eleven

North Wind

Come, North Wind, breathe upon my eyes,
Freeze them so they might not see,
And through the veiled lens of ice,
A new world may appear:
Of towers, tall and dark and splintered,
And damsel flies
Like twinklings in the clouded air,
And robed figures dredging paths-
Innumerable, invisible
Ghost trod labyrinths

Freeze my hands so they no longer feel,
Envelope me, constrain me
O unrestrained spirit;
So that I might wrap my arms around myself,
And retreat into mine own
My very epicentre;
Howl at my voice and throw it back
So it sounds like the purest singing,
Steal my senses, one by one
And re-animate the soul

North Wind, dear North Wind
Don’t forget to remind me
And don’t remind me to forget.

ten

Amphibian

At home in the water
At home on the land
In your element
Wherever you land

Swift and adept
Swimming free,
Snatching a ripple
As quick as can be

Diving in shadows
Glinting like steel
Mysterious creature
What depths you reveal

They say that at one time
We were all just like you
And when I look in eyes sparkling
I’m sure it is true

nine

If a Tree Falls

Out there in the dense forest
Whispers are not heard
Words of love disappear into the shadows
Trees fall and still no-one hears
Just like the dense forest
A world thick with the vines of communication
Only the shouts of men with axes to grind
Make any noise

(no poem yesterday, tiring day with family)

eight

Hope Inc.

All it takes to be a mate
Is a little time and motion
All it takes to be a mate
Is a small show of emotion
Cry when I cry
Laugh when I laugh out loud
Be a shoulder, not a doormat
Stand out from the crowd

We are professional in love
Made and qualified for life
Dealing hearts and smiles apiece
A lust for living, and one for peace
Leaning out of windows
To gaze on moving streets
We are professional in love
The best you’ll ever meet
Top dog for the job in hand
Our hard work cant be beat

seven

Goodnight Sweet Prince

You stand in the centre of devastation
Calm like the eye of a storm
Catching a slow, slow breath
As your shoulders relax
And your arms droop
You drop the dagger
Put a hand to your eyes
Shut yourself in a
Dark, warm world
Just for a second
Scared to open your eyes again…
Justice metered out
Punishing those who have transgressed
Takes a lot out of you:
Suddenly without fury
Without energy
You are deflated and tiny
Go - find yourself a space
To grow again

six

Blue Greys

Spring snaps and bites, teeth bared
Like a tame dog, now turned scared
Too loved to be kicked away
Aggression once was play

Now grey clouds huddle in
And in the tearing wind:
The pain of freedoms passed -
The furthest to the last

By the long straight water
Gaia’s land-locked daughter
Strains hard to find the place
Where the sea and sky embrace


(no poem yesterday, was spending time in the sun...)

five

In Absentia (Jan 03)

She sits on the sand
Sotto voce, blaming the earth and the sky
All around her stormclouds gather their charge
To let go upon the saints and sinners
But for now, they are lined with gold satin
And peach silks, like powerful kings
Lying idly by in their billowing robes, and watching
And making momentary decisions.

four

Jewel (Jan 03)

I am many faceted
And in the shop window
Bathed by light
I glitter and shine
Surrounded by a myriad
Of sparkles and rainbows.
We have no use
But are priceless all the same
Immeasurable in value when combined
How can one measure us truly
Only with a smile

three

Kick the tower/spidermice

Climb up on my rocking horse
I said

I said

I could feel my heart
Pounding
In my head
My head

Kick the tower
Over now
I begged
I begged

Leave me while
I go to bed
To bed

All the while the
While I slept
The spidermice
Picked up on red and blue and
Yellow stacked as
If their life depended on it

two

Voice (Jan 03)

Still travelling and never arriving
The tune to the unwritten song, it never fits
So near home, but miles away
The home I couldn't recognise if I saw it
The words that one utters unto the self
That disappear unsung into the air
The thoughts that lie imprisoned and impoverished
Behind an empty and yet brimming stare
The innumerable roads that go untrodden
The random corners, all, they're disappeared
The signs go past unseen and unheeded
Blurred by the speed of fear
And even when you find the path
Hidden by the undergrowth of lies
It may lead into a dark and lifeless place
Filled with the sound of windbourne sighs
The rush of breathless journeying
And the pain of standing still
Wear out the mind and body
And perpetually ever will.

one

If luck was a bill that needs paying


If luck was a bill that needs paying
We’d be sending the bailiffs around
It’s been ignoring the Final Demands
And our patience is running thin

If luck was a bill that needs paying
The payment is way overdue
We’ve been waiting to get what is owing
Now we want to get heavy

But I want it to arrive without asking
Without any more of our work
Just turn up at the door any time
And we’ll say no more about it

If luck was a bill that needs paying
We’d be sending the bailiffs around
With muscle and suits and a clipboard
Making notes