Through thick and thin and the rough and the smooth
and what is now will be will be
He was always a very supportive friend a caring soul
and he was always a friend to me

He was always respectful, kind
and had always a solid gold heart
His work was always up there with the best
right from the very start.

I will miss him, and I wish him well
He had so much talent I can tell you that for free
Keep writing my friend, that is important
and you know he was always a friend to me.

This Christmas I will be thinking of all those that have lost everything in the floods, rains and storms.  Thinking of those that have lost everything when their house fell over the cliff on the east coast of the uk.  Thinking of those alone and suffering.  Thinking of those facing uncertainty and dread.  Thinking of those not able to walk.   May you all have a good Christmas and may you all have a peaceful new year. And I hope Santa will bring a smile to all the childrens faces this year.  Happy Christmas everyone.

Take the wool from my eyes
keep me forever near
Silence the moans,still my soul
for I am alive, still here.

Always place you hand in mine
for then I have nothing to dread or fear
Dry my tears, still my worrying soul
for I am alive, still here,

Link your fingers and curl the bones
to your soul around those not known
Link your dreams that you have
and show the love that has grown.

Sometimes it goes down well sometimes it does not
sometimes is it just best to simply wait
Rushing headlong into something that you have got
Life is just like a bar of the best chocolate.

Far and few between
are my problems
but I knew that.
The endless queue for this
and that, it just grew
Into a squabbling line
I just knew.
Red faces, fast paces
screaming insults
Stamping feet, undone laces
not saving graces.
I just knew
I peel the vegetables
the floor is splattered
with peelings, not in my bowl
where they are meant to go.
oh no, the air is blue
I just knew.
The road is nose to tail
from beginning to end
would be quicker to mail
what I have to send.
I just knew
It is true I just knew.

There is no time
seconds calling
moments falling
no time.
Tick Tick
forgetting the Tock
on the clock.
Missing; just gone
after twelve, its two not one.
No time no hands
between you and me
what a crime
for there is no time
to talk anymore
I'm in a heap on the floor
as you walked out the door
and on the sleeve of your coat you wore
my heart with no hands

The Horse that won the race was named Peg
Probably apt because it had a wooden leg
This brave little horse
belted around every course
To stop it the rider had to coax it and beg/

We count the hours that steadily pass
To say we have time on our hands
Observe the trickling hourglass
Seconds replace falling sands

Sand slides and progressively rolls,
Rolling away, hours pouring
Time for sleep when the bed calls
Time skips without our knowing.

Time speeds up during the day
No time to meet with demands
Need more time I heard you say
I need more time on my hands.

I look around me
and the bird wears
a bright red vest.
I notice that the man
in the street wears red
close to his chest.
It is his heart and it is golden
It  has red passing through it
and there is a light he's holding.
It is a flame, a red flame
burning bright, it is red
The heart breaks with his tears
and shines like golden thread.
Who is to blame?
Everything turns to red.
When it is too hot to handle
Get out the kitchen he said

I'm the proudest mum
I have got to say
I love my two sons
forever and a day.
I love them more than
there are stars in the sky
more than blades of grass
I will tell you why.
They are both gentlemen
respect others, and are polite
work hard, are as handsome as can be
they do their best and what's right.
My sons mean the world to me
I am so very proud. that is true
so to each of my loving sons
i say I will always love you.

And The Moor Was White
A sea of snow sliding
Moving like a river
Drifting, I saw it drifting
if on skates, gliding
And the moor was white.

Twinkling, it shone
The snow glistened
I stopped, took off my hat
And I listened,
And the moor was quiet.

There were tracks
Footprints from a bird
I admired its path it took
I put back on my hat and heard
The moor seemed to whisper to me.

The wind brushed my face
And persuaded me to stroll
And there on its side
Was a new born foal.

It was alert, looking for shelter
Cold, hungry and in desperate need.
The moor was a lonely place
I gave it all I had so it could feed.
And the moor fell silent.

I made my way through the woods
Out of the drifting snow
The foal followed me to a path
And I showed him the way to go.
Back to the moor twinkling and white.

I am protected from danger
inside my shell
It is my home;  my palace
where I dwell
I get little mail
these days
For I am a snail
with funny ways.
Sometimes it can be a a living hell
with this and that
inside my shell.
You cannot swing a cat
so as to speak
I never would
I am too weak
I never could.
I went through spell
of not thinking straight
Inside my shell
I've learned to wait
It is never too late.
Is it?

There are secrets in the woods
there are whispers in the breeze
The gathering has an opinion
and that is the whispers aren't Chinese.
They have all had their say
It is the talk among the trees
If they are not careful
this talk will bring them to their knees.
It is like they are playing a game
and it has been deemed checkmate
the talk is in the thick of the wood
an it told it to them straight.
From twig to branch
from each and every little leaf
the talk is just a whisper
and that is the belief.

Whether you learn to keep your calm
or throw a wobbly type of panic
Where you choose to scream after
well that is optional.

Whether you choose to voice an opinion
or just to hold your tongue and stay silent.
But afterwards moan to yourself all day.
well that is optional.

Choosing your mid-week food shopping
whether it be best neck of lamb
or the most expensive cut of meat
well that is optional.

Being polite, knowing one's place in the room
Being nice and agreeable, the perfect host.
Being the nicest person in the world
That is important.
But for some optional.

I watched a monkey who seemed out of control
He appeared to be sliding fast down his pole
It was a major slip
Having lost his grip
and fell embarrassingly into a large hole.

A door mouse, as cute as fresh cherry pie
Perched on a dandelion time blowing machine
Blowing moments away for free, do not ask why!
But isn't it the cutest thing you have ever seen?

Sitting with a multicoloured smile
Rising over my head
Is something to definitely rave about
Would you believe a word I said?
Sitting under a rainbow?
Which fairy tale did you get that from?
Telling lies makes your nose grow!
But I am, I am sitting beneath a glow
a glow which offers pots of gold
My dreams have come true today
and I go forward with good luck I'm told.
It is raining I grant you and the sun is out
An array of colour shines down on me
My wings fell off in the downpour
But I can replace them for free.
I am a guardian angel and I see colour
My rainbows are around me and indeed you
So I do sit beneath rainbows and bring joy
I know it is rather weird but it is true.

Tip the scales
pour it out
let the stale, cold tea
unclog the spout
chop the onion
grate the mouldy cheese
dip the bird in sauce
cover its knees
soak the bread
spread with jam
chop the tinned pork
and fry the spam
scrape the dish clean
smeard with custard
better on bananas
then red hot mustard.
fetch the fish
from the crowded tank
fry it, boil it, bake it
now its hair's gone lank
quick hide the fat from the duck
its oozing and spilling out
shove the teabags into the ***
before they gush out the spout.
which do you prefer?
pudding or pie?
how would you like it?
wet or completely dry!

The moon disappears 
Fading into grey
A new light shines
For a brand new day.
My day, the wind blew my way.
As Frank Sinatra sang.
My Way as a clap of thunder
Shook my world with a bang.
A clash of lights, colours explode
An orchestra in the sky.
A screaming child pushes by
Claiming one penny for his 'guy'.
The moon disappears
Fading into the grey
and that is all I have to say.

As the butcher writes “sale” with his chalk
The shoppers watch with eyes like a hawk
In a queue
They all flew
To get their half price special buy pork.

An owl hooted sending shivers down her spine
The ground seemed to jump in unison with her
The breeze slowly wafted across her peachy face
As she strolled, very slowly, thoughtfully as it were.

Her mind was a jumbled mess, no sense of calm
Thoughts shooting in all directions, it was bad.
If only she had listened to her mother in the first place
She sighed, counting her blessings, and she was glad.

Glad because many things had happened in her life
Things that would make the average hair curl
But she stepped forward, with best foot with hope
Even though her complicated mind was still in a whirl.

Mothers are always rights, she knew this, it is true
Through dark, into light, from thick onto thin.
Her heart was now pounding, her pulse racing
and she felt the butterflies disturbed from within.

This lonely path on which she walked, lined with leaves
crisp, brittle and colourful, rather like her mind
Her steps, fairy steps barely made each leaf move
Her thoughts varied, and there were leaves of every kind.

A bird whistled down to her advising her where to tread
The mist, damp and lingering led her way across the trail
Her breath hot and steamy warmed the cockles of her heart
and her hair dangled on her face like a rich ****** veil.

She made her way out of the trail, confident now and happy
Looking forward to the highlight of her day.
She stepped forward with a song from  her soul
and the lonely path on which she walked was now far away.

Rock pools scattered with salty froth
drain quickly to reveal life
Little shrimps cling to samphire
The rushing white wave
beats to the shore
creeping gingerly to the rock cave
as if it has been there before.
The midday sun
settles for the afternoon
the sunbathers just begun
their timed basking on the dune.
A weathered dry oar
lies abandoned on the sand from an old boat
together with bits of ******* washed to the shore
just lying there, anything that would float.
Cracked shells, washed pebbles, and bits of flint
in blues, greys, creams and coral coloured stone
lie draped around the edge of the beach
with seaholly, blue grass and bits of fish bone.
The smell of the sea washes against your breath
you feel alive, but your skin feels dry lie salt
the breath taking views make you good to be there
It is just nice to hear the wind, the sea, the gulls
the call of the dolphin , it is just nice to be alive.

He Who Counts His Cash

It was morning, a miserable morning
One that was over in a flash
Suddenly without any warning
He decided to count the cash.

This sent him into an instant flap
He fiddled nervously with a saucepan lid
This was definitely some sort of trap
Wondered what the outcome would be if he hid.

“Young man, come here” the Manager shouted
Something appears to be missing.
His crinkled lips was now pouting
And his throat had started hissing.

“He does not trust me” he thought
After all the things I have done for him.
He was frantically hiding the things he had bought
And envisaged the situation looking grim.

A stash of cake and jam, lemon curd and honey
Silver nice things that he liked to buy.
He was not used to handling money
So he had a day practising how to buy.

It is not his fault if he spent the lot
He thought that they had loads more.
The amount he had spent had been forgot
Well his investments were banked offshore.

He did not want to upset his ten year bond
And his thousands were doing very well.
The extra noughts of which he was fond
And his shares he did not want to sell.

He was never aware of his wealth
Obviously did not know about being poor
He never worried about money or health
But alas the Manager was now crying on the floor.

His greed was now not nice
Maybe he should come clean and reveal his stash
His greed had definitely made him pay the price
He offered just five thousand and the rest of his cash.

I wonder if a Goldfish swimming round in his bowl
Thinks “This is familiar, have I been here before?
I seem to be seeing the same things in the same place
As I swim round and round, more and more”.

I wonder what a dog thinks as he smells the dinner
Cooking then it is served piping hot from the pan
Then he gets his solidified in some sort of jelly
Straight out from the same old looking can.

I wonder what a pretty bird thinks held in a cage
Talking to himself then notices he is not alone
A reflection leads him to believe he has a new mate.
Puts his best claw forward tries not to moan.

He looks into the mirror dangling on  a short chain
“Hi, I’m Peter, you can call me Pete I suppose"
And then sits all day watching himself with
A kind of “look at me” type of pose.

I wonder what a newspaper feels as it is
Pelted through a letterbox ten miles per hour
Or does it feel pain around red hot chips
Does the vinegar make the paper sour?

I Wonder if a bird hears a worm wriggling
When he wrenches it from under the ground
Worms aren’t noisy, so how do they do that then
When worms are soft, slimy and don’t make a sound.


I Wonder .........

As we steer towards the end of May
When the bluebells wither and die
The daffodils have long gone sadly
The days of Spring go lovingly by.
We look forward to the end of Spring
and Summer is a beautiful word
Long days, warm nights to look forward to
The singing of the early morning bird.
Sunlight streaming through your curtains
The warmth of the day settles your mind
The promise  of early June brings hope and peace
Summer is such a special time for all mankind.

Hunting in the recess of one’s mind
Combing through the shelves and drawers
Looking for some truth to be found
Searching behind hidden doors.

Delving, waiting, and then what is to be
My mind cannot take any more
Piles of ******* useless information stored
Like piles of unwashed laundry on the floor.

Found the information that I need
Scanned and then do I trust what is there.
Shove it where I found it once again
At this precise moment I don’t think I care.

If you believe in fairy tales and magic
If you believe in wishes then join this queue
For tonight is the night out of many when
Your dreams might possibly come true.

Look into the midnight sky full of stars
It is as if the whole sky has silver freckles
Sparkly moons and planets and beams
Pearly things and salt water speckles.

Hold your breath for a second then close the eyes
For magic is about to happen there’s no dispute.
For stars will **** across the sky a light show
And dreams will start to come true as they shoot.

You could swing anything you liked around my space
I'm free to fly like a soaring, free as you like bird.
Oh I have the biggest smile on my pretty little face
This is my life, my space, my time in my own little world.

When you look for love
it is never there.
It hides
you have to find it.
And that is the best bit.
Searching
It is a complicated process.
Your eyes meet.
The hand strokes playfully the hair.
Enticing.
Exciting isn't it.
Then the drum goes off in your soul.
It beats slowly at first.
Then it has a thirst for more
so it quickens.
Then the beats turn to butterflies.
You have imaginary fluttering like wings
stroking your insides.
They are making a confirmation to your brain.
The soul approves.
The eyes flutter copying the wings of the butterfly.
Then the brain goes into overdrive.
And out come the words.
Shoot out.
And there is it the "L" word.
I love you comes out
That was not hard.

And it is with a heavy laden heart
They laid me beneath the Oak.
Acorns rain down on my soul
After the rain's given them a soak.
Otherwise they'd be like bullets
shot out from the slimline gun
Like me, slimline, rather skinny
just me, bones all that will be done.
My thoughts, taken away for another day
taken far into the promise land
when no man, nothing can touch me
yet hold my damp, bony hand.
Gone are the wishes, what were they?
Dreams secretly held within me for all time.
But now those wishes are trapped in the dust
of my mind but sadly they are all mine.

Rik Mayall, may you rest in peace
He did make the whole world smile.
He just oozed talent together with Ade
They both stood out by far and a mile.
But now Rik has gone, gone into the distant land
Where dreams float and time stands still for a while
They now have giggles galore in Heaven
That's what Rik did, he made the world smile.

The siren awakes me, shakes my heart
Alarm bells are ringing inside my head
I cant quite seem to distinguish the two apart
so I pull the sheets up and resume sleep in the bed.

There it is again, the sirens seem a lot deeper
It as if a hand, an icy hand is stirring me again
This time the situation is a lot creepier
and my bravery is heading straight down the drain.

My hands are shaking now and I have gone quite hot
The blood is rushing around like an agitated stream.
I hear a distant lullaby, and it is making me smile a lot
because I know this is just one very bad dream.

Nothing is so frustrating as a route
The Sat Nav playing it magic flute
Mile after mile
After a long a long while
The machine is mysteriously on mute!

A thousand fairies were dancing
all through this one particular night.
Hanging moonbeams and ribbons on an Oak Tree
in pretty bows making sure they were tight.

There were white ribbons, pink and blue
all of which were dancing in the breeze.
Fairies everywhere, flitting in and out
dodging the acorns and little lemon leaves.

All but one fairy, who stood rigid and very still
Reflecting on her life for a brief moment
then lost her footing slowly and surely
and then began the roll downhill

She was rolling trapped in a fast spin
collecting buttercups in her hair
finally she came to an sudden halt
she found herself in a lacy, white square.

"Oh what have we here, dreams do come true"
thought the long legged, hairy spider
"And look,  she has flowers in her hair,
she will be known as my buttercup rider".

"She is tiny, oh so frail, the spider was entranced
His heart now was awash with so much love
The Lord has answered my prayer at long last
this is what I have always dreamed of.

My beautiful little friend, and it is so lonely here
trapped in my web of deceit and silence
The fairy now came to with a look of horror
"Oh little one, I do not offer you any offence"

My legs, do not be scared, they are hairy I know
but they can offer you so very much
I can massage you, feed you, and hold your hand
all in one go, I have the sweetest of a loving touch.

I can spin you the very finest silk
and make for you the finest fairy gown
I will gather berries from the forest
and make you the perfect crown.

Because you are my Queen and I am your King
I will bring you everything, we'll never be apart
Do not wince at my rather ugly exterior
for inside of me beats a romantic heart.

I will worship you, everyday you will have fresh flowers
I will bring you sunshine on a rainy day
But the fairy was long gone by now and all she heard
was the lonely scream from the spider "please stay!"

Love is a precious thing
Hold on to it as much as you can
It definitely makes the old heart sing
I'm its biggest fan.
I dislike confrontations, splitting hairs
I would sooner just keep the peace
Whilst the other is kicking chairs
and his anger is on the increase.
Is it not easier to say "Oh well"
and just leave the situation be
it creates tension, a living hell
which is no good for him or me.
Love is a precious thing
hold on to it as much as you can
enjoy all the benefits it may bring
unless you have another plan.

Someone told him he's going through a bad patch
He certainly does have some very strange ways
but I think he knows nothing could ever match
the sheer beauty of his former glory days.

He used to live in a very humble two up two down
life was hard growing up in his kind of place
But you could always meet someone nice in the town
who would cheer you up and put a smile on your face.

True, life was hard but they all got by
Life was a  challenge, a funny sort of phase
sometimes all one could do was sit and cry
but that was then in the distant glory days.

But why call them "glory days" I hear you say
Well humour was in-bred to all the folk living there
Laughter was for pudding when the dinner was grey
To find that amongst strife is something quite rare.

A joke was made about all the failing and bad things in life
whether or not it made you chuckle it was still made
Life was then like managing a deck of cards
Hit rock bottom then the joker was played.

The other end of the scale was off the cards
Jackpot was always the winning goal
There was always people to give you their regards
They would give you anything, even their soul.

They were one big happy family in those glory days
One for all and all for one another so it seems.
To this day that how things happen and it stays
This did happen he said, it was one of his best dreams.

Do I wonder?
Do I ponder?
Run here, run there,
Fetch this
carry that.
Do this do that
Do I care?
Actually I do.

When I was little
A trip to the shop meant something nice
I used to return empty bottles for money
sometimes I used to make the trip twice.
They were washed and reused again and again
we did not have plastic bags from the shop
you had a huge bag bigger than yourself
to bring items home including more pop.
We saved energy before milk came in plastic
the trend caught on very very well
until that is we realied our seas were polluted
but is it too late to be saved by the bell.
Fish are digesting plastic,
it has seeped into our food chain
I think it is time to go back to the local shop
and start recycling glass bottles again.

It was at a time when women were afraid to speak out
The time when certain avenues were not explored.
A time when upstairs was very different from downstairs
and the moans from maids were very much ignored.

He took advantage of her most nights it was true
It was a case of do as I say and speak not a word.
If only she could have, or done something sooner
but what was the point, her voice would not have been heard.

He lashed out at her with such hatred, and she knew it
she wanted to scream through her pain, her aches.
But she knew her place at that time, she knew it alright
but she also knew she would have her revenge, for what it takes.

She died on a Tuesday, a night a few did remember
but he knew about it, he knew in the back of his mind.
For each time he opened the door to the kitchen, he saw her
the blood, the suffering, which were one of a kind.

Still to this day Martha returns, at the same time, same place
hoping to take revenge on her murderer, she now not afraid.
But he does not appear, to her annoyance, she still to this day
reminds us all of her suffering, the death of Martha, the maid.

There are times when I could say
"Beam me up" and "take me away"
Send me to another place, not here
Take me to a place where life's queer
Not of this planet, not of the stars
but then would I be on Saturn or Mars.
No I want to be here, where life's tough
where the sand's smooth and rocks rough.
I can take the dark and light
I can manage the day and night
I cant do what they are expecting
No I cant do that.

Her slight touch, her breath on my soul
Her whisper, my shame, her living, my goal.
Every little footstep she takes
She watches my silly mistakes.
She admires, protects and is fulfilling
She is kind, comforting and forgiving.
She is with me, I know that she is
She touched me, she waits for me
I was touched by an angel.

This is a tribute to a man who puts on a brave face
fetching shopping for himself in the wind and rain.
His name is John, his wife died and he is ninety two
His hard life gives him every reason to complain.

But he does not, he faces each day with a smile
Gritting his teeth, forgetting his tired weak bones
Rubs his knees, the face tells it all, one can see
but he does not whimper and never moans.

He carries on regardless even though he is ninety two
waiting at the eye hospital without a single cup of tea
The appointment is running two hours late in the queue
but he does not mind, he has people he can see.

He is lonely at home his wife dies four years ago
leaving him heart broken, alone but he is no antique
This tribute is real, there are many just like John
John you are strong you are definitely not weak.

If you see a "John" give him your time
go out of your way, step out of your queue
Because one day you will be old yourself
just like John who is alone and ninety two.

I used to stand and admire all the colours of the sweet jars
all the splits, chews, sticks and lips red as cherries
all the funny shapes crammed in and the chocolate bars
and the herbal sticks made from very scented berries.

Mushroom shaped sweets rolled in toasted coconut and spice
watches to eat and pipes with sweets and scented dips
If you brushed your teeth after it was all very nice
then there were orange fish shapes with sweet rosy chips.

Fairy apples with golden pips,whistles to blow and ****
mixtures for throats, chest and for a very rainy day
gums and stoppers big as you like worth a second look
Even chocolate coins in a big jar next to where you pay.

Pineapple cubes and bottles tasting of your favurite drink
foamy shrimps and marsh mallows that are good to float
lemon drops and traffic light lollies make your heart sink
bubble gum bubbles that when popped stick to your coat.

Strawberry fizz and lemon bubbles that pop on your tongue
white mice with long tails and rose centred violets with cream
gob stoppers that would last all the day long
sweets of our youth are now all but a dream.