Well done Joe
You are nearly there
Your dignity is intact
As you patiently await
The coming of the hour

Mr Trump
Your actions reveal
An embittered man
Ungracious in defeat
Pulling desperate levers
To try and stop the tide of democracy

The next few days
Will be very telling

The point is
I can grow

Anyone
Can grow

The world is full of growth

Plants, trees, grasses
All growing
Reaching up towards the sun
Undaunted by the pressure of the elements

Roots penetrate deeply
Working to become stable and strong

In spite of everything
Birds fly
Cutting through gusts of wind
Building nests
Gathering food

I can grow
Even if words don’t come easily today
Even if all I can do
Is gaze at bending leaves
Stare at the silver of clouds
And contemplate the glow of sunrise

I release my self
From self-judgement
I experience death and life
As a new dawn breaks
Abandoning the pain of the struggle
And accepting it
Taking it all in

In the world of stories
Right and wrong are clear
The good prevail
And the bad founder

In the world in which we live
Tyrants enjoy power and wealth
And the meek do not inherit anything

As it continues
The meek, wishing to escape their poverty
Follow the example of the leaders
And become tyrannous themselves
And society gradually rots

Those who do right
For themselves and others
Resisting the tyranny
Speaking the truth

Are society’s only hope

Ours is a time in which crazed youths leave their homes, weapons in hand
Ours is a time in which skin colour and place birth mean more than they should
Ours is a time in which the rich rule the poor and the poor long to be rich
Ours is a time in which the temperature is rising, but engines keep running
Ours is a time in which true hope is in short supply but anger abounds
Ours is a time in which security is longed for but denied to so many

Ours is a time in which everything must change

Because times like these cannot continue

Out there
Is a magical place
Unsullied by human mess

Pure, paradisiacal
Quiet

Sea water flows quietly
And sand is soft
And healing underfoot

We are half a mile out
Maybe more

And we have crossed
A curious river
To reach
The ray

Although we have lived
Many years in this place
We have never ventured here before

Discovering this new place
Has brought us closer
Together

140 strokes
To reach the far side
140 strokes to return
Beneath me
Deep water
Above me
Blue sky
Seagulls, clouds


This is swimming
At ‘The ray’
Natural low tide lagoon

I start this day
By swimming right across
And swimming back again
Mindful
That the tide is rising
Imperceptibly

I will not relax
Until I reach
My starting point
Safe
Secure
Back on the sand
Heading home
Because I am out of the safety zone
In the great ocean
Communing with an entity
That possesses great fathoms
Of power

I feel alive
Excited
To make my return
To claim my reward
The first coffee of the day
And hot buttered toast

Such simple experiences
Have profound meaning
To me

I feel strength returning
The sun is gradually rising
The future slowly appearing

The future

Once so misty and hazy
Was always there

Not pre-destined
But available
To shape, to inhabit

Though black clouds may blind me
The future remains

There is always tomorrow

Tomorrow will never disappear
Even if I do

And there is always
Humanity and hope

So long as people survive
There will always be love

So long as children are born
There will always be education

So long as cultures endure
There will always be compassion

Though I may be driven to extremes
There is always my tomorrow

Not the tomorrow
Others may predict for me

But the one I create for myself
A vast ocean
Of possibilities
If I can just fight against
Delusion

In the distance
The sounds of gulls
Soars above the bash
Of foaming seas

The earth shows me my inner nature
Sometimes clear
Sometimes shrouded
But constant as the changing landscape

A novel of endlessly turning pages
Each chapter describing a different pattern
Like rotating seasons
Predicatably unpredictable

We go on
In this way
Towards
The future

Parcels of time
Spent in rooms
Dreaming

There is no separate me
Just journeys
Through energetic fields

My fingertip
Is
At the end of my being

The space within me
Is
The universe

Some celebrate
Understanding
Others hearts
Beat uninterested
Within

The system feeds itself
As chemicals tell me
This is good
This is bad

Sleep falls
And I avoid pain

To lead an exciting life
Is preferable

Who cares what others may say

There’s always something
To look forward to
There’s always something
To look back on with pride
There’s always someone
To be thankful for
There’s always right here
There’s always right now

There’s always time
Until time has passed
There’s always tomorrow
Just out of reach
There’s always a memory
Whilst we choose to remember
There’s always a vision
If we choose to believe

There’s always a father
There’s always a mum
There’s always a family
From which we all come
There’s always the sky
There’s always the sun
There’s always the earth
To which we return

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.

The right wing
Is emerging
As an ugly force
In this country
Of ours

Those who talk with reason
Are shouted down
Those who wish to discuss
Are ejected
Those who have wriggled
Into positions of power
Remove those who disagree

Democracy is dying
This road only leads to destruction
And I do not want to travel it

Ocean swimming
To refresh the body
And the soul

Watch the golden sunlight
Dance
On the rippling waves

Let the cold saltwater
Cleanse your skin
And re-invigorate you

Allow the swell and sway
Of the tides
Lift you up and lay you down

Be resilient
Make tenacious efforts
Win at something every single day
Advance cheerfully and on good terms with everybody
I promise you I will build a society truly worthy of your love and pride

Shine with the light of courage
Shine with the light of capable people
Shine with the light of unity

Do your best in each moment
If this is where I am, this is where I will fight
Make courage bigger than fear
Sometimes, all we need is a thimble full of courage
Have the conviction that we can change the situation without fail
Don’t sell yourself short
Shine just as you are
In your own way
Bring out the light to penetrate the darkness you are facing
Achieve a great breakthrough
Lead a winning life
You can achieve anything

I have the strangest feeling
It comes from who knows where
This world was made for loving
And heartfelt tender care

I dream all day and send my wish
To share just what I think
I try to warm my battered heart
And make a human link

It can't be right to fight it out
And crush a fellow man
With weapons built incessantly
To terrify a different clan

I sit alone and contemplate
The beating of my heart
And wonder if the way to live
Is such a strange and tricky art

For times are mad when right is crushed
And wrong seems the new order
I pray that people find their feet
To cross beyond this crazy border

Perhaps I'm just too old fashioned
And lost in my beliefs
But loving, kindness tender care
I think are all we need

There are days when I think
How wonderful it would be
To abandon myself to the great waves
Of the oceans
To be one with the sea
To roll in and out on the tides
Sighing with each breath
At the smallness of my worries
And the majesty of the world

‘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

A family of three magpies
Is building a home
At the end
Of my garden

They chat
Clacking and clicking
Keeping an eye on me

Way above
Swifts swoop and dive
Playing in the gentle evening warmth

Whilst down below
Bees drink the last drops of the day
Sweet nectar from peach coloured roses

The daisies heads have turned west
While an ocean of pregnant clouds
March silently eastwards

Winged six-legged creatures
Creep and crawl
Making pilgrimages across leaves
To take them, who knows where

Spiders webs are spun
And their engineers sit in a trance
Waiting for the end of the world

And the great, ancient trees
Sigh at all of it
Happy, as am I
To be surrounded
By the wonder of living things

Every moment
Is more precious
Than a shining jewel

The play of afternoon sunlight
On high tide water

The gathering of birds
Perched atop a weather vane

The embrace of a loved one
After a shared struggle

The multi-coloured setting of the sun
Over silhouettes of winter trees

Steam rising
From a freshly made cup of tea

The swelling of hearts and dropping of tears
In recognition of a shared emotional experience

This world is full of more beauty
Than I could ever put into words

All that is required
Is surrender to one’s senses

A willingness to see all things
With wonder

The courage to open one’s heart
To the workings of the universe

They say a vaccine is coming
And I feel like dancing
They say it is 90% effective
And I feel like laughing
They say life could return to normal next Spring
And I feel like hugging

This has been a long time coming
But am I celebrating a false dawn?

If you do the things you love
It is hard to go wrong

If you return to the things you love
That makes you feel...good

It makes you feel
Alive

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

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

This empty page
Does not mean
An empty heart
Or an empty life

It just means
That on this day
At this time
I cannot find a way
To put my emotions
Into words

And so
I will see the empty page
As an empty space
Waiting to become filled
With fresh creativity

And I will not mind waiting
Because as I do
I can carry on
Living my life
Just as it is

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

This garden
Has been given to us
What shall we do with it?

Shall we tend it?
Shall we share it?
Shall we make beautiful things grow?

Or shall we plunder it?
Take more than our fill?
And leave it empty, once we have gone?

This garden
Has been given to us
What shall we do with it?

Shall we build shelters?
Invite our neighbours?
Enjoy friendship and share our harvest?

Or shall we build walls?
Defend the borders?
And keep out those, who we do not understand?

This garden
Has been given to us
What shall we do with it?

I love this land
That I have been born to
With its thick mud, green mosses
Wise trees
Rippling grasses

I love this land
That I take my walks in
With its wild winds, frothing seas
Journeying clouds
Birds gliding

I love this land
Enchanting to my eyes
With its bulbs erupting
Petals opening
Fronds advancing
Flowers blossoming

I love this land
That supports my family
With its softest moonlight
Dazzling dawns
Frosty winters
Hopeful spring

I love this land
With its autumnal colours
Its nighttime silhouettes
Its dramas of humanity
I love the people
Brave and dedicated
Creative, curious
Kinder than we know

I love this land
That I am part of
With all of my heart
And all of my soul

And I will serve it
With all of my being
Until the day
When we are all
As one

This long winter
Has challenged the people
Rains have fallen endlessly
Floods have wrecked homes and towns
Whilst fires have decimated the forests of Australia

This long winter
Has shaken the people
A winter virus has spread around the world
What is important is cast in new light
What is unimportant is revealed

This long winter
Is nearly over
But what have we learned from all that has passed
What should we do when faced with a crisis
How should we act when challenges rise

This long winter
May be the first of many
Our people may face unending trials
We must learn to live differently and teach our children
Not to give in to apathy’s spiral

This moment is a memory
The burning red colours of winter leaves
Shining like torches in morning light

Bare branches
Luminous green with moss
Reaching out into space
Like spiders’ legs

Sun rising
Painting the pink of salmon
Across a turquoise sky
Clean white frost
Spread evenly over roof tiles

Everything has a winter feel to it

I walk the streets
With lines on my face
And shadows beneath my eyes

Each winter
That I am here
Part of me dies
Only for rebirth to come
With the spring

Sometimes I yearn for it all to end
This struggle, this journeying
To and fro
To and fro

A better part of me
Demands that I treasure each moment
For one day
It will all be over

And I won’t see the seagulls diving
I won’t gaze at the sunrise
I won’t witness the cycle of nature
I won’t breathe the crisp morning air
I won’t feel the warmth of my bed
I won’t hear the voices of my loved ones
I won’t share the balm of togetherness
Anymore

The planet is fighting back
Or so I hear
The universe is responding
To what we have done, or so they say

When I breathe
I no longer smell
The acrid fumes
Of traffic jams

When I listen
I no longer hear
The thick rumble
Of engines

I smell the scent of Spring
I hear the songs of birds
I see nature darting to and fro
Recovering from our injurious behaviours

And we take stock
Of what has brought humanity
To this point
In our history

This tiny virus
Cannot survive without us
Cannot live outside us
Has brought us so much sadness
This tiny virus

This tiny virus
Is spreading fast among us
Taking what we took for granted
Maybe will outlast us
This tiny virus

This tiny virus
Has carried away so many
Worn down our energy
Changed all society
This tiny virus

This tiny virus
Was it made by us?
Did it escape from the science lab?
Or jump from other species?
This tiny virus

This tiny virus
Has stopped us in our tracks
Made us think about how we live
Might rescue us from ourselves
This tiny virus

The idea
That every single person
Is worthy
Of respect
Is so simple

And yet
Why do we find
A million and more reasons
To fight this truth?

The end

Is

The beginning

I know
I can connect with you
All I need to do, is listen

And I know, that you will say something
That I can understand
And by listening to you
I will learn something

And we will grow closer
Forming an invisible connection
That will bind us
Forming another strand
In the protective web of our humanity

The dreams of those long gone
Echo throughout the ages
Finding home
In the hearts of the living

The hopes of the living
Connect with the desires
Of those yet to come

A golden thread binds the souls
Of all living beings
And the power of our wishes
Is greater than we can ever imagine

In the grip of uncertainty
Leadership gives confidence

In the wash of anxiety
Humour brings hope

Amongst rampages of fear
Kindness builds bridges

In the eye of the storm
There is stillness and calm

‘Three steps and in!’

To the crashing waves at Praa Sands
Wife, daughter, niece and me
Four lucky people
Swimming together
Lifted up screeching by the swelling waves
Shivering and screaming in excitement
At the masterful physicality
Of the great sea
As we are thrown this way
And that

All problems have gone
And we are totally absorbed
By the great cleansing motion
Up, down, swell and dip

All arguments, frustrations, anger
Are swept away
By the power of this Cornish high tide

We are free to experience
The pull of this wonder

Just for a moment
We are all completely happy

Think of three things
That made you smile today

Now...

Say them out loud

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

“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

The hands of time beat eternally

Time is precious
Every second
An eternal opportunity
To choose
What to do

The responsibility
Of choosing
How to live
Is great

For suddenly
Life flashes by
And one is old
Older
Greyer
Wiser?

What do we choose to do?
What do we choose?
What is our goal?

The material
Is but a dream
All things formed
Will crumble
And be reformed
Differently

Nothing lasts forever

So to live
To make something last beyond
One’s lifetime
Is a choice

What will it be?

To strike out from the ordinary
And speak out against injustice
Is a choice

To trust oneself
Is a choice

To work for the happiness
Of others
Is
A choice

All will change
But life
Will continue

Whether happy
Or unhappy
Every second
We
Choose

I’ve got time on my (back) side
Two hours a day
On the train up to London
And back later today

I’ll ponder my navel
And think on my fate
It’s more than two hours
If the train’s running late

I’d forgotten this feeling
Of to-ing and fro-ing
Ive been living at home
Not having to go in

But now I’m come back
I’m not sure what’s the best
To keep up this travelling
Or give it a rest

I’m back on my backside
Watching stations go by
Catching sight of the pigeons
As they fly way up high

London's graffiti looks tired
And the city’s smells bad
I'm better on the beach
By the sea, I'd be glad

But, it has to be done
I'm back on my way
And back on my backside
At least for today

If you wish
To be free
You need
To understand
That you
Are beautiful

Shallow understanding
Of this world
Is insufficient

A profound insight
Into your life
Is necessary
You must have
Strong character
Perseverance
Endurance

Then
You will experience
The true joy
Of being
Who you are

To pursue
Freedom
Means to break
The chains of authority
To embrace
With compassion
One’s own life
And to summon light
From the darkest corners

Only the free
Have known the darkness of despair
Only the free
Have looked into oblivion
And chosen to continue
To stand alone
To walk proudly
In their own skin

Freedom
Is to break through
The binding cocoons
Of society
And unfurl
One’s unique and fragile wings
Of creativity

A march of freedom
Has no easy path
Only steep ascents
And treacherous crevasses
And yet only the brave
Will experience
The incomparable
Joy
Of liberation

To build a home
I need
A solid foundation

Love

Today I will embrace
Every single part of myself
And every single part of the day
There will be no space for sighing
No room for disappointment
Only joy and creativity

Today I invite delight
To be my companion
I will treasure each opportunity
And dance with the universe
I bid guilt and sadness farewell
Opening the door and waving them out

Today the trees wave and smile at me
And I smile back

Today I am open
And ready for anything

Today I will work to give
Give my utmost and best to whatever I do

Today I will make a plan
And stick to it

Today I am proud
Of who I am

Today I swim
Further than I have ever gone before
To mark 25 years of an organisation’s creative work
Its perseverance
Endurance
Opportunity

I swim 25 kilometres
Over three days
Friday, Saturday, Sunday

I start, confident, quickly
Darting up and down the leafy waters
Of London Fields lido

I swim faster than normal
Deciding that I can break the back of it
On day one
Then, after four kilometres
Cramp strikes at my right calf
Like a poisoned dagger

Cramp?  Cramp!!  After only four kilometres?
And all those months of cramp-free training

Doubt clouds my mind in an instant and I wonder
Will I let everyone down?
All those who have donated to the cause
Encouraged my efforts
Applauded the challenge
And I can’t even complete 5 kilometres?

Despondently I decide to rest, eat,
Travel home, and eventually return to an indoor pool
The after shock of the cramp clawing at my leg as I walk
The muscles tight, unusual, threatened by the chemical imbalance
And I enter the water gloomily
And swim

One slow length, waiting for the dagger to return
Two lengths, waiting, waiting
Three, four and I find I am moving steadily
Minutes pass, then more minutes, then hours
Until a dazzling sun set illuminates the gathering of grey clouds
And I find I have met my target for the day
And all is not lost
After all

Today’s mess
Is
Tomorrow’s problem

Dark blue shades
Transform
To shimmering pulses
Of deep pink
Rippling like circles
On a pond

Warm air
Mixes between entities
And new possibilities arise
As hearts merge
Allowing
An unforeseen future
To be revealed

Standing
In a ring
You pray

Overhead
Bells are ringing
Gladly

You obey the rhythm
That you have created
Listening
Watching

The leader
Reorders the movement
You respond
With precision

You rise and fall
Are stretched
And returned

You remain
Fixated
Grounded

Silently you work
Communicating
Subliminally

Sending messages
Above the treetops
Across the town

Tidings
Of hope
Alarums
Of communion

You are
A little known group

Operatives
Of ancient tradition

A community
Of enthusiasts

A family
Of bell ringers