiet; all is still
Crowds may away into mists
Till there are only ghosts left
But our hearts keep a chronicle
Tolerance may diminish and rot
But always where there is loss
Flowers will flourish the swifter
Great, profuse blooms of hope
Floral lamps scenting away sorrow
Illuminating any loss of liberation
And upon these trails of beauty; walk
Trace new and stronger paths of equality
For freedom grows best in summer 

Saturday, February 25, 2017

Temple

My body is a temple
But what a glorious one
A veritable ruin of antiquity
And inside its facade
Betwixt column and decal
A half-remembered dream
Upon an altar of flight
Lies still like a sacrifice 

Friday, February 24, 2017

Better

There are millions of good people
But I'm not one of them yet
I thought perhaps I was
But now I can see my imperfections
I suddenly become a little better
And hope comes like endowment
I unwrap these new days like gifts
Take off the starry bow of dawn
And savour each hourly layer
Till night rewraps it to black
And I sleep a better man than yesterday

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Denial

The animals pay for our denial
The truth is a fleeting blossom
Under clouding summer skies
The lies will always break free
Metamorphose into aspiration
For we never remember truth
Self-importance makes us forgetful
For who can live and thrive
With the constant disenchantment
That we are made so dreadful 

First

Now the earliest flowers do arise
The yellow trumpets will tell no lies
Nor snowdrops erupting under bluer skies
And witness how the coldness flies
As warm spring comes; winter dies 

Friday, February 17, 2017

First flowers in the garden





Honey

When all honey from the world is gone
When we decline kindness as deception
Forgoing all the sugar of its compassion
Naught will sweeten life's bitter draught
For then, all there is left, becomes brutality

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Valentine


And no one  may unravel this blissful thread
The Valentine is sent; longing cannot be unsaid
This mistress of time is no measure of chance
She has a debt to collect and a destiny to dance
From out the hopeful hearts that cling to youth
She takes some vitality but bestows worthy truth
A gift of love she brings forth upon a loving wind
For all the happy times the young have sinned
And in the loving war of desire all is bloodless
For it takes only a card of intent to do it justice 


Monday, February 13, 2017

Bafta’s


What's it about; who the hell knows?
Faux appeals for equality in costly clothes
Commercial novelty for a selfish aim
Hollywood's hobby now an English game
And I saw some of the Bafta’s last night
Our glittering display of celluloid might
It's the pre-orgasm Oscars; UK foreplay
Little real talent, but yet, so much to say
Some political posturing to make it real
All ignored when it's time to cut a new deal
And I watched about as much as I dare
But does anyone but the business care?
And I confess, it troubled me to distress
To see former beauties become aged actress
Bearded men abound and everyone guesses
They'd rather wear their partner's designer dresses

Friday, February 10, 2017

Paint

On a Scots highland holiday
Under a clear and blue sky
Looking out to a majestic vista
Beside the shimmering loch
We all painted pictures
Of tall green mountains
With veins of silver water
In jest we painted together
To make small treasures to keep
But now when I look upon it
I see the colours of our souls
Perhaps we painted heaven
In small strokes of innocence
I hope it resembles your drawing
Now that you are first to travel there
First, to become emotion unbound
Among the horses and meadows




Wednesday, February 08, 2017

Stage


For none clearly sees the aim
When at stake is Twitter fame
The world's becomes a new stage
On which the liberals now rage
But forgive the eccentric topics
Of all these ill-advised myopics
Protest is all very well and good
But don't do it because you could
And so, round and round, it goes
Where it will stop, nobody knows 

Saturday, February 04, 2017

Demo


Finally at last, the weekend is here
Now's the time for a new demo my dear
Don't worry what we will protest about
Just so long as we dance, scream and shout
We'll wave high our placards and banners
Shout f**k and c**t to show our bad manners
And don't wonder if will it do any good
All this venting of media-led bad blood
When Monday comes, we'll be at home
With consciences as shiny as chrome
For when all is said and done
Here in the safe suburbs protesting is fun
We'll drink latte; update our social feeds
With tall stories of our valiant deeds
And in the real world nothing will change
And no one seems to find it strange 

Thursday, February 02, 2017

Pictures

Some recent pictures I have taken while out walking around Entwistle Reservoir





Tread


We softly tread upon a starlit lawn
To gaze upon the fiery birth of dawn
As bats now withdraw and owls still
Sunrise crests above the eastern hill
In nascent shimmer does light awakes
Another new day the world now makes
Bees soar out from their waxy hive
The world is up and humming alive
On lavender, thyme, chive and box
Their day unfurls as nature knocks
I know the world is a pitiful place
Yet here I see another gentler face
If we all took some time to see wonder
So much strife we could put asunder
Before day and danger has beckoned
Be at peace in a green, sunny second