Sunset whispers to itself
~No time outlives time~
The meltemi winds crackle the wild millet,
Graze-feed upon the stalks of Greek plains,
The pelican scoops up the honeyed Aegean,
Waves of sunlit anise and almond in refrain,
Vestigial as the sweet persimmon from Egypt,
The hammered warmth from the flat anvil of Africa,
Sunset whispers to itself
~No time outlives time~

I spend the night trying to run from the storm
wrapping its arms around this town

but its roar
the thought of her

too intrusive too raging too electric

her rain softens the earth around my naked heart
the one I buried just for her

I lie awake stuck at 9, 894  
being unearthed is painful

I argue with the storm
until I realize there's no outrunning myself

light is a gift

drink it

I can’t lie about wanting
to fall to my knees
with roses in a hand
held outward.

If you want me to resist
Who I am
I refuse.

Rough spoken men with hands like shovels
Overbearing women full of laughter and cuddles
***** brick mills and deserted old pits
United and City and kids with zits
Redundant old docks where boats used to sail
Now luxury penthouses for the rich to prevail
Finney, Kingsley and the great Robert Powell
The Hollies, the Beatles and the Gallaghers scowl
Tony Wilson, Factory Records and his rebellious acts
Hadrians Walls reveals many artefacts
Strangeways, gangsters and criminal ways
But our streets are safe as the government says
Tramstops, trainlines and buses fly along
Taking the North West’s finest to the places they belong
Canal Street, China town and the Northern Quarter
Scarily high death rates in the cold bitter water
Pride, Eid and diversity through the streets
Down the motorway lies the Cavern where the Liverpudlians still meet
Tragedy and solidarity and the beautiful bee crest
This is my place of birth this is the North West