I ran to my window
When I heard his steps
And watched him wander away
He whistled a sweet gentle tune
When War summoned him that day
We read his letters
Then laughed at his jokes
As he penned his tales of the world
He saw pyramids and lions in winter
And monkeys with tails that curled
But the nights seemed to get longer
Whilst the days started to drag
As we hid from enemy flyers
Everyday would always be the same
Waking to bricks and smoking fires
Then one day in the summer
My father finally came home
All motionless and very still
They said be thankful he's back
As his coffin rolled over the hill
He was a fine man a courageous man
A man who stood up strong
Said his sergeant with the minimum of fuss
But I know he died unhappy
Cause he didn't serve with us

Made of glass wood and cement
Thirteen monsters were council sent
Families lived in high rise flats
And children roamed with the dogs and cats
A little park near a collection of shops
The bus drove round a circle of stops
***** old lifts with gum on the floors
Held strange odours and graffiti on the doors
Darkened stair wells where creatures hid
Causing havoc like delinquents did
Behind the flats the landslide sprawled
Bees buzzed and insects crawled
The river flowed under a bridge which spanned
Connecting the residents to grassy land
Happy people but rough round the edges
As they peered from windows and leant over ledges
Bikes on balconies and clothes hanging down
The disillusioned youth wearing a frown
Drunken rows and secret affairs
All newcomers were greeted with stares
Tiny halls and narrow little rooms
The strange feeling of living in tombs
Sad faces watched the explosion together
The homes they once shared now gone forever

Holy are the
                         birds Holy is
                         the sun Holy
                         is the ground
that we walk upon Holy are the trees  
Holy is the rain Holy are the memories that nest in our brain Holy is the grass Holy is the snow Holy is the darkness    
                      that lurks when
                      times are low
                      Holy is the new
                      born Holy are
                      the seas Holy is
                      a flag blown in
                      the breeze Holy
                      are soldiers Holy
                      is the night Holy
                      is a boxer hurt
                      in the fight Holy
                      are the animals
                      Holy is me Holy
                      are people on the
                      road to be free

My feet trudge through the sand
The searing heat is unrelenting
And the wind whispers my name
As the shadow takes my hand

No face has this ghoul
It's blackness pitched at full
Hypnotised by its power
Im it's follower, it's fool

The icy shimmering waves
Turn my body limb and lifeless
Fear suddenly engulfs me
Its me the phantom craves

The saltwater makes me choke
My assailant touches my face
I now see who led me here
And my voice lets out a croak

Father please release me
I fear that I'm going to die
Then darkness surrounds my being
I wash up for people to see

I walk across the grass
And read the stone
A question I ask
Were they alone

Did they die at peace
Or was the world tough
Was death a release
Had they just had enough

I know it seems morbid
To think in that way
People probably think it's horrid
What my mind has to say

When I think of the lives
It hurts me inside
Pretty flowers are left
For people who have died

I pass through the iron gates
To see who's around
What does my future hold
Before I go underground

***** old harbour where the boats moor
And the locals idly wander by
I sit with my easel on the grass
And stare into the sky
The splash of paint on canvas
Makes me complete in my soul
Majestic colours above me
A clear blue day brings me to extol
The gesticulation between the boat men
As they cast they're nets into the deep
Makes me fill with awe and wonder
At the secrets they have to keep
Ripples glide along the water
And my brush captures the sight
Then I rest myself back down again
To watch the waves in white
I stand and stretch my arms
While above birds fly in a V
I contemplate where to go next
Somewhere beautiful somewhere free

I shook his hand respectfully on a warm sunny day
And thanked him for coming along
With the formalities out of the way
We prayed and he sang a song
Then I asked him a series of questions
Which I believed were important to me
And he gave me a variety of suggestions
‘These will help you’ were his words ‘you just wait and see’
I asked him about natural disasters
And priests that had done such wrong
He replied that man is damaging what it masters
And in his fathers eyes those people don't belong.
I asked why terrorists are killing the masses
And will their minds ever be free
He said we’re getting wiser as everyday passes
And their fanaticism will soon cease to be.
Then finally I had one more issue
And his answer was clear and plain
I wiped my eyes with a tissue
When he told me ‘yes, one day I will rise again’.