What is more important
Than time?

I may not be able
To give you many things
But you will have
My time
My attention

What is more important
Than listening?

I can lend you
My ears

I am hearing you

I am listening to you
As you
Express your life

I may not be able
To give you the things
That you thought you wanted

But I am giving you
My life

The artist is constantly tortured
By the fear of losing life
Whether it is the loss of his or her own life
Or the loss of a moment...

The artist is only satisfied
When something meaningful is captured
A moment, a mood,the fleeting brilliance of sunrise
Or the shine of light on a beautiful woman

Such things manifest
And then, they are gone

The artist feels loss deeply
And wishes to hold fast
To the transient wonder of life

The artist counters death
By capturing life while he or she can

And thus the artist lives
Beyond death

Dear Anne,
Your words are Life

Stronger than the darkness
Of the human heart

May you continue
To inspire hope
For generations to come

City of crescent lights
We stand by your resting canals
While bells toll midnight
Awaiting your truth

As the shutters of my eyes close
Ideas roll like billiard *****

And I let go
Of what was supposed to be
And regain what it is
To be

The time and tide
Will wait for me
As a single leaf falls
To earth

Outside the fireworks of Autumn
Decorate trees
Red, orange, green, brown

Inside
Lilies stand
Timeless
In floral jug

Each flower an artwork
Six flesh-pink petals
Six bristling males
Aching to shed powdery pollen
A single queen
Standing tallest
Mysterious
Owner of seed

A clock ticks softly
As male and female
Stand millimeters apart
Awaiting
Union

Are you crying
For the child inside of you?

Your tears flow and flow
As you live with the suffering
Of many years ago

Poor child
Lonely child
Heart broken child

Longing still
For what you lost

Tomorrow is a bright new dawn
A time for re-birth
For renewal

I am the blazing red of leaves
The incisive freshness of air
The rich green of grass
The pure white of clouds

The crisp crunch of fallen leaves
The steamy panting of morning dogs
The zingy tails of running squirrels
The throaty cry of geese on the wing

The diamond reflection of fishing ponds
The gentle sway of willow’s branches
The metallic shine of giant full moon
I am autumn

What’s underneath
Your long blond hair

What makes you jump
From your comfortable chair

Who will place
A ring on your finger?
Whose first kiss
Will make you linger?

Im going to die
I don’t know why
Or what will take me
From this place

I’ve run my race
Revealed my face
Am out of place
Without disgrace

Who will buy
My heart and soul
Roll the dice
To make me whole

I'm broken apart
There's nothing there
I stare beyond
Your empty chair

A leaf dances across the car park
And a girl with golden sparkly boots
Leaps into a car with her lover

I remember the day when you held me tight
And we danced in circles

A memory
I can never forget

A young tree stands proudly here
It will remain after I have gone

For now I sit
Still as the mud
Listening to the silence
Letting time
Pass

“Without the sun and the moon
How could the plants grow?

If the sun and moon were not in the heavens,
How could plants and trees grow?

Human beings have both a father and a mother.
It is hard for children to grow up when even one parent is missing.”

Thus spoke a wise man

And thus do I wonder at all life

Nothing is without its origin
And all things are connected
On each element we depend

Yet we are human
One with the universe
Blessed with the capacity
To promote new life, new growth

Cursed with the capacity
To destroy and annihilate

I met a man
With failing kidneys
He was struggling hard
To catch his breath

He expects to wait
Five years for a transplant
It’s dialysis until then
Dialysis

And I think
What if this day becomes my last?
What should I have done
Differently?

Could I have helped more?
Could I be kinder?
As kind as he was
To me?

Perhaps he is showing me
How to live
Because he knows
How to face his own death

Moon
Five times have you greeted me
On this day

Though all around me changes
You remain constant

First
Set amongst the black of pre dawn
You illuminate my street
Crisp, round, dominant
The streetlamps weakly copy your splendour
With their modern white lights

Second
I Ieave my house
The skies have awakened
No longer the black
Now a pale blue
Mixed with oranges and mauve

You, moon begin a slow surrender
To this new backdrop
As if pastilles had sketched you
And you seem resigned
To melt into the day

Third
Higher you stand
And the palette pure blue
And there you are still
Present yet receding
More distant
Standing softly in the morning sky
As if to say

'Farewell my night
I will remain here forever
Watching the world
Hidden and waiting
For your return'

Fourth
You dissolve your perfect roundness
Miracle ball of rock
And disappear from view

Always there
Pulling my imagination
As you become
Nothing but a wisp among the clouds
Swallowed like death
By the day

I work
I do what I can
I return home
Exhausted

Fifth

Evening

You stand watching me
In the fresh darkness
Brighter than ever
Half way through your daily revolution

And the stars are with you now
Just as they always are
And I am another half revolution

Closer to
The end

When I awake
Early on a winter’s morning
I creep about my house
Straining to soften the creak of the floorboards
Determined not to wake the others

My dazed heads snuffles
As I potter from toilet to bathroom
Bathroom to kitchen

And then
I am taken by surprise
As I catch a glimpse
Of pink, purple, orange, blue and grey,
The golden outline of the new sun's edge
Through my window

And I stand there
Still
In my dressing gown and slippers
A silent witness
Heart swelling with joy
At this precious moment
When I am alone
With this unique sunrise

I, alone
Claim this beauty
As my own

This is my time
My precious alone time
When I am most me

Wondering like 'the mole'
At the impossible beauty of it all

Quietly
Rests
The dark earth
Beneath silver moonlight
Sodden
Breathing
Ancient

In the first seven years of life
The world changes so

A new universe
Is born
Through each moment of discovery

And now
I am older
Waiting

Waiting

For what lies ahead

What lies ahead?

In seven years time
Where will I be?

Will I be here?
Will I be here?

What will I experience
In seven years time?

Birth and death?
Loss and gain?

Seven years
Seven years
Seven years

Who will I be?
Who will I have been?

What will I have become?

If Vincent saw these fields
Such illuminated clouds
He would reach for his brushes

A straw coloured morning
A spattering of rain
A brawling sea of clouds

The king of the sky burns
Brilliant gold through heavy grey
Rainbows shimmer

Autumn coloured leaves
Flutter and sparkle
On their final days

The rain
Has washed me
I am renewed
Clean, fresh

Tomorrow
Awaits
An adventure
Unwritten

Angled rays of orange
Shimmering white edges of clouds
Deep grey and blue river
Interrupted by upright vessels

Birds on the wing
A symphony of masts
Bricks and bridges
Green and red of autumn

Relics of the past
Rising flocks of thousands
A fragment of golden sunlight
Collected drops on my window pane

Silver light
Morning people
A cloth of tumbling light shapes
Horizontal bars of truth

A pathway to hidden palaces
An adventure waiting to begin
Flags uncurling
Glassy coloured reflections

Symbols of progress
Thoughts held captive
Hearts protected with messages
A single duck advancing on the river

A V shaped trail on the water
Stand up for what you believe in
These are the reflections of my mind
This is what I see

I do not want
The world to go mad
I want peace, inclusion, respect

I do not want
Outbreaks of hatred
I want learning, freedom, happiness

Battle against
This ‘progress of division’
Art and culture to warm cold hearts

Educate
To liberate from slavery
Abandon all destructive pursuits

Wisdom, compassion
Are lying dormant
Within the depths of each human heart

A bird dips its breast
In diving softly
Falling fearless through the evening air

Close your eyes
And watch the back of your eyelids
Open your mouth
And just for a while
Let cool air mix with the warmth
At the back of your throat
Rest your legs and let the blood flow up and down
Until your feet are completely rested
Relax your shoulders
Let the tensions of the day
Slip away as easily as water
Flowing down a mountain stream
Rest your fingers on your lap
And let the finger tips tingle with energy
Remember you are whole
One beautiful being
Let your mind wander
Wherever it wants to take you
Let go of the rudder and allow yourself to float
Down the river of your subconscious
Enjoy your nakedness
It is yours to enjoy
Be close to the air and let it soak you
Warm water will bathe your back
And all pain will float away
Like balloons in the breeze
Now listen to your heart
It is beating within you
Showing you the way
Love yourself
Give love freely to yourself
And prepare your heart
For the future

When the going
Has got too tough
It’s time to get going
And drive forwards

Don’t sit in the stagnant pool
Of decay
Don’t delay
Start a new day

Extricate yourself
From the mess of the past
And formulate
A new reality

Ungoverned by old demons
Ruled by the true you
Cut free
From the enemy
And light a torch
Of freedom

I do this
Because I choose this
I want to
Because I need to

The other way
To sit and wait
For hurricanes
And wolves

I choose this
To meet you
To work each day
And rise early

To challenge t
The tiredness
Of body
And of mind

I do this
Because I choose this
To try and think
What can be done

I do this
Because I want to
This hardship
Is no hardship

It is honour
Challenge
Opportunity
A wonder

So if my shoulders hunch
And Im feeling tense
So what, I say
I choose this

I know that gifts
Await me
I do this
I choose this

To live this
I choose this
To do this
With dignity

It all happens
So quickly
Life’s moments
Together
Connections
And meetings
As time
Marches by

So stop
To engage
And savour each moment
For seconds pass freely
To ether
Without rest

Each beat
Allowing
A precious creation
Of memories
Heart bonds
To honour
Our lives

One day I'll be ancient
Withered
Frail
Yet ever connected
To the child
That once was

The art
Of holding it all
Together

The quality
Of
Honesty

The ability
To uphold
Strong moral principles

United
In one body

Do we disintegrate
Or integrate?

Do we separate, conflagrate?

Become irate
Or negotiate?

Integrity

Oneness

Unity

One

Like a tree in the dead of night
Like a rock buried beneath the ice
Like lost treasure on the ocean bed
Or a meteor approaching earth

Like a scattering of unknown seeds
Like an old discarded key
Like a secret underground tunnel
Or a diary with a lock

Like a missing jigsaw piece
Like the inside of an egg
Your heart is more mysterious
Than I could ever imagine

On such a dazzlingly bright day
I can only wonder
At the beautiful light show

Marvel at the freshness of the air
Ponder the beauty of it all

Develop my sense of gratitude
Gratitude which is surely missing
In my heart

These efforts of mine
To lead a good life
Have brought me to this point

And yet I am still dissatisfied

Though many battles have been won
Many have been lost too

What have I learned?

Treat people with respect
And ultimately you will win the day

Circumstances change
And with it our security

We must be vigilant
And prepare for upheavals
For life is changeable

The wheel will always turn
Bringing in new life
And taking all who live
Closer to death

Silent piano
Soft is your texture
Beneath my fingers

Infinitesimal
The potential combinations
Of your ebonies
Ivories

Sweet is your grace

Up and down you go
Deep and high are you
Running
Majestic
Soft
Booming

You could decorate
The air
With your response to the touch of another

My room is reflected in your varnish
Your smooth corners
Decorate the banal white contours of this place

Your voice is a flight to another world
Solace from angry words
The gift of harmony

Silent piano
Your precision
Mathematical
Tense
Still
Awaits
A friend
To bring life to you

You stand patiently
Listening to the sounds of this house

The clock
The washing machine
The soft pad of a cat's footsteps
The rumble of traffic

All of these
Are nothing to you

Silent piano

For you know great secrets

Go
Flo
Rip
Lip
Wiggle
Tiggle
Smash
Dash

Groove
Move
Hup
Pup
Slide
Ide
Dive
Clive

Push
Nush
Tickle
Lickle
Love
­Dove
Bounce
Ounce

Daz
Jazz
Big
Dig
Slip
Pip
Trip
Hip

Hop
Pop
Grind
Mind
Telly
Belly
Hell
Tell

Oz
Loz
Stone
Bone
Big
Wig
­Tic
Nic

Danny
*****
Granny
Manny
Wimp
Imp
Rib
Dib

Dace
Mace
Lace
Race
Fire
Ire
Flat
Face

The cuts
Slice through plans
Disturbing the future
We had envisioned for ourselves

Lives interrupted
As the flow of money ceases
And is re-directed elsewhere

Big ideas freeze
And the future crumbles

But, where does the money go?

Into growing
Or stopping?
Welcoming in
Or keeping out?

Sixty five million just to work out
How to leave the European Union

Why not stay
And continue to play?

So who decides
Where the money goes?
Who decides and why?

Is it really the people
Who decide?

Or is it the people with the money
Who decide

Where the money goes

Strip me naked
And lay me bare

You will find
Not a penny on me

It's all
Decided in
Our minds

Brooding skies
Tell me

I am falling

The weight of grey clouds
Like gates of a foreboding vault
Tell me

I am falling

I feel it
In the walls
Of my heart

Drops of sweat gather
About my forehead

My thoughts ache

And yet
I am
An artist

And this is the adventure
For which I have yearned

To be free

Free

Free

So why does freedom
Feel so dangerous?

Why will my tense body
Resist it

Do I wish to cling to the security
Of imprisonment?

I must call upon courage

Deeply possessed
Birth right of all

Limitless oceans of strength
Awaiting those who seek it

And I will believe in the sun
Although invisible to the eye
This morning

It is there
To warm
My juddering soul

For in the storms
We are like mice
Huddling together for safety

Our tears should not be shed in pity
We should hold each other close

For we are human

We have fear
And courage

We possess despair
And hope

We live
Yet we will die

I

Have made

Myself

Become

What

I am

Through
Time

A single bird
Flies
From one pole of our planet
To the other

In one year

An new hatched cuckoo
Will push
One egg
After another
Out of
Its borrowed nest

Until it
Is the sole surviving infant

Fostered
By birds

Of another feather

Survival
Is older
Than all collected memories

Achieved
A multitude of ways

History
Is
But a second
When measured
Against
The age old battle
For life

We walk
A tightrope

Each body
Bears its scars

And years tick by
So...

Softly

I cling to fantasies
Whilst travelling
One step

Then

One more

A tired fly
Flew past my nose
Its buzz was low
Its speed was slow
It drifted through the heavy air
I know, I saw it go
On by

The cat was sleeping
On a chair
Just lying there
Without a care

Until the fly flew past her nose
To end her doze
The cat she froze

Her green eyes widened
And turned all cold
As cold as gold
If truth be told

The tired fly
Went buzzing by
The cat’s white nose
And I suppose
The cats intention
Was to try
And catch that fly
As it went by

Her paws ****** out
In desperate throttle
To try and ****
The winged bluebottle

The fly escaped
Its hum got higher
Its flight got faster
The cat chased after

Round and round the room they went
The cats neck bent
And furiously sent
The fly on high
Above sharp claws
As she flipped and pawed
The clever fly soared

Until at last
The cat did stop
And off did trot
Like she cared not

To catch a much less mobile snack
Her cat food sat
Upon her mat

The fly is drifting overhead
Its buzz all low
It’s flying slow
And watching out for battle two
When cat is through
With chewing food

And so it goes on every day
Some get away
Some like to play

The cat and fly
They both still try
To take their chance
In life's great dance

What is love
Without loving
What is life
Without living
What is joy
Without giving

It is hollow

What is hope
Without wishing
What is air
Without breathing
What is art
Without feeling
It is nothing

What is age
Without learning
What is day
Without night
What is voice
Without singing
It is cracked

What am I
Without others
What could I do
Without brothers
How could we live
Without our mothers
We could not

I am a man
Who is full of holes
I take in too much
For my own heart to hold

I leak through my holes
These tears in my soul
The ripped seams ooze worries
And the brow wears a furrow

I am a man
Who is full of holes
I feel them so sharply
But they just will not close

With needle and cotton
I could stitch up the rents
But then I'd contain it all
And surely explode

For, I am a man
Who is full of holes
I'm walking with weaknesses
Troubles and woes

But I'm true to my heart
And I am what I am
I know that I’ll carry on
Living my plan

These holes will be with me
For all of my days
My leaky creations
And worrisome ways

But I thank imperfections
For serving my conscience
And all of them sparkle
With my own life experience

For I am a man
Who is full of holes
My life is a story
And where next, who knows?

I'll live like a man
Who is upright and true
And show you my heart
It's all I can do

Come sleep
And cradle me
In your tender arms

Release me
From the sadness of my day
And take me
As your lover

Come sleep
Feed me soft wine
To restore my battered soul
Welcome me to your gondola
And float with me gently
Far from this place

Come sleep
Decorate my dreams
With tender kisses
And loving embraces

Lift me from
My cold isolation
And free me from my torments

Come sleep
Robe me in the clothes of a king
And shower heavenly gifts upon me

Let me revel
In a land of fantasy
Just for tonight

That I may live again
Tomorrow

On your marks
Get set
Go!

This is it
This is the moment
We’ve all been waiting for.

Let’s leap out of bed
Grab the chance
Live the dream
Supremely

Once and for all
Let’s win them all

Breathe in the beauty
Of the freshest air

Make music while we can
Dance like we’ve never danced before

Spin, turn, sing,
Shout, leap, jump

There is no fear here
No fear anywhere

Let’s advance
On this wonderful dance

Reconnect with who we are
Learn all about our brilliance

Let our ideas take wing
And make them a reality

Stories of life are greater
Than anyone can imagine

This is our great drama
This is ours

My usual seat is taken

A thin man
Opens his Stella

It's 7.40am

School boys play music
Out loud on their phones
In the quiet carriage

I feel lost

Over stretched
Straight-jacketed
By my lifestyle

Struggling, trying and failing
To keep it all together

I am losing
And winning
In my belief

I notice the sun
Shining
Whether clouds confront it or not
And I think
So what if it’s tough
Just keep fighting

The day is long

I finish work
The ticket office is closed
The police are everywhere

Attack with a noxious substance
They say


I walk home

How do we want our children to live?
Must it be the same way as us?
Did we succeed in showing the way?
Or should we be seeking an alternative path?

Our planet is green, blue and kind
The air all around is fair and mild
The creatures beside us are full of great beauty
The earth is a miracle home to the trees

How do we want our children to live?
Must it be the same way as us?
Did we succeed in showing the way?
Or should we be seeking an alternative path?

Our industries build still more powerful weapons
The leaders talk of building up walls
The money men force us to pay higher prices
Whilst profiting daily from eternal wars

How do we want our children to live?
Must it be the same way as us?
Did we succeed in showing the way?
Or should we be seeking an alternative path?

Our seas fill up with plastic pollution
Our cities require that you wear a mask
Our reactors leak waste that will damage your baby
They frack the land brutally to quench their thirst

How do we want our children to live?
Must it be the same way as us?
Did we succeed in showing the way?
Or should we be seeking an alternative path?

The sun rises daily to show us our weakness
The moon weeps at night as we lie in our beds
The stars ask us questions to trouble our conscience
The galaxy waits for the next generation

How do we want our children to live?
Must it be the same way as us?
Did we succeed in showing the way?
Or should we be seeking an alternative path?

What has happened to you?
Why do you ****?
Where is your place?
Have you given up caring?

Don’t you think about pain?
Are you too numb to feel it?
When you sleep
How do you release
The trauma of what you have done?

Are all things black
Cold and empty?
Is there any colour in what you see?

Do not ignore the
Green shrubs against pink skies
White clouds and street lights
Familiar faces
And birds on bare branches

Follow the green lights
And sunset façades
The running water
The buses and cars

All that is needed
Is a little time to soak it all in

When endorphins are low
And the body goes slow
Offer yourself some energy flow

Remember that
Fronds of grasses
Sway and glide
In the playtime of the breeze

And the world is but a collection
Of happenings

Your tooth came out tonight
You tongue is slipping through
The gap where once your old tooth sat
And speaking’s harder too

You placed it underneath a pillow
Now dreams can fill your head
I’ll switch the tooth for a two pound coin
That you’ll find there instead

I’ll write a note fromTooth Fairy
To say that she has been
She’ll build her house from fallen teeth
And keep them nice and clean

Yes!
I have done it
Yes!
I can plan
Yes!
I'm excited
Yes!
I have won

Yes!
I express myself
Yes!
I build trust
Yes!
I change everything
Yes!
Life's begun

Yes!
I can love
Yes!
I can give
Yes!
I can hope
Yes!
I can breathe

Yes!
I will journey
Yes!
And rejoice
Yes!
I will live
With great pride
And glory

And suddenly
It becomes Autumn

Great grey and white clouds
Layer above dense greenery
Succulent evidence
Of summer passed.

Swirling breezes
Conduct dances
Of first fallen leaves
Coats and scarves
Make their first appearance

Currents of moisture
Seep through bodies
Re-awakening memories
And the world moves towards
Drawing in on itself

Nature is accepting of its rhythm
Yet my heart resists it
Wondering of the blackness
Surrounding humanity

Summer is over
And the world knows it to be so

We are with Autumn once more
And our tired eyes must awaken
To see our new truth

Perfect, round, pink
You rise above mountains
Offering hope and tranquility
To my troubled heart

Every night
You make your pilgrimage
Though often
You hide from me.

Will I see you tonight?

Will I lie with you
Watching your sensuous curves
Drawing me
To your fertility

Will I see you
After my long journey
Will we celebrate at last?

Great moon over Kamakura

Will I see you tonight?

There is one companion
Who travels with me
Wherever I go

He possesses more voices
More faces
Than droplets
In the oceans

He is rising
From obscurity
To dismantle his own oppression
To set free his voices
To reveal the truth
And lead the way

There is one companion
Who remains always with me
One who has drowned
Among the voices of others
Sunk deep in the muddy slurry of hierarchies
Slipped repeatedly
On the slopes of material acquisition
For too long

Yet somehow
His staff has been found
His boots have grown claws
To grip the ice of life
And with each step
The cold winds of emptiness
Flutter and wane
And the blue freeze of isolation
Yields to the warmth of the eternal sun

Child of sun
Father of insuperable unity
Emerge and celebrate
Your future

You are the one who can win
You have to succeed
You have to breakthrough
Stand proudly at the edifice
And scream at the world

'I am here to make a difference!
All the things that I abhor
I will transcend
I will live and laugh and love
I will break through the confines of my small self
It is only I who can make the changes
I will not wait for others to make it happen for me'

Most noble life
Filled with challenge and opportunity
How you have battled

But now you must fill your bones
With the spirit of Josei Toda
You must fight with every ounce of strength
You must muster the strength of a million men
And push forward never thinking of defeat
Only thinking of eternal victory

I have come for you

But can't I go any further?

Life has happened to you.

But I wanted to live differently!

Life has happened to you.

But I need to live better!

Your life has happened to you and now it is done.

I could refuse, I could leave this, find something better, make you see what I mean?  I could stay, fight, change things, make them better...

Life has happened to you.  This is what you have done, and now you must come.

But I don't want to.

Then you must fight, harder than ever before, or die.

I swim up and down
The pool of my life
Longing for the weekend

And when I surface for air
I realise that I'm in the same pool
As I was before

I duck back under the water
And swim backwards and forwards
Wondering...

Is it possible to be kinder
Than ever before?

Is there a limit to the compassion
Of a single human being?

From this messy world
Beauty

From the craggy rubble
Symmetry

We, like mud
Are imperfect

But no imperfection
Can be found
In your music

Sound
That melts my stony heart

Transports me
To a land
Of hope

I am uplifted
By your great creations

And generations assemble
Around your sweet melodies

What you did
What you have done
Breathes everywhere

And the world
Is better for it

I am a lion
Fierce, proud and strong
I am a dragon
Fearless pre-historic
I am a firefly
Illuminating darkness
I am a butterfly
Metamorphic, miraculous
My skin changes
For I am
A shape shifter
I can transform
Into anything I please
I can be an oak
Or a holly tree
Catch me if you can
But if you do
I will change shape
And slip through your fingers
Like frogspawn
Or algae
I morph
And mutate
Vibrate and quiver
But whatever I am
Whoever I am
I am full of life’s energy
A frothing amalgam
Of evolutionary potential
I am a lion
I am a tiger
I am an eagle
I am a cheetah
I am…
I am…
I am…

Free

*** Ego
Media Frenzy
Guilty pleasures
Super rich

Mates Rates
X factor
Love me
Bust up

Gold strip
Top marks
Fashion icon
Last chance

Manic Depression
Micro meals
Super size
Up grade

Bookies favourite
Hope glory
Buy now
Pay later

Luscious lips
Hot tips
Big bones
Smart phones

Buy sell
Last few
Finish first
Quench thirst

Message me
Face book
Insta gram
Twitter handle

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Listen

To the sounds of birds singing