The tide abates
As the storm rages on
Slowly the shore reveals itself
Assaulted by the waves

Twenty years ago
Here I would sit
Upon this rocky outcrop
Watching the ancestors of these waves

The rocks and shingle roar
Growl to me from below
Why don't I jump in and save them
From their steady,slow erosion

A long, piece of driftwood
Is flung airborn by a wave
Part of a long-lost craft
Only now finding landfall

The light begins to touch me
Through the tangy, salt-sea air
I retrace my steps once more
Leaving home behind me.

She doesn't care, Felicity
Which side of the M25 she was born
But I do as the rain
Hammers down the asphalt

The poetry of the concrete collar
Exit ramps, overheads,benzene
Subtly turns me on
As she removes her high heels

'London Orbital' she slowly mouths
while lighting another cigarette
It has three 'O's
Not unlike myself

I watch her from behind the wheel
The motorway's pulse fills the space
Between us and the world
As we wait for the night.

The right leg crosses the left
the left leg crosses the right
Not bad for forty two
I watch across the room

This seductive sequence
to think I used to **** that
Not now though - no chance
she really hates my guts

Yet every few weeks  I sit
across the silent living room
She streches over, presenting her ***
In **** tight pink trousers

She knows what she's doing
understands my mind
Pink is my colour of ***
I cannot ignore her

And so the show goes on
and then for days to come
I dwell on the pink trousers
skin of forbidden fruit

With your finger
You twirl your hair
Smile across the table
And in shyness look away

I just look down
Smile to myself
Think how lucky I am
That you are here with me

This room is full
Of other folk
But they are merely given
Supporting roles in this play

My misplaced foot
Touches your leg
Quickly I say 'sorry'
But we both know that I'm not

I'd take you now
Up close to me
I'd hold you here so tight
And I'd never let you go

But this cafe
Is not the place
For two to boldly love
Each other for all to see

Except like this
Quiet and subtle
Yet ever more sincere
Over both our coffee cups

The world goes by
But not for us
We're wrapped in this our game
For we're only starting out

But we both know
We've reached the point
The point of no return
Darling we've begun to Love.


An early piece from some years back!

Where in fact could you tell me
lies this girl Felicity
The name I myself did give
to a perfect model of love

Is she the teenage girl at work
who flirts and shakes her ****
Asks me to touch her fleshy stomach
Everyone thinks we're having an affair

Is she the twenty something student
who texts me now and then
So we meet for illicit dates
and never anything else

Or is she the woman now past thirty
who feeds me every night
Wears high heels in bed
while loving me with all her heart

Which of these can you tell me
Is Felicity among the Felicities
Surely it is not you
I couldn't deal with anymore.

As I sit in the sun
surrounded by summers last flowers
in terracotta pots, my mind
fails to share the peace that surrounds it

Restlessness sits like a cloud
immovable in a changing sky
Where lies truth?
Amongst the shadows of this garden

This morning brought the first frost
like a warm blanket it lay
on the grass, on my soul
Is it so stupid to think

That at thirty five years
This chemistry with a teenager
Could indeed be real
and give birth to Felicity

Or does dark delusion
creep over lawn and rockery
To plant its own black seed
in a fertile heart.

The Fox River flows
like a river of nothingness
Through my mind in the light
and my life in the dark

So many places like this
where I never have been
Exist in the world
outwith my experience

A bridge crosses over
the flowing waters
As endless as time
that I cannot tie down

On the library steps
beneath an Illinois sky
A woman gazes out
absorbing the scene

Where I do not feature
except in the mind
Testing conciousness
and the meaning of life.

In the spring-time it flitted
across the bay
In form it was delicate
shimmering in the strengthening sun

Through the long days of summer
it lay restful and content
A perfect partner to the sand
in vast, oceanic majesty

Autumn brought its trials
darkness descending as the wind rose
Yet it met the challenge
returning to the fray

Then the storms of winter
overcame it with life
It drowned among its own
though its memory remains.

The psycological effects
of the rewired mind
infused with the 'Green Fairy'
are learned the easy way

As he - that is I
strides the late night town
ten foot tall
with a sixteen year old

on his arm
in the town
as the gargoyles
watch from heaven

A night spent trying
to climb a moving Vesuvius
a chimeral dreamscape
of unreal reality

As he - that is I
strides the late night town
ten foot tall
with a sixteen year old

on his arm
in the town
as the gargoyles
watch from heaven

A night of rain
with everyone talking about it
And I mean everyone
for it's hammering down

As they fill the hall
for the evening performance
Planned for outside
I take the stage

I and the others
Sweating below lights
And as my eye wanders
I see a forgotten face

There in the rows smiling back
I too quickly smile
Let it be known that I've seen
Then begin to wonder

What fills the mind?
Behind that smile
If I only knew
I'd forget the rain.

They'd said she was dead
but she served me just now
In the Royal Mail sorting office
up on Green Road

Fished out the river
was how they all had her
On a dark, wet Sunday
and I thought of the girl

Who twenty years before
sat beside me in Tech. Drawing
Who I didn't fancy
but liked all the same

Double periods
On Tuesday mornings
In that concrete box
that wasted our time

She served me just now
in the Royal Mail sorting office
She's cheated death
We're not ready to die.

This girl - Felicity
Shimmers *** appeal
Like a plastic pink flamingo

I see her walk
early morning
Along the sands

Watching the tide
roll in and out
High heels in hand

As she waits
for darkness
and the sensuous night.

The words seemed to dance
freely within the script
So much so that it seemed difficult
to determine what pattern
they might eventually take.

Yet as I rose early
in order to watch
Coventry awake
The silence morphed into noise
and I prayed that the summer
would reveal its truth.

She wore her ***
On the Rue Vavin
Like a pink scarf
Round her naked neck

Yesterday we visited
The Zadkine's
At Montparnasse
Where students smoke and love

There her boredom
Was palpable
Though the streets
Enriched her beauty

An English rose
Walking on cobbled streets
Parisian streets
Streets of our love.

Pretty girls go by
With feral eyes
Yet none compare
To Felicity

Who sits with me
At Le Select
On the Boulevard Montparnasse
As evening falls

Felicity with whom
I made love
Last night
On the Rue Troyon

As darkness falls
We'll make love
With Paris
From atop the tower

Where a feminine city
Shines like jewels
On a sea of love
True love - ours.

I wished
that you could've seen her
As I did that morning
on Llandudno pier

Working in the arcade
A real '**** and ***'
Yet entirely in accord
with the Victorian elegance

I returned next day
but she was not there
Had the ebb tide
carried her away?

In my mind the memory
remained like the sand
Untouched by the tide
and I gave thanks for that.

I stood in view of Helvellyn
on a summer afternoon
Marvelling at the majesty
of this English landscape

As young hikers lay
amongst the ancient stones
Performing ancient rites
they thought they'd invented

I thought of the poets
of life and the world
Remembered Lovehearts words
and drank in the air.

A war memorial stands
Keeping guard at the end
Of an ancient High Street
Alone on a roundabout

From this historic spine
Of Flooring Centre and Bugdens
Run ribs of semis
With their suburban wives

I watch as my feet
Stamp down cracked pavements
Teenage schoolgirls
Giggle at a phone

At the village hall noticeboard
I read Parish Council minutes
Wondering at the secrets
Of the good who serve

Whilst against it all
The background hum
Of M3 traffic
Racing towards death.

Five lights
Invade the night sky
Intruders
To her mind

From terra
A teenage girl
Considers them
Understanding the truth.

In a flight of fancy
Felicity pronunces
Her admiration for Henry Moore
As we stroll in the sunshine

For my part however
I'm preoccupied
For I have a date tonight
With the 'Green Fairy'

She waxes lyrical
As together we admire
'Reclining Figure - 1951'
In the Tuileries Garden

And I have to say
It breaks my reverie
Returning my main vice
The female form.

Smoke rings float
In the air
Before entering the mind
Through the nostrils of the soul

Love hangs like a pair
Of pink knickers from a lampshade
A bad cliche
From a good *****

My mind exits
Floating in the air
Like an 'Operating Thetan'
If you believe in that

While Felicity
The stiletto heeled epitome
Of abstract desire
Dances in a concrete world


If this poem is derogatory then it - and I- have failed.

Felicity smiles
whilst placing
'Iron in the Soul'
On the pillow

She's turning French
Once more
Two weeks from now
We'll be in Montparnasse

She stopped me once
Asked for a light
In a little side street
Near Euralille

This ****** girl
Who smokes
Sensually
For my pleasure

At Warehouse I wander
As light seeps from the sky
Among the cold, grey tombs
Of the ancient dead

In this timeless landscape
So remote and lonely
Forgotten tongues whisper
With the wind through the heather

A harvest moon
Not yet quite full
Is the only witness
To the truth of these stones

My spine tingles
The mind races
I smell the smoke
Of my forebears cremations

And as I leave
The moon a guardian
Over these distant graves
I sense communion


Written after visiting the Warehouse Chambered Cairns on 26th August 2015.

Autumn called
Us in
To the cruel clutches
Of tomorrow

I cried that day
When Felicity played
Richard Harris' ' MacArthur Park'
On a 33

My tears flowed
From her eyes
Splashing down
On the revolving disc

Then we took
Each others hand
Remembering the Barbican
Felicity in red

Tonight we slip
Through love
To a thousand summers
We triumph over autumn

It is the ordinary
For me
That so often
Fills the memory

This is how I tell it ……

She didn’t give a ****
The ice cream seller
19 years – quite pretty
Sunday, New Brighton Parade

: )
Hey!
Wot U @
**** all

Through the hatch I saw her
Mobile in hand
Sitting on a *** that would
Get bigger – and better – with time

U?
At work
Its crap
Lol

She barely bothered
To look up from the phone
Casual disregard, I found appealing
To my ****** side

U out last nite?
Yeah ******* smashed
Went home with that guy
U know the one

Two strawberry cones please
And a vanilla
Don’t do strawberry
Just vanilla

***** mare !!
PMSL
I need to stop
He’s using U

Is there anywhere else?
Yeah, try up Vale Park
Just up there, round the corner
It’s cheaper too

U still there?
Yeah, sorry, a customer
Can’t be arsed today
Haha, don’t blame U

I left her there
Back on her ***
Leaning over the phone
Hoping for no customers

****
He just txt
Wot do I do?
Tell him to *******

We found Vale Park
Saved three quid
As with jealousy she cursed
Her mate and the ice cream.

On canvas
I try
To depict
Felicity

Young
Vibrant
Dangerously
Beautiful

A portrait
Of her
100% so
Yet more

Green
Yellow
Red
Black

For I
Have stolen
Into the work
With her

Felicity
Me
Us
You

They gather
To the sound
Of the pipes ringing
Across the village

They gather
To see
The strong men
Hurl the hammer

They gather
As the dancers
Lilt and lift
Above the swords

They gather
In their tartan
Both young and old
As the saltire flies

They gather
In spite
Of rain
And midgies

They gather
As so many years past
They gather
For The Games


Written after the Helmsdale Highland Games Sat 15th August 2015.

Early evening
In the bar
Where I sit
Looking at the mirror

She walks in
Early 20's
Skinny jeans, flat shoes
A pale green F & F top

As I look
At the mirror
This unknown girl
Begins to fill it

The mirror has always
Been there
Constant - comforting
But ever present

This girl is new
She flits around
Confidence - energy
She orders a drink

In the mirror
I see her
Perch on a bar stool
*** toward me

The mirror plays tricks
On my distracted mind
Enhancing the curves
Of this slender girl

Through the mirror
Her hair
Shines, hangs straight
Down a sculptured back

She sips her orange
As the mirror
Slows the effect
Increasing the allure

And then
She leans forward
That *** protrudes
But the mirror breaks

I'm seeing you
Eyeing that ******* girl
You're always the same
The mirror has spoken!

Like teenagers in a bedroom
We giggle
As the record player
Spins

Ashes to ashes

Felicity lies sprawled
On the couch
In her pinkest bra
And *******

Funk to funky

One black stiletto
Is on the floor
The other freely
Swings from her toes

We know Major Tom’s..

She exhales the smoke
I drain the bottle
In my head, once more
The colours explode

A ******

The room holds
The unmistakeable sweet smell
Of ***
Two days of ***

Strung out in heaven’s…

Her eyes glaze over
I hate pink and yellow
She spits
Oh, and light blue

..High

I hate you, I lie
Then we ****
With anger, savage
As she has mocked the colours

Hitting an all-time..

The record player sticks
Stilettos and bottles
Litter the floor
Slowly I withdraw

..Low

As the rain
Hammers
The sand
Of the shore

I see her walk
Felicity
Legs brown
With summer

Her long dark hair
Hangs heavy
As she casts a rock
Into Neptune's jaws

Into the surf
I dive
To retrieve
This rock

To hold it
As a last
Memory
Of her.

Lunchtime - I sit
In my corner
Watching
Tanya

She leans
Against a chair
One knee
Upon the seat

Slowly
I see
Her raise
The coke can

Full fat stuff
She doesn't care
It's that
I admire

A fullish girl
**** and ***
Round of face
Dyed red hair

Her name
Strikes me
Tanya
Sounds like ***

Instant guilt
Consumes
My thoughts
Far from pure

Tanya
Who I imagine
Naked on the floor
Atop my Bowie records

Tanya
Whose name
Has long
Been my favourite

Tanya
Tied - bound
Screaming
In the night

Tanya
Taking my hand
At a funeral
On a wet Tuesday

Tanya
In pink
My colour
Of ***

Tanya
Crying
At the sad part
Of the latenight film

Tanya
Crawling
Across the
Bedroom floor

She places
The red can
On the table
Not caring

Tanya...
Tanya...
Tanya...
Tanya......

About 30
she sits
On a wall
smoking

A good wall
Strong
A good ***
Soft

Behind her
the General Hospital
Shadows
the image

The scene
******
Through lack of
care

My mind has
painted her
Like a
Vettriano

Colour
Desire
Searing
Lust

The bus
arrives
She rides
away

My daydream
breaks
The image
endures

Quickly
my thoughts
Scribble
a poem

Inadequate
tribute
To a girl
On a wall

By the door
Of the social club
We take in the evening
Together - Alone

Yellow
The light
That colours
The vision

My confidence flows
Drowning my shyness
I smile, make jokes
Basically - flirt

Orange
The hue
That colours
The scene

If I make you smile
Hold your eye
I taste the moment
Sense - Completion

Green
The life
That colours
The picture

Stunning and beautiful
Flicking your hair
A roman candle
Burning - Alive

Pink
The desire
That colours
The mind

Deeply I breathe
Imagining the moment
I kiss your lips
Together - One

Red
The danger
That colours
This poem.

Still heart
Like a pond
Whose secrets
Lie deep beneath

A girl walks
Alone
Through city streets
Beneath the flyover

In the meadow
Of the soul
A heart flutters
Like wildflowers

At her feet
A beer can
Rattles by
In the wind

A swan appears
In silhouette
Against a sky
Awake with promise

She spies the man
A derelict
Beard red with grey
Eyes so hungry

A dark cloud
Appears
It stains
The blue

She rolls up
Her sleeve
He passes
The needle

A petal falls
Red like blood
Lands on the pavement
She spits on its presence.

Just like a harbour
Filled with an incoming tide
Your love swells my heart

Once upon a time
I was happy
With a teenage fumble
Behind the supermarket

Now - alone
I listen
To Morrisey sing
'I'm miserable now'
On a rainy Wednesday
On bleak streets
Those same streets
A kid knew well

On Saturday's I went
With mother
To town on the bus
To carry shopping

Jarvis sang
About Deborah
The fountain down the road
Tracy was my Deborah

A blonde who worked
In Presto's
Her sister was in my year
But I didnt fancy her

Chips on the bus
To a Britpop soundtrack
I carried Tracy's image
To bed in my mind
By fifth year
I'd lost control
Hormones stole
A University education

Tracy gone
Hormones remain
Sapping my dreams
And Presto's closed!

Darkness cradles the soul
In a night of black
Minds fly in fancy
Teenage loves renewed

I see you naked
Bathed in yellow light
Multi-coloured hand maid
In an orange sea

Purple, blue, crimson, green
******* the life
From a future - not ours
Yet theirs - the colours

I sense you near
Reach for your hand
We edge toward the precipice
Together we fly.

Thurso sparkles
in late afteroon sun
With colours gifted
through light refracted
by an abstract prism

By Caziel's mural,
a teenage girl smokes
and dispels a towns cares.

Let your words flow
Out across your page
Vivid pictures
Enriched with style

Heart confessed
Emotions shared
Art made real
Received by me
Thankful follower

A waterfall of colour
Is she
Pouring on my mind
Both night and day

A moonlit bay
Is she
Glittering like stars
Between anchored yachts

Virtual L.S.D
Is she
Brasil '66
Psychedelic cacophony

Soft skin and lace
Is she
Felicity
My 60's girl.

Circular girl, I search
For your presence
In the stars and moon
Of mental distortion

It's 'Ashes to Ashes'
With you and I
Drink drives my mind
Expanding to fill your void

Circular Girl explore
With me 1965
The Responsive Eye
In tonights darkness

Sky of deepest blue
Free from rain cloud blemishes
Flawless as your face.

River searching for
The sea its close companion
Two becoming one

Like hearts as love develops
They reach their perfect order.

Felicity is
Sand to the beach
Warmth to the sun
Light to the stars

A stream of my conciousness
I saw her once
In a girls self portrait
So real - surreal

She wore a beige scarf
As I'd never imagined
Her hair was dark
Yet at times she's blonde

Like light through a prism
She dazzles and changes
Form and colour flow freely
Yet my mind can hold her

Tonight she seems near
My thoughts touch her
An abstracted image
That flows through my pen

These are the moments
Parallel to reality
A happier place
An altered condition

Multi dimensional
She's my Lowry's 'Ann'
And tonight I am wrapped
In Felicity's arms

When she leaves me
I know she'll return
And I'll practice the ways
To call out her name.

Tiny spring flowers
Pushing up through the brown earth
Breaking winters grasp

Rich and precious jewels
Lending colour to the land
In splurges of joy

And scent for the air
Carried by the spring time breeze
Like perfume for hope

Such is the power
Of small and tiny flowers
And soon they'll be here.

Through dark rainy streets
I run
Searching for a man whose face
Seems carved from flint

Years of knowledge
Have etched his face
A Scottish face
Of rugged landscape

I feel the cold
Seep in to my bones
Tonight I need
Someone who understands

He enters the room
Where he is well received
Orders a pint
Stands by the fire

By the overpass I stop
It’s raining hard now
Below me the motorway
Pounds with traffic

Soon he has company
A genial man
Just in time
For the second half

The motorway calls me
I climb onto the parapet
One last leap
And the rain would stop

The warm flames glow
Casting shadows in his features
His wit flows freely
Girls notice his eyes

The wind picks up
My blood runs cold
A cowardly end
To a miserable life

Another dram
Before you go
He’s been here two hours
The life and soul

For a second on the wind
I hear my mother
I climb down from the bridge
Wet to the bone

Gordie smiles
As I enter the bar
He hands me a drink
‘Your dry now son’

Distant light of stars
Reach through the darkness tonight
Show me once more love

Love is a crossing
A leap across the river
Will you be my bridge?

The eyes flicker
In mutual understanding

The breath quickens
With the suddenness of it all

The mind doubts
For the briefest of moments

Then the walls tumble
As the heart takes over

She said " I love you".

He boarded the train
A human wreck
Bleak Sunday morning
At Chester station

The morning after
The night before
Self inflicted terror
Of the most reckless kind

Barely functioning
She offered him kindness
His perfect dream
A bubblegum blonde

'Your dead proper gorgeous'
He sure didn't feel it
Where was she
Twelve hours ago

A cocktail of sickness
Headache and hell
Meets panacea of perfume
Hoop earrings and paint

Now years have long past
The pain well forgotten
Yet still I remember
My Manchester girl.