I sit down to write
and with  all my might,

I cost a deal ....
it's being fed to me
piecemeal .....

You crank it,
let's see if it does fit

And all the while,
I sit back and
I do smile

But when it
comes 'round again

You can hack a tree
bring 'em home to the plane

It all comes down to
the fact that we blew,

we'll always think
that we were  in style

Yes , just a wink
and a smile....

Hold off, hold off,
we can't do this for ever.

I'm blind, I'm blind..
you tell me of some other
way to unwind.

Dive in,  off  the high board..
       zooming toward a tear drop..
           which side of the line are you on....
    when you disobey the rules...

A fist full of Canadian Tire dollars
and a bucket full of small talk
all about a certain something, somewhere
being a once in a life time long shot

( I'm getting old and I can't play)

Once he
      held it
         he knew,
            he just knew

he was going
   to the top,
      of that  there is no doubt

from the time
    he started
       his mojo working

he was walking, talking
      all about...

that time
   when he was
             reading tea leaves

he  
was  
     voodooing ,

          just  using
             his   imagination


he travelled far,
          that train whistle blowin'
              sowing the seeds he was sowing.

then, while listening to bob dylan
      he had what they call, an epiphany

he started growing mushrooms
                    to see what he could see

when the results came back
                  
       he said his epitaph
                 just has to read

   'Down Through The Years
The Lord Has Been Good To Me'

Honkin' on the harp.
Knowing when you're flat,
knowing when you're sharp.
You got it, that's where it's at.

I **** myself every time they cheer,
and I got to get paid, I have to get paid.
They all ask, 'can I buy you a beer',
and the girls say, 'do you want to get laid'?

I listen to other players and I swallow up their licks
So cool to be given this gift, I thank God.
So much fun, it's how I get my kicks
It's like I feel our Father's giving me the nod.

Bluesy blue eyes, looks like he's devouring a cob of corn
***** blue eyes, had one too many tonight.
Still he pulls it off while playing his horn,
The smoky bar, the light chatter, the bright stage lights.

I cry
not because
I feel alone
but because
I feel others
out there
not knowing
what to do

You say
you have good
to offer
please
come to
my window pane

I don't
need any chaos
like the
devil
who
stands on
my welcome mat

I'll await
that gentle rap
from you
on my
window
pane

You tell me
one thing one day
and another the next

Then you turn around
and wonder why it is
that I'm perplexed

Well I can't catch a break
with this ringing in my ear
a scar that refuses to heal

Oh Beelzebub I beg to
make friends with you
so as not to fear you

Wait a minute no
you can't have my soul
I just want to be whole

I want to take down the veil and see what I am
No putting my whole up for sale
I just don't want to give a ****

Under nourished being
       of a human being,

Gobbling up
     the cobble stones,

I'm on a stroll through town.

Miss-pronounce the words
      on the page of a book that
          you miss-took for the gospel.

If it's any help,
    maybe you should
        shoot me some bones...

and then, all alone,
     I'll draw my comfort up
           from a spoon.

My father,
he took me hunting
at the young age of five.

One time we went fishing
on a lake called Cold
I caught a speckled trout,
from then on I was sold.

Then from the sea in a dory
a lobster trap he stole,
I've yet to figure what that was about.

Living in Canada
lends its self to a bounty of beast.

The fowl of the sky
with a rifle I did shoot.
They were tasty and we did feast.

I learned to set a snare
to catch a rabbit
and make a stew.

I'd gut them and clean them,
I learned all of this...
and in the back
in a smoke house
hung all kinds of fish.

You don't have to
be able to understand something
to be able to use it.

But you have to understand something
to be able to use it well.

I guess that this applies to life.

My father and I, well, we were just learning to grow...
he's gone now, and I pray God rest his soul.

Play on mandolin
and pedal steel guitar,
leaving me with a lonesome feeling.

Yes, sometimes I feel so all alone,
so all alone in the middle of all these stars.

Oh so many stars in oh so much space...

Back in the crisp October air with the leaves falling everywhere.
The winds they whipped through this old house.
And at times it was too much cold to bear.

So I went out and bought an electric blanket and a space heater
that we took from room to room.
Candles were lit to shine away every corners' gloom.

Now tell me, who was the brainiac that named it the Sun
when they could have called it a Space Heater.

I'm just passing time,
I'll ask you please, won't you excuse the rhyme.

But I hear the rhythm
And it's packing a beat.

Some times the words come
and they sound so sweet.

Now I promise you, the next time that we meet,
I'll be sure to have them on me.

Because one never knows
just what impression is being left.

It's a hell of a life,
I'm glad I'm along for the ride.

I feel the older I get
the less I have to hide.

I see us all as
one hell of a big Spirit,

I hope you do too
real deep inside.

On most days
I can hold my own.

I go down my path
like a rolling stone.

I stop to smell the flowers
and I get lost and I stay for hours.

If you ever had the blues
you know everyone has been in your shoes.

Don't go away angry,
I didn't mean to hurt you.

I never wanted to hurt anybody,
or so my story goes.

But sometimes my wind is out of control
And it will knock things over as it blows and blows.

Blue Jay
you're very blue today.

Did your Hen
leave you,

leaving all your blue skies
to turn to grey.

Blue Jay
your voice is so shrill,

you sound as if
you are moving in for the ****.

It appears to me
that you are absolutely free.

Blue Jay
you show the way,

the Universe
is at your disposal.

Why would I be left in the cold.

Don't go poking them
    What good is that.

Don't sit on the sidelines
        when they try to take
                    you to the mat.

We can all make changes for the better
if only in our small part of the world.

I won't give up on Peace
  even if it kills me to do it.

Driving on this electric highway,
it shoots to be the
monkey on the back.
White, green, in a bottle or a machine.
Foul breath screams out
words that I hold dear.

Holding up a candle
by its burning wick,
while a sea breeze
slaps me with a salty sting.

Fumbling through an atmosphere
joined tongue and groove,
from the first breath to the last
the artichoke heart pumps out the beat.

One foot in front of the other,
another swing and the pinata breaks,
raining down lies to be gathered up
and taken home
to be stretched out and hung
alongside the truths.

She will smash
every wine glass.
They are all broken,
but not her heart.

She will walk barefoot
from room to room
while her feet are bleeding,
but not her heart.

She will drink him up
until her body aches
and her head hurts,
but not her heart.

Vast point of view,
you can see for miles,
while your son plays games
on the computer, being
he is only four
and still dons a diaper.

Moving through the machine,
a black and white display of  un-colour,
dodging back and forth
while the minutes go in and out,
or do they stick around
in one great unbroken weave.

Nothing to worry about,
embrace this moment
and savour the thought of savouring it.
I just want to sit here
and sip my wine
and dream of the grandiose.

A toast to this
and a toast to that,
they are all on automatic.
spontaneity does not move
well through the machine,
there is always a glitch.

Lately I have
being doing
next to nothing.

I watch others
hurrying
this way and that.

Off to work
out to play
out to claim
that they enjoy
the day.

I stay put
on the sofa
and count my
chickens
way
before
they hatch.

What's it
to you
how I choose
to pass my time.

There was a time
when you could move mountains
with your smile, and the earth
was such a beautiful bridge.
Now Ursa dips deeply into
the dark well of sky while
little sister plays hide and seek,
perishing thoughts that ride down in bitter cool.

How can you or I claim innocence
when we have both been here before,
shall we cast down our glance in shame
having lied through eyes of stolen charm.
Our birth is breached
as we cling tight to earlier yearnings,
and the wailing wall sounds
a whisper to the cry in my mind.

Those times in spirit,
our fingertips would brace
prying open closed hearts
that had been slammed shut
by a life swung hard.
What fear brings this memory,
doesn't every tree stand alone
until you look below the ground.

It sounds
And I am compelled to listen.
This is beautiful,
Now that I have heard it
There is no turning back
To the point of no return.
Experience piles up
The hold never dissipates.
At times it immerses me
And I remain motionless.
I sound, squeezing ***
On its bonds with male
And female on fresh waves.

Cobra's breath
through yard iron teeth,
sullen swank and sway.

Shan't no man stand
Where WILL be loosed,
'til gait and gravity
sound pounding shoe.

When in no glass wall
to splinter and fly
still distant point
seen with thine eye

Pass behind to settle and cell
being  recalled of fear of
a rainy day.

Casting visions
of a cruellest hell
of infinite symbol
Sound and smell.

For a moment
I wished that I was
sailing  over the ocean.

Far away from land,
far away from the earth.

But I thought again
and I remember that
I don't like water,

Hardly to drink,
maybe to mix with scotch
but then, only in its frozen state.

Way up
in these clouds
just as my expectations
did fall ******* my head
full of those child like dreams

Remember an future
and ignoring a past
that could break
any fragile strong-man
only bright new day.

Why cant I
make you leave alone.
Even here,
up in the blue sky,
above the white clouds,
so far away from home.

No news is good news
just as long as I am lying here with you
and although we are fools
still I want just to hold you.

In my mind are those rolling hills
and green green fields,
the fog is everywhere
and I will always remember
because you were there.

Terra-Cotta woman
my Celtic queen,
you work with clay
giving form its birth,
to shape this day
you have turned to the earth.

And when I get home
I want to unplug the phone,
and turn the lamp down low,
because no news is good news
just as long as I can stay here with you.
Terra-Cotta my Celtic Queen.

I don't have to play
the respect card

When the other option
is common regard

Loose lips do sink ships
and it  leaves the other side doing back flips

Lord Thunderin' Jesus
as we say here on the coast

And that's the coast with the most
strictly speakin' a toast to the east

What displeases me most is
a the general lack of civility

On this big ol' world
that they call the Earth

I say, he's got a tick one
and I do mean his head

Some of those ideas
that he did give birth

Some of them good
for what it's worth

Give us this day
our daily bread

Those sugar plum fairies
dancing around in his head

"Donald Duck", I've heard them joke
While his big old pipe dream goes up in smoke

I hold him in regard and that's for sure
I have no respect for someone that I just have to endure

In the end he'll be a part of history
While all our lives will remain a mystery

Take a ride
into the snowy white

The taxi driver said
and we were out of sight.

Coming up
From the bottom
I see the sun through the waves

Put a man
Face to face
With his addiction
And see how he behaves

Standing tall
In a world that lies

Takes a whole
Lot of resolve
Not to step in time

The whole **** place
Has got a ***** loose somewhere

There is plenty to distract the mind
So easy for it to take the bait
I say this to you because I know you can relate

I can't hide my face
In the sand
No, Not in the middle of Winter
How do I
Remove the log
While I work on the splinter

A lost cause
I think not

Know those laws
Before you break them
Know that ***
Before it's lit

Go for the root
Not the stem
Then you can get
Down to it again

One time
I took a medication
that interfered
with my bladder function
I couldn't urinate
The very talk of a catheter   
scared the **** out of me

I stand around in my day by day
and a  friend came just to say,

It's all wrong you got it wrong
I tell you this because our friendship is true

I go to and fro in my day by day
That same friend came up to say

You have it all wrong and I feel I can tell you
as our friendship is true.

Fresh moment to alive to die brings out the life
I try to live, sewing moments all in a row.

My so called friend states yet again I do it but do it wrong yet.
Now is it for me to drag  my friend into the realm of possibility
Or is his doing it wrong comments come only out of his fear.

On the ropes
     As the day once
        more meets the night.
          What's out there in the dark
         those sounds, those shadowy sights.
       I, it is friendly, It feels right to me.
And The Plot Thickens...
    It always does, it thickens
      Where three are gathered or even more
             some engage and others watch
               It's too lonely to be alone when you do share
and alone you get
when you plan your day,
take the lowly hour and make it you crown

The ears and the eyes of those whom listen, they ask to breed.
We want more, enough to spread all over this Globe
Like a topping for a fruit cup it tastes of whipped cream

And the Plot thickens, you see, it always does.
    It doesn't throw out its branches to no one.
       It knows that they will be climbed. And can see that bones will break.

Offer The Plot That Thickens  roads that go east and roads that goes west.
Tell it to go down below and then hover on high. skate circles around it.

Ride it ******* with just the right hand holding its mane, without spurs spur it on..... only good can come of this. As The Plot Thickens

You know those days
where you can't seem to do
Anything wrong.
Those days
When the ideas keep coming,
And they are all good ones.
The days where serendipity
Harbours you and favours you
Every step of the way.
Those days when you have the answers
And you can apply them where needed.

Well, this ain't one of those days.

Stiff stiff I like them stiff

Stiff stiff the fife and drum

The Irish knew and so did the Jews

Shine shine those diamond mines

The America's twist is to starve them

Stiff stiff I like  them stiff

Tree leaves
Dancing
In a light
Breeze
Soft rain
Clings to
Branches
Before falling
On the ground
The season
In change.

A fire in the
back yard

cloudy skies
threaten snow

the deer
huddle under trees

for the weather will do
just what it please

I climb the back stairs
smelling of fire

my woman pulls the strings
giving me what I desire

November coals
so sweet and hot

feeling it in my soul
now that says a lot

Around
And
Around
We went
Up and down
We went
To and fro
We went.

When the stench
From the dead decaying bodies
Became so strong
That you couldn't walk the streets.

All that could be done
Was stay in the house
With lit candles
And plenty of incense.

No one knew quiet what happened
Who was it that fired first.
Not that it mattered
It just left tall buildings
and people splattered

What to do? Well first thing
Is to clean up what mess you can
And burn and bury the lifeless bodies.
While wiping tears from your eyes
Before they soaked the bandanna over your mouth

Too stunned to be thankful you're not
Among the dead or dismembered.

All this mess and those who started it.
Trump and his needling every leader
that crossed his mind, and cross their mind he did
Trump and his money, where is he to hide it now.

His towers lay in ruin
Most major cities were hit hard
Now it's a matter of survival,
Where to get food and water
That can still be consumed.

All this chaos,  whom to blame.
Well it's all of us, we are to blame.

you say you quit me
that much is true
but we never danced real well
so i guess we're through

They think they have us fooled
With all the laws and regulations
But we see clear enough to know
That the militant leaders aren't ready
To just turn over power.

We all need arms, and a well stocked arsenal
But why?

We don't want to be dominated
We don't want to be in debt.

We take a job to play the bills.

It's got to be the only planet
That has you owing  from the get-go.

Freedom is one thing that has to be imagined
And brought into fruition. Freedom and the right to remain so.

How can anyone stop the madness
Maybe we all could by changing ways, ways they call all out are ours'.

The only difference
Between today and yesterday
Is that there is a permanent record
Of one's stupidity now

Blue Jay Blue Jay
You're so very blue today
Did your loved one leave you
Has she gone astray

In the crisp October air
With the falling leaves everywhere
I catch my breath that stretches
Out in front of me in vaporous plumes

It's been one hell of a life
I'm glad to be along for the ride
It seems the older I get
The less I have to hide

And we went down to see
What the commotion was
There were all types of people

They shared the same blood
They shared the same bone


We smudged, the smoke, the smell
You don't take it for granted
When you're so far from the well

Forget the seven-year-itch
Life can be a *****
You can pound your fists
When the whole thing gets you ******

My breath is on fire
Too much whisky for me
Tomorrow my head will be pounding
I'll have to squint if I want to see
I guess I'm asking myself
To go easy on me

But for now, pour another round
And the barkeep, he likes that sound
Money in his pocket
A long night's worth of five dollar tips
Will at least pay his light bill

And if you will
Please say a little Irish prayer
For my spirit, if you can get into it
Just sing it out loud
'Cause I can't hear too well
In this bar room's crowd

you never know
when he's just going to lose it
the smallest thing can set him off

when he approaches
he's wearing a smile
on the outside he looks fine

say the wrong thing
and his eyes will glaze over
you get to feeling on guard real quick

his demeanour is full of loathing
a hatred of self and others
leaving and acidic taste and an air full of stench

you don't want to cross his path
see him and you take another street
violence or the threat of keeps one in their place

I'm not here
To testify

I'm not here
To mystify

I'm not here
To justify

I didn't come here
To classify

I didn't come here
To not look inside

I didn't come here
For a Donkey's ride

I feel outside
I feel outside

I'm only here
because my dog has died

Hand me that pistol
don't let it go off in your clutches

Give me the ammo
stay and watch me load

The first few pops
shake me out of my skin

Sweat pouring down my forehead
I feel like losing control

Nervous as a first date
hard to draw a bead

Okay, gently squeeze
the trigger, count... one two, three

To live to love
inch by inch
metre by metre
mile by mile
I walk inside of
the straight and narrow.

My spiritual life
has me bopping
up and down
feeling like a child
bouncing away
while sitting in
a well worn Jolly-Jumper

I walk the streets
and the highways
trying to flag down
A ride away from the crossroad

I'd rather live
in a trailer
than be a cellar dweller.

Let a strong wind
******* over
before that basement
fills with mould.

If I could I would
Trap a moment
so I could live it out twice
no wait three times or four.

Two steps forward
three steps back.
According to the Universe
there is nothing I lack.
Only I'm left to think
instead of just
doing what I do.

Inch by inch
metre by metre
mile by mile
I learn to live in love.

I started out east
Just a little at a time

Before long
I was out of my element

Tossed about
By the sea

Obscured by
The salty sting

My self telling me
My treasure was

Off in the distance
Just beyond the hill

I sit here in my mind
and start to wonder what to do

In my mind

I bend back this long long
elastic, stretched it with all I had

I climbed in the middle and let her fly
Out through my cranium towards the sky, then passed the stars

Out into the universe headed for the closest galaxy.

Rolling and holding
onto a used to be,
always unfolding
across a jealous sea

Your father's scolding is
whipped waves roaring,
a howling wind that tore
the sound from
hell's aching bell.

Your father's smile , bliss,
graceful gentle, wide.
when it falls down
you can't hide,
you can't hide.

Rolling and holding
onto a used to be,
always unfolding
across a jealous sea.

My heart is loaded with sorrow
I feel like I'm going insane
Please tell me baby what do I have to do
is there anything I can say

Sometimes I can be slow on the draw
I'm hard to live with, maybe don't pull my load
I don't want you to be on a see-saw
I promise, I'll be as good as gold

It pains me that you found another lover
Now you've said goodbye  you have to go
I don't know as if I'll ever recover
I can't believe it baby, say it ain't so

My heart's loaded with sorrow
It feels like I've got a bee in my brain
Please tell me baby what do I have to do
is there anything I can say

If I've lost you, well
I just don't know what I'm going to do
It's going to cost me I can feel it
Already I'm feeling blue

No need to ramble
               no need to fret
                   no need
                     going home in a snit

All day
   every day
I wake up
       and know I'm blessed

I'm my
only front man
   and this
you have to understand

Not going anywhere
               I haven't planned

Each road can be rocky
       sometimes it's a smooth sail

Nobody has the answer
    nobody knows what's Noah and the whale


I found out I found this out
              move with a groove
                      that gives one safe passage
                         Don't be buggered by
                                      some tarts eye lashes

Knock yourself out
     let ink bleed from your veins
If you didn't call all in
        I would think that was strange.

Standing at my door
an old friend just met.
The veranda catches a shadow
still with a thick layer of dew.
Slow to talk about the real but not about
the pounding, look close, real close,
dare to see, offer the eyes, the eye
open always on the shining mind.
Breezily blowing into the kitchen
where everything revolves around a
couple of days, isn't it a gas, isn't
it a blast, or should language like that
be used?

Choose to ask the tongue once
when morning settles in to stay
brow beaten and lonely
asking her to play,
why does it turn out this way?
why does it turn out that way?

The choice brings no answers,
a frail silence, a brazen emptiness,
leading in the mystery meant to teach,
to scold, to fill,
to be bold,
to breach,
to breathe into that thing that carries  me,
one man up the endless hill, breath by breath,
no longer seeking, no longer tied to a home.

This corner
or that corner
it makes no never mind.

Always with his hat
in his hand,
sometimes with a sign.

"Excuse me sir,
can you spare some change?"

"You see, I live here on the street."

"The two things on my mind
are a warm place to sleep
and getting enough money
to buy myself something to eat."

"You see, I can't tell you
that I'm a Vet, I can't really say
I lost my job. It's just, in my head
things aren't straight, they're just not right.
But it's not that I've gone down without a fight."

"I beg of you so I don't have to steal my next meal.
I often try hard not to think about where I am and what it is I'm doing.
This I do so I don't have to feel ashamed."

Nevertheless, people will shun him, others will beat him
and family will turn their back. What is so civil about this civilization?

I want a bar
Where I can smoke a cigar
And not have it be a big deal

I want a bar
Where I can have Surf 'n' Turf
While I watch Hockey in May

I want a bar
Where you can have a bump
And not worry about the Po-Po

I want a bar
Where clothing is optional
And you can stretch out on a sofa

I want a bar
Where if the phone rings
I'm not here even if I am

I want a bar
Where I can run a tab
And when I've had enough they call me a cab

I cross the line
I do it every time

Shallow water
Angus Beef are slaughtered

I pass the time
And all I see is Art

If you said 'yes'
well that's a start