Cars and then more cars
Bikes and then more bikes
People and thankfully people
Milling around the city

Bars and then more bars
Takeaways and then more takeaways
Life and thankfully life
Milling around the city

Through Chinatown
The man wears a gown
And makeup and a wig
On the way to his gig
As a drag queen

The Museum
Full of glass
Housing the past
Where the young to the last
Stare in wonder

Rivers and canals
Flowing under bridges
Glistening brown and murky
Keeps me a little perky
As dog walkers study the depths

Street lights and sirens
Smells of exotic foods
Tempting to the thought of eating
Like lions upon a herds meeting
Nothing can compare

Music loud and booming
From the clubs along the streets
As we dance the night away
While time leads us astray
I love my days in the city

Coughing and laughing
In the mouth and out the mouth
******* the stick fast and slow
Smokers of the world I understand you  
Don’t feel shame and don’t feel bad
Cause you feel you smoke to cope
It’s not all about that really
It’s a pleasure and a release
A fun tool when in company
Yes it can still **** and **** it still can
But treat it with moderation
Don’t abuse its powerful pull
Just treat it like a friend
Don’t have sixty cause that’s just greed
Certainly don’t have eighty
Cause your wallets will bleed
Just have maybe two
And when in company maybe five or four
Smoking isn’t a curse
Or a society nuisance
It’s just life and it’s furniture
Nothing more and nothing less

Beneath the clouds
All vegetable on the rocks
He resides
From human eyes

Large and still
And ignored by the gulls
Only seen by a few
Between dimensions old and new

Phantoms are not all human
Or hairy cats and dogs
Some dwell under the winds chorus
Like the ghost of the singing walrus

Often mistaken for the crashing waves
Heard by the sailors while at sea
The walrus bellows its beautiful sound
Like a waterfall hitting the ground

One day the walrus will find the light
And slip to somewhere new
But for now as the earth spins along
The walrus will forever sing it song

I smell the sun as he creeps around
Lighting my rooms and hurting my eyes
The flowers welcome him
And the birds fly to him
Through the warming air where the clouds rise

I feel the sun as she heats my skin
With prongs that casually burn
The rivers fear her
And the windows absorb her
Whilst winter awaits it’s turn

I watch the sun rising up
Flooding the sky with yellow
The air swims around him
And the planes fly beneath him
As he brightly says hello

I have sisters
Different in every way
With different views and different faces
Which change from day to day

I have sisters
Much loved equally the same
And they argue like cat and dog
And they never take the blame

I have sisters
With ambitions completely apart
I’m so proud of everyone of them
They’re like anchors in my heart

I have sisters
Who I speak to on the phone
Some a bit more than others
But none of them are left alone

I have sisters
Who are always in my mind
Worrying about how they are
I’ll never leave them behind

I’ve seen this before
A long long time ago
But I’ll watch it anyway
Cause I like it
Word for word
Scene for scene
And that bit where that happens
Brilliant

I’ve not seen this one
But everyone else has
So I’m pleased I’m watching it
Cause I missed it
First time round
Whilst at work
When all the world discussed it
Frustrating

I’ve forgot about this one
It just escaped my mind
Which isn’t like me
I usually remember everything
Especially funny episodes
Which make me laugh
And pull me in
Thankful

I didn’t like this one
It was pretty crap
Even for me
And I’m quite tolerant
But I’ll watch it again
Cause it seems better now
And I’m enjoying it more
Re-runs

Who’d be a father or a mother today
In this world of encapsulating madness
Trying to wrestle your mind away
From the enigma
That is sons and daughters

A man isn’t really fussy
He’s generally just care free
A pair of jeans and a bobbled shirt
That usually does it for me
But some men are being taken over
Their creating dilemmas of their own
Trying on various eye piercing shirts
Then do nothing but tut and moan
Trying on a hundred pairs of shoes
Which seems pointless in my view
Because unless your born near Chernobyl
There’s only enough room for two
And then there’s the endless brylcream
All foaming and slightly wet crap
Slapping it down and shaping it up
I prefer water from out of a tap
Where’s the casual look gone
The look that’s says you just don’t care
That age old practice of the male species
Now replaced by what to wear

Page completely empty
Waste bin completely full
Nothing is coming through
No magic can I pull
Standing and walking around
Sipping lemon tea
Why can’t I put down a line
Why is this happening to me
Talk to me oh brain
Give just one solitary thought
Just a little bit of a tale
Instead of endless nought
I think I need to escape the house
Somewhere I can take stock
I’ll take a stroll to the local pub
And try and cure my writers block

I woke on the Sunday
To the glorious sound of music
Whistling round my room
And into the very piping of my soul
Cause my father was a dreamer
A listener of all and everything
That was the warmest I felt then
When the sounds splashed against my face
Of course he was completely oblivious
To the lifting it created in my shell
As I snuggled in my quilt
Enjoying the bond it was creating between us

Saddled, unsaddled
Wild and free
We love to run
My horses and me

Up the hills
Across the town
Sometimes lazily
In my dressing gown

They belong to me
My equine friends
Much more fun
Then a house of hens

I admire their colours
And their nasal sounds
As we ride together
Around the grounds

A crate of oysters and then some more
Carried by two on the beach
To weary sailors casting their nets
Seizing fishes just within reach
So fun could be had in the bedroom
Between man and his wife
As sailing between choppy waters
Really isn’t much of a life
But oysters solve the problem
Of dullness when away at sea
Slippery and wet strange little things
Will happy a sailors wife be

All is quiet as my brood all sleep
Crazy days and insane ways
The memories are mine to keep

On golden sands we merrily play
With cricket bat and bluish ball
My role of fatherhood guides my way

I watch them closely with love
Protective and loving
As the sun shines up above

We eat fish and chips close to the sea
An immense sense of pride stirs
Observing the resemblances of me

Knowing I need to steer them along
Through their up and downs
In our arms they will always belong

We kiss and roll then sit back up
My lady and me in the grass
The fields of gold
We were promised as kids
Never seems to grow old

We eat our food and give a smile
My lady and me at peace
The beautiful sunset
That was in our hearts
Never has escaped us yet

We stare at the sun
My lady and me in the heat
The picturesque sky
From our story books
Will be here until we die

We stroll back home hand in hand
My lady and me in love
The soul mate senses
We’ve always wanted
Never leaves and never condenses

We spoon in our bed
My lady and me me together
The world carries on outside
And the dreams we forge closely
Stay with us never to hide

My friend my only friend
Listening to my plights
Never leaving my side
When I’m lonely and feeling sad

Joking and sometimes cajoling me
With acidic unnerving wit
But always out of fondness
Leaving me no doubt of your love

A life so solitary and dismal
Without love or human companionship
From male or female kind
You’ve never let me down

Piers and concert halls
To party’s and royal performances
We speak like brothers often do
And you guide me all the way

Made from wood and speckles of paint
With a flat cap and a suit
Smiling from ear to ear
The vision of insane happiness

Listen to me just one last time
As I open the bottle of rounding pills
And swallow them in quick succession
Then kiss your head goodbye my only friend

Guns, guns
Like the Wild West
The boy runs around
In a ***** vest
Shooting water
Like Al Capone
He has no help
He’s all alone
Past the church
And down the streets
The urban warrior
With heart beats
Angel child
Diamond rough
These chiselled bricks
Have made him tough
Suburban angel
Boy of man
Shows the zest
Of Peter Pan

Down by the river
And across the grass
Where the cows roam
And the ramblers pass
Sits my house
A small decrepit thing
Like a humming bird
With a broken wing
Two rooms up
And three rooms down
There’s barely enough space
For my dressing gown
But I like it really
Cause I’m a bit of a loner
The simple mess
Fits my persona
Nobody comes
And nobody goes
Except the wind
That frequently blows
Now off you go
And don’t come back
If you follow me again
I’ll give you a smack

Walls of crumble
Posters of exhibition
Drum beats, cymbals and electrics
Flow through the annex
Piano keys are dancing
Songs bounce on the air
And vending machines release
In the old gothic corridor
Bags, books and pens
Projectors, desks and improvisation
Movement and stretching
In the mirrors of a dance studio
Cafe, pool table and laughter
Cigarette smoke up my nostril
Small television up on a shelf flashing
As Motörhead seeps from the jukebox
Rehearsals for a play
Nerves slowly stand to attention
Then the applause from the crowd
Before the scaffold and lights come down
Off to the pub for beer
The gang of goths terrify on the street
Being kissed quite unexpectedly
When naive and unworldly
Now home slumped on the sofa
Head spinning like a top
Up at a ludicrously late time of day
Back to college for more

When the rain has ended
And the soil is soft and wet
I will remember my beautiful garden
The closest thing that I could get
To perfection on a scale
That I could never reach in life
Because the world is just to demanding
As it cuts you like a knife

Draining all your energy
And chipping away at your soul
Leaving you lost and empty
As you stare into a hole
Of despair and a bleak future
That doesn’t seem to end
Enclosing like a nightmare
Without love from a decent friend

Until I found my garden
Which ultimately found me
Calling me in for attention
As I planted my first tree
Then I turned over the soil
And watched the flowers grow
Such a feeling of overwhelming peace
Before the rain started to flow

Am I the possessed
Or am I the possession
Am I the jury
Or the court in full session
Am I the important letter
Or the stamp that makes it go
Am I the hardback book
Or the words that make it flow
Am I the shimmering sea
Or the fish that live below
Am I the clear blue sky
Or the sun that loves to glow
Am I the yellow daffodils
Or the honey made by the bee
Am I the fronting facade
Or am I just me

Hello love bird
Where have been hiding lately
I missed you down at the bar
Shining so brightly

Hello love bird
Why did you leave so soon
I wanted to talk like we used to
When the world used to stop

Hello love bird
Do you remember me now
I would love us to get together
One day soon

As the fireworks fly and then they die
The Prosecco erupts in the thin glass cups
And the music plays through drunken sways
We remember 2020

The crappiest of years full of misery and tears
When hospitals swelled and and claps were held
Laptops boomed and people zoomed
We remember 2020

But let’s now move on from this
That misery and stupid bliss
Let’s start in 2021
With sunshine and lots of fun
Just watch the vaccines roll
As they reach their ultimate goal
Of lifting the world
To a place
Of beauty and the upmost of grace

Let’s drink and catch up once again
In the snow in the sun in the rain
And hug like never before
The minute we open the door
Cause for me the world has just begun
In the new year of 2021

The cherries roll around and around
The bell shows it face
Three of them and your in the money
There will be coins flying all over the place

Press the hold button and press it quick
Cause the grapes are worth a score
And then the machine starts being a swine
It doesn’t love you anymore

The bell is back and looking strong
The bars are showing a bit
And again the machine takes your cash
Why is it being a ****

It’s being like this for the simple reason
It’s a machine without a heart
All it wants is your well earned money
Your wages will do for a start

Through long stupid grass and over big stupid stones
We wandered for hours
Just me and you
All alone

Saying we’re almost there
But not sounding convincing
Saying we’re almost here
Whilst letting the curiosity in

And then we hit the summit
What a beautiful view
The valley spreads like an ocean
A beauty revealed by you

Saying isn’t this amazing
My mind is lost in space
Saying isn’t this amazing
How did you find this place

Now I know why I love you
You produce rabbits from a hat
This is why I’ll always be your man
Cause you keep my soul in existence

Hello up there my old friend
Up there
Conducting the orchestra
Making them play
In your own special way
Hello up there my old friend

Hello up there my old pal
Up there
Playing the song
Waving hello
Making them glow
Hello up there my old pal

Hello up there my old mate
Up there
Reading the map
Guiding them around
Feet on the ground
Hello up there my old mate

Hello up there my old flower
Up there
With one eye on us
Watching us all
Standing tall
Hello up there my old flower

I’ll probably fall asleep again
After a few cans of lager
But I don’t want to tonight
I want too enjoy the peace
Enjoy the freedom
Listen to the snoring from other rooms
The rain if it starts
The radiators making strange sounds
I want to listen to my mind churning
Thinking about the topics of the day
About football
About friends
About family
I want to watch old comedy
That remind me of being young
I want to......

**** the alarms just gone off
I fell asleep

A gift for me
Left at my door
Placed in a box
But nothing more

I open the gift
Left in my care
It’s a curious thing
Who left it there

It wags its tail
Left to be cared for
A little bundle of hair
Lifts its paw

I carry it in the house
Left by a friend who’s seen
My smile had disappeared lately
A wave of sadness I have been

I stroke it ever so warmly
Left to be my friend
The puppy that I will call happiness
And will love to the very end

We chase it we chase it
The car going fast
The cackle of delinquent
Hangs in the air
And we know it’s there
Across the grass it goes
Leaving holes in the soil
A wicked excitement follows
Then boom it’s on fire
From roof to tyre
Squeals of delight
Feeling of sadness
A persons pride and joy
The tool thats goes from A to B
Up in smoke like a firework set free

They stumble down the embankment
All bomber jackets and heavy boots
Shouting loud obscenities with venom
Swearing allegiance to the *******
The upbringing of a damaged world
And undisputed seeds of damaged minds

They hide in the shadows of the bridge
Terrified little boys clinging to each other
Poor unsuspecting victims of hatred
Innocent young hearts of a different belief
Praying to be safe and alive
Behind the sanctuary of a ***** old mattress

Displaying a rage so disturbing
As they stumble close to the waters edge
Throwing stones in menace
That cause ripples in the water
They laugh like tormented hyenas
Who terrorise animals in the wild

Hearts pounding underneath the rib cage
And sweat dripping from their brows
They huddle together in fear
Echoes of school bullies
And running for their lives down streets
Reverberate around their minds

Then a hand grabs quick
And a fist rains hard
Screams are stifled
As blood flows slowly into the river
And then silence
Accompanies the mattress as it floats away

He wrote for a second
A line about me
And then changed his mind
The ***** little coward
Sat up cosy in my tree
I glared from my window
At the pen in his hand
I’m just another scandal
To sell a filthy rag
Not an ounce of truth in it
The swine just wants to lie
Then out he goes
Hurts his leg in the fall
I pick up his pad
And eat the page
Before I push him over the wall
The swine just wants to lie

Shrubs grow wild along the empty tarmac
Lizards scurry through endless grass
Headlights shine over the cracked concrete
As the juggernauts fly down
Their horns bellowing like bagpipes
Drivers with corroded souls
And broken down hearts
Through divorces and estranged children
Listening to country and rock
Whilst drinking coffee from big cups
Going past Tony’s Diner
Lit up like a Christmas tree
Gasoline pumps rattling in the breeze
The trucks litter the carpark
Like milk cartons upright in a fridge
Inside the waitress pours the jug
Into large plain mugs
Then places plates down
With pancakes and jam
She smiles a sweet pleasant smile
And returns to behind the counter
Through the window the grizzly biker
All yellow fingered and wiry haired
Watch’s a couple hand in hand
Kissing between giggles
Thumbing down vehicles
Hoping the drivers to be sane
On their way to stardom
Billboards flash breakfast cereal adverts
And the latest movie trailers
Until a bulb flickers then dies into the night
Crickets laugh and cackle
Along the green and stony embankments
That lie under neon motorway signs
Directing traffic and leading the way
Birds fly from trees en mass
Like a scene from a horror movie
Before the animals run between cars
Some survive but some don’t
Then as the moon kisses the clouds
On the road of the ******
Dreams are lost but never forgotten
For eternity and forever more

Kisses on my face
All sloppy and wet
A dream of a man on the brink of waking
They are the best ones yet

A smile of a face
Full of beauty and fun
As the light comes through a tiny window
Made by the eternal sun

In a world of questions and chaos
I believe she was made for me
Through the pains and trials of social ills
Her radiance is a joy to see

Tough as old boots but made of heart
A reassurance wrapped in leather
I cross my fingers and long to believe
That we will always be together

A question is worthless
If not without means
All clocks are just pointless
Without hands and mechanical beans
A day is extremely dull
When the wake up isn’t right
The moon doesn’t thrill
If the clouds cover her sight
Grass ceases to grow
After disruption by human endeavours
Birds won’t fly so high
Without wings and colourful feathers
People cannot talk
When freedoms are taken away
And societies cease to exist
If oppression gets in its way

The penguin it flew
Yes it flew
Way up high
Away from the zoo
Away from the people
The kids
And the noise
Into the clouds
With grace and poise
And then it got tired
It peaked too soon
As it soared past a satellite
On the outskirts of the moon
It started to fall
Swiftly back down
Through the clouds
And into the town
Bounced on a tree branch
And rolled over roofs
It landed on a bus heading for the zoo
Then it splashed onto the pool
Back where it belonged
Then did a little swim
And sang a little song
What an adventure
What a day
But it couldn’t talk for long
Cause sleep got in the way

The woman saunters by the stream
Then kneels and strokes the water so blue
A million stars shine up above
She does a gentle sneeze - atchoo
Humming a song she knows from youth
As her ears become one with the breeze
Earths chorus lights up the night
And bounces through the trees
A woman alone is not a good thing
In this place of wicked ills
But the cross she wears around her neck
Serves as a protector against evil wills
Her wrinkling face seems effervescent
And sadness exudes from her face
Blood sees her exit the mortal coil
As the mans shadow takes her place

He knocked and he knocked
And he knocked for hours
Under the gaze of the April showers

The door stayed closed
No answer came
Everyday, just the same

He threw a stone
Up at the window
But no sign of a light glow

A car speeds by
His eyes quickly drift
Sadly as, a curtain lifts

Then off he goes
Trudging in sorrow
The same time he’ll be back tomorrow

So there it is in black and white
The thing has finally arrived
A formal page that means much more
Puts an end to our marital lives

I didn’t see this coming
Just a tiff that stayed too long
But once that tiff started bouncing
It exploded into a song

What do I do now
I mean how do I carry on
You didn’t wait around I see
He arrived the second I was gone

Maybe I could try dating
I’m a man with needs after all
The internet is a curious beast
I guess I could give it a call

A worthless piece of paper
Made from a thousand trees
It’s what you wanted in the end
That and the house keys

Goodbye then and good riddance
You were a waste of space
I just wish you’d had the decency
To not wave your affair in-front of my face

Your love came over me like the tides
Of the largest oceans and seas
Flowing through my hair and over my face
Bringing me to my knees

A love so strong isn’t natural
It should be under lock and key
But that would even more criminal
Cause I need it to be free

Like in a spiders web I was caught
It was pleasure though and not for death
Cause the aura you released at me
Could stop my heart and freeze my breath

The time went into slow motion
By a chance meeting on the train
This world I knew until that point
Went flushing down the drain

I wonder why you came along
Maybe it was just meant that way
The feelings the same all these years after
It will never ever go away

A portrait on the wall
I remember from youth
Famine
Of a man clothed in rags
With wolves by his side
Famine
Stars twinkling brightly
By the artists fair hand
Famine
A million times I’ve viewed it
Mouth wide in awe
Famine
Find me a fortune
So I can buy it to keep
Famine
I’ll love that painting
Till the day I sleep
Famine

Darts, darts
A game for old farts
Simply not true
They’re younger than you
Sharp metal tips
Postured hips
Into the green, then the red
Nothing better than three in a bed
Treble twenty and double top
When will the excitement stop
Darts, darts
A game for old farts

If we, as mere mortals, cannot grab the world
By its throat and correct it
Then how, do we
Expect our children to
Maybe if we changed ourselves
At the age that we are
Then our children will see
That anything is possible
That anything can change
That people can make things better
That happier times can come
Maybe if we changed ourselves

I was gripped by a wild frenzied fear
Twisting through my flesh
Digging around my bones
Tingling my skin
Blood shot come my eyeballs
As the beast entered within

A solitary walk on the empty moors
When the howl echoed the night
And then the piercing growl
Through dense smothering fog
Something unearthly lived
That was no ordinary dog

It knocked me down
Onto the wet slippery grass
The putrid breath in my face
And the devil red eyes
That ****** themselves into my soul
Plotting my demise

Bang went the shotgun
Loud and full of life
I laughed from my stomach
A laugh of joy
Then cried as I turned
To see the naked boy

Always in a hurry
Like a butchers knife
Cutting through life
The world is in a hurry

Why don’t we just slow down
Don’t treat your time
Like it’s bad or a crime
Just try and slow down

Take a step back
And breath in it
For more than a minute
Time now to step back

Where did I go
When I ate my breakfast this morning
Where did I go
When I got myself dressed
Where did I go
As I looked in the mirror
Where did I go
That man I used to know
My hair looks very different
And a beard covers my face
My eyes seem all puffy
And my hair is out of place
My skin is showing wrinkles
And my nose now has hairs
My face is faint and thin
Like a stranger just moved in
Where did I go
When I closed eyes after forty
Where did I go
When my body started to change
Where did I go
When I struggled with my clothes
Where did I go
Is the age just starting to show

I passed a man in the lobby
He was as silent as the midnight hour
His face was as white as Christmas snow
And his demeanour was dull and dour

I passed the man again that day
Not one word left his lips
It was like the world around me stopped
As a coldness passed through my hips

I never saw the man again
He disappeared into the night air
The most unusual feeling was left with me
When normally I wouldn’t really care

Who was the man I’d only seen twice
And why did he have to go
Without the simplest flash of a smile
Or the courtesy of saying hello

And then I saw the painting
Hung like a memory on the wall
Of the man who passed me quietly
As I wandered down the hall

His face was all tired and grey
Looking like a chap of deception
He must be someone of importance
As he overlooked the hotel reception

I enquired to the desk clerk
Who is the gent up above
That is the owner of the hotel
Mr Henry J Love

Then I was hit by thunder
As my heart beat with dread
He won’t be with us tonight though sir
The mans been thirty years dead

She’s gives me the ice cream
Then takes it away
Playfully and full of fun
But a bit naughty also
Curly haired and sweet
With a mischievous grin
Portuguese I’m told
She can be whatever she wants
For me

From under the salty tasting waves
Skin fused with slime and sand
Comes the serpent
Teeth like jagged rocks
It’s spring loaded jaw snapping in the air
A boat on the water
Floats along silently
Unaware of the danger to come
All is calm until...
CRUNCH! Goes the wood of the hull
Broken like twigs on a branch
Bodies slung up into the air
Like bread being tossed to the ducks
Screams awash the portrait like sky
And then silence
Blood covers the foamy waters
Like paint onto an artists canvas
The serpent has come
And fed its belly
It’s rotten dark putrid belly
Awash with bone and flesh and wood
Down it’s drifts
Back into the depths of middle earth
Sleeping like a baby
Until interruption brings it forth
To wreak havoc once more

She had glasses
I had none
We talked a little
And then she was gone
Didn’t even catch her name
And she didn’t catch mine
But for those few brief hours
The world felt so fine
I could walk past her in the street
She could walk past me
Without the slightest recognition
Of a conversation we had at sea