When I am gone and one, or two
Are huddled on a funeral pew
Then ­this one thing I ask of you
Don't lie about the man you knew

For­ by the bloating of my name
You'll nullify the one who came
Who b­ore the fullness of my blame
And died in such disgraceful shame

­Know that every sin which you recall
Those times I drove you up t­he wall
My secret sins made these look small
Their evil horror wo­uld appal

Yet every crime against my king
Was matched by grace a­stonishing
Every joy a gift releasing
Freedom from my sin convict­ing

For long before the world began 
My God had forged a stunnin­g plan
Despite the dirt of my life's span
The great God loved thi­s sinful man

So mourn or shrug as you feel right
But do not fret­ about your plight
My God will keep you in his sight
A glorious h­elp in darkest night

When I am gone and one or two
Are huddled o­n a funeral pew
Lift up your eyes and look anew
For Jesus Christ ­is calling you

Labour are red
Tories are blue
Both need the Liberals
Their votes were too few

We want, we all said
A hung parliament coup
Carelessly wished for
Now all coming true

There's economic dread
So what shall we do
We can't decide which we like
Yellow, red or blue 

Campaigning not bed
A decision to rue
More sleep is postponed
So Clegg they can woo

The rivals must wed
A coalition stew
Strong stable unity
Or chimps in a zoo?

Some policies now dead 
Others they'll pursue
The only thing certain
Is that cuts are in view

So raise up your head
And herald the new
And if someone's in charge
Please tell me who.

No-one tells me what to be
I'm master of my destiny
And when I wi­n the lottery
The adverts I watch on tv
The magazines I like to s­ee
Will all confirm it is life's key
To buy it all, and I'll ag­ree
And then I will be really free
And you can all look up to m­e
A fool heading for misery

Whenever all is said
and done,
So much more is said
than done.

Collected around the cafe  tables
The normal folk of many labels:
Emily is a district nurse
getting 10p from her purse;
Steve, a school inspector
is worrying about the public sector;
Javed, a curry house chef
is annoyed at last night's football ref;
Karen just made head of service
Truth be told she's pretty nervous;
Imogen's fork falls on the floor
Her teeth are  splintered from her jaw
Dust, the silent din
Flying hurtling lances
Punctured skin
Alarm light dances
Life caves in
Misfortune chances
Explosive sin
A coward glances

Emily was my district nurse.

How many were going to St Ives? 
Were the cats in sacks alive?
Who cares if every one arrived?
For the greatest riddle I derive
Is how on earth, do you surmise,
that poor man coped with seven wives?

Under 'military history'
I found a tome of irony
A text once penn­ed in heat of passion
Of hope and war and lover's ration
No embos­sed title, No woven spine
But still an epic, still so fine   
While men lay squ­alid in their trenches
Someone perched upon these benches
A happy­ author with pocket knife 
Whose words outlived his cut down life­
Two fleeted lovers in this place
Recorded war's old tragic face ­
And carved there by 'The First World War'
'John loves Mary 1944.­'