Body Parts

A poem from 2018

Separated at a blood-filled birth

Not to spend a day on earth

Separated in the womb

Conceived and murdered in my tomb

You didn’t want me, sealed my doom

I am not alone

There was a joy in my heart you could never know

Your life is not your own

I don’t want you to be confused about that

You may taste me on your lips

You may feel me cover your face

You may swallow me whole

You may derive life from my death

Could I be your saviour yet?

Can you see me in your dreams?

Can you hear me in the streets?

Does the noise of the world drown me out?

Do the tablets make me fade away?

A snappy slogan and clap your hands

In the end there are no magic wands

And so you carry on with life

Your soul harvested by men in suits

Sold a dream, a life of the free

Panacea for every disease

Did you know that that was me?

When you look back at the very end

When every word flashes up again

I know I could have been your friend

I want you to be clear about that

Spare a thought for this poor lamb

In a world that does not give a damn

Stay amused, state-sanctioned scam

And it won’t be long til it’s your turn

To be ripped apart before you burn

It's Autumn O'clock

A poem from 2018

It's autumn o'clock
And the year is winding down
And though the year is fake
The coming cold and winter heating bills aren't

It's autumn o'clock
And life is winding down
And though the year is dying
The coming resurrection and renewal won't fail us

Lucky Cat

Listen to an audio recital

A poem from 2018

Ching chong ching chong chicky chong ching

Wing wong wing wong wicky wong wing

Sing song sing song sicky song sing

Ning nong ning nong nicky nong ning

One life, two lives, three lives, four

Five, six, seven lives, eight and more

Till my ninth life passes away

I’ll sleep and scratch and bite and play

Bing bong bing bong bicky bong bing

King kong king kong kicky kong king

Ding dong ding dong dicky dong ding

Ming mong ming mong micky mong ming

Diminshing Returns

A poem from 2018

The more you do it

The less fun it becomes

Each hit needs to be a little more extreme

Sinking sand

Dissatisfaction and boredom soon set in

Before you know it you're up to your neck

How can there be a brighter future

When the past was so much better?

There was money back then

And we were all happy

Now all we have is an ever changing slogan

Designed to keep everyone excited

So excuse me if I see past the ruse

And plan for my retirement

Somebody who shan't be named

Had ten thousand men

He marched them halfway up a hill

Then they ran out of food

They collapsed in a heap

And near died from exhaustion

Grand Old whatsisname

Said he wasn't to blame

Bigger, better, faster, more

Rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief

The body decays and turns to dust

And where did all those plans get you?

Be happy with your lot

Trust in your God

Zombie Face Paint

A poem from 2018

Living? Dead?
Living dead!
It's all pretend
But more real than you could ever know

Sheep

A poem from 2018

Like dogs licking blood in the streets

Like vultures picking apart a carcass in the desert

Like fish munching on the body of a decaying whale in the ocean

Devouring and devoured

In This War

A poem from 1986

island of my imprisonment

you ache so much that you should be scarred by war

tortured deep within your green fields

raped by men with parachutes

upon the open plain

men crawl out from your wounds

like maggots from Job’s sores

preparing for death

with their guns before them

rigid with naked fear and disillusionment

acting as a fleshy shield

to prevent the enemy bullet

from harming the second rank

nobody knows the trouble you’ve seen

the blood and bones you’ve been force-fed

the tin hats returning to their primal home

in this war there are only losers

Kate and Sidney

A poem from 2018

Kate and Sidney

The odd couple

In some ways so alike

In others far apart

Kate’s a funny girl

Pure at heart and solid

Sid’s a bit of a wide boy

And smells a little off

Many say they go together well

Their relationship is hot

Housed together in a firm embrace

Together they feel safe and loved

As for me, I like to get Kate alone

To be honest, Sid makes me feel queasy

Photo by Jelleke Vanooteghem on Unsplash

TFW

A poem from 2018

That face when you see your newborn baby

That face when you want to start a fight

That face when you find you won the lottery

That face when you hear a bump in the night

That face when you see a beggar boozing

That face when a loved one dies

That face when you read political scandal

That face when you hear a colleague's lies

One soul, animates, one face

The Artist

A poem from 2018

Even in daylight I need artificial light
Where others see an empty room
I see a world of imagination
Where hands kiss canvas
A prayer to channel temporal gift
A blank space filled with illusion
To enchant the onlooker's eye
To hope one pauses a moment
A heart lit up with joy

Concrete

A poem from 2018

She makes the most

Of what she's got

And let's be frank

It's not a lot

She thinks she's pretty

And super hot

But here's the truth

She's really not

Work In Progress

A poem from 2018

That life I painted in the past
I was never truly happy with it
Now I'm rubbing it out at last

I have left behind a mess
I am truly sorry for it
All my philosophy was a guess

Piece by piece the vision restored
I will truly seek to be it
Rejuvenated by the Lord

Invisibility Cloak

A poem from 2018

War has broken out

One third have defected

Rebellion

A conflict in which no one can die

Hidden agenda

Disinformation

Truth against lies

Two fathers battle

We don't see the fighting

We see the results

Who are our enemies?

A man who shouts in our face?

A woman who kills and eats her offspring?

The one who chains us for no good reason?

The one who robs, kills, destroys?

Lift the veil

Watch these goats who know not what they do

Eyes must be opened

And even then we get distracted by what we see