Meet me
At the sea, see?
You and me
Will be free
To be
Who
We want to be
When we meet
At the sea
See?

I see
That we will be
Who we need to be
When we
Are free
To be free
You and me
Finally
See?

We
Will be
Free
See
At the sea
See?

Parliamentary protests are essential

The standing up for free speech
The need to protect democracy
The resolve to fight for it
The singing of songs and anthems
At 2am in the house of commons
Will in time
Be known
As acts of valour

The careless dismissals
Of our so-called ‘prime’ minister
Are shallow and dangerous

His admiration and imitations
Of a dangerous American ‘president’
Are base and transparent

Shutting down parliament
To deliver his own agenda
Leaves a foul stain on our history

No one is bigger than truth
No one is greater than justice

It is only those who follow
These great virtues
Come what may
Who will be remembered
As honourable

So, don’t call him
‘The right honourable gentleman’
Or ‘My right honourable friend’

Honour is a not to be bestowed flippantly
It only applies to those
Who deserve it.

Orange moon
Lemon sky
I wait all day
For the night

For dreams to come
For time with you
Lemon sky
Orange moon

A second impeachment
For the man called
Trump
He will stand trial
And answer for his actions
A fitting end
To a miserable presidency

Just for a moment
As I hold a bundle of washed clothes
I inhale the autumn air
Observe the blue skies
And feel the soft earth underfoot
The cares of adulthood evaporate
And I become an ageless creature
Wondering at the sun
Gasping at the breeze
Dazed by the dancing birds
Ignorant of anything but the moment
Unafraid of death

He is cool
He rocks
He’s like a rock
Solid

He is kind
He is deep
Like the sea
Mysteriously

He’s a young
Seventy-one
Number one
To everyone

He’s a mate
He is great
We celebrate
Our dearest John

I had a thought of a thing
To write about
During the night
Deep in the night

But it escaped my mind
Just like that
Without a trace
An empty space

It was a great thought
Or so I thought
That came in the night
Like a fairy sprite

But now it’s gone
To who knows where
Behind the sofa?
Under the chair?

I wish I could know
What makes me remember
The idea was there?
Before it left

What makes me forget
It’s clever details
And leaves me stuck with
An empty page

What long ago passed
I can still recall
And that which is recent
Has slipped through my fingers

I guess that’s just age
And my great idea
Will land on a page
Of a brighter writer

The words you say
Change me

The sound of your voice
Revives me

The touch of your hand
Moves me

You understand me
When I struggle to understand myself

You direct me
When I am lost

If I feel lonely
Desolate and small

You rescue me
From the black hole of my dark thoughts

We could spend eternity
Fighting

Or we could build something beautiful
Together

It’s all right

The sun rises
And sets with dignity
It’s all right

It’s all right

The moon whispers cosmic stories to us
As we sleep
It’s all right

It’s all right

The earth
Knows all the secrets of the universe
It’s all right

It’s all right
We will rise up again and again
Until we fulfil our mission

It’s
All
Right

I’m sure the universe has a plan
If I can just catch its waves
Someone said you need a surfboard
To navigate the swell and sway

I’m sure the universe has a plan
If I can just get myself on board
I have to grab the ropes and pull
To climb the boat and move it forth

I’m sure the universe has a plan
If I can steer my rickety ship
I’ll climb the peaks and dip the troughs
If only I can keep my grip

I’m sure the universe has a plan
To take me from this mess we’re in
I think there’s somewhere calm and lush
Away from this rushing noisy din

I’m sure the universe has a plan
If I can just hold my nerve
If I aim towards a steady course
I might find the happiness I deserve

I’m sure the universe has a plan
For us and the whole world family
If we all sail our ships so true
We might fulfil a master plan

And if every ship goes where it should
We’ll turn this troubled earth to good
And all the crap we’ve made so far
Will melt away like an aged scar

I’m sure the universe has a plan
I ought to crack on for sure
Because life goes by in the blink of an eye
And I want no regrets when I say goodbye

When the music plays
People dance
Movement emerges
From inner places
An internal response
To the outer vibration
As the rhythm reverberates
The dance expands
And each heighten the other
As primeval personalities are revealed
And anything can happen

People can change
But
You can't change people

I’m making a fresh start
Although the sights, sounds, touch, tastes and smells
That pass through my senses
May be more than familiar
I will try and experience all things anew
With the wonder that they deserve

I will enter my place of work as if it were
My first day of work
And do my best to make a difference

I will treat each person
As if they were a King or Queen
I will try to be helpful and supportive
And treat each person with the greatest sincerity

I will give what I can
And enjoy what I receive
But I will not expect to receive
Only pursue the joy of giving

I’m making a fresh start
I will clear out any negative thoughts from my mind
And allow only bright ideas and dreams to take their place
I will say ‘Thank you’ whenever I get the opportunity

I will look back at this day
With great gratitude

A day of which I can be proud
A day in which I was able to renew myself
And the world around me

What comes to me
Becomes part of me

What leaves me
Becomes part of my history

What shapes me
Surrounds me

As I shape
That which  surrounds me

Sometimes I feel like a very small child
That needs to be looked after

Sometimes I wish someone would stroke my hair
and whisper reassuring words to help me get to sleep

I think of my mother, and then my father
And remember the feeling of heavy tears running down my hot childish cheeks, dampening my pillows

And I wish, just for a while, that I was young again

As I took my daily walk
Around the sodden park
I noticed fear in the blackened eyes
Of those passed I
On the narrow pathways

Was it fear of contagion?
Fear of infection?

I wanted to stop
And talk to them
To say...
‘Don’t be afraid
It’ll be ok’

But the people
Walked on
Faces veiled
Preferring to cast their eyes
Downwards

Whatever power this lockdown has
Is draining people
Of their social instincts
And replacing them
With a mistrust
Of others

To be the one that children turn to
In the very darkest hours

To be the one to whom we all rush
To share our news

To be the one to whom
We are connected for life

To live the greatest and most uncelebrated
Of all human endeavours

I long to change
The inner
Liberate the weight
Of the outer
Return to the form
Of the times before

I want to evaporate
The strain
That I possess
It’s making a mess
Of my body
And mind

I crave
The youthfulness
Of yesterday
Dancing with friends
Until the very end

I grieve lost days
Trapped in this maze
Gripped by the haze
Of the fiery rage
Of a pandemic

Did I learn anything today?

Only the mystic law
Can transform a broken heart
And make it whole

Penny coin stains
On the fountain’s white base
Holst conducts pigeons

Frost has arrived
To coat everything

Frost that clings
To beautify
Ugly traffic cones
And shimmer the pavements

Autumn colours
Glorify the trees
Brown, gold
Copper, orange

Earth stands frozen,
Firm, clean

The two minute silence
Revealed
Sounds of my breathing
A humming of the building
Distant birdsong

The racings of my brain were stilled
And the gentle aching of my bones became perceptible

I tasted the air
Saw its colours
And noticed
The ticking of time

I wonder what I’d notice
If I would sit silent and still
For an hour?

I saw a drop
Land in a puddle
And a perfect ring raced
To the puddle’s edge

I saw another drop
And another and their rings raced out too
And then they joined together

I saw a thousand rain droplets
Stuck to my window
Until the rush of the wind
Joined one to another

I imagined the deepest depths of the ocean
Silent, swirling, black
Built of billions of drops and droplets
All working together
As one

And I pondered the secrets of the universe
The possibilities that arise
When one joins another
And another and another
To become many

Creative struggle
To emanate words
Copper brown leaves

Why are we drawn towards artists?
Perhaps because they embody
The human being
In its most natural and unrestricted state

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

For I am a man of the sea
I am briny and shaggy and old
The blue in my eyes
Is drawn from the depths
And the brown of my hide
Scooped from the beds

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

My wiry beard is woven from weeds
My bones are welded stones
My hands are like starfish
And my feet like rocks
My breath is the gush
And the rush of the foam

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

If I should fall right off this earth
And my shoulders collapse from the strain
Then burn me through
Collect up my ashes
And scatter me onto the waves

For I am a man of the sea
I am briny and shaggy and old
The blue in my eyes
Is drawn from the depths
And the brown of my hide
Scooped from the beds

I will always return to the sea
I will never tire of the tides
I cannot forget
The ebb and the flow
The drawing back
And the rolling in

‘It’s ok to be who you are’ said the man
His voice cracked and his eyes squinted.
Snow had settled on a few rooftops and ice painted swirls on the train platform.
‘But I don’t like who I am’
‘Why not?’
‘I don’t know.  It’s this feeling that I have inside of me.  That I’m not really any good for anything.’
‘When do you get that feeling?’
‘Most of the time’
‘Most of the time?’
‘Yes’
‘That’s a lot of time spending feeling that’
‘I know’
‘Do you ever not feel that way?’
‘Sometimes’
‘And when is that?’
‘When I am distracted.  You know, when I am thinking about other things.’
‘What other things?’
‘Work, family, Brexit.’
‘Brexit!’
‘Yes, believe it or not, I am addicted to watching the news on Brexit.’
‘That’s sad’
‘Yes it is.  I guess it gives me something to feel indignant about.’
‘Do you want to feel indignant?’
‘Yes, I think I do.’
‘Why do you want to feel indignant?’
‘Because I think I have failed.’
‘What have you failed at?’
‘Life’
‘Life?’
‘Yes, living. You know life!  Being a successful person.’
‘So tell me, what’s a successful person?’
‘Someone who doesn’t have to worry about paying their mortgage.’
‘Really?  Is that what you really think?’

‘Last night, I dreamt of a party.’
‘What kind of party?’
‘A party in the garden of a big house.’
‘Whose house?’
‘I guess I owned it.’
‘So what happened.  It was my daughter’s birthday and I kept calling her E.D.’
‘E.D.?’
‘That’s right. And there was lots of food and drink and music.’
‘It sounds like a good party.’
‘It was, but it was also just a dream.’
‘That’s ok.  It’s good to have dreams and to remember them.’
‘Is it?  Who says?’
‘Me’
‘And who are you?’
‘A voice of reason.’
‘Reason?’

I’m making a fresh start
Although the sights, sounds, touch, tastes and smells
That pass through my senses
May be more than familiar
I will try and experience all things anew
With the wonder that they deserve

I will enter my place of work as if it were
My first day of work
And do my best to make a difference

I will treat each person
As if they were a King or Queen
I will try to be helpful and supportive
And treat each person with the greatest sincerity

I will give what I can
And enjoy what I receive
But I will not expect to receive
Only pursue the joy of giving

I’m making a fresh start
I will clear out any negative thoughts from my mind
And allow only bright ideas and dreams to take their place
I will say ‘Thank you’ whenever I get the opportunity

I will look back at this day
With great gratitude
A day of which I can be proud
A day in which I was able to renew myself
And the world around me

I renounce the restrictions that hold me down
I cut the binding cords that I have let wrap round me
I release myself from the straightjackets
Into which I have stepped daily
For I realise that my life is as great and wide as the universe
And what is there to lose, but face, pride, status
If I should try to fulfil my wildest dreams

The fever is gone
Taste and smell too
Two takeaways per week
To help get us through

A Netflix subscription
Great books to read…
Love and support
Are all that I need

Somewhere...

Music is playing
Cocktails are pouring
Lovers are loving
Friends are laughing
Families are hugging
Champagne is bubbling
Voices are singing
Children are grinning
Musicians are gigging
Dancers are jigging
Crowds are gathering
Heartbeats are racing

But right here
Right now
I am with my family
At home

When I hear great music
I don’t need anything else

Not money
Not food
Nor shelter

The Music Takes Over
And I am carried away

Not money
Not food
Nor shelter

On a magic carpet
Into a plane

Not money
Not food
Nor shelter

Where my body moves
And my heart rises

Not money
Not food
Nor shelter

And my soul is set free
By the mystic entity

Not money
Not food
Nor shelter

You are our friend
You have grown ill
And are facing the end
We are sending personal prayers
Hoping to ease your pain

You are our friend
And we are all thinking of you
We are sharing our pictures of you
From times gone by
That make us smile

You are our friend
Illness and death
Will come to us all one day
And we realise
How important it is
That we have
Friends

What should a man be
If he is not...
A source of strength to others
A pillar of his family and society
Free of ego
Ready to help others in his community

What should a man be
If he is not...
Kind, caring and wise
Patient, enduring and present
Calm, reasonable, even tempered
Happy with who he is

What should a man be
If he is not...
Sensitive, quiet, one who listens
Reflective, determined and brave
Strong as iron
Honest, whole, dependable
Flexible, deep and true

Words escape
Like water between my fingers

Thoughts evaporate
As surely as dewdrops facing sunrise

Inspiration eludes
Like snow in summer

But still

My page needs to be filled
And l sit
Without a meaningful thought in my head

It is hard to cling to the belief
That I can be absolutely happy
When the reality of being partly happy
Is much more familiar
And attainable

Experiencing a partial life
A mix of frustrations
Groans and sighs
Half baked 'if onlys'
Is easier to achieve
Than a life of absolute happiness

Four golden legs
The smoothest back
A wide brim
With soft white skin
Deep and hot
Always inviting
Best enjoyed
With candle lighting

I’m heavy and strong
I live very long
I make you believe
You don't want to leave
In my belly
There's room for two
Once you’re in
The dreams begin

Who am I?
I’ll make you laugh
A very special
Cast iron bath

Blue coats
Fried food
Headphones and alcohol

Gates and overhead fans
Travellers
Waiting
Clutching passports and tickets
Whilst giant machines
Queue up
Waiting to power along
Soaking wet runways
Blasting tiny humans into
The fantasy of imagination

We have learned to fly
And normalise
The experience of disconnecting ourselves
From the solid earth

We float in the air
Like babies in amnion
Normalising the abnormal
Dreaming our earthly lives away

It’s all but a dream
All of it
Organised into parcels of time
Bundles of adrenalised experiences

Inside all of us
Our hearts beat
Once
Twice
Thrice

Calmly counting
The measures of our time
In this incarnation

Until we stop
Fade
Disappear into the fabric of the air

Wider
Freer
Greater than any jet plane

Abundant in our disappearance
Untraceable
Unrecognisable
Lost in the wisps of our former existences

Only your voice resonates
With truth
In a world
Of cynical soundbites

Your outrage
At the falsity
Of the so-called leaders

Penetrates our hearts
And changes us

You demonstrate more dignity
In five minutes

Than years of pathetic political hypocrisy

Pick up your pen!
And tell your truth
To the world

Spread it loud
And Wide

Pick up your pen!
And let it be known
That we will not accept this
Anymore
For all people
Must be allowed to live
With dignity

Safe
Secure
Happy

Take up your pen!
Do not hide your belief
Let the whole world hear
That we must protect
This planet of ours
And all life
That is to be found in our community

Take up your pen!
Imprint the truth of the day
On your page
Write to create a future
Filled with courageous hope

Take up your pen!
Let not this moment pass
Take up the challenge
And create the future
We desire

You wonder why
I look to you
For love
Tenderness
Comfort
***

I want you
To make
My feelings
Disappear

Emptiness
Desolation
Hopelessness
Powerlessne­ss

Still they keep coming
Stronger than the wind
Stronger than the wind

And you wonder why
I look to you
For love

I want you
To make
My feelings
Disappear

There is always something
That can be done
To make a difference

Don’t give up hope

There is the joy of nature
The symphony of bird song at dawn
The warmth of the sun

Don’t give up hope

The sound of a friendly voice
A greeting from a stranger
The purring of a cat

Don’t give up hope

The embrace of a loved one
A meal shared with others
A good night’s sleep

Don’t give up hope

Don’t give up hope

Don’t give up hope

Think of three things
That made you smile today

Now...

Say them out loud

Sometimes
I wish I could hear
Your inner voice

I would stop time
And listen
To your thoughts

And perhaps then
I would understand this crazy world
Better

Will someone explain to me
The benefit of

Food shortages
Lack of medicines
Lorries queuing for days at Dover and Kent
Price rises affecting the poorest in society
Ruined international relationships

Will someone explain to me
Why democracy should be abandoned
Parliament should be closed unlawfully
An unelected leader should have his own way
So that we can have

Food shortages
Lack of medicine
Lorries queuing for days at Dover and Kent
Price rises affecting the poorest in society
Ruined international relationships

Can somebody explain to me
Why we must obey
‘The will of the people’
Which apparently is crying out for

Food shortages
Lack of medicine
Lorries queuing for days at Dover and Kent
Price rises affecting the poorest in society
Damaged international relationships

For as it stands
I simply do not understand

I sit
In this moment
Of borrowed time
And think back
On the day

The interweaving busy-ness
The rushing from here to there
Without cease
Has tired me

And yet
I did see the sun
Setting
As I walked homewards

A brilliant decoration
Of gold
Amongst swathes of rippled clouds
And it made me stop
And wonder at
Everything

I rush to meet
My human priorities
A tiny dot
Buzzing around
In this great universal soup

And I know
That I do not wonder enough
At the very wonder
Of it all

I am like
A wax man
Whose heart burns brightly with flame
But whose body wilts
Beneath the strain

Two tiny caterpillars
A meeting of ants
Wood pigeons roosting
Bees buzzing by

Soft green grass
Cool dry earth
Blue sky floating clouds
Calendula plants sway

Roses of pink
Peek through broken fence slats
Rusting barbecue of black
Beside a flat tyre bicycle

Lush green leaves bounce
Silk strands float
Breezes of spring dance invisibly
As I sit in my garden

How many lifetimes
Have I searched for you?

How many dreamtimes
Have I yearned for you?

How many voyages
Have I travelled to find you?

And now
You are here

Tender green eyes
Softest skin
Warmest embrace
Heart flowing with love

Beauty beyond compare

You allow me
To become
The man I want to be

I will never let you go
For you are

My true love