these morning yawns are drawing on,
to wake up now
to sweet birdsong
a rare and scarce occasion
as the body ages
and the bones
become thin
fresh as a daisy has to pay the day's wages
before a trickle
of strength is let in,
the droopy eyes,
listless sighs,
the walking through treacle
of waking up time.

my chances tumble
my dice wear thin..
my sleeves wear hearts
that could not win..
and in time when tired minds
regret their leaving
finds behind
once so bold
now in sunken fields of clay
their glory gone
their shine that shone upon the dullest day
stolen by the gloss
this weary life wears away
may they see the treasure trove
that drove their path
had a wrath that hid in shadows
lit by lights
so soon to fade.

all these things and all these places
all these people all these faces
all these streets that end in strangers
cowboys Indians
amazing graces
nothing more
than pictures faded.

hearts break
minds mend
no escape from the never ends
and
all the pretty houses
and
all the pretty gardens
make emotions ache
and harden
as untethered souls search alone
for freedoms link
while beauty passes
in a blink
yet all the pretty girls
still wink and the sun comes round again.

all joyous thoughts are frozen
by this sorrow only death releases
and I begin to buckle
under separation's broken pieces
and each new dawn
another day
of endless heartbreak
and the pain
that cuts so deep without refrain
emotion's thief chose carefully
to steal away serenity
and i now sleep in blank night's darkness
this world to me so cold and heartless.

black dog and monkeys
and demons with grins
or in greasy spoon cafes
with losers who win
and when some folk are chatty
a silence begins
and i look through a window
at the birds and their wings
and i wish for the freedom
their fluffy wings bring
or the chirp of a jackdaw
who tries hard to sing
but never can tell when the shakes will begin.

few and far
undetected from the radar
as it sweeps and bleeps
but out of sight is out of mind,
disconnected
out of place,
wires crossed
intent misplaced the elusive days
insanity takes,
eluding all for falsity's sake
to make some sense
in a senseless state.