Late evening, wind whipped waves
Slapping against the clay packed
Stone grey harbour wall.
Like two great bellies
In a sumo wrestle
The wind’s getting cold;
As a cloud slashed silver sun,
Dipping below far hazy hills.
New islands will feel its heat
New lands, grateful people, waking to a new day
As our day withers and dies,
Tired, but loved rusty boats
Bob and dance, weaving and turning their tethers
Waiting for their one last turn to sail, to fly
To shine again
And bring home the harvest of the sea

Down among the Zed men, lay a little lullaby,
Waiting to be sung; by the children of the sea.
And waiting in the billabong with a feather helmet on,
Was Willie of the three hearts, to see what he could see.

‘Well, lookie here’, said Willie, when he saw the little lullaby,
‘Who left you to lie around, unwanted and unsung?’
‘Bad boys, mad boys, they left me here to waste away,
Won’t you to take me across the sea, to shores far flung?’

So, Willie picked up lullaby and put him in his little sack.
‘I’d better take you home my love, it’s time for tea’.
‘Oh thank you” said the sweet refrain” I will be your friend,
For you have saved me from my fate, as well as you can see’.

So! Off they went with merry step, to find the way to *******’ home
And soon they heard the calling voice of Willie’s faithful mum.

‘Hello lad, where’ve you been now and who is that you’re carrying?’
You’ve both arrived in time for supper, jellied wasps and roses, and cream.
An hour later warm and fed, soft lullaby wished them many thanks

‘Think nothing of it’, said Willie’s mum, pouring another cup of steam
‘Come on said Willie, Let’s light a fire
Well lullaby, so happy now, living with his special friends,
Laid a spell upon them both and gave them the eternal dream.
This is how they dream,

Fairy cakes and shaggy dogs

        Washing lines and rainy days

                   Hammers, nails and rusty iron

                             Pretty dolls and mornings in May
Clouds that look like Ships of the line

Leviathan whales and teapot cosies

Skipping children and Waterfalls

Thunderstorms and sweet little posies


                                          Blues and reds and pinks and greens and

Black and red and black and blue and black and blue and black and blue...

Sweet dreams,

Remember,

                   Lullabies are forever.

In my mind there is a space where the years have gone,
A dark space, where the time drips through a crack in the floor
Till it’s lost in the dust and decay
Of the underside of my mind

I can feel the room is cold
Yet I can feel no chill
I can sense the light
Yet I can see no glow
I can touch the vibrations of sound in the air
Yet I can hear no words
Slowly, without cure
I am drifting away

In my mind there is a hole
Where the time creeps through
Gone into the blackness
Asleep in the dust and decay
Of the world beneath my mind

In my mind there is a weight
That presses down upon me
Compressing and distressing me
Forcing me down into the dust and decay
Of the world beneath my mind
In my mind there is a space where the years have gone
Behind a barred and battered old oak door
A cell to capture and hold the memory of time
Within the cell, a box
Within the box a sheet of paper
Old, yellowed crinkled and burnt at the edges
Upon the paper is a lifetime, sketched in the form of a map
X marks the spot where I began
Y marks the final destination.

While my feet walk
And my mind runs in the dancing air,
Of a stifling morning
Tired feet stamping and murmuring
Some may come and some may go
And some just so
The wisdom of man,
Caught in the blinking dawn of a perfect moment
Oh Please, make this a long day.

Whirling, dancing, criss-cross
In-out, swerve and nervous coughs
Sounds pierce the rumbling backdrop
Like the glint of an obsidian knife
Slice the day
Give it to me one piece at a time
Savour it and smile
Oh Please, make this a long day

Do not listen to their dark words
like bullets on a black day
They’ll cause only the wind to move and twist
Like bullets on a black day
I never told you
I never could
How could I reach you?
In the darkness of your cell
I could have caught you
I could have tried
I could have held my arms out to you as you fell
I cannot see you now
The memory is gone
I can only remember you glowing in the sun

As the sun descends, let us raise our hearts
And though distance be our truth, we shall never be apart
Bathed in the dying light, we shall gather friends around us
For the coming of the night is not an end
And though distance be our truth
Welcome those who are near
Let them enter your heart and you shall know no fear.

At the day’s end, let us bathe in the light of memory
And though distance be our truth, my whispered words you will yet hear.
Companions we should gather
To defend us from tears of absence, to set our spirit free
And though distance be our truth
We will sing and dance together to celebrate a joyous love
Of all, as one, forever.