There’s a place
We share
Which is ours
Alone

It exists between us
And it is love

It is the synchronised beat
Of two human hearts

The mix of breath
From earthly lungs

The taste of food
Of which we share

The warmth of bodies
Resting together

The touch of fingers
Entwined and soft

The weight of our troubles
Combined and tough

The lightness of our laughter
Free as birds

The sparkle of smiles
Bright and alert

It is the guide that leads
To a better life

Grow my tiny flower
Reach up to the sky
You are indeed more magical
Than the roving butterfly

I see you every morning
At night before you rest
I feel so glad to know you
My heart is warmly blessed

Grow my tiny flower
Reach up to the sky
You are indeed more magical
Than the roving butterfly

Once I caught a falling star
It fell down from on high
It sparkles and it shimmers still
So pretty to the eye

Grow my tiny flower
Reach up to the sky
You are indeed more magical
Than the roving butterfly

Good people, they are gentle
They love their mother earth
They bless each tiny creature
And understand their worth

Grow my tiny flower
Reach up to the sky
You are indeed more magical
Than the roving butterfly

In sleep
Free
From the uncertainties
Of modern day life
We restore
Our selves

We wake
And struggle
To tread the long road of life
With dignity

My country
Isolated
Spawns
Rich politicians
Who play games
Quoting Shakespeare
As they go

Madmen
Toying with each other
In the playground of their privilege

What have you done?
Wake up!
Remember
The people
The people

It is they
You should serve

Be
For them
Serve
Them
The people
Are sovereign

They
Are
The country

Behind my eyelids
Shades of deep pink and purple
Pulse and glow
With the vibration of the sound energy

I am travelling into a higher world
On a magic carpet
Woven of music

Today
With dignified steps
Advance cheerfully
Be bright
Respect others
Listen
Make today wonderful
Listen
Respect others
Be bright
Advance cheerfully
With dignified steps
Today

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

Today
I studied my hand
Closely

I looked and I looked
And after a while
I remembered
That I am nothing but
A living creature

Born from an eternally repeating cycle
Assembled from ancient materials

Arisen from the universe
And unique circumstance
To be alive
At this time

Alive
Present
Manifest

My realisation
Made me feel
Good

I have dived
Into the depths of my life
And found discontentment there

The fatigue of driven efforts
Weighs on my dizzy head
Like sandbags

And I can only hope to find a new route
To re-surface

The fragility
Of this life
Reverberates around my skull

And I carry out my motions
Of pure survival

In the end
I have to open
And let go
Of all former experiences

For I have challenged head on
My very fragility and brittleness

My glass encasements shimmer
And crackle as I strive to hold
My head aloft
And locate my mission

My mission
Not the one
Others would choose for me

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

Tomorrow sometimes looms
Sometimes beckons

But the adventure
Is
A wonder

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

How strange and curious
Is this thing called life

We know that we know not what lies ahead
And yet we believe we understand
The workings of the universe

These last few days
Have been like a dream
In which everything
We have ever known
Has disappeared
Only to be replaced by a strange dystopian existence

We have stood
Noble, like Kings and Queens
Gazing proudly upon our creations for too long
Oblivious of the storm that would
Come to wash it all away

And now we wonder
What will become of us
When all of this is through

Maybe one day
We will awaken
To a world more beautiful and fair
Than we can possibly imagine

Or maybe our days
Playing carelessly in the sun
Have burned us too deeply

We meet
For the first time
You have questions
And I respond

I hope you can tell
Where I am coming from
I hope you can discern
What kind of person I am

What do I want to reveal of myself
And what do I want to hide away?

What are the secrets
That are barely hidden?

What are the truths
Written on my face?

We meet
We part

And I wonder
Will we meet again?

Chocolate
When heated
Changes form
Resolidifying
When cool

My body
Is melting
And reforming
My mind
Reinventing itself

Am I growing?
Or am I ageing?
Is it possible
To do both?

Things are melting
And I am learning
How to want
Less

Energy
Sometimes gathers
Other times
Dissipates

Satisfaction
Arrives
In small parcels

We spend hours
Watching others behaviour
Hoping to become successful
Just like them

And yet
The sun
The earth
The moon
Nature
All behave
With grace and dignity

We should watch more closely
And learn
From them

A clever spider
Who bunches his feet
To become round like a tiny stone

An early morning swim
Alone in the Atlantic
Waves of sand gentle
Beneath my feet
A seagull resting on the glassy surface
My sole companion

Coffee sweetened with sugar

My soul guiding me
Not my mind

My last day of holidays
In Cornwall

Beautiful land of nature
May you always remain
Untouched by the impatient advances
Of avaricious technology

Today I travel from coast to coast
But my memories of this beautiful day
Nourish me
And prepare me for
A new future

Above the silent train tracks
A dose of renewal
Drifts through this hazy spring morning

Floating seeds gently dance
In warm currents of air
And a mother tree sighs in the breeze
As she releases her offspring
Into this soft morning
With a prayer that they
Will find their way

Thousands of furry parcels
Floating up and down
Glide slowly westwards
In front of my sleepy eyes

The sweet air is laden with promise
And all I can do is wonder
At this fairy-like menagerie
Of spring

Men who justify
Everyday acts of violence towards minorities
In the name of law enforcement

Men who justify
Every acts of ****** predation
On young and vulnerable women

Men who justify
Catastrophic damage to the environment
In the pursuit of material wealth

Men who exploit
The birth rights of others
Through cunning trickery

Expose
And explore the ugly impulses that drive your behaviours

Transform
The dark energies that lurk within you

Educate
Yourselves so that you may treasure others

Extinguish
Your arrogance and shine with decency

Men
This is how you can change the world

What is easy about living
When your head feels like it is splitting in two?

An angry man tells off
A loud mobile phone woman
She leaves the quiet carriage
Indignantly
‘I am detached’ he says

My heart beats
My mind aches
I realise
I am detached too

I sit here
And busy myself with writing

Carelessness provokes anger

I must be careful
To take care
Of myself

Today I gather
Snippets of conversation

Phrases that stick in my mind

I glue them together
In collage

Again
And once more
Even though the ice clings to the grasses still
I travel in my mind
To other places
To memory

I feel the cool ****** of my ring finger
Where I lost my wedding ring
To the Cornish seas
And I am lost
No longer here

Beneath the turquoise sea
There lives a mermaid.

She waits for me

It is she
Who has captured the gold from my hand

It is she who is calling me
Westwards

‘Come my love
Run from your troubles
And let me love you’

Together we will lay
On the ocean bed
Wafted by the warm currents
Wrapped in strands of seaweed
And love each other
Truly

Dear Anne,
Your words are Life

Stronger than the darkness
Of the human heart

May you continue
To inspire hope
For generations to come

It is a special time
As I sit
Alone in my small green back garden
At midnight

And the stars are out this night

My four cats wonder why I am up
And Gertie lets me cradle her
As I take in the cool air
Before disappearing into the darkness
The others sit on their cushions watching me
Before curling up again
To dream their feline dreams

I gaze upwards
And let the my crazed daytime thoughts
Evaporate
And as my body temperature cools
I become child like
Free
Free-er than I have been for some time

And for once, the air smells clean

From the silence I hear the winds coming
And the sound of the leaves as they dance

And I wonder how far has that wind travelled
To meet me
Why does it come as it does and then fade away?

The stars don't know
They just shine down
And still I sit

Stupid
Ignorant
Innocent
Alone
In my garden
At midnight

Until at last
I feel tired
The sleep that has evaded me
May come
Perhaps

And I will wake
Most probably tired
In the day
But better for my time
In the garden
At midnight

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

Your face is melted
I try and read the signs
But everything has gone...strange

I am feeling hot
Tired, suddenly
A visitor in a foreign place
Only able to understand
Half of what is being said

I am smiling
Attempting to hide my weakness
Hoping that I can get through
Without being noticed

I want to be alone
But the lights have come
Strobing across my eyes
Tearing my perspective
Like paper

I get home
Walking older than my years
And fall to bed
Worrying
Until the safety of sleep
Takes me elsewhere

‘…The mind determines everything…’

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

No-one
Can take
My mind
Away from me

It is mine

My thoughts
Are
Mine

Original

Owned

By

Me

Mine

No matter
How packaged
Sanitised
Distributed
Celebrated
Derided
Ignored
Amplifi­ed or erased…

They emanate from the spongy connected cosmic receptor
Between my ears

My mind
Inhabits my skull

Pervades
My fleshy
Bony
Hairy
******
Sinewy
Watery
Bilious

Humanity

My humanity

Humanit

Humani

Human

Huma

Hum

Hm
Hmm
Hmmm
Hmmmm
Hm­mm
Hmm
Hm
H

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 world is
An incredible place

Home to billions
Of living entities

8.7 million species
Each contributing
Their own living efforts

Every ant, that moves a leaf
Every bird that builds a nest
Every fish that joins a shoal
Every ray of sun that warms the earth
Every rain drop that falls
Creates an interconnected symphony
Of possibilities

Making the world

Nutritious
Dynamic
Evolutionary
Compassionate

Home

What a miracle to co-exist with it all
What a miracle!

The future is determined
By the hearts of people

Strong hearts
Brave hearts
Will open up
A bright new dawn

Cynical hearts
Weak hearts
Leave it to others
And suffer under their misdirection

To awaken courage
Lying dormant within
Is the fulfillment
Of mission

Hovering
Delicately
Gently

Floating above the earth
Calming
Cleansing

A man
In black suit
With briefcase

Walks
Proudly through

A bicycle
A footbridge

All in this moment
Of beauty

Maybe those who make
The biggest mistakes
Are the ones who take
The biggest risks

And those who never make
Any mistakes
Never stray
Beyond their comfort zone

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

How many times
Was I angry today?
How many times
Was I happy?
The days go by
And the world seems to stay the same
But I change
From moment to moment

There’s money for a crisis
To spray oceans of disinfectant
To lock down whole countries
And restrain all people

But there’s no money there
To clean the air
Depollute the seas
Or plant more trees

Why do we fight so hard
To preserve the broken status quo
When what is needed is change
And a new way of living?

I wasn’t expecting to see you
So full
So strong

I wasn’t prepared
For the effect
That you would have
On me

I didn’t realise
The power you wield
Even though
You are thousands of miles away

You pull at my heart
Unsettling me

You circle around me
Dizzying me

You draw me to you
And then disappear

You have so many lovers
To gaze on you

So many dreamers
To dream with you

You are queen
And we are your servants

You are queen

Moon

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?

More
Food
Sleep
Fun
Money
Happiness
***
*****

More
Peace
Quiet
Contentment
Smiles
Touch
Caresses
Love

More
Taste
Succulence
Tenderness
Friendship
Joy
Laughter
Music

More
­Healing
Hope
Beauty
Colour
People
Nature
Living

More
This
That
Them
Us
Me
You
It

More
Depth
Soul
Searching
Falling
Further
With
In

I think we need more beauty in this world.
The sounds of singing in hospital wards
The caress of soft hands on tired faces
The offering of food to the poor and needy
The encouraging words of a gentle leader

I think we need more beauty in this world
More nurturing of all the plants and animals
With which we share the planet
More tender care to clean our waters and refresh the oceans
More time to observe the twinkling of the stars

I think we need more beauty in the world
More stories of truth, more poetry, more fables
More joining together of instruments in soothing sounds
More holding hands, more helping each other
More belief in each other

More hope

The World needs more fathers and grandfathers
Men who act with love and kindness
Nurturing their families and loved ones

If I were to care
More
It would hurt

If I were to care
Less
I would go numb

If I were to hide away
From pain
I would grow pale

If I were to run
From people
I would grow old

If I were to love you
I would become scarred

If I were to hate you
I would fill with holes

If I were to leave you
I would have to start over

I’d be left
Staring at myself

A mayfly lives
But one day

Flying
Dancing

Loving
Dying

All in a single
Day

Each precious person
Each precious moment
Each unique day
Worth more than gold

Life
So strange, unpredictable
Life
With its mountains to climb
Life
With its counterpart death
Precious
Magical
Worth more than gold

You
Me
The air that we breathe
The sky above
The compassionate earth
The drops of rain
The birds that sing
Worth more than gold
Worth more than gold

Mix
Of cool air
And autumn sun
Deep green field
With cloudless blue

Mist
Hovering
Born of earth
Quietly shimmering
At dawn's
First light

Impossible to grasp
Transient
Mystic

Gone too quickly
No trace remaining

Human heart
Yearning
To feel

Life
Love
Meaning
Hope

The truth is
I don’t feel strong
I feel weak
Dehydrated
Anxious

I woke at 3am covered in sweat
5am again
Got up at 6
Worrying about the day ahead

Tiny things
Simple things
That seem way beyond me

She cannot bear my weakness
I cannot bear her indifference

I watch with envy
Travelers boarding the train
I imagine their successful lives
Whilst denigrating my own
Asking, can I ever ever ever be happy?

I travel to a place I don’t want to go to
But there is no place
I do want to go

Last night I said I was overstretched in all areas
And yet here I am still
Fighting for myself
Fighting for...
What?

More of the same?

Morning waits
For me
As I venture
From home

Crisp air
Frosted grasses
Hovering mists
Golden glow of sun
Reeds by the waterside
Sparkling like silvery feathers
Encased in ice

Railway signs
Proclaiming messages
To empty platforms
Garden sheds
Huddling by upright fences
Seagulls waddling
Across empty rugby pitches
Brown leaves lying
Dried on forest floors
Each object standing
Clear and stark
Present against
Cloudless skies
All existing
As I pass by
Witness
To it all

As the sun creeps higher
All colours change
And the cold
That gripped the black earth
Slowly surrenders its grasp
Deep greens
Colours of creation
Emerge

The mist that swirled
Over rolling fields
Will vanish soon

I close my eyes
In a wish
That I could hold this moment
Stop it from changing
Explore every aspect of it
Be with it forever

But before long
It will be gone
And this magical morning
Will have passed
And I
Will have to face
My day

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

Mother

You shine like a jewel
Cheerful, bright

You are never daunted
By the future

You are always present
In the present

Your smiles and singing
Set angels dancing through the house

Your delicious cooking
Provides life giving nourishment

You are a resevoir of love
You create the quality of the day

Mother, wife, friend
You express how you are feeling

You truly relax
Into who you are

You are
An inspiration

Flat
Quiet
Drained
Empty
You sit
Present
For all
To see

Please revive
Yourself
Treasured one
You are here
With us
Eternally

This wonderful being
Needing friendship now
Is struggling hard
Struggling hard

Don’t give up
Dear friend
Keep trying
Shoulder to shoulder
We will help you rise
To let the sunlight
Pour over you

Nothing stays still
Everything changes
Even mountains will move
In time

Your life will grow
And flowers bloom
Amongst the vibrant
Spring

Lilac flowers
Purple bud
Pink petals
Gold

Chocolate
Angel wings
Shadow
White Bowl

Time beats on
Emptily
Poison
Hearts sway

Drugged lovers
Sleeping
Their troubles
Away

Together we’re
Worlds Apart
Longing for
Peace

Waiting years
Growing old
Death
Disappears

Cover my
Body
With sleep
In your breath

Magic me
Mother fruits
Ivory
Tears

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

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

What grip do you have on our Prime Minister, Mr Cummings?
You break the rules of lockdown
Rules you co-engineered
Rules you expect everyone else to follow
And yet, your boss Mr Cummings
Stands by you Mr Cummings
Defends you to the hilt
As if you have done nothing wrong

Is there some dark secret that you hold Mr Cummings
That would topple this Government?
Is there some weapon of blackmail
That you wield behind the scenes Mr Cummings?
What is this grip you have Mr Cummings?
Please tell, for the truth will out
Eventually
And it would be better
For everyone
If it came from you

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

All things come
From mud and earth

Left alone
Seeds will sprout
Shrubs and grasses will grow
Trees will ascend
And all life
Will flourish

Over managed
Hunted, mown
Cut, degraded
Life is stunted

Thousands of years ago
Life was here
And we moulded
Our dwellings
In to bountiful landscapes

And now with
Brick, tarmac, pavement
Steel and stone
We weigh it down

But beneath
The energy
Of the mud
Boils and bubbles
Waiting to burst forth
In profusions
Of mystical creativity

I pray that we will
Give our earth
The chance to decorate our planet once again
With a brilliant eruption of diversity
And this will become a golden age
Of nature