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.

Standing on a street corner watching, noticing.
Just watching the world drift on by.
The clouds picture stories in the sky.
The shapes of the clouds messing with my head.
Picturing my life in shapes instead.
A boat chugs through the murky canal
picking up ***** carrier bags as it struggles
through reeds and roots strangling its hold.
Watching the swans bow to the cygnets
gracefully noticing their young, white and bold
Their orange beaks signalling to the boats the way to go.
Waiting and watching go hand in hand
Like the bride and groom standing on steps to the altar
waiting and watching the day unfold their fears
bringing hopefully happiness to wash away the years.
Watching time go by.

Oh what a high ceiling
And look how the paint’s peeling
I’ve got a wonderful feeling
That you’ll have to dig deep and pay.

Oh and the clothes want mending
Then its off to the washer I’m sending
And by the way thanks for lending
The money for me to do it today.

While you’re at it I will take a seat
While the nice lady buffs up my feet.
Then after my treat, I will eat
Chocolates upon a milky tray.

The Power Of The Sea

Another bit of dry land
Crumbles and falls
Into waiting sand
And castle walls.
Properties on the cliff edge
Panic in a moment of terror
Together with surrounding hedge
Await the fate of the sea’s error.
Rushing, destroying anything in its path
The sea is relentless and with might
Having the ultimate last laugh
Homes become victims among the white.
Crashing to shore, salty spades dig deep
Etching lines, scraping the bank
Bags of sand, now useless to keep
Memories of what the sea has drank.
Copper, lead, bricks, never ending
The sea takes it all, every last drop.
The dry land crumbles sending
Its message to the evil not to stop.
The power of the sea,
Threatening our land in its way
Every home, every flower, every tree
The lot with uproot and break away.

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.

When my skin needs ironing
along with my clothes on my thin frame.
The black bruises on the back of my hand
When I'm old will I still be treated the same?

When my eyesight is not so good,
and I am having a job just to see.
There will be black bruises on the back of my hand
and a couple of them will be on my knee!

Will you still love me, will you still care?
Will I annoy you to make you get up and leave?
Will you still be there for me every step of the way
And even when I have to wipe my nose on my sleeve.

My droopy eye lids will cover my face
My hair will be grey and I might be fast asleep
Will you still love me, like you do now
Or is it time for me to go and time for you to weep.

Please tell me now, I cant wait for thesse to occur.
Will you still love me, or will you grow to hate me
These things I think I ought to know
Because time is runnng short if it's time for me to flee.

Dressed like a waiter was he
In black, white and blue
He thought everything was free
He thought everything was true.

The crops are being gathered in, root vegetables from cold earth
Pickles are being made - you reap what you sow.
The baker madly gathers his flour for what he is worth
pounding and kneading his early morning dough.

He rests wearily for a tea break in the shade
Keeping an eye on his ever rising bread.
Fit for the ultimate preserve - marmalade
his tongue licks his lips thinking of the spread.

He rests where the leaves entwine with the mauve
Lemons hanging in the sunshine - there is a lot
The oranges ripening in the cool of the grove
His hands are tired and he cares not a jot.

He can smell the fruit simmering in the copper pan
The sugar preserving the taste of the cherry
It is then poured into hot glass jars and labelled "jam"
Placed onto the shelf with every other kind of berry.

Listen to yourself
And fall head over heals in love
With yourself.
Learn to respect your body
Filling it with good things
Listening to good stuff.
If it is full of bad *******
Then it is reflected.
Fill a bath with ***** water
and your skin will scream.
Fill it with hope from paradise
coconut oil, strawberries and cream
Then it will glow and you will flow
like crystal clear waters of porcelain.
Listen to music that beats with your heart
The pace not a race is important.
Learn to love yourself like a lullaby
Then you will be filled with happiness
and very little will you cry.
Fill your world with promises,
Do your best - it is for you.
Fill your dreams with hopes
and make these two come true.
You are important in this world
You can make a difference believe me
You are beautiful, look for the good
Look for the things you do not see.
For they are there. Bring them out
Those that dont, well they are funny folk
Life is to be lived, seriously lived to the full
You only get one shot, and that's no joke.
I am not saying go to the extreme, just look
learn and sing a lover's lullaby
If you do it then you will be pleased with yourself
and that you have helped yourself and had a try.

Shooting into and then out of the cosmic bars
was a sports fan from the planet Mars.
He'd obtained a one way ticket
to watch the outer space cricket
But was so drunk all he could see was stars.

Love is addictive
but then it jolly well should be.

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.

Oh it swirls around
Words merging into one
One mix of loveliness
When the day is done.
Singing a song in my sweet head
Blood pumping to the beat
My heart is that drum
and my toes tap on my feet.
If I did not have this
This facility, this tune
I would be a shambles
a fading light in a moon.
My day would be dark
filled with worries and the like
No hopes or dreams imaginable
No bell to ring on the bike.
No stars would shine,
No glories to be
Just worries that are mine
But I dont have that
I have a song to sing
A star to shine
a bell to ring.
I have hope and I have glory
My dreams are about to happen
I have an end to my story.
I have a song to sing.

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.

This fairy most definitely I’d call an imp
She’s out for anything to beg, steal or borrow.
She’d think nothing of actually buying stuff
Because she is the Fairy of Tomorrow.

Also known as the fairy of second hand rose
Nothing is her own, and never will be
If she can borrow it she will and sort of keep it
Notwithstanding it has no guarantee.

Second hand rose, but then again she is smart
Best fairy shoes and decent frilly lacy dress
She doesn’t have a friend so that is okay
Meaning she has no one to impress.

Which is quite sad in a way, everyone has friends
But not her she has never had one, that’s true
An assessment of her social circle, one could say
Is under scrutiny and is long overdue.

She’s not bothered, she gets by
She is happy enough and whistles all of the day
She has plenty of shiny coins in her drawer
And has plenty of treasure stashed away.

She is no fool, this Fairy of Tomorrow
Nothing wrong with being a second hand rose
She is in fact quite wealthy; the others are unaware
Even though she wears other fairies clothes

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.

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!

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.

A spectrum of light smashes through a cloud
Piercing the blue with an array of colour
Stabbing the ground with a *** of gold
A bold statement arches the daytime sky.
It is raining, drenhing the soil
Moreover, the sun decides to shine
No more grey skies, thank you very much
A rainbow of colour lights up our lives.
There is light, just follow the rainbow
There is a way to smash problems around
Pierce your dreams and change course
Maybe your dreams will begin to shine.
No more problems thank you very much
A rainbow of colour will light up your life.

It is enough to make any decent fairy cry
To have wings but not able to fly.
They were as white as milk
Soft and gentle as rich silk
But they would not flap and she did try.

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.

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,

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.

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?

The dog admired himself in a puddle
"I have a glow like nothing ever before"
Different colours are about my being
He stirred the puddle with his paw for more.

He did not stop to realise why he had oil
smeared around his claws on his paw
He was so deep in thought about mystical science
he had no idea about the luck of the draw.

"Too clever for my worth I deserve to be human
They would cross my paw, sorry palm with money
He was now a bit confused, his brain's not that big
and he was back dreaming of milk and honey.

Or rather bones and a big chunky steak
to satisfy his hungry tummy, he's such a size.
To complicate matters, he is on a dried food diet
which has come as a complete surprise.

It was an offer at the supermarket that won the deal
"That is not food" -poking it with his paw in his dish
He searched for gravy - there was none, dried up like the puddle
Now he was searching for a wand to wave to get his wish.
To complicate matters, there was not one.

Disappearing in the winds of time
Drowning in a sea of love
Beaming up with the moon beams
To somewhere unknown above
When up there if you get a chance
See the disappearing coast lines and bays
See the dwindling numbers of species
And then tell me what God says.
If you get a chance
Take note of all the plastic
floating in the sea of doom
See it ride with the tide
wash with the froth
see the effervesence combine with the foam
of the natural fizz of the salty drink
then realise what mess we are in
it really makes one stop and think.
One day when the seagulls fly
they will land on rock, no sea, no foam
there will be no earth as we know now
just plain boring rock, no life, just a shell
of former glory.
No white waves, no floaty clouds
just a memory.  One day.

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.

Said Oliver gritting his shiny teeth.
Why he wanted more slop
More oats and cold water
The very thought would make me stop.

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.

I open the window
the mist rolls in off the sea
sweeping like a fluffy blanket
pity hasn't keep the sea warm
there is no horizon, it's the same
just white, misty vision.
The air is biting
so cold it stings my skin
rushing in like an unwelcome visitor
there is no horizon it's the same
just a milky opaque sight.
The beam from the lighthouse
sprays LED sparkles on the waves
it dances with the movement of the sea
jigging, squirting froth forward
ebbing and flowing
coming and going.
There is a distance in the air
a quiet , a silence now.
The atmosphere changes
brightens, clouds are apparent
moving, clearing,
and out comes the sun.

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.

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.

"Come by, come by"  the shepherd calls
To a black and grey dog that's not there.
He's minding his own business
Which to him is all very fair.
A whistle is blown, but on deaf ears
The sheep thinks it is all a scream
They run wildly all over the field
But the dog's done in, out of steam.
"Come on lad, round 'em up for me"
The shepherd's voice is slightly raised
But the dog does not care one little jot
He neither cares or is phased.
The dog starts a sit-in and makes a sign
"Less sheep, more juicy bones"
The sheherd laughs, so do the sheep
The dog sighs and all afternoon moans.
The sheep's wool uncurls, fear looms
Another dog springs an attack
The shepherd has a smile on his face
Watching the first dog creep on back.
The sheep dont know what has hit them
They are rounded up in the blink of an eye
The sheep **** through open gates at speed
and did an immediate left towards the pig's sty.
Textbook!

A smile shines upon a face
Cracked and parched by the sun
Blistered feet trek in the heat
Carrying water for everyone.
Three hours daily they walk
To a watering hole ***** and crude
Yet still he smiles having no choice
But to bring water to cook food.
Foreigners arrive to lay new pipes
Hope lies now on a wrinkled face
Water gushes from a shiny tap
Drenching life into a dismal place.
Children scream with delight and joy
Sadly they have never splashed before
Tears well in the foreigner’s eye
A shiny tap now means so much more.
A new smile shines upon a face
Pleased that the work has been done
Blistered hands applaud in the heat
At long last the children can have fun.

If your toast had to decide which spread
and on which side does it get put on the bread
If  it were for dipping
then it would favour the dripping
Oherwise it would opt for the jam instead.

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/

Call me old fashioned
but the sight of a kipper tie
is like nothing on earth
candy for the eye.
Bell bottoms on your jeans
bells hanging around your neck
Jazzy colours on your shirt
and nobody gave a heck.
Permed hair-dos on each head
everything went to the extreme
The Bay City Rollers
and you were living the dream.
The Osmonds you fell in love with
David Cassidy sending you in a spin
The sounds of the seventies
a memory you keep locked within.

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.

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 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