At school, poetry was anything but cool
Reading Shakespeare, Dickinson, Austin and Hughes
Writing essays on the Capulets and Montagues
Every time that subject came up my brain went on snooze
Call it what you want, the ignorance of youth
Like maybe my young mind was too uncouth
It just didn’t feel like they were speaking the truth
***** waggle dagger’s just too long in the tooth
Although one day we done some knowledge on Poe
Some lines that man wrote made my interest grow
It wasn’t what he said it’s how he said it
He didn’t even say anything to me, it’s how I read it
It made me wanna write down my feelings
It felt healing, exorcising all my demons
As I wrote I could feel all the heaviness leaving
Giving my brain a spring cleaning
It’s very therapeutic to take an experience
Wrap it neatly in a metaphor for convenience
That’s one of many reasons I love the bard’s art
A bird tapping a man’s window was the start
Ever since then poetry’s been knocking
At my chamber door but this is no Lenore
Poetry shall lift my soul forever more
Forever more

Poetry soothes me, at other times it moves me
They tell stories like books, plays and movies
It’s personal and public, some hate it, others love it
Some use it to manipulate like puppets on strings
Some sing, some talk, they can run or they can walk
Ink, lead, electric or chalk
From London to New York
It’s a sport and a hobby, or a life’s work
It can make you speculate on what life’s really worth
Painting pictures with scriptures of literature
Read it Monday but it takes till Sunday to hit ya
And make you wonder how could a poet write
So succinctly how I’ve felt my whole **** life
My troubles and strife, my happiness and joy
Look back just like I do when I was a boy
Put into words so well how my first kiss felt
Summer time 99, I remember how the air smelt
Fresh cut grass and baking tarmac
As I turned to walk away the girl I kissed pulled my arm back
She looked at me and said that roses are red
Violets are blue but she like tulips instead
Ever since then poetry’s been stuck in my head
Those words that she said
That’s why I touch paper with lead

Dear sweetheart
I woke up this morning slumped in a chair
Needed you more than ever but you weren’t there
Where did you go?
I could smell you on my sweater
I woke up expecting us to be together
You left no letter, so I’m writing you this one
I feel all alone, can’t reach you on the phone
Was it something I done? Something I said?
I’m crawling to the kitchen now, need pills for my head
I’m confused as to why you’re treating me badly
This is far from the first time, so this letter sadly
Is the last I’ll send you, in the past I’ve defended you
You defended me too, or at least pretended to
You’ve broke more than you mended
Lost count of friends of mine you’ve offended,
You ruined family gatherings, so why should it be
I find myself missing you, am I crazy?
You’re no good for me,
Good god my head is pounding
Maybe it’s just coz I feel so groggy I need grounding
A good cup of coffee should do the trick
Already late for work, I’ll call in sick
Or did I ring last night? Come to think of it
Have I been to work at all this week? What day is it?
It’s coming back to me, I spoke to someone,
My manager actually told me I’ve broken my contract
Don’t come back she said, this is worse than I thought
Did you know about this? Is that why you’ve walked?
After all it was your fault I lost the **** job
Too much time together
That’s what my friends keep telling me
My neighbour came round last night, he was yelling at me
If I ruined his flowers again he’d call the police
Huh! What a joke, drunk and disorderly
I never feel drunk anymore, it’s just ordinary

As I take a seat back in the chair I woke up in this morning
Head in my hands breathing deep, thoughts forming
All the tell-tale clear cut signs I’ve been ignoring
The pains in my belly, the headaches are a warning
Now I realise
I’m looking at things through new eyes
My wife left months ago, for another guy
It was weeks ago my manager fired me
I haven’t looked for work, who would hire me?
My best friends don’t come by no more, never call me
There was a time when they would’ve gone to war for me
I took no heed, they told me my life is shambolic
Without realising, I’ve become an alcoholic
I’ll never change, I take a can and pull the tab
Hear the tsssk and bring it up to my lips
Drink fast and sink into oblivion, my destructive bliss.

Intangible yet actual the force of love attacked you
As I walked through swiftly and attracted you
Cracked you like Attila crack skulls, intertwined souls
That empty chasm in your heart is what I filled like holes
With my charisma as my shovel, whispered that I loved you
Heart raced when I leaned in and touched you
Kissed you, rubbed you
Felt the curves on your body rise and fall
From shoulders tall like mountains to your hips I crawl
Heat radiates so I know you’re ready for my invasion
Fall into bed like we fell in love at our liaison
Gazing into each other’s eyes we knew we couldn’t stop
Soon as underwear dropped the red cherry popped
The tango we danced with our eyes took me by surprise
As I began to rise, throbbing doubled in size
Slipping inside without realising
We had just made ties with each other forever

…

As I laid you down on the softest silk mattress
And explored your body with my tongue like an atlas
The way the moonlight hit your face as pretty as an actress
No tactics it felt right no way this was a practice
Sweat began to pour like rain, shouting god’s name
Your body felt like some sort of beast that only I could tame
And ride you, inside you, above you, beneath you
Opening you up ever wider so I can reach you
I meet you and kiss you then retreat, only briefly
Beneath me you feel like a queen and I’m your king who
The sweetest fruits from exotic lands I would bring you
May we reign on our quilted throne for ever more
I’m forever yours do you feel the same honey please
Don’t tease, I’m shaking like I’m walking a trapeze
The heat built when your hips tilt, nerves began to spasm
Heaven has granted blessings and let us have them
Ecstasy that even angels couldn’t fathom