The annual cycle of friends and family, meeting
An oil and water duty of circumstance, intersecting
At Christmases and global conferences, occasioning
Probable murders at Christmas in the families, mixing
Their duty to drink but live distant lives apart, loving
The comfortable satisfaction of the distance, living
Their lives with social media connections, liking
The comfort of ignoring without unfriending
Their oil and water friends and family.

So

I have supplanted this duty with desire, allowing
Me to unfriend these occasional friends, becoming
Myself at last with a vicarious pleasure of, enjoying
Being a stereotypical “Grumpy Old Man”, relaxing.

Waves crash into our lives in an uncomfortable reminder
That living life is much closer to survival than we hope
We watch as floods wreak havoc with disconnected concern
Thankful that fate meant it was they not us this time.

Waves flood into our memory like a bad disaster movie
That losing life is much nearer to probability than we wish
We watch as winds break boundaries with a guilty glee that
Tempts fate will make certain that it will be us next time.

Familiar “Buenos dias” from Bianca again,
Sandwiched, betubed with 5000 miles to go,
The blue-black spaceness of the endless sky,
And runwayless earth of comfortable clouds,
Reflecting on what has been and is yet to come,
A million miles of poetry, pain and pleasure,
Star Trek on the TV, seared Tilapia on my plate,
Flying to you for a first-date hello-again feeling.

Before was cool, after was a relief,
The “gift” delivered intact,
Is four hour operation normal?
Pain, pleasure and purpose,
Concern that the 10% rejection
Will be my kidney – only one to spare,
So far so good, after four weeks,
Thinking that my surgeon has a frown
At being called a butcher.

In a moment she catches my eye,
The glance, the quiet smile for me,
I know the look, it was all it took,
For Cupid’s arrow to find it’s mark.

Sometimes after breakfast coffee,
And maybe after lunchtime snack,
And often after romantic dinner,
She looks at me and then I know.

That life is good and we are right,
And all the problems of the light,
Will be put to rest in bed tonight,
With just a look my fears take flight.

Five, ***, seven
If and only if,
You are from Belfast.

If this is true
Why did they not focus on the ***?

“Make Love not War” etc.

Who really cares about religion?

Especially today.

...the rugged
Raskols ran amok again
Using guns, knives and stones
Made black a sunny Port Moresby day
Robbery the intent, ****** on their minds
Sir George attacked by thirty animals
Tete settlement violence victim
Just another day in Paradise
Airways breakfast last
Of  his 78 years.

Every day living is a new room

I used to look forward
To the adventure of new
But now I know that I am
One of ten thousand guests
Who have slept in this bed
I feel my room is full of
Tired spirits of the night

Escape is to my old room now.

Stepping through the building site of El Rancho,
The faded glory of the best hotel in Haiti once.
I think of “Old Times” when this was Paradise,
And a Rolls Royce collected you at the airport.

A seedy casino, neglect, an earthquake later,
Rats the size of cats show you to your room,
And “home from home” this is definitely not,
Everything turns to dust in the end, it seems.

Even us.

Alta cocina in Cochabamba for eight,
It’s llama for lunch accompanied by
An Andean black rice which I find
Is quinola, which is easy to like if
You are already committed to llama.

This llama for lunch in Paprika, is good
I wonder if gauchos lasso them from two
Meters, at least, to ensure, they don’t spit
This is why Blazing Saddles used cows,
Makes the movie more macho methinks.

I have Uptown ******* my DVD,
And Friends on the floor,
I am moving to the music,
And rocking to the beat.

I have training centre every day,
And I am working very hard,
I know that I am growing up,
Everyone tells me so.

I am at Bayside Gym each week,
And have won a lot of medals,
I got them at gymnastics events,
In Dublin , Belfast and Milan.

I go to movies every Saturday,
And eat in Eddie Rocket’s,
I like my dad to come along,
And share my coke and popcorn.

I love my mum and dad a lot,
And brothers John & Steve,
I know they are so proud of me,
Everything I do and am.

I pour my milk into a glass,
And cook waffles for a snack,
I hope you like this little note,
And that’s all I have to say.

Fifty years a-growing with my pigtailed friend
I was frogs and snails and she was sugar and spice
Attraction of tortoise petting a perfect way to diet
Red-faced, tongue-tied, secret Confirmation admirer

Nucleus beauty besotted beard route to romance
Coffee and gooseberries companionship cooking
Chicken and almonds the way to this man's heart
Townley Hall first loving to closeness ever after

Tented separation in Mweenish was chilly silliness
Yellow bikini starvation Brighton beach memories
Sneaking bedroom cuddles in Westone wedding
Graduated to Beaufield dinners and Blue Nun

Parents fret about their two kids with two kids
Life challenges met in the riches of poverty
Grateful when God's surprising Gift was given
Altogether life more balanced and beautiful

Entrepreneurial pride of parents flying high
The stars of sons the brightest in the sky
The workaday challenges a learning lesson
Lunch in Powerscourt the pleasure of poverty


We fly and we fall but catch each other every day
In heaven at last in the castle of our dreams
"Ticks all the boxes" of my blonde beauty
Perfect harmony a Gateway to perfect storm

Togetherness triumphs over taxman trials
Best times ever as we conquer the world
Olympic pride and gradual OU degrees
Make sunburst of pride as we grow

Icarus-like flight forgiven not forgotten
Revalue every "for granted" magic moment
"I want to grow old with you" wish and fear
Strength stronger than stupidity and stuff

In fear and loneliness I see fire and I see rain
I see sunny days now that we are one again.

When I was just seven years old.
I believed that I could run as fast
As a plane which was flying slow,
And so small, and high in the sky.

But my runway was short, and I
Ran out of road, and into a van,
The driver was laughing, at my
Failure to fly, without any wings.

But for the van, I believe that I would
Have flown up in the sky, but instead
I just ran away, so that was the last
Time I tried to take off from a road.

Our so-empty lives are filled with pointless plans,
Every decision impacts life, and sometimes death.
The earth split -  death was in that sometimes day,
Where unending need became the end of their world.

Montana was my home-from-home in Haiti,
Art deco paradise, an instant hellish grave.
What of my shoeshine man with ***** shoes?
Two hundred dead too hard, one is possible.

Little things we do to change the world,
The smallest possibilities in this nightmare,
Saving lives each day with lifeline texts,
Today we are the hand of God in hell.

Climb to the Cristo
Crystal clear Cochabamba

In Sunday sunshine
Sin stubborn steps

Teleferico is tempting
For thumping temples

Fretting feet feel
Fear of failure

Challenge completed
Cold beer calls

Neighbours resent the forced eye-contact intimacy,
Seat barrier raised despite friendly pre-flight hello,
Too English to be happy, too weird to be interesting,
Smiling Simon says, “Nice to have you, with us, Sir”.

Irish Grubeen, Mature Scottish Cheddar after dinner,
The port on London to Miami is strangely Stiltonless,
Scottish Tracy saves the day with First Class foray,
Admits she is a Lockerbie lass with nerves of steel.

Captain Lightfoot lands this little piece of England,
More gently than his movie namesakes ever could.
I count 55 Miami immigration stamps in my passport,
Maybe yoga would make this commute more fun.

1,000 miles from the Merry Christmas muzak in Port Moresby
Fat Brisbane taxi philosopher’s poor mouth moaning season
Navan road Sydney AMEX girl pining for the cold in Dublin
Along with traditional stuffing of turkey ham and trimmings.  

10,000 miles to London via sticky Bangkok “Merry Clistmas”
And cattle class envy of First class lounge showers mid-flight
But Jetlag is the same nightmare at both ends of the plane
As we fly across the universe to be home for Christmas.

1,000,000 people flying to their friends and families
Do all those sad, glad, bad, mad once-a-year reunions
Make it to Happy New Year without killing each other
Resolving to be prosperous, viceless and happy again?

Gigi remembers the frozen ***** with flowers
If she likes you, you get to know her first name
Cuisine in the sky is now Armagnac-free coffee
Gilles conflicted by gourmetless veal burger
To be sure to be sure I have the rubber chicken
Made tasty with a reasonably decent Sancerre
Tacky blue tape repair to swivel seat and desk
I hope the engines not maintained like this
Captain tells us not enough fuel get to Miami
Heart beats fast wondering if First Class first out


Oops now falling fast……

Hold me tight just a little bit longer
No words can bring us closer than skin
You are my Sunday morning moment

A breakfast in bed relaxation becomes
Silken silence like a deep dark lake
Hold me tight just a little bit longer

Warm bodies become lazy lovers
This perfect time must last forever
You are my Sunday morning moment

I am as vulnerable as a fractured moment
But you make me whole again today
Hold me tight just a little bit longer

Come back to bed for one more minute
Too soon relaxation is slipping away
You are my Sunday morning moment

A daydream shower maintains the spell
Steamy moment from steamy morning
Hold me tight just a little bit longer
You are my Sunday morning moment

I am trapped inside a message
Inside a message inside my head
I don't know how this happened
But it did because it has
People who don't understand
Just look the other way
My friends who are like me
Just accept me for who I am.

My family who I love, just
Love me as I am, but I know
I make them sad sometimes
When I keep repeating words
And questions as if I do not
Understand, but I know what
I am doing, because it makes
Me feel so comfortable.

I will keep trying to be
More like them so those
Loops that go round
Inside my head, will
Change eventually, and
I will be more like you
Although I don’t know
If that is good or bad.

It really makes me stressed
When I simply cannot be
Who I want to be, but I found
The way I can best relax
Is when I listen to my music
In tiny little pieces by playing
Half my favourite bar over
Many many times.

This sometimes breaks
My iPod, but it doesn't
Really matter because
Since I  stopped washing
Them - I have quite a few
Which I swop and swop
Sometimes they are silver
Sometimes they are black.

Every day living is a new room

I used to look forward
To the adventure of new
But now I know that I am
One of ten thousand guests
Who have slept in this bed
I feel my room is full of
Tired spirits of the night

Escape is to my old room now.

Plus thirty in scorching sunshine at noon
Heat insulation isolates me from feeling
Warm sensation fries me from your touch
And a contrasting black emptiness inside
Is a distant sort of closeness for me now.

Woe is the man who revels in romance
He must hide his revelling from the world.
Never on a bus or plane or train, have you
Seen a man reading a romance novel, the
Lurid cover compelling the reader to delve
Into the protagonists embarrassment of
Embraces, between the satin sheets.

Words that touch you physically,
Emotionally, spiritually, make you feel
Younger, stronger, adventurous, in love,
Touch you in gentle massage, fast beating
Heart, tingling skin, enraptured, in words
You see everything, experience feelings,
Beyond senses, living in the moment,
Wanting, waiting, wishing, words that
Touch your very soul in living love.

I am a much loved dog, but
I wish I were a cat, since
They have nine lives, and
My master Mattis likes to pull
My ears and has even thrown,
Me out the window, of a moving
Car, which would have hurt a lot,
If I was flesh and bone, but I am
Not, just a much loved cuddly
Toy, whose name should be
Houdini, then I could escape.

Two blocks up , I am in a different country
Land Rover solves the dodgy directions
The movie bar in Calacoto feels like home
Wood fire outside smoky smoking area
Drink fuels the inside outside conversation
An almost Irish pub mix of entrepreneur and
Adventurer and lawyer and endless talk
Between pizza and passion is the fire of love
Four hours to wake up call ends the night
As midnight curfew calls the others home.

Remember tonight for it is the beginning of forever
Sadness is a cancer that eats you up from the inside
Blame is a losers game that you will never ever win
Forget tomorrow as your excuse for procrastination

Live life in this moment which you can never repeat
Give love and hope to everyone with your hello smile
A new dawn breaks as you take control of your world
Remember tonight was the beginning of your forever

Cambio todo cambio is a song of hope
And new opportunities in love and life.
By embracing change we escape from
A prison of trivial things we love to hate.

Cambio todo cambio is a song of fear
And new challenges in love and life.
By rejecting change we can only be
Trapped by the things we love to hate.

Cambio todo cambio is a song of desire
And new beginnings in love and life.
By seeking change we can fly above
The small world of those we love to hate.

When you close your eyes and remember,
The time we never knew this future, where
You are my other half, you make me whole,

The time when you were ten and I was twelve,
Together but apart, in oil and water schooldays,
We never knew, in our separate lives, that
Cupid’s arrows would strike, so that now
You are my other half, you make me whole

I know it’s not a dream, but it sometimes
Feels unreal, our perfect life together, but
Today, we know that we are going to keep,
That feeling of first love madness, always,
You are my other half, you make me whole.

Our love, our life, our road, our reason to be,
In the moment, on our wedding day, now
You are my other half, you make me whole.

My mind is wondering if it's true that
When we die we go to another place
Or have we just turned out the lights.

It's hard to see an empty shell and
Believe there could be more than nothing
When all we leave behind are dreams.

Children are the promised life eternal,
Who drive everything we do in life,
The immortal issue of a mortal man,
The reason to be a reasonable being
The parent, preacher, teacher, tall
In the cycle of life, just dust in the end.

When I close my eyes, I can see your smile,
Distant yet, I feel you are closer than skin,
You are my other half, you make me whole.

I love you completely, I know you feel this
Closeness when apart, and with me always ,
When I close my eyes, I can see your smile.

You cannot know, the pain I feel without,
Your touch, on waking, a precious moment,
You are my other half, you make me whole.

I imagine just like in a dream, the feeling,
Of coming home, I see you standing there,
When I close my eyes, I can see your smile.

You run into my arms, young lovers again,
That feeling of first love madness, always
You are my other half, you make me whole.

Your love, my life, my road, my reason to be,
On the empty road, you are my beacon light,
When I close my eyes, I can see your smile,
You are my other half, you make me whole.

The loving look
The sensuous silk
The tingling touch
The kinetic kisses
The being beautiful
The fantastic feeling
The savoured silence
The close connection
The hammering heart
The wanting to be one
As we go to the other place.

All we can do makes no difference
All that we see makes it worse
All that we feel is more pain
All that we say is useless
All that we are is dust
All that we want is
Impossible unless
We take the
First step.

An altitude of ale
A barometer of beer
A circulation of champagne
A depression of damassine
An equilibrium of eau de vie
A fractus of fenny
A gust of grappa
A hail of horilka
An isotherm of icewine
A jet stream of jenever
A kilopascal of kirsch
A layer of limoncello
A metamorphism of mead
A nocturnal of nuvo
An overcast of ouzo
A persistence of porter
A reaction of rakia
A storm of sake
A torrent of tequila
An updraft of unicum
A vortex of *****
A winter of whiskey

A disaster of drink

I see the green grass with autumn leaves
The season of change and naked trees arrives
Again – without thinking we see the continuity
Knowing Christmas is around the corner
The birth New Year starts the cycle
After the death of the old year
And some of our past friends
Whose passing was real
Too real for
Comfort.
How
Do
We
“Know”
What is real
When everything
From movies to magic
Is just imagery of imagination?
The TV a parade of our new enemies.
1984 “Big Brother” is now a reality show
And CNN is our reality of disasters and wars
Until we visit the place and see that we are told
What our “Big Brother” wants us to know.

Love is a gentle madness that leaves you empty,
You give everything and expect nothing back.

Love is a gentle madness that makes you feel alive,
You take pleasure in every little thing she does.

Love is a gentle madness that changes everything,
You feel your life is impossible without her near.

Love is a gentle madness that drowns your sorrow,
You swim in an endless sea of her tranquility.

Love is a gentle madness that brings you peace,
You hold her closer than prayer each night.

Love is a gentle madness that turns your world,
You see beauty as she becomes your only life.

The week was spinning at 1000mph
I was sitting at a bar with friends
Very slowly I reached for my drink
And drank savouring the moment
Feeling every second in 3D sharp
Living in the moment, in control
My friends noticed my escape,
Expressed concern that I was
Having a stroke, so be warned,
Living life in slow motion might
Lead men in white coats to your
Door, your new heaven, may
Become an unintended hell.

When
Living life at
Speed, if you blink,
You will miss it, thundering
Down the road to hell, thinking
This is not the Promised Land, since
You wanted something cooler, never
Planning an afterlife of flames,
A somewhat hottish heaven.
I found the way by going
Slow, do everything
At 33 instead
Of 78.

She watches him across the restaurant
She likes his smile and easy laugh
She know nothing ventured
She chooses **** hello
She knows it works
She bumps him
She smiles

He laughs
He thinks “nice”
He wants to know
He knows a smile will work
He wonders if she will say yes
He likes the way she came on to him
He tries the pickup “do you come here often?”
She thinks that will never work with her
She thinks he is just like everyman
She thought he was different
She asks him “no, do you?”
She wants an excuse
She was mistaken
She says “Bye”

He looks sad
He asks her to sit
He says “even for me”
He looks deep into her eyes
He says “that was unnecessary”
He feels a hole deep inside him grow
He knows she is “the one”, he is afraid to lose.

As we wake on a winter white morning,
You are all blonde hair on a blue pillow,
Your smile is the sunshine in my day.

Our two hearts beat as one, now we
Are curling together, closer than skin,
As we wake on a winter white morning.

Too early to rise, too late for dreaming,
But just perfect for morning sleepy love,
Your smile is the sunshine in my day.

Our bodies touch and time slows down,
Perfect passion banishes a world outside,
As we wake on a winter white morning.

That flying feeling as we both let go,
The world is far below our flying high,
Your smile is the sunshine in my day.

Together no one can do us any harm, when
Night becomes day and we become one,
As we wake on a winter white morning,
Your smile is the sunshine in my day.

She makes him sit and unbuttons his shirt
Makes him lie back and wets his hair, then
Her hands massage shampoo into his scalp
She is irresistible, every moment etched on
His brain, her sensuous touch, an incredibly
Close feeling, as she washes his hair, this is
More beautiful than breath, more loving than
***, more electric than near, more perfect
Than curling up, more intimate than naked.

We are connected to this life by many threads
Which we only notice when they are broken
Whether family, friends, work or welfare, all
Pull us apart in different dimensions in time.

You are connected to me by small pleasures
Which we only notice when we stop giving
Whether interest, intent, wish or wisdom, all
Pull us apart in different dimensions in space.

We are connected to each other for ever now
Which we only notice when we are apart again
Whether travel, trust, freedom or failure, all
Pull us apart in different dimensions in love.

Hello is just too a small word to express the
Happiness of hearing your voice, the close
Feeling I get when we talk, I wonder why?

Five letters in a word that was made for us
Because of the telephone, what happened
Before, was it just "How do you do today? "

This does not explain why, when you pick up,
My heart beats fast when you say the word,
And the missing-you distance is not so hard.

I am lonely, pink-slipped and home,
Wanted to be home but not like this,
I feel empty without my nine to five,
This other side looks different now.

Friends fear it’s infectious and don’t call,
Last week’s empathy becomes sympathy,
Ex-colleagues simply have nothing to say,
Redundancy is the new invisibility cloak.

If you have a job, try to remember
To call all your workless friends,
A simple “Hello” won’t **** you,
But the silence may **** them.

In love – is the absence of touch,
In hate – is the desire to be alone.

In fear – is the terror of not knowing,
In torture – is the need for an answer.

In war – is the waiting to fight,
In peace – is the settling of a difference.

In illness – is the need for a cure,
In death - is the tragedy of a loss.

In work – is the worry of termination,
In poverty – is the emptiness of hunger.

In wealth – is the stress of losing,
In gambling – is the blast of winning.

In you – is the absence of together,
In me – is the loneliness of travel.

Weary worldwide,
Week three,
Travelling,tiring.

Worried waiting,
Wasted time,
Ticking, trapped.

Wishes wait,
Want, tender,
Touching, tomorrow.

Weekend welcome,
Will tease,
Thrilling, tonight.

Wake wise,
Wonderful, tea,
Toasting, together.

Home is
A feeling you get,
You don’t need to fret,
When at ease in your mind,
You can just relax and unwind,
No need to live a life out loud,
You can be alone in a crowd,
At one with your heart,
In a place apart.
At home.

Is a pain
When playing

Is expected
When rocking

Is wanted
When sowing

Is a menace
When parading

Is too much
When holidaying

Is too little
When deserting

Is amazing
When lightning

Is angry
When thundering

Is just right
When at night.

Paper sharp cut,
Slices deep,
Painless initially,
Blood bright red,
Flows freely,
Stings like nettle,
Finger ******* sore,
Bitter metallic,
Tingles strangely,
Japan flag tissue,
Stiffens sore,
Memory tricks,
Taste pennies,
Flashes of childhood.

I was fifty-three this morning,
But I feel so much older now,
Having lived a lifetime in a day.

It started like a thousand others,
Time suddenly skipped a track,
Everyone I know is dead and gone-

I didn’t even get to say goodbye.
I never knew that time was precious,
This morning was a hundred years ago.