Let today
Be a day
Where everything
Goes smoothly
Where all our hopes
And dreams
Come true

Let today
Be a day
For triumph
And victory
The happiest day
For me and you

I am at home
In my home
Watching the blue sky of day
Grow lilac

My last train journey
Was a month ago

Since then
Spring leaves have grown
On the tree in my garden
And the air
Has become noticeably cleaner

Perhaps this global malady
Will persist until our planet
Is given space to purify

This is who I am
This is all I’ve got
It may be rather ordinary
But it’s also quite a lot

I may not have a mansion
Or a Lamborghini car
I don't have a very high IQ
And I'm not married to a movie star

I celebrate the ordinary
As something quite profound
Because it is the ordinary
That make the world go round

The famous may be enviable
In their own particular way
But I'd rather be without pretence
Being ordinary every day

So rejoice at being ordinary
It’s greater than they say
Because your particular 'ordinary'
Is extraordinary in every way

I should climb back on the tightrope
Find my way back to the mountain path
Because I lost my grip on the high wire
And crashed down to the earth

Now I’m lying amongst the dirt
Watching rain drops splash and jump
I keep myself down here for a while
And growl at those trying to pull me up

If I should stay here any longer
Would my desperation stop
Would I draw closer to nature’s mother
My heart beating against the sod

Who cares what people might say
If I’m scratched and bruised, vile and pungent
I’m a wild animal come from wild animals after all
And my trappings and rituals are just a veil

Am I a dreamer
In your drama?
It’s no calmer
In my karma
Am I a worrier
Not a warrior
Feeling wearier
Of being ‘inferior’?
I might be doubting
Not doing
Though my eyes
Can still see through ya
Cos, you’re the prophet
Chasing profit
A human
Inhumane
Playing games
With our brains
When it rains
In your reign
You’re the sovereign
Who’s not botherin’
We need a leader
Who can lead us
But we won’t wait
For that date
It’s got too late
To trust in fate
So, we will fight
Through this fright
And put things right
As is our right

Morning alarms
Baggy eyes
Wandering through
Dark caverns of life

Fallen leaves
Stoic trees
Journeys through blackness
And snowy clouds

Crisp crackly dawns
Overcoat walks
Firey coals
Pale faces

Flakes dropping
Frozen cheeks
Shovels scraping
Icy roads

I hear the distant rumble
Of an aeroplane
On its way
To an unknown destination

And I wish I was up there
Travelling through the clouds
In the evening sky
Starting a new adventure
Experiencing the sensation of journeying
Ready to meet new people
Opening my life to new opportunities

But I remain here
Grounded in my reality
Held by my responsibilities
Still, in the midst
Of this strange time

What do I remember of the day?

I remember waking early
To pray for one hour

Hanging clean white sheets on the washing line
And watching them sway in a gentle breeze

The taste of fresh cut melon
Decorated with natural yoghurt

My daughter’s patience
As she teaches me new dance moves

I remember the pink haziness of the sky
And the full balminess of the Spring air

The softness of my cat’s fur
And the comfort of my wife’s voice

I remember

That I am human and that I have life
And with that I have death

I remember the smiling faces of my work colleagues
And cheerful songs of the morning birds

These are the things that I remember
As I prepare to sleep

And they are all treasures
Of the day

Open your heart
You never know
What you will find there

On a day like today
I have to trust
My very essence
Which gathers in great droplets
Like syrup running from a spoon.

If I can wear a smile today
And encourage everyone I meet
Then perhaps if this were to be
My last day on earth
I would be happy with it

To the manufacturers of plastic
You can stop now
To the fossil fuel companies
You can stop now
To the weapons manufacturers
You can stop now
To the tax avoiding corporates
You can stop now
To the battery farmers and animal testers
You can stop now
To the human rights abusers
You can stop now
To the rainforest loggers
You can stop now
To the lovers of war
You can stop now

There is no longer
Any excuse
Or rational explanation
For you to continue
Any more

There are hidden lines
Between you and me
Energy lines
That bind us

Invisible
Yet tangible
Our hearts
Are joined
By threads
Which reach through
An unimaginable dimension

My devil carries a sword
Which for some unknown reason
Slashes at our bonds
My angry tongue burns
Hissing complaints
That erode our heart ties

And we have to start again
Repair our ties
Time and again
And I slowly learn
That I need to stop my devil
Slashing and burning

Although I cant see the breaks
The scars
I feel them
And my day starts badly
I feel remorse, sadness
At the destruction I have wrought

There are ties that bind us all
Fathers, mothers, sons, daughters
Brothers, sisters, friends, lovers

The heart is capable
Of reaching the fiercest enemy
Scaling the highest mountains
Breaching the thickest of walls

Sending invisible messages
Creating bridges of connection and love
Joining everything and everyone
Building hope

And it is stronger than all other forces
And yet more fragile and vulnerable
Than I knew
Until now

It's 2020
The first day of a new decade
And I wonder
What will the next ten years bring?

The time will fly by
That’s for sure
And on New Years Day 2030
Will we still be wondering
Why we are in such a mess?

Will a technological revolution for good
Have swept the planet?
Will the clean and green energies
Have replaced the oily polluters?
Will the super-rich have redistributed their wealth?
And will the poor have found their feet?

Will children dance with joy
As they grow and learn?

Will the old be comfortable
As they prepare to depart?

Will the homeless be housed?
The damaged be repaired?
The species be recovered?
The ice caps refrozen?

Is all of this possible?
Is any of this possible?

Is it possible to make the world
Turn differently?

Dark
Silent
Still

Origin
Of
Thought

You echo
Like vast
Empty caves
Laden
With electricity

You wait for trains
To pass through
Your tunnels

Carrying messages
Parcels of information
Which when unpacked
Uproot the tracks
And twist them
Into new shapes
Reconfiguring
The great map
Of existence

Shaped by inner
And outer
Forces

You are
Unique
In your existence

Separate
From all other dimensions

On this day
19 years ago
The world changed

19 years have passed
Measures of time
Slipping through the eternal hour glass
Quietly distancing our lives
From that day

But still I can remember it
As if it were yesterday
The first tower
Smoking like a chimney
The second plane
Colliding

The shock
The utter shock
Of it

The collapse
The dust
The people
The firefighters

19 years have passed
But my heart still aches
For the fallen and their families

How many more times
Will I approach Billericay
On this particular train journey?

Can it be counted

Is there a heavenly spirit
Who had pre-destined
The number of times
I will make this journey?

Will it be more than I thought
Less than I thought?

After all – I could be dead in a week, a day, an hour,
Is this my last ever journey
Through Billericay?

Two three
Three five
Five Six
Seven Eight
Two three
Two three
You me
We three
Three five
Five Six
Tick tick
Click click
Tick tock
Clock Stop
Tick
Tock
Tock
Stop

Life is full of problems
Survival is not guaranteed
The only thing we can do
Is try and solve
One problem after the next
For that is what we are born to do

You stand
Cracking jokes

The mischievous smirk
Of a naughty school boy on your face

On the day that our country’s highest court
Rules your shutdown of our parliament

Unlawful

You dismiss the very notion of law and order
Claiming the people want you to deliver Brexit

And that you should be allowed
To just get on with it

You bring shame upon yourself
Mocking the people and our democracy

We knew it all along
You are a liar

Obsessed with nothing
But your own interests

Shame on you Boris Johnson

Shame on you

Everything begins from now

The black crow that swoops low
Over the lush green field

The hanging fronds of a willow tree
Brushing the earth

The white crested nose of a great horse
Nodding as I pass

The hazy heat of a summer morning
Dizzying to the eyes

The rattle of a train
Cutting through August’s balmy air

The moist coolness
Of the forest floor

All begin from now

All things
Each built upon another
Are dependent
Interdependent
Growing
From moment to moment

Sometimes pioneers
Stand alone
And die

Other times
They stand to start a new movement
Gathering hundreds and thousands of followers to their side

Everything begins with one in the now

The old build the new
Moment by moment

Their ageing bodies
Bringing forth new life
All in the moment
All in the now

What is it to be a man?

How should a man prove himself
Worthy of his earthly body
And ethereal soul?

In what way should a man
Defend his honour
And that of his children and partner?

What is it to be a man?

What is it to be courageous?
What is it to be strong?
What is it to live truthfully
And forge peace in a community?

What is it to be a man?

What is it to be kind?
What is it to be considerate?
What is it to think deeply of others
And use one’s life bravely?

What is it to be masculine
And be approachable?
What is it to live with vigour, honesty
To use one’s voice and body for good?
To gain power and influence
Righteously?
What is it?

What is it to display valour?
What is it to be full of honour?
What is it to fight
For that which is right?

What is it to be a man?
What is it?

I have been grappling
With a serious problem

Unable to decide
Which way to go
Or what to do

I have been torn

Should I
Shouldn’t I

And everyone I ask
Looks back to me
For the answer
For ultimately
It is I
Who has to decide

And eventually
Having travelled down
Many paths
And explored all options
I have chosen my route

I put myself to work
Hard
Undistracted
Focussing all my energy
Until
After the hours
I look up
And I look down
And find  I can’t see properly

My vision is blurring
And I am in the company
Of a migraine

It is time to stop
Close my eyes
In a quiet dark place
Until my brain
Has finished its process

Until the stress
Has worked its way through my brain
And drifted beyond my body
Into the ether

And I can
Gather my thoughts
And return
To a calmer
Quieter
More sustainable
Rhythm

I actually don’t want to read the news
I’d rather stare into the deepest blue

I don’t want to know about all the world’s problems
I’d rather just find some where to rest and snooze

My head gets too full and wild with worries
I’d rather discard them or perhaps just a few

I'd like to sit on a beach by the sea  
And do nothing but take in the view

Id rather not worry about people
And all the bad things they do

I’d prefer to look at the plants and the trees
The birds and the bees and thank them too

Today I could just let my guard down
And go with my flow I suppose

Perhaps by stopping to worry so much
Things might get better – who knows?

If you are happy
And you know it
Clap your hands

If you are unhappy
And you know it
Why not clap your hands anyway
And decide to become happy

High Speed Two
Is approved
Let’s celebrate
CELEBRATE

Passengers
Will reach London
From Birmingham
Thirty one minutes faster
Than they can now
Oh, and its just as fast
On the way back
How about that!

The prices might go up
(The prices will go up)
But think how quickly
We will all travel!

We will hurtle
In supreme comfort
Up and down
Our once green country

This is progress, progress, progress!
Thirty thousand jobs created
(From the taxpayers purse)

Well what’s £106 billion
For a lovely project like this
It’s peanuts
Pea NUTS!!

Let’s be bold
Let’s be brave
Let’s bluster

Let’s get Brexit
Or was it HS2...
DONE

Get it done
Get it done
Get it done!!!!

Don’t worry about
The Sites of Special Scientific Interest
That’s for eggheads and boffins
Forget about
The one hundred and eleven local wildlife sites
What’s so good about them?
As for the nineteen ancient woodlands
We can just plant a few more trees
That solves that one

Who are these negative naysayers
These crusty tree huggers
Stepping in our way??

What we need is speed

Speed for our economy
Greed for our economy
Speed and greed
To feed
The ego
And Make Great Britain Great Again
Let’s give it a hashtag
And a catchy phrase
MGBGA

We need to propel ourselves
Faster than ever towards…

Environmental collapse
and
Climate catastrophe

Now...

Are you with me
Or against me?

You are small and grey
Furry and neat
With kind eyes
Of pure green
And a purr
That makes us all feel
Cosy

Each day you sit in silence
On the sofa
While I work at the desk
And you seem happy to spend the hours with me
Resting your chin on a cushion
While I try and work out a way
To keep my business alive

When you were little
You rushed around our house
Exploring every hidden place
Climbing out of the highest windows
And clambering down drainpipes

But now you know the most comfortable spots
Aware of what is best for you
And your children
Knowing these things
You never get into arguments
Only seeming interested in kind encounters

At dinner time
You always make sure
The others have arrived
Before you take your first bite
And this makes you
The kindest cat in our house
And we love you for it

Only now
Am I learning the art
Of loving

In my childhood
‘love’ had to be earned

And this injurious transaction
Has stained
The decades
Of my adult life

And yet
I somehow
Know
That I can learn
To love

And that love
Must be directed inwards
As well as outwards

Why must our children
Tremble
As they walk our streets
On their way to school?

Why is it
That nine-year olds
Fear
Being mugged?

Why is it
That those who have gone before them
Have not survived
Into adult hood?

Why is it
That knives
Made for cutting food
Are cutting short our children’s future

What have done to create this mess?

My anger rises
Tears rush to my eyes
What have we done!

And what will we do

TO PUT THIS RIGHT!

Calm
Cold
Deep
Glittering
Water

Currents
Pulling
Gulls
Boats
Sand

W­arm
Bodies
Shiver
Tingle
Glow

Towels
Rub
Sun
Warms
Home

What is the pinnacle
Of man’s desires?
What is the loftiest
Of our goals?

Is it to live
In material comfort
Hunger, cold, poverty
Kept at bay?

When we are warm
Well fed, comfortable
To what do we turn
Our unique energies?

It is towards power?
Fame?
Authority?

Is it more wealth?
That drives us on?

Or is it the happiness
Of those around us?
Families, friends
Humans, animals?

We must ask ourselves
Honestly
For what purpose
Beyond self service
Are we here?

Launch
With a roar of engines
Pick up speed
Faster
Faster
Faster

Will I lift?
Can I lift?

Push faster
Time is running out
The runway is shortening
Wheels are spinning

Air is rushing
Against my wings
Which resist
Resist
Resist
Until

I am airborne
Flying

Free in three dimensions
Held by the air

Surrounded by it
Ungrounded

Loose
Liberated

Disappeared

I can't see anyone dancing in the street
I can't see faces painted with smiles
I can't hear the bells of victory ringing
I can’t see street parties being prepared

I don’t feel free from an oppressor
I don’t feel like I’ve entered a new era
In fact I don’t feel anything
When they tell me that we have left

Quietly, uninspiringly
The 'United' Kingdom leaves the European Union
And life continues
In its blundering way

'Our' prime minister is now looking for efficiencies
The promises of the election campaign
Crumbled and forgotten
And we are once more - austerity Britain

‘I’m sorry
I’m in too much of a hurry
To speak to you
I’ve got to move on to the next thing
No time to have a chat
Or spend any time with you’


The wheels are turning faster
We need to get there quicker
So that we can save time
To get more done
And if we get more done
We can be quicker
And make the wheels turn faster
And we won’t even need to talk to anyone about anything
We can just click click click our way through the day
We will eat something, click
We will take a train click
We will message somebody, click click
We will book a ticket, click
We will spend our days efficiently clicking the world around us into a frenzy
While we sit on our comfortable chair and grow more and more....

...Alone

I want to
I don’t want to
Go out
Stay in
Meet people
Meet myself
Explore
Take risks
Live on the edge
Be safe

I want to
I don’t want to
Take responsibility
Take care
Build for the future
Live for the moment
Go crazy
Stay sane
Live long
Escape

I want to
I don’t want to
Do the right thing
Get drunk
Start again
Forget everything
Fly high
Dive deep
Visit everywhere
Buy cheap
Dance and sing
Disappear

I watch the fire
Performing
A jaggedy dance
In the black night
The wildness of its transformation
Commands my attention
As dry wood rapidly degrades
Into ashes and embers

My demons come in the small hours of morning.
They gnaw at my sleep
And nudge unwelcome thoughts
Into my consciousness

‘You will never get this done’
‘Never get that done’
‘You are not doing enough!’

I can’t hear their voices
But I can feel their power

And all I seem to want to do
Is disappear into some kind of burrow
Deep in the earth

Somewhere I cannot be found
Where not even bad thoughts
Can penetrate my hiding place

Perhaps
In these winter months
I become like a mole
Who prefers not to see the world
Or be seen by it

We must stop doing the things
That are killing the planet

Whoever we are
Wherever we are
Whatever we do
It is up to us

We must no longer put
Money in the pockets
Or power in the hands
Of those who plunder and destroy

We must change our behaviours
Change our choices
Awaken to our own wisdom
And create the future
That is needed

Destiny is only fixed
If we fail to act

Friday
Tired
Homeward
Bound

Happy
Sleepy
Satisfied
Feeling

Anti­cipating
Warm
Family
Time

Weekdays
Work
Complete
Again

Weekend
Seafront
Walk­s
Beckon

Morning
Dozes
Coffee
Breakfast

Rest
Renewal
Recharge
Ready

Return
Work
Struggle
Repeat

The taste of this meal
Delivers me two decades back in time

I’m in that room again
Dining with those people

A wild youth

Care free

Uncaring

I suddenly remember
This twenty-five-year-old boy
Longing to escape the world
He found himself within

And I feel it -
The yearning
The surging tide of unfulfilled dreams
Bursting within my chest

The longing
To live
A life
Of fiery substance

And I can smell it
Once again
In this smoky, cool, autumn air

As the yearning rises up
Urging me
To rip myself out
From where I am

Stay at home!
Protect the NHS!
Save Lives!

These are the utterances
The soundbites and verbal strategy
Etched into our heads
By our Prime Minister
Who now lies in intensive care
Struggling for his life

No matter who they be
Or what they stand for
I would not wish this on anyone

Our lives unpredictable, fragile
Turn from one path to another
In a tiny slice of time

Shifting from presence
To absence
Here to…
Gone

We are all in this together
Some will live
Some will not

And as a human being
We all feel the sword of Damocles
Suspended
Above our heads

Perhaps it is only written in the stars
Who will endure
Who will not

Who is able to say
What will become of any of us?
Or how we will meet our end

I pray for humanity,
For hope
For a future in which people treat each other
Differently

All human pursuits should be turned
Towards helping others
And the perseveration
Of our natural world

This is simply how it should be

Have we been sleepwalking
Towards this sorry state of affairs?

Have we refused to think hard enough
About the biggest problems facing humanity?

Have our eyes been closed
And our heads buried in golden sand?

Have too many of our people died
Because we couldn’t be bothered
To do the work needed
To protect each other?

Have we been so obsessed with private gain
That we have pushed those in poverty
Over the edge?

What is humanity’s purpose?  
What is our greatest achievement?
Of what can we be most proud?

What will we be glad of
At our own day of reckoning?

I approach
The end of this day
And abandon it
To sleep

The end of
This Friday
Never to come again

And I want to see
The back of it

Rather than cling to it
As a precious tranche of eternity

How human it is
To have good days
And bad days

A storm
Is coming

The clouds are bunching, towering, angry
The skies are black, grey and wild
The heavens are gathering their energies
To pronounce a great riot
And I am alive

I am alive

My heart is swirling
Like the winds of nature
As I step out into the world
To realise
That I am part of it

I am one with it

And I will embrace it
This ferocity of nature

And I will stand in the eye of the storm
And scream with my human voice
Life!

Life life life!

I will scream at it
I will scream with it
I will command it

To grow and twist and shatter and advance
To become manifest
To express its deep core
To soar upon the adverse winds
To explode like the crashing of cymbals
To dance a terrifying tarantella
To exist
Now
Powerfully
And shake the earth to its core

And when it is over
We shall be cleansed
We shall be awakened
To our precious soul
And our earth
Our universe
Will soothe us
With gentle love

My family is the soil from which I grow
And the earth to which I will return

International Law
Is not negotiable
Not interpretable
Not to be tampered with
Or sneaked around

Not to be discarded
Not to be ignored
It is there to uphold
The value and integrity
Of human beings

What does
One person
Amount to?

It is through
Our interactions
With others
That we become
Something more
Than we are
Alone

Who cares?

Who cares for more than just themselves?
Who fights the desire to just worry about the self
And think of others?

Who devotes their lives to others?
Who devotes their lives to making the world…
Better?

Is there anybody out there, who really cares?

If you are there, can I reach you with my words
And make you understand
That you are truly noble?

Can I let you know, that your care for others
Makes you worthy of the greatest respect?

Can I let you know that your life
Is more precious than gold?

Would you be able to hear that?

Guardians of empathy
You are more important than Kings, Queens or Presidents
For everything that you do for others
Counts

I am not in control
I am in control
I am not in control
I am in control
I am not in control
I am in control
I am not…
I am…

Free?
Freed?
Free?

Feed
Food

Love
Loved
Love
Loving

Livin­g
Loathe
Living
Loathed
Loath
Lost

Control
Un control
Uncontrollable
Un comfortable
Controlled by
Controlling
Cons
Conned
Consequence
Conniving
Troll
Trolled
Tr­olls
Con Troll

I
Am
Not
In
Control
I
Am
In
Control
I
Am
All
Of
It

I want to walk
And keep walking
Until I can’t walk any more

I want to be late
To the places that
I am expected

I want to fail
To turn up
Because I am too far gone

I want to walk
And walk
And walk

I want to hurl my mobile phone
Into the sea
And empty my pockets
Of credit cards and keys

I want to walk
Beyond people
And cars and shops
And throw my clothes
Away by the wayside

I want to walk
Until I am completely exhausted
Walk until I meet
Nothing but nature
And then I will lie down
And bury myself
In pure untainted earth

And there I will wait
Until I transform
Into a magnificent tree
******* carbon dioxide
From out of thin air
And turning it into solid matter

And I will grow and grow
Year after year
Knowing that I am doing something
Wonderful and creative

I will lean into the winds
Drink of the rain
Reach for the sunlight
Tingle with the snow

And I will live
True to my nature
Nothing but true
Growing and giving
Growing and giving

And when the time comes
For me to die
I will rock in the breeze
Until I rock too far

And I will crash
Crack and fall
Until I am left lying
Next to the earth
Whispering my thoughts
Unafraid

And time will pass
And I will fade
Until there is nothing left of me
At all

I am writing the future
With my pen
Whether I like it
Or not

I am instructing the universe
With my voice
Whether I like it or not

I am building the world
With my actions
Whether I like it or not