What can I do today?
What can I do?

I could do...
Nothing

Let the day...
Pass
Hoping somehow
Things will just...
Fall into place

But would things fall
The way
I want them to?

What can I do today?
What can I do?

I could focus on
Everything that I can’t do
As that is plain
And easy to see
And a good reason
To do very little

But rather
I would be
Someone
Who tried
To do
Something

So I ask myself...

What can I do today?
What can I do?

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

Angled rays of orange
Shimmering white edges of clouds
Deep grey and blue river
Interrupted by upright vessels

Birds on the wing
A symphony of masts
Bricks and bridges
Green and red of autumn

Relics of the past
Rising flocks of thousands
A fragment of golden sunlight
Collected drops on my window pane

Silver light
Morning people
A cloth of tumbling light shapes
Horizontal bars of truth

A pathway to hidden palaces
An adventure waiting to begin
Flags uncurling
Glassy coloured reflections

Symbols of progress
Thoughts held captive
Hearts protected with messages
A single duck advancing on the river

A V shaped trail on the water
Stand up for what you believe in
These are the reflections of my mind
This is what I see

Rose
What do you do at night
When I can no longer see you?
What happens to your rich colour
And your delicate scent?

Do you wait
For the return of the sun
Eager to display
Your natural elegance?

Or perhaps you disappear
Into some other dimension
Where you dance and sing
To crowds of admirers
Rushing to reappear just in time for dawn?

If I were to shine a torch upon your body tonight
Would you still shine with such beauty?
Or would you be lesser
Than your daytime self?

Rose
What do you do at night?

Maybe you sleep
And dream of butterflies and warmth?
Maybe you cast spells
Over the crawling creatures of the night?
Maybe you wait, quietly, patiently
Shivering in the autumn chill
Calling for a lover
To come and rescue you

Rose
What do you do at night?

Above the rock
Land and sea
Beneath the rock
Molten rock

Beneath molten rock
Liquid nickel and iron
Beneath the liquid
Solid

Behind each word
Is meaning
Behind each sentence
Purpose
What are you saying to me?
What is your desire, your purpose?

Beneath the bark
Is cambium
The cortex
The phloem primary,secondary

The vascular cambium
Xylem
Secondary,primary
Then the pith

Behind each vibration
Is energy
Beneath our skins
Is flesh and bone
Beneath our clothing
We are animals
What are we saying
To the world?

What if
I just let go...

What if
I loosen the ropes
That fasten me
To the banks of reality

Would my life cease to be real?

Or would I experience
Another reality

More real than the current reality

What if
I were to let myself…
Go

Where would I end up?

What if today was the last day that I saw you
Would I regret, not kissing you goodbye?

What if today was the last day that you saw me
Would you regret not saying goodbye?

Who am I?

Who am I if?

Who am I if
I decide
To be kind
To treasure mankind

Who am I?
Who am I?

What if?
What if I?

What if I
Can make a difference
Decide to work hard
To somehow win?

What will I do?
What will happen?

What?
What?

And what if all
I try to do
Should come to pass?
Come to pass?

What if?
What if?

Perhaps I will learn
To care for you
To care for me
To care for we

Perhaps?
Perhaps?

Perhaps I'd connect
Disconnected hearts

Thaw the winters
Of eternal worry

Maybe I'd plant
The seeds of hope

And grow a spring garden
For all to enjoy?

Maybe?

Maybe?

If
If I...

If

If

If

What is love
Without loving
What is life
Without living
What is joy
Without giving

It is hollow

What is hope
Without wishing
What is air
Without breathing
What is art
Without feeling
It is nothing

What is age
Without learning
What is day
Without night
What is voice
Without singing
It is cracked

What am I
Without others
What could I do
Without brothers
How could we live
Without our mothers
We could not

What is death?
What is it?

Is it so bad, so terrible?

It comes to every living thing, inescapably.
To all of those who view the sun
And gaze upon the moon
Death will come.

Death,
Total, complete, certain,
Will come.

We give birth
And we receive death.
Death is not life
And life is not death
And yet they are indivisible.

Death draws closer
With every passing second
But the sunlight burns always
…always

Light
Darkness
Death.

What is faith?

Is it the struggle towards dreams
Based on the belief
That our dreams will come to be
Although one doesn’t
Have the slightest clue how to achieve them

What is faith?

Is it the belief
In the power that lies inside of each individual
A power so strong and vast
That is can deliver happiness across the entire planet?

What is faith?

Is it to be found in taking action
Even though a single action
May be so small
That one thinks it will make no difference at all

What is faith?

Is it the belief that everything will be all right
And turn out well
In the end?

What is faith?

Is it the belief that people who work for good
Actually do make the world
A better place?
And is it the belief
That cruel people will get
Their just deserve

What is faith?

Is it the belief that all the walls
Build around our hearts and across our lands
That keep people apart
Will one day topple?
Is it the idea that human beings
Were meant to share,
To love, to embrace, to dance,
To sing, to enjoy living and be truly happy together?

What is faith?
What is...
Faith?

A bundle of troublesome things
Are held within my heart
Confusing and knotted
And ******* together
Way too difficult for me to understand

But what is also in my heart
Is buried at its core
And the thick outer layers
Which hold my truth from coming forth
Cannot deny its existence, way below

The walls and restraints that hold it thus
Wrestle and grip
But the restless beauty at its core
Which yearns so badly to be free
Is there I know it
And will emerge
Like the sun over a glassy still ocean

Whats in my heart
I ask myself, is the essence
That makes up 'me'
The coil of unique existence
Created in the sea of the universe
A star like no other
My
Heart

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 close my eyes
And wait for what may come

And then, I remember the man
With the sore skin and red face
Who passed me by today

In the blank spaces of my mind I recall
The woman praying
As a young child drops a penny in her cup
And then
The elderly man on his knees
Holding out his begging cap

I remember the light rain
Moistening the coats of thrifty shoppers
As an African lady pulls a one wheeled trolley
Noisily along the cobbled pavement

People with blunted expressions
Talk of how they will spend their Christmas
Now that we cannot be together
And I sense
The dim reflected light of despair
In their eyes

How much more
Do we have to take
Before we emerge from this storm?

And I ask myself
What is left
When everything else is taken away?

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?

What is this country
Where ageing white men
Scream and shout
Forgetting all sense of decency and humility

What is this country
Where so called leaders
Refuse to take responsibility and apologise
For even their most base acts

What is this country
Where sincere mass demonstrations of the people
Are referred to as dithering mobs

What is this country where one unelected man
Wields the power to lead a nation
Down a poisonous path

What is this country
Where jokes and sniggers
Echo through the august chambers of parliament

What is this country?

Though landscapes seem unchanging
And the blackness of night
Weighs down
Like a sodden blanket

One day
Of life
Is such
Treasure

Dawn will emerge
Fresh and new
Cleansing
Open

Geese will soar overhead
Making V shapes
And bodies of water
Hold secrets
In salty depths

The bookends of these days
Enfold
Memories
Melting in the dark caverns
Of my mind

And I, like slow congealing milk
Yearn for change
Ache for the revolution
Long for adventure

To draw my sword
And fight off the insidious invasions
Of ageing

And live
Once more, with vigour

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

When all is lost
And everything that you had
Is gone

When all that is familiar
Is removed
And the sounds of others
Have fallen silent

When the breath of companions
Is stilled
And the list of things
That needed to be done
Is done

All that is left
Is
Oneself

To face the essence of oneself
To sit alone in the silence of oneself
To wonder at the thoughts of oneself
To ask
Why am I here?
Why am I here?
What is my purpose?

To face oneself again and again
And again

And ask oneself
Why?

Only then
Can one

Change

When does life really begin?

If I were to ask the trees
They might say

Push your roots down
And steady yourself
The stronger you are
The longer you will live

If I were to ask the birds
They might say

Never settle in one place for too long
You should always seek
Something better
And push on
To new places

If I were to ask the sea
She would sigh and laugh
And perhaps reply

Life has no beginning
It has no end

If I were to ask the moon
It would say

Shine brightly while you can
For light fades to darkness
And all is changing

And if I were to ask the winds
They would moan and tell me

That is for you to find out

What is there to say
When love has died?
When it seems
That there is
Nothing left to say...

Two people
Drift slowly apart
Too eager to criticise each other
Dismissive of their beautiful talents
Silently resentful of their ageing bones

When love has died
Joint creations
Shared possessions
Memories
Tarnish and rot slowly
Disappearing into a tunnel
Of nothingness

Frustration simmers
When what you once thought was love
Turns out to be something else
Something time limited

When the person
You thought you loved
Turned into someone different

Just like you did

When love has died
All you can do is reinvent yourself
Re-examine everything

When love has died
Nobody is to blame

But somewhere in heaven
An angel
Takes its last breath

When people crumble
What is revealed?

A human shell
A remnant
An incomplete representation
Of the embodied self

When people crumble
We witness the manifestation of
A helpless child
Unprotected, unsafe, exposed

When people crumble
Time travels
Transporting them
To when injustice rained down heavily
And they were beaten
My humanity’s inhumanity

When people crumble
We are reminded
Of the past
For it is there
That hidden injuries were inflicted

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

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

In my sleep
I will dream of unborn
Realities

But now
I have woken
Though am I still asleep?

I am wrong placed
This expected place
Unexpected

Someone has taken my body
And I am in theirs

I am attached
To this experience
In a most disconnected manner

We ancient beings
Travelling within fleshy physicalities
Are novices

Wading through miasmic soup
Holding our breath
Plunging for meaning
Nothing but ambulant meanderers

Rays of energy
Pass unnoticed
Through our cartilaginous joints
And groaning sinews
As fellow bipedals
Led by hemispheric glossities
March army like
Into diurnal rhythmicals

Heart warmth
Lifts deep dungeon dwellers
From their plight

And sweet juices of hope berries
Revitalise the old

This is the Eden foundry
This, an altered nirvana
This but a displaced unreality
Is our temporary
Habitat

Our strange
Fangled
Home

The cuts
Slice through plans
Disturbing the future
We had envisioned for ourselves

Lives interrupted
As the flow of money ceases
And is re-directed elsewhere

Big ideas freeze
And the future crumbles

But, where does the money go?

Into growing
Or stopping?
Welcoming in
Or keeping out?

Sixty five million just to work out
How to leave the European Union

Why not stay
And continue to play?

So who decides
Where the money goes?
Who decides and why?

Is it really the people
Who decide?

Or is it the people with the money
Who decide

Where the money goes

Strip me naked
And lay me bare

You will find
Not a penny on me

It's all
Decided in
Our minds

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

It’s no good me carrying on
As if things will go back
To how they were

The world is changing
And I will be forced to change
Whether I like it or not

It is said that there are response phases
To contend with during change...
Shock and denial
Anger and bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

And then,

The future...

The world is changing
And I will be forced to change
Whether I like it or not

Will I be stuck in shock or depression
Passive in my acceptance
And become a victim of the changes?

Or active in the change
A contributor of new exploration
A pioneer on the front lines of the unknown?

The world is changing
And I will be forced to change
Whether I like it or not

I the Commuter Poet, no longer commuting
Am writing a poem a day throughout this year
And my history, my contribution, my response
May well be told and remembered
Through these very words

For the world is changing
And I will be forced to change
Whether I like it or not

We have a white wine haze
To numb our feelings

And distract us
From the all too familiar routine
Of lockdown

Like fuzzy haloes before our eyes
Things have become white
And cloudy
And nothing seems to matter so much

And we fall into our beds
Wanting to sleep for one hundred years
And reawaken beyond the storm
When the world will have put itself to rights

But we know
Another clear dawn
Awaits us
With its sharp truth
Of this earthly challenge

And then
We will rub our eyes
And turn to the coffee ***

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

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

Who will I be
In this quarantine?

Who will I find
Inside my mind?

Who will be there
When all others have gone?

Who do I become
When I am one?

Once I was a doctor
Laying hands on pulses

Once I was a gardener
Pushing my fork through thick earth

Once I was singer,
Making music  on stage

Once I was player
Playing games with the playful

Once I was barman
Pouring lager in tall glasses

Once I was sportsman
Scoring points in open spaces

Now I am held captive
By the edict of a virus

Now I am a prisoner
Without bars, held at home

Now I need to find
The key to my identity

Now I have to unlock
The window of my soul

Now that  my armour
Has been locked away

Now we will see
Who I will be

My castle is closed
My tribe is remote
My diary is empty
All happenings undone

Now we will see
Now we will see
Now we will see
Who I can be

You don’t know who you are
Until you give things a try

Why not make this year,
A truly great year?

Why not make this life
The happiest I can?

Why not do the things
I so want to do?

Why not?
Why not?

Why not choose to live
In a winning way?

Why not laugh off doubts
And stick my neck out?

Why not go for dreams
Wholeheartedly?

Why not?
Why not?

Why not forget
The pains of the past?

Why not imagine
Great successes ahead?

Why not discover
Who I truly am?

Why not?
Why not?

Why not say great things
Of myself and my friends?

Why not treat each life
With the greatest respect?

Why not write a script
That's unique and magnificent?

Why not?
Why not?

Why not sing
At the top of my voice?

Why not delight
At the stars up above?

Why not play
Like a child in a dream world?

Why not?
Why not?

Why not
Chase
Childhood dreams
Why not
Roll
The dice of life
Why not
Start
Upon a journey
Why not
Live
A different life

Why
Hold on
To painful memories
Why
Decide
To give things up
Why
Believe
That you can’t do it
Why
Get stuck
Within a rut

Why not
Run
If legs are able
Why not
Sing
If voices can
Why not
Love
If hearts are beating
Why not
Jump
Because you can

Why
Wait years
To beat the devil
Why
Watch others
Take their stand
Why
Decide
That you’re too tired
To venture through
A troubled land

Why not
Ask
If 'Why?' is blocking
All the
Things
You want to do
Why not
Stop
Procrastination
When ‘Why not?’’s
A better path
To choose

Why oh why
Do I waste my time
Watching England
Play football?

Each tournament
They invent
A fresh way of
Tormenting their fans
With a new found
Mediocrity
And their total inability
To just
Win

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

I remember the time of irresponsibility
When I suckled the ******* of life
When I gulped the wine of the earth
And rolled in the grasses of freedom

The times were high
But short
And I have lost them

My friends
Where are you now?

I need your embrace
I need your love
I need to feel one with you
I need to feel whole

I am dissected
Ripped down the centre
Unable to describe who I am

I must return to older things
Deeper truths
I must make friends of stories
And run into the cracking seas

I will press my forehead to whomsoever will lean with me
But I can no longer offer you jewels
And fruits
Enough
No more
Enough
Never

Once I could stand tall like
A tower
But now I bend
But I have not yet snapped

I am racing towards my demise
I will be dead soon
Only to arise
Transformed

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

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

Those who have lost
Should congratulate their adversaries
And reflect deeply on themselves

Everything is lighter
Brighter
Clearer
Than it was

Perhaps we have turned a corner
And now we can see
Our goal
At last

Perhaps we are more steadfast
Resilient
Aware and connected
Than we were
Before the storm

For when the storm has passed
You can see those
Who have travelled with you
In their true light
And what you have shared
Together
Is sacred and precious

Winter is hard
Whether it is the winter of the season
Or winter of the soul
But as a wise man said
Winter always turns to Spring
And perhaps now
We can enjoy
The fruits of our labours
The results of our endurance

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

To those suffering the terror of war
I wish you strength and hope

To those suffering displacement
I wish you safe passage to a better life

To those suffering poverty
I wish you nourishment and relief

To those suffering illness
I wish you comfort and healing

To those suffering anxiety and stress
I wish you confidence and ease

To those suffering loss
I wish you companionship and connection

To those suffering misfortune
I wish you resilience and fresh opportunity

To those suffering heartbreak
I wish you courage and warmth

To those lost in the darkness
I wish you light and hope

Let’s make 2016 a year of joy for all

I awake from a nightmare
And feel relief
At the slow realisation
That it was
But a dream

And yet
My body still grips the tension
Of the terror which tormented me
In the dawn hours

The nightmare aroused
Deep anxieties
That I know I carry
And for the morning
I struggle to recover

On this same day
I see a woman
On the seashore
Washing her sore legs with seaweed

The white windmills of Tilbury
Turn the industrially poisoned air
And boys punch each other
At the train station

And then
Music

Created
Sung by brave people
For each other
Lifts me of out of my body
To a higher spiritual plane
Returns me to my memories
Of younger days

I am carried back
Reliving my emotions
Sharing and remembering
Experiences of years gone by

I am older
Yet somehow I am re-connected
To my younger self

My heart swells with emotion
Nostalgia

This is what art can do

This is why I live
With music

This is why I live
With art

Without questions
There are no answers

Without answers
There are no discussions

Without discussions
There is no exchange

Without exchange
There is no change

Without change
There is stagnation

Problems are part of life

The greater our problems
The greater the opportunity
To reveal the indomitable spirit
Of the human being

And the greater
The benefit we receive
As we reveal new wisdom
To create innovative solutions

Without problems
We cannot transform
Our own lives
Or the world around us

Without this tree
I could not see the daily patterns of sunrise
Reaching through the canopy
Without this tree
I could not hear the interplay
Of the late summer breeze and the yet green leaves
Without this tree
I would not learn how to stand strong
When the fiercest gales are raging
Without this tree
I would not understand
The necessity for endurance if the bitter cold of winter
Seemed interminable
Without this tree
I could not wonder at
The dignity and beauty of a hundred years of patient growth
Without this tree
I would not hear the melodious calls
Of a thousand different birds
Without this tree
I would have nowhere to tie
The far end of my washing line
Without this tree
Life would not be
As I know it to be

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!

Work
Work
Work
Work
Work

I have forgotten
How
To play