The red crimson liquid splatters onto the leather upholstery
As the gleaming machine passes through the crowd in the sun
Remember this day November 22nd 1963
As the day America stood still
Oh and how the ladies are howling
And the children cling to their mothers hands
Crying not at the sight of death but rather at the noise
Men fall to the floor in fear dreading another shot
As the zapruder films, one shot, two shots, dead
Pandemonium, chaos, no one really knows what to do
The cars eerily carry on driving along
The president of America John F Kennedy
Has been assassinated today

I watch them come and go
All pretend love and fake smiles
With the odd little genuine moment
As their tears flow for miles

Prison camp The Willows nursing home
As to us its affectionately known
The place for useless old sloths
Who watch a screen and sit all alone

Lunch time then regular medication
Sometimes an afternoon nap
I try not to do that myself though
I’m still to young for that crap

Then again who am I kidding
With my legs like jelly in a bowl
And a double chin hiding cobwebs
I’m as stiff as a telegraph pole

A young nurse reminds me of me
Vivacious and full of life
The only difference being of course
Is I had a husband while she has a wife

David is coming in soon
My son and my little solider
Everytime I see him these days
He looks that little bit older

Mackerel on toast for dinner
Not really my cup of tea
Jam stuffed in a large bulbous doughnut
Now that would do for me

Just having a sip of tea
The last thing I can just about do
Thinking of the pleasant thought
That you’ll be here one day to

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

Here am I
Growing in the rain
Forgotten by humanity
A stem with no brain
Charmless and ugly
Often hurled
The useless feature
Of a dying world
But you are wrong
There’s more to me
Cause I’m alive
Can’t you see
With my beautiful leaves
And my amazing shade
My looks will stay
As yours will fade
I am beauty
With a radiant glow
Spreading my magic
As the wind starts to blow
Don’t ignore me
Or stand on my soul
This here is a wonder
Growing out of this hole
In this land of nature
I am strong in my tower
The majestic and the mighty
The narcissist little flower

Kisses are like bliss
Spellbinding and hard to resist
Be it lover, mother, father or brother
Sister, cat, secret person or other

Kisses are like bliss
The kind of thing you don’t want to miss
Different meanings from happiness to pain
Warm or cold like droplets of rain

Kisses are like bliss
You try to decide if you want to enlist
Cherish them like gold dust
They don’t die they don’t rust

Kisses are like bliss
Slamming down like an iron fist
Just have them there and then
Cause they may not come again

I miss them
Mother and father
Sister and sister and another sister
Nephews and nieces
All the bits and pieces
That make up my tree
Friends and their folk
People I often see
They mean the world to me
Yes I miss them
I hope to see them soon
Face to face
Not on a phone
Or technical interface
To give them a hug
Or to just say hello
Remind them Im here
In case they didn’t know
Yes I miss them
I’m counting down the hours
Ticking off the days
Even though it’s not clear
How this story plays
And I can finally see their faces
I can finally touch their skin
We can laugh and we can cry
Releasing the love we’ve all kept in
Yes I miss them

What shall I write
What shall I say
My minds gone blank
Just walked away

Maybe it’s tiredness
Maybe I’m bored
I’ll just hang around
Till my head is cured

Let’s start with A
Let’s start with The
The magic might start
Between P and B

What shall I write
What shall I say
My words have left me
They’ve just walked away

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 couple of seconds in
She asked me what I thought
Of tutors who charged the earth
And I just said nothing
I’m self taught
She asked me about my father
And if we still got on
Did he admire my work
So I replied
To him I’m not a son
Then she asked me would I
Ever paint women in the ****
To which I laughed
Very loudly
Cause that’s a bit too rude
And finally she questioned my marriage
Was it on the rocks
Well put it this way
I said pretty lady
It never left the docks

Say my name
But say it loud
And I will come
Like a cloud
Hear my tap
And my distant call
Cause I’m around you
Spirit and all
Wrapping you up
Keeping you warm
Hurting the negative
As it starts to swarm
I’ll guide your head
Cause I know it’s torn
You’ll feel special again
Like the day you were born
Say my name
But say it loud
I’m all all around you
Like a cloud

Walking along
In a daze
I felt the sun and all his rays
A little thing that life had stole
Started returning
My precious soul
Spirits lifted through my skin
As beautiful thoughts
Drifted in
I wanted to live amongst the crowd
My new found strength
Made me proud
What lay in store I didn’t know
But I made a promise
To give it a go
Walking along
In vibrant sways
I thank the sun and all his rays

She rolled around in knee high boots
All flirty with the grass
I placed my hand on her head
I’d got with her at last
We giggled for a life time
And made love for a million years
The insects were watching us in wonder
I could hear them in my ears
And then we spoke about nothing
But all the world come out
Silly little conversations
That none of us knew nothing about
We forgot about the time
The love got in the way
Fifty years and still as strong
It feels like yesterday

I used to have a friend
Or did he have me
We spoke for several hours
About family about games about tv

I used to have a friend
Or was he really there
I chased him around and around the house
Then watched him sit and stare

I used to have a friend
Who would tell me to be bad
So much that my parents would scold me
And then I’d feel sad

I used to have a friend
But one day he just disappeared
No goodbye no note no reason
As quick as he appeared

I used to have a friend
Who was imaginary I feel
But to me in those childhood days
He was there and he was real

I used to have a friend
When he went I had to make more
I suppose though if you ever came back
We could talk like we did before

Just a quick puff
And I don’t know why
I know it can **** me
I know I can die
The thin slender stick
Burning in my fingers
Creates an odour
That sticks and lingers
I watch its orange glow
Smouldering in my hand
It’s give a buzz like nothing else
Im like Columbus finding land
I know it a filthy habit
Addiction unforeseen
But god it gives me something
This thing called nicotine

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

A tiny little island
Made of unusual interesting people
All milling around
Doing pretty much nothing
The beach is completely deserted
Why is a beach deserted
The streets empty as space
What a place this is
It’s warm yet cool
And the shops sell towels
Which is funny
Cause nobody is on the beach
An ice cream parlour
Just near the sea
Is nice not for the ice cream
But because the girl is flirting
I wander into a music shop
And buy some tapes
It’s not like home
Because it’s quiet
What a place this is
But I have to go home
Why oh why
Do I have to go home

They say poetry is dead
Like a pencil without any lead
They say nobody writes
Like a holiday without the sights
They say written verse is dying
My friends they are all just lying
They say the books have dried up
Like tea leaves at the bottom of a cup
They say that interest has ceased
Like a chalet no longer leased
They say we’re running out of verses
Like hospitals without nurses
They say the day will come fast
When poetry becomes a thing of the past
They say this but its not what I believe
It’s just what society wants us all to perceive