Every man understands
That she deserves a special man

I wish I could love that beautiful girl

She's a solid thing on this earth, forever beautiful
And maybe she'd come to see how far I'd fallen, but I couldn’t do that

I remember changing once. Turning into something hungry and emotionless.

It will never happen with this girl.

She’s bright and light
Like a torch

In this town she’s an institution
And on the other side of the world
I met someone who knew her too

It’s cool to be a part of the blue
Cloudless and sunny

I've had many teachers
But one of my favourites
Or most memorable
Was Clive Wansborough

He was my Year 9 English teacher
He said you could call him Clive

We had argumentative debates
About Jimi Hendrix,
Electronic music
The Smiths and vegetarianism

We started each class with a meditation
Closing your eyes
Filling your lungs to 75% capacity
In and out
The sound of his voice
Counting you into relaxation

He said I'd written the best piece of writing
he'd read in 10 years
About my experiences in Little Athletics
Of being afraid of the finishing line
Because coming first would mean getting clotheslined

I think I had a **** in his class once
Pearse and I were mucking around in front
Uncontrollable teenage hormones
Reading ***** literature

But I felt creative in his class
I wrote about a river flowing
from your mind down your arm
And into your pen

And I think he quoted it
When he said something like
If you don't know where to begin
Or don't know what to say
Just write

That was Clive's advice

On her arm is written
"A longing for home"
In her native tongue
Like an amber coloured sun

She has big soft eyes
And everything else
And big lips I've got to kiss

One night, tonight
In a road of many nights?
We don't know

So let's smile and touch
Warm and close
Hot and moist

She lets it all hang out
Throwing her hair everywhere
There's no time to lose
No time to waste

The amber coloured sun
Is watching us on the run
That longing for home
Is as ready as the air when you wake up
On the minds of everyone

I remember magic everywhere
As if the earth were newly cut open

I used to not think twice
But these things you can lose overnight

I used to be brave
But had no idea

There was so much love
But I was just letting go

Spring you mighty thing…
I'm down here looking up at you

I want to evaporate into your blue
Like rain
Good as new

The theorists
The atheists
Salvation, the war
What's going on?
Love and good vibes
**** and plastic gloves
Dream homes
Foxes in the garden

The monarch
Black women crying after bad news
The transvestite who walked you home
Aliens and cleopatra's throne

Sport cars, homelessness
Class wars, north and south of the river
Rhythm and dance
Humanity and kindness

Fine clothes
Darwinism, the big bang
5G, netflix and chill
Well worn doors, heirlooms
Green grass

Kissing
Roadworks
Abandoned buildings
Crane dare devils
Adrenaline

Baby talk
Baby speak
Ice-cream mountains
Rabbit, habbit, I've had it!

Awe of a generation
Death in a family
Ancient texts
Who's next?

Meditation
Looking after yourself
Good health
The uncontrollable
The simultaneous
The earth's population
Providence
Headaches and sore bones
Swollen ankles
White wine and wheelchairs

Cigarettes in the morning
Uselessness
The game
Will it ever be the same?

Mum's cooking
Getting head in the late night bar
Colonisation
Genocide
People and peace
Correcting wrongfulness
The downward falling knife
Good and evil
And the upward turning sword

A black girl
A white girl
Bali passion
2 at a time
And the long rolling oddball

Videos of your nieces and nephews
The grave
The cave
Home
And the change

The profound
The dumb
The round
Nutrition and junk food
Fresh air
Skin cells and hair

I went talking to people
Talking to people from everywhere

Even if the world was run by muscle and war
Lies and corruption
Even if it was unjust and wrong, founded by animals
Even if the people were separated, afraid and cynical of each other
And even if everything was instant and unnatural
We still went looking for the soul of man
Like looking for angels in your soup

I left home and came back
And I said I couldn't find it
There was disappointment in my sister's eyes
She spoke in many places, races and faces
Was I still looking for the soul of man?

And the stress grew
The world got harsher
More separate
More afraid
And still the newly conscripted in their already worn gear still bright
With torchlights and walkie talkies
And dreams strapped across their chests
Went looking for the soul of man

Like an eye is meant for seeing, a mouth for speaking
You can't escape it
Everywhere I went
People were looking for the soul of man

Shipwrecks
And Shipwrecks
Within Shipwrecks

Everything was everywhere
It all passed thru my
Eye
My retina unflinching

But where was the water?
That made each the same
And apart
And put the ship back together again?

Is there a place
Where strangers become friends?
Where eyes look innocent again?
I think we could start from there

It scared me how far it had gone...
How important it is to be brave today
To have a light in the dark

How bright it has become

In amongst the Shipwrecks
And Shipwrecks
Within Shipwrecks