Tonight at 7pm UK time
People around the world
Prayed for ‘gentle rain’
To fall and extinguish the Australian bushfires
That have killed five hundred million animals
Destroyed one thousand homes
Ended seven human lives

Sometimes
All we can do
Is pray

I am happiest
During days full of creativity
In which I am working with others
To create something new

Children dance on the station platform
So happy to be together
They are going back to school, at last

Each time I think of global stuff
It puts me in a swirl
I arrive back where I started from
Round and round the carousel

I don’t know what is real or not
I’m in a kind of daze
Who knows what the future holds
Or how to navigate this maze

What lies beyond the familiar
Is a future yet described
I need to find my courage
For a brighter picture in my mind

So if I’ve put things off too long
And laid out in the sun
It’s because I just can’t tell you straight
Precisely what should now be done

In a year or two we will reflect
On these years of human struggle
And wonder how we made it through
This man created muddle

I guess it’s all a part of life’s
Great journey that were on
We’d better make the best of things
For soon we’ll all be gone

I remember myself
As I was
Many years ago

I remember myself
Making discoveries
Of what I could do
And feeling
Excited and free

I remember myself
As I realise
What I have become
Does not contain
All of that former self

And in this time
Of long reflection
I realise that I want to be
Who I was then
Again
Within who I am now

Love is the greatest gift
One human can give to another

It brings the greatest of all joys
To both giver and recipient

Let us love each other fully
And create a world full of joy

Summer is here
I recognise it in my bones
And in memories
Of muscles
Which have carried me
Through forty eight summers past

Summer is here
And I feel the length of the hours
The lazy feeling of sand, sea and warmth
The quiet longing
For things to stay the same forever
Almost suppressing the urge for new challenges,
Difference and growth

Summer is here
And the flowers shine
Brighter than ever
And bees **** nectar lustily
As birds chat noisily, talking more
Or perhaps our skies have just grown quieter

Summer is here
And it pulls us all along
Like dreamers
Dozing
Atop a floating barge

It’s time to be unafraid of conflict
To be honest and true
To state that you just don’t like
What has been said and done

It's a bitter pill
To feel oneself drifting away
From those one should be close to

Wherever I go
The spirits go with me
And I experience the oneness
Of self and environment

One self
One environment
Bound by invisble threads
As strong as iron

But if I change
My environment changes.
Faster than
The speed of light

So how can I change
To become less aimless
So that  I no longer hide behind
The goals of others?

If our bodies face forward
Then that is the direction
We should take
That is where I should aim my life

Down by the riverside
Where the reeds lean with the current
Along empty bridlepaths through fields ready for harvest
Past the deserted church and into the orchard
Beyond the ancient oak and through the hedgerows
Is the green and most fair Essex

From this moment I entrust everything
To the great mystic laws of the universe
This is the only way for things
To unfold in the best way

All of my controlling ways
Bring nothing but stress into my life
So, I am letting go
Determined to experience life
In a new way

I sit and watch the tide come in
I watch wild flames engulf dry wood
I watch the green eyes of my wife
I sit with the unease of my humanity

At the start of each day
People awaken
To begin their travels
Along invisible pathways
Weaving an invisible fabric
To swaddle the community

People push buggies
Along pavements
Delivery drivers
Arrive and leave
Writers write
Runners run
New replaces old
As ******* collects
To be cast aside

Towns and cities
Transform
Evolve
One millimetre
At a time

Life withers
Ages
Dies

And
Is reborn

The planet breathes in
And out
Beneath the weight
Of our existence

Perfectly round
No matter which way you turn me
I hold my shape

Inside of me
I hold the air
And my surface is smooth and curved

I can sway in the breeze
And float on the currents
I can inspire your gasps and your wonderment

Your oohs and aahs
But don’t touch me
Or I will implode

Vanish in a second
Be here
Then not

I will release the air inside me
And will no longer keep
The wider world at bay

I will be gone forever
And it will be
Like I never existed

I am a bubble
And while I am here
I am beautiful

But come close to me
And
Pop

If only the dawn air was free of pollution
If only earth’s paradise could once again breathe
If only each human built kind, honest legacies
Then each child would grow up
Free from all fear

Today we played a silly game
And laughed and laughed
And laughed

This is what we should do
More often

This body
Carries a soul
In the depths of which
Is purity
How to reveal that purity
Is one of life’s great challenges

When you are beaten
In a fair contest
You must step aside
And may way for the victor

Refusing to budge
Criticising the process
Blaming others
Betrays inner weakness

Humility and grace in defeat
Willingness to learn and contribute again
Should be the way
And are signs of strength

I am gripping the sand with my toes
Experiencing the cold wind on my skin
Watching the grey undulations of the swell
As I leave my clothes behind

I am at the water’s edge
Striding boldly through the water
Diving under the surface
Kicking my legs hard

Gasping as the water hits me
Pushing forwards into the deep
Breathing hard to survive
Thinking of nothing but the moment

I am out of my depth
Going deeper
My skin burning with the cold
Fully awake
No more confusion
One with this experience

When you arrived
I vowed never to leave you
When you stumbled
I was there to hold you
As you grew
I was there to catch you
When you ran
I was there to follow you

When my heart was breaking
You were growing older
I thought at that age
You'd be strong enough
For the change

When I left
I thought it would be ok for you

But I was wrong
I was wrong

Though I lived but five minutes away
For you it was a million miles

Although I saw you every day
The nights were hardest

When I came back
You were angry
And couldn’t forgive me
For the past

And I know
In breaking my vow
I was wrong

One day I hope
I can talk of the hurt we all went through
And help your injured heart
To heal

But for now
I am sorry
And will work
To earn your trust
And hold you
With my life
Once more

What would our relationship feel like
If we were to start it from today?

What would a new religion be like
If we were to invent it today?

What would society look like
If we were to build it from today?

How would we treat the planet
If we were given it today?

I have a feeling
That this coming winter
Will be like nothing
I have ever experienced

There are dark clouds on the horizon
And the ‘captains’ of our national ship
Seem not to have
Their passenger’s best interests at heart

So, what is there to be done?
Other than to face the storm
And accept that it will come
And batter we humans
With its ferocious winds

And then
One day
When we think we can take no more
It will be over
And the waters will be still and calm again
And we will have to re-build

But the storm clouds I see
Are thick and heavy
And it may well be years
Before we experience life
As it once was

Beyond the fear
Lies the future

Beyond the pain
Lies release

Beyond the anxiety
There is courage

Beyond the unknown
There is opportunity

When something is wrong
We can’t turn a blind eye
Or look the other way

We have to step up
As America and cry
People over party!

Mr Duke
Your music
Makes me
Feel…
…cool
Relaxed
Happy

Young

Mr Duke
You play
With a smile
And your joy
Is felt
By those
In your band

Mr Duke
I get
Where
You’re coming from

A place
Of love

It is to be expected
That one should feel low,
Tired or fragile
When a commitment is made
To a new way of living

The old way
Was familiar
Usual
Known
Limited

But this new way
Is tiring
Challenging
Revealing
But ultimately
More fulfilling

How long will this last?
We ask?

As long as it needs to…

When we talk
I find out things about you
That I didn’t know

When we talk
I discover beliefs that I have held
And never shared

When we talk
The energy between us
Causes me to grow and change

One - tries
To outshine
The other

How does what I have done
Make you feel?
Make me feel?

Let me show you
My latest video
And tell you about my great battles
And marvellous achievements

Why must you tell me?
Does this make you great?
Greater than me
More valuable, more worthy
Of our parents love?

Are you trying to show me
A successful way to live?
Is THIS  how to do it?

We emerged from the same womb
But our journeys in this world
Have taken us to different places
In different ways

What is more important?
Our shared heritage
Or our divergent paths?

For the sake of peace
Let us share love with humility
Express kindness and consideration
Not pride and competition

The leaves are changing
And so are we

Summer is passed
And the things we have done
Have become
Memories

The trees
Stand quietly
Reminders of more abundant times

But the air has changed
And coats are being drawn from cupboards

It feels like now we should grieve
For the times when we were
Just relaxing together

Fresh challenges lie ahead
Who knows what they will be?
They must be tackled
Endured
Experienced
Overcome

But for just a moment
I will taste the nostalgia
Of all that has passed

Only one planet
On which to live

Only one earth
To cultivate and tend

Only so much water
To use as we ought

Only these metals
And minerals to craft

Only this air
To breathe in, breathe out

Only these people
To live with together

Only this time
To act and do right

Only one heart
To beat in my chest

Only one mind
To choose sense from nonsense

Only this life
To share our thoughts

Only this audience
To listen to hear

Only one me
Only one you

Only the us
That we make together

Only one people
Across all these nations

Only this moment
Only this time

What are you dreaming of?

You seem so comfortable and warm
Lying curled up on my bed

What goes through your mind
When your eyes are closed
And your breathing is slow?

What is it you are dreaming of?

What will tomorrow bring for you?
What is it that you long for?
What does happiness mean to you, I wonder?

Are your dreams different from my own?
What is it you are dreaming of?

Thank you for this day
For the air that we breathed
For the conversations we have had
For the hug that we shared

Thank you for this day
For the purring of my cats
For the blowing of the wind
For the wildness of the sea

Thank you for this day
For the beating of our hearts
For the smiles that we shared
And the love that we felt

Thank you for this day
For the work that was done
For the food that was cooked
And the wine that was shared

Thank you for this day
For the night is pressing in
And the stars start to shimmer
And we settle down to sleep

One of those crows
Knows
How to glide
In the air outside

One of those crows
Knows
How to ride
Slip and slide

One of those crows
Knows
What to do
To catch the flue

One of those crows
Knows
How to be free
Easily

Close your eyes
Remember yourself
Ten or fifteen years back

You were different then
Life was different
Does it feel connected
To now?
Do you feel connected to then?

We can live
Many lifetimes
In the space of just one
If we put our minds to it

We can weave
A rich patchwork
Of experiences and learning
Expressing
Who we are
If we dare to challenge
Our circumstances

Why is it
That every time we meet
The emotional furnaces of the past
Bubble up and blast?

To have it
Means you can do it

To lose it
Means you might trip up

To develop it
Means you get better at things

To teach it
Builds your own

Perhaps
Finally
The tide
Is turning

For years
The cheats
And liars
Have prospered

And now
At last
The honest
Have fought back

To hold the powerful
And dangerous
To account

Those

Who give it all

Win

If I had a fraction
Of the ease
With which
You embrace life
I would be
A million times happier

But my nature
Is different to yours
My journey
Apposite

I can learn from you
Observing
Your embodied qualities
Pondering
Their meanings

There will always be days like these
In which you feel
Nothing
But emptiness

Days for which you have to put on
A brave face
And pretend
To be cheerful

There will be always be days like these
When the wolves will circle
And you struggle to imagine
If they will ever leave

And you question whether
You can hold it together
Or whether it will all simply
Fall apart

There will always be days like these
When winter seemed destined to last
Forever
And spring feels just too distant
To even be real

But remember

These days will pass
They will always pass
And one day you will feel the sun on your face
And joy in your heart
Again

If things didn’t work out
The way we wanted
In the political world

I guess we will have
To make things happen
The way we want them to
In the real world

Morning dew
Whispered dreams
Rainbow Colours
Silver Streams
Heartbeat
Evergreen

You give to me

Time stands still
Meet my gaze
Sunbeams
Through a morning haze
All these things
Every day

You give to me

You have dug your heels in
And you are staying put

I’m trying to move forward
And I want you to come with me

But you won’t
So, I have to go it alone

Perhaps we will meet again
But perhaps we will not

We shared some time
On earth together

Yet who knows what will happen
To anyone of us in the future?

So all I can do
Is bid you Farewell

What does a poet see
That others do not?

What discoveries do they make
By returning faithfully to the page?

What meaning do they convey
Through ordering words for us to read

What do they see
That others do not?

Four more years?
Or
Something else?
I hope
For humanity’s sake
A greater consciousness
Prevails
And that true leadership
Emerges

Young woman
Your heart is growing
From that of a girl
Protected by a bubble  
Of family, play and beauty

To that of a woman
Faced with the brutal realities
Of society and all its misogyny
And it is no wonder
That you suffer
With anxiety and depression

I wish that the world
Was a better place
For you
And all young women

It’s been a very tough year
For everyone

Our nations
Have suffered
So much

It is bonds of friendship
That hold us all together

And your one kind act
Has greater significance
Than you realise

Encouraging me
And my friends
Greatly

Thank you

America is burning
Once again

The rage of good kind people
Burns
At this cruel
Barbarism

Why is it
That skin colour
Still divides
Human beings

They say
'Things have changed'
'Things are better now'

But has anything changed?
Really?

Can anyone
Say anything
To put this terrible wrong
To right?

Does anybody
Have an answer
To this human sickness?

This extra blanket
Lays heavy on my body
Keeping me held down
Not wanting to get up

This extra blanket
Clouds my thinking
Telling me that the brightest of days
Are not worth living

This extra blanket
Is sometimes so weighty
That I carry it on my back
For hours before casting it off

This extra blanket
Cannot be seen by anyone else
Except
Myself

This extra blanket
Is woven each night
By the machinery of my mind
Taking me by surprise every morning

This extra blanket
Is not my friend
But until I understand its origin
I will have to bear its burden