Yes, sleep in innocence for you know not yet the life
That will come to you
Yes, sleep in innocence
Because by age 12 you will be beset by violence
Live by street law and the power of the knife
Age 14 and you might be doing time
For Robbery, drugs or some other crime
Now children here is the bitter truth
By age 16 out of a gang of ten
2 of you will lie on the mortuary slab
Sleep in innocence children of the ghetto

Sitting here looking out of the window at people walking by
Their faces dull and miserable just like a rain filled sky
They have the weight of the world upon their shoulders, minds just filled with gloom
I just think they're lucky people because I can
Y hardly leave this room
They are free to do the things that i no longer can
Free to run, walk the dog, get out and have some fun
Every one of you miserable folks just need to stop and think
There's always someone worse off than you
You know I now sit here a bent and broken man
But I still laugh and I still smile because I know I can
So when you think that you can't go on and think no helps in sight
Think about the homeless, the sick and the ones like me
Then you'll start to realise that you're not really in a fight
So smile in the face of adversity because that is what I do

We all look forward to the snowdrops
The harbinger of spring
In many shades of white
Offtimes tinged with green
Beautiful, oh so beautiful
Sweeping swathes of green tinged white
But they shrink into nothingness
Against the aconite
Aconite of deepest gold
Brighter than the sun
Aconite the first to show
Amid deep winters gloom
When the aconite first does show
Bluetits start to flit and sing
You see it's not the snowdrop
Who is the harbinger of spring

I soar on eagles wings
Above mean grey city streets
Where the seething anthills of humanity
Not truly alive but do exhists
The stinking **** stained stairwells
Where the dealers ply their evil trade
Where life is held so cheaply
Who will see another day
You walk into the wrong street
And your life is on the line
You smell the rancid stink of corruption
In these the modern times

The thermals lift me higher
Carry me to the South
Below a verdant meadow
Where wild flowers abound
Picnics taking place
'Neath the spreading boughs
Of the stately chestnut tree
And gentle dappled light
Down there in a chrystal stream
Children laugh and play
No drugs or air pollution
To Mar such a beautiful day

Just been going through my poetry
As I'm sure many of you do
And noticed something different
Now so many empty spaces
Where I once saw prophile faces
WHY?
Where have they gone,
why did they leave?
The ones we called our friends
Those who once might have wielded swords
But chose to wield the pen
Now so many empty spaces
Where once were prophile faces

I tossed the dice
And lost
He drew an ace
I drew a three
He jumped the stream
I fell in
But then I won
The greatest prize of all
I won your heart

Now gather round me children
Listen to stories I have for you
Of dragons in the mountains
Of mermaids on the shore
I saw a dragon once and entered his dark lair
His eyes were like fiery brimstone
And his foul breath polluted the air
And yes a mermaid I did also see
As she lay upon the shore
Instead of legs a fishes tail
Scales of of ever color and hue
Unicorns!! Oh yes
Gleaming white and regal with a single horn
Upon his head
And I was the first man to tame him
The first to ride that wild beast
You might think my words are just tales
The words of a fanciful fool
But the words that I tell you
Every word I tell you is true
My body bears scars from the dragons hot breath
Aye and bruises
Left from when from the unicorns back I did fall
In my pouch a scale from the mermaids tail
A scale from the dragon there to
Round my neck a cord that I braided
Braided from unicorn hair.

For four days now we've run before the bitter storm
Timbers cracked and broken, sails rent and torn

Hold fast boys, hold fast for a mighty wave is bearing down
And if you're swept across the rail then you must surely drown

I should try to wear the ship, get her head into the wind
But if I do my bonny lads we might end up twenty fathoms down

Helmsman stand here close by me, I'll lash you to the wheel
I can't afford to lose you lad for I need your arms of steel

Lads I'll do my best to bring you safely home
But we stand into terrible danger and yet may come to harm

My crew are tired, weary, lashed by wind and rain
They bravely fight the raging storm, bearing all their pain

Then comes a mighty shout. "See there a patch of blue"
Storm clouds like curtains opened and the sun came into view

Gather round me now my lads and give thanks to him above
For through your strength and through his guidance I can return you to those you love

He lurks in the darkest shadows
Pen and pad in hand
Eyes fixed intently
On the sweeping minute hand
Then like an eagle striking
He fixes on his prey
His pen a blur of motion
As the ticket then is made
I come on the run
In hopes to save the day
But the tickets now upon the screen
And there it has to stay
I gaze into his merciless eyes
And make my pointless plea
You clearly saw me coming
So why must it be me
Tough luck friend you had the chance
But you broke the parking law
You were five seconds to late
When you reached the drivers door

Nature has shed her dress
Of verdant summer greens
Replaced by a gown of golden red
But all to soon that gown will fall and fade
To reveal nature as a glorious ****
Standing stately in the cold

Last night we watched the sunset as we sat holding hands
And now we watch the sunrise casting light upon the land

The gently rustling leaves high lighted by the glow
The birds begin their love songs as the warmth begins to grow

Could you find a better time to be with the one you love?
Azure blues sky and the new days sun shining up above

I turn and look into to your eyes, see the love reflected there
All doubts now are cast aside because I know that you are here

Together we'll experience each and every brand new day
We will have each other until our dying day

Even on the darkest days for us the sun will always shine
For I am yours my darling and you forever mine

Yes we sit and watch the rising sun, your hand clasped in mine
I wouldn't have it any other way, at any other time

As we grow old my darling and life begins to fade
We will always remember the sunrise on this lovely day

A collaboration between myself and Sharina Saad**

It's been raining all night long
And I've been singing sad love songs
Looking at the sky so dark and gloomy
The air so wet and cold and hazy

Looking from my window
At streets so wet and sloppy
And the rain came slowly down
As though it had not the spirit to pour
That's exactly how I feel tonight,
Sad, emotionless, empty, lonely

I pray for a little sunshine
For a new light at the end
For warmth once more to fill my heart
Banish sadness from my soul
Bring new joy after long wet days
Bring new life, a new start
For what is yet to come

Begone dark clouds of sadness
Begone wet cold begone
Welcome to a brand new life
Welcome a new beginning
Although the rain has played its part
The sun will warm the living

The storm has left my aching heart
No more sorrow, no more pain
Dark clouds have been lifted from my mind
By sunshine after rain

It's been raining all night long
And I've been singing sad love songs
Looking at the sky so dark and gloomy
The air so wet and cold and hazy

Looking from my window
At the streets so wet and dreary
And the rain came slowly down
As though it had not the spirit to pour
That's exactly how I feel tonight
Sad, emotionless, empty, lonely

I pray for a little sunshine
For a new light at the end
For warmth once more to fill my heart
Banish sadness from my soul
To bring new joy after long wet days
Bring a new life, a new start
For what is yet to come

Begone dark clouds of sadness
Begone wet cold, begone
Welcome to a brand new life
Welcome a new beginning
Although the rain has played its part
The sun will warm the living

The sun has warmed my aching heart
No more sorrow, no more pain
Dark clouds have been lifted from my mind
By sunshine after rain

Take a look around you
And tell me what you see
Another day of turmoil
Or a day to set you free

Take a look around you
At what this earth has got to give
At what it has to offer
So that you and I can live

Take a look around you
And decide which path to choose
Only you can make the choice
If you win or if you lose

Take a look around you
At this green and pleasant land
But will it still be here for our kids
When we are not around

Take a look around you
At the destruction man can cause
When he subjects our fair lands
To industrial applause

Take a look around you
And think what you could achieve
If you truly cared for this fair land
If you had the courage to believe

Take a look around you
Let's save what we've got left
Of a land once so full of beauty
**Don't condemn this land to death

Take me away from the city stench
Away from the plastic wrapped food
Let me build my house on a high place
With sea and mountain views
My music the sound of bird song
My food what nature provides
A place where I can sit in contentment
With my trusty old dog at my side
My clock the rising and setting sun
In this my tranquil place
Where there is no hurry or turmoil
And I can live life at natures pace
Here where I can till the soil the old way
With simple *** and *****
And grow my food the right way
All done at natures pace
Take the odd rabbit or deer from the high woods
Live life gentle live it slow
I don't want to die in some high rise block
With the city stink in my nose
My last sight should be the moonlight
Fresh air perfumed by a rose

When I was 10, maybe 11 we had a cat
A big old ginger tom
I don't think he ever saw a vet and he probably fathered hundreds of kittens
He hardly had any ears, they were so notched and torn, scars over his amber eyes
Anyway, our holiday fun was in the fields and woods
He would catch young rabbits and we would skin and gut them
Spit roast them over an open fire
Yes even at that age we could prepare a rabbit
After all we'd watched mother do it dozens of times
That old ginger tom always got his share
Come school time he would walk the mile and a half with us to the bus stop
And always meet us there when we came home
He was a flea bitten tick ridden scabby old thing
But he was family
1961 I joined the army and he saw me off at the door
That was the last time I ever saw that old boy

Tucked away in the edge of the trees
Roses round the door
The old greyish thatched roof
A haven for small birds and little things
The old couple who lived there always had a smile and a kind word
They didn't have much else living on just their pensions
I used to walk past there and always there would be the aroma of fresh baked bread
A home made pork pie cooling on the window ledge
Occasionally as a kid I would go round and feed their chickens
Collect the eggs
My reward a home made cake and a mug of sweet milky tea
As they grew older and more frail
I would dig over their vegetable garden
And saw a few logs
But that old man was fiercely independent and still insisted
On doing much of the work himself
Then one wet foggy day I saw the ambulance heading to the cottage
He had collapsed and died near the front door
Natural causes they said
The old lady died just two days later
That old couple had been together for more than seventy years
Together in life and wouldn't be separated by death

The turgid brown ***** rolling river
But above the Aspen stands tall
Leaves quivering, shaking, falling
But Aspen roots go deep
Aspens do not fall
Each leaf that in the water drifts
Another life does fade
Each leaf that on the soil lands
Another life regained

I once wrote about a chrystal stream
Where poets once wrote
And young lovers dreamed
Of the beautiful years to come

But the chrystal stream became a fetid place
Of sewage and industrial waste
And so the poets no longer write
And young lovers no longer dream
Of the beautiful years to come

But now I sit beside a chrystal bay
The sun forming diamonds on rippling waves
Bird song sounding in my ears
Peace washing away years of stress and fear
This now the place where poets write
Now the place where young lovers dream
Of the beautiful years to come

Tranquil here in the early dawn
With the rising sun reborn
This now the place to sit and think
Take up the pen and make bold the ink
But I'll never forget the chrystal stream
Where poets once wrote and young loves once dreamed
Of the beautiful years to come

Purely hypothetical

You spend hours manufacturing the perfect phrase
Sometimes hours, sometimes days
To gain recognition for your works of art???

But all of you still have much to learn
(Although I'm not the best teacher)
I say to you try not to hard
Because eventually you will be heard
But we the old who hold the flag
That you in time will hold
We, we your fathers won't criticise
For though growing old
We might prompt and guide
Your young pens are the future
Ours the old drying ink
Hopefully the guiding words of hope
You now write for us my children
While we now write for love

I love history and are history but the history of the American civil war is special
You know when Ken Burns produced his documentary
The Civil War
In my humble opinion it was one of the greatest productions ever shown
What really got to me was the songs and the music
Songs from the South
Songs from the North
Songs and music from both sides
In those bitter years of death and destruction
Americans killing Americans
Music and song for many was the only panacea
The only escape
Many battlefield hardened men
Probably shed tears when that music played
And the songs were sung
I to get close to tears
When I think on mans inhumanity to man

Black the words of dark despair
Red written with power from the beating heart
Blue the words of sadness
Green for natures bounty free for all mankind
Yellow for the timid and shy here for the first time
Mix the colours
And read HP rainbow poetry

This work is based on a scientific study carried out over many years


When I awoke this morning I looked in stunned delight
For a bright and colourful mushroom had sprung up overnight
And as the day grew longer more mushrooms did appear
Mushrooms of every colour mushrooms of every size
And it soon became apparent that there were fairy folk inside
Now I thought I knew my mushrooms,  which were good, which were bad
But the ones I see before me now are driving me quite mad
Some are short and dumpy some are fat and wide
Over there some white ones reaching to the sky
And so the fields now covered, a multy coloured sight
I used to love my mushrooms but this has put me off for life

NOTE: No dogs, cats, birds, humans, bushes, trees, public toilets,  houses, cars, waterways, mice, roads or pathways were hurt or damaged in anyway during the production of this inspirational work of absolute stupidity

Country life is fine if you can find the time to go out in the early morning rain to feed the chickens
Traipsing round the yard is not so very hard but beware of dragging mud into the kitchen
On a freezing winters morn you can keep quite warm chopping logs to fuel the cooking fire
Be careful where you tread because that yard is full of dread and you might end up to your knees deep in the mire
Spring will soon be here and you can dig the soil through then watch the birds eat all the seeds you've sown
Summers here again, you take off your shirt to catch the sun then complain about your red and blistered skin
You reap what you have sown, wipe the sweat from off your brow and wonder why you chose to live like this
You sit down for a beer, ignore your nagging wife and throw another hard won log upon the fire
You know its going to start again when you go out in the rain once more to feed the chickens in the yard

You chose this way to live, you chose your nagging wife
**its you who chose the country way of life

For the old timers like me
The day they burned their bras and gained equality
And so with my ex wife we decided to build a rockery
A rock garden
I turned to her with honest voice
Said fetch the rock that's over there
She shook her head flashed her golden hair
Said I'm just a woman and that's not fair
I said it weighs 140 pounds and I can move it easily
You said you were as good as me
On the day your ***** were freed
Anyway I moved the rock and set it in its place
Then she turned and looked at me with mud upon her face
Oh what a mess she said to me, mud smeared front and back
And so I said my darling you spend a fortune on mud packs
I said I'll take the burden of the heavy lifting work
She said typical man your just a ******* ****
So being a gentleman I said don't worry darling all is not yet lost
Just fill the gaps in those there rocks with all that good compost
She turned to me with a look to **** a look forlorn and lost
I burned my bra for equality but what the hell is good compost

Still 2000 miles to go and the men are dressed in rags
But the horses are still fit and strong, still eager yet to run
Sony Jim you'll ride the drag for you are the youngest here
And before this day is out you'll be crying for your mum
Eight hours in the saddle with but one change of horse
Your body thick with dust and cowshit
A voice now harsh and coarse
Charlie, ***, you'll ride the flanks for I need them held in tight
And when we hit the camping ground you'll be my riders in the night
The cows are getting thirsty but waters still ten miles away
But still we must stop and rest them at the dying of the day
***, Charlie ride softly found the herd
Sing or whistle a gentle song
The rest of you now sleep close by, reins tied to your hand
Keep your horses saddled, keep your boots on tight
For you all might be required to ride like madmen in the night
UP, Up for they are up and running free
You've got to reach the head and turn them
Before they crash down on the scree
Close in, close in and get the head to turn
Force them to the centre force the head to wheel
But a man and horse are down and trampled in the dust
But before he died he turned the herd and very few were lost
First light and we ride out to find our fallen friend
Alas it was poor Sony Jim, just sixteen years of age
Yes Sony gave his life doing what he loved
Nobody ever forced him to ride the drivers road

Hilaire Beloc

The South Country

And the great hills of the South country
come back into my mind
For the great hills of the South country
are my hills where I grew up as a child
Where I wandered the fields and the forests
and studied life in the wild
My heart belongs in the South country
'tis here I can sit and take note
Share my thoughts with my friends
and show them the words that I wrote
You can bury me here in the south country
with a tree standing over my grave
I need no long drawn out service
just a place that nature has made

Let's all climb aboard the freedom bus and leave this mad ratrace world
We will build a new world at the oceans edge free from all worries and cares
No more petrol pollution or ***** grey streets, no more tasteless plastic wrapped food
A new world of freedom, fresh air and fresh food, a world so clean and so good
If you want to be part of this brave new world then climb on the freedom bus now
Say goodbye to this mad ratrace world, say goodbye to your worries and cares
Say goodbye to your ***** grey streets, board the bus for your freedom is here

I sit in semi darkness
And thoughts begin to grow
Mingled jumbled words caused by
The good old mountain dew

And so I take up the pen and page
And the words begin to flow
Words writ in the amber color of
The good old mountain dew

I had a few more sips
And watched the poem grow
Of words and phrases formed by
The good old mountain dew

The amber nectar flows
Its fumes invade your mind
Opens wide the gate of your imagination
That good old mountain dew

I have walked the paths of The Great Western Canal
In the beautiful English county of Devon
At once in tune with nature and all she had to offer
Cold wet and windy as it was on that day
It did not deter me, from my course did not sway
It was not silent, the songs of the birds
Every step onwards their sweet songs were heard
The slow turbid movement of water so green
The ducks and the swans oft were they seen
There's something sureal about waters gentle flow
It pulls you, it draws you to follow where it goes
By mans design the canal was built and was formed
Now taken over by nature, and given new form
Once a byeway for industrial use
Now a rare place of nature saved from abuse
Onwards I walk, the sound of wind in the leaves
How can I stop, how can I leave?
The peace that I feel when walking these paths
Is a memory savoured,  one that will last
For all of my friends who suffer from stress
Take a walk by the water, and you'll suffer less
I promise you this from the depths of my heart
A walk by the water will give a new start
I cant think of a place I'd much rather be
Than walking the paths of tranquility