Trolleys line the corridor
Like ships waiting to enter port.

In the resus room
Heart monitors clang
Like ships’ bells in the fog.

What use is a horse
If I cannot tame it
And ride to your rescue?
What use are the stars
If I cannot pluck them
From the trees
And light your window?
What purpose the rivers and hills
If I cannot offer them up
As gifts to you?

For RG.

On the day you passed
I was in Istanbul
And the ATM outside
The Radisson Blue Hotel lobby
Swallowed my card
And I couldn't work out
Who to contact for help

On the day you passed
I drank coffee in a bakery
On the street
Where the gypsy woman
Selling flowers
On the corner
Gave one to a stranger
Asking nothing in return

On the day you passed
The people in the hotel
Looked worried,
Said it was strange
But  I knew why
The sun went in
And it rained and rained
And the man on the corner
Yesterday selling sunhats 
Started selling umbrellas instead
And  I got drenched to the bone
And never wanted to see the sun again
Because I felt so sad and alone

Unwelcome, the berserkers stole in from the East,
On their long ships, shallow-bottomed beasts,
Swinging axe, ****** swords in hand,
Swearing death by Odin to all in this Christian land.

And though there was little gold to speak of,
They tore what there was from neck and alter both,
Then burned our homes before they left
With Peter’s daughter, leaving father bereft.

This is no life,
Merely an existence.
Where is the cunning
In scavenging for scraps
From these bins
In nocturnal gardens;
The most common rat
Does the same to survive!
I have heard our elders tell
Of the greenest fields and the sweetest grass;
And I have dreamed vividly once, too,
Of midnight hills and rivers -
An innate memory of a life
that has never been mine?

All the stars in all the skies
Are not as bright as my Love’s eyes.
Imagine all the seas pooled together,
Wild roses blended,
And yet they are not as deep and red as her lips
When I bend to kiss them.

Tonight Politicians continue to argue
about what is right or wrong,
Lower taxes or raise them
Create & break legislation like fences
Nurture corrupt ideology.

Yet  I am not disturbed-

My Love's hair shines like a host of golden suns,
There is the scent of a thousand crushed flowers
in the air.