HALF A POUND OF INSOMNIA WITH A LARGE DOLLOP OF TIREDNESS ON TOP

Sleep lies languidly
upon the chaise longue.

I sit uncomfortably in
an old wicker chair.

We stare at each other.
Say - nothing.

Neither of us
blinks.

I have counted  exactly
two thousand and 2....3. . .

sheep.
They fill up the room

with a loud baaing.
There is no grass in the room.

But I am more awake
than ever.

Sleep and I
do not see eye to eye.

Sleep annoyed by now
goes to the window

where even the moon is
dreaming.

A  hill
long gone.

Trees snore
their breath rustling their leaves.

"Why do I always
have this trouble with you?"

Sleep snaps
without looking at me.

I try to change
the subject.

"I didn't know you
could manifest like this?"

I venture for the sake
of the argument.

"Oh no...now you've gone
and trapped me in a poem!"

In the early hours
of the coming day

even Sleep
falls asleep.

I yawn
exaggeratedly .

Hum KLF's
"It's three am eternal!"

Each of the now 2000 and 4...5
join in

with a tuneless
baaing.

Cleanliness
On my frequent lone walk by the old docks
I came across a building which turned out
to be a communal bathhouse.
It was incredibly cheap for a few pence
I got a towel and soap and had my first shower
I was at the time, elven years old.
And when I was short of change asked my mother
for not ice cream, but for a shower.
My brother said only poofters went there, how would
I know? I Didn't see anyone wearing badges:
“I'm a gay person.”
There are shops where the old building stood and
by life's irony sells perfume and toiletry.

My Dearest Dad


Please explain my dearest dad
Why you allowed the pain and sorrow
Gave her everything she asked
And never thought about tomorrow
Did you love to much to speak
When she beat me with a bar or
Was it just that you were weak
You always let her go to far
When she spit into your face
And went away and formed a tie
With a lesser man to you disgrace
And made the entire family cry
I know your love it was sincere
I know she was your very life
But you should have made the limits clear
To save your children from your wife

The Incubus

You give pleasure to the senses
You’re light and fair of form
And Breakdown our defenses
You’re high above the norm
A child you have provided
Delight to those who care
But the things you have decided
Are cobwebs in the air
Your beauty hides a being
That’s hard to harmonize
With the thing that we are seeing
The stories and the lies
And one day when you’ve grown
And your beauty’s gone away
And the child looks at your designing
What are you going to say?
That on a whim you ravaged
Three lives and just for play
As a dog a victim savaged
Those who let you have your way
Let your aging not be graceful
And your beauty not remain
For your dealings are disgraceful
And to look at you brings pain
Let your action be rebounded
And you reap what you have sown
On the lies that you have founded
From a heart that’s made of stone

"Too old for surgery"
The surgeon turned me down
This was a great relief
I cheered without a sound

He said it would be major
moving things around
so I was very glad
to be homeward bound

I will tell you about a dream,
I will paint a picture for you,
a house beside a beautiful stream,
add a couple of mountains too.
The first rays of the morning kiss me,
I watch the sun wake up to the green sea,
the birds are singing with the trees,
the clouds whisper, you are free.
Time stops and sits beside me,
get it, I have time on my side,
one more second, I lie,
been too long since I wasn't tired.
I close my eyes and open my ears,
I hear the sound of the wind,
the sound of the river flowing for years,
I finally found my peace of mind.
It's autumn so the leaves are falling
and swaying and dancing in the air,
it's the most beautiful morning,
a voice says your time is up I fear.
Before I knew it I was in the past,
time had got up and walked away,
an echo of the moment passed
nothing but a memory of the lost day.
And now I sit here reminiscing,
if only I could have,
all the things that I am missing.

Sweet lady you have my heart.
When you smile,
The sun shines brightly.
And should a tear wet your cheek,
The clouds gather.

WE are not able to FEEL alone.
Synchronicity exists
In our heartbeat rhythm.
You cannot take a breath
Lest I breathe too.

We live pain for pain, joy for joy.
Always in sharing,
Eyes together with hands clasped.
Giving, forgiving,
Do we know which is which?

Sweet lady you have my heart.
Whether you smile,
And sunshines brigthly,
Or a tear wets your cheek,
My heart remains yours.