MY SON

He was born early with a will to survive
It hurt like hell but then I was still alive
All wrinkled and hairy with a frown on his face
He ****** his thumb and kept up with the pace

The nights were easy and the days were fun
Til he got to his feet and learnt  how to run
We went through the grazes the cuts and stitches
The well worn holes in the knees of his britches

From a shy little boy he turned into a tyrant
Stamping his feet and demanding attention
He chucked those wobblies and copped the strap
The next thing you knew he was up on the lap

He tried every mean trick to get his own way
And always had too much to say for his age
He was up front and honest as far as that goes
But whinging and whining and full of the woes

He reached his teens with a quiet sort of rumble
Loved his football and the rough and tumble
He'd never once given me any real grief or pain
But then he turned sixteen and I near went insane

As from then he learnt how to drive a car
Taking out girls and fronting up to the bars
The sleepless nights then were never ending
The rules I set he was forever bending

He's left home now, grown into a man
Holds down a job and sings with a band
There are times I still see the little boy
When I ask him to sing and he goes all coy

If I dare to question a decision he makes
Or pry into personal steps he may take
So I take a back seat and wait till he calls
And hope he doesn't take any hard falls

TWO LOVERS LOVE

Wrapped up in contented bliss
In this way two lovers kiss
Like a never ending vine
Round each others hearts entwine

In a non-confusing light
Two such flames are burning bright
Shut thyselves away from life
No time to dwell on worldly strife

Be each other then as one
From honesty you will never run
Letting in the light of day
And your love will stay this way

Hold each other to be dear
Make sure that you are always near
Cherished as others would a jewel
This treasure is your only fuel

WHERE FOOTSTEPS FALL

Walk in softly to this room
Turn the pages with extra care
Lest they crumble beneath your touch
Tis fragile paper laying there

For one who blunders through this world
No thought of despair, hope or fear
Be aware how you tread; the mark you make
Will be the footsteps you leave here

Be careful when you open the door
Look for pages that lay upon the floor
Pick them up gently then, one by one
And take note of how the pages run

The fingerprints you leave in here
Indent on parchment fine forever
When you leave please keep in mind
To close the door quietly behind

There's so many lessons we must learn
And for many they will go unheard
For to go where angels fear to tread
The road stretches out too far ahead

THE GHOST OF A MAN

There's a ghost of a man who walks the road, near an old homestead I know
I hear his voice a calling as he stops and puts down his load.
Then he leans across the gate there and I hear him so loud and clear, as he calls through the rain swept gardens, in a voice that's full of tear.

"Emma did you wait for me, I know it's been a long fight"
"Too many men have died there and the flames were burning bright"
"Oh Emma can you hear me, I know I'm long overdue and I've walked for many a mile now, trying to get back to you"

I can see the wings on his shoulders and the medals on his chest.
His face is filled with hope and pain, as he steps into the rain.
He turns and walks back down the road and stops at the old graveyard.
I hear his voice across the wind, and it sound so bleak and hard

I want to place my hand on his shoulder and try to understand his pain
But he doesn't see or sense me and if he could I would try to explain.
My mothers' tombstone rests there and had for half my life
Inscribed it says quite simply, Emma loving mother and wife

He will be here the same time tomorrow, he's never failed to appear
From the moment I first saw him, I knew he would always be near
He stands for one moment of silence, then continues on down the lane
As he fades into the distance I can still hear that ghostly refrain

"Emma did you wait for, I know it's been a long fight"
"Too many men have died there and the flames were burning bright"
"Oh Emma, can you hear me, I know I'm long overdue and I've walked for many a mile now, trying to get back to you"

TO BE YOUNG AND FOOLISH

They say there's a reason for everything
I'm not sure there's a reason why
Youth is so wasted upon the young
And wisdom we can't gain
Not unless we have lived a full life

To be young is to be foolish
We all make mistakes as we grow
But would we change one single thing
To go back and know what we know

Touch the sunlight on your shoulder
Or listen to the clouds overhead
Feel the wind as it whispers by
Hear the sound of a child's heartbeat
Like the soft wings of a butterfly

I've never been more true to myself
I've been through the heartache and tears
No life wasn't meant to be easy
But I've finally found a reason to smile
At the lessons in life I've been dealt

I don't need more time for heartache
And I don't need more time for tears
I take each day as it comes now
And I'm ready to face the years

MONEY

Money burns a hole in your pocket
Money burns a hole in your soul
It's the devil if you've got it
And some have nothing at all

There's a man up in Sydney
And he had plenty to burn
But he cheated on every rival
And now a hard lesson he learns
He's spending his time in prison
And his only thought is survival

There's a lady from Coburn
And she had nothing at all
So she married a man who was wealthy
But he wasn't on the ball
She ran off with a traveling salesman
Cos he was handsome and tall

You'd think we'd learn something
About the heartache money can bring
But we never stop trying to win it
On X Lotto and pokies and things
If we saved every penny we gambled
We'd be living like kings

Yes money burns a hole in your pocket
Money burns a hole in you soul
I know it's the root of all evil
But I'd still like a thousand or so.

THE MOONBEAMS

As the moon rose over the mountains
And the shadows mourned their loss
The silvery sheen of the moon beams
Reached deep into the river's dross

Coming alive in the rippling water
Like a million stars in the night
It played upon the fishes sleeping
In the hidden crevices and rocks

It reached across the meadows dark
Where it dressed the trees in white
A silvery sheen played on the dreams
Of all lovers and those they had lost

Chasing the shadows across the ridge
To where the vast sandy desert began
It slowly etched its way in red gold
Upon the shifting whispering sands

It found the beach and danced with glee
On the waves that rippled and rolled
Then headed out fast into the infinity
Of the moonlit deepest silvery sea