Ok, first the basics
If you turn on the tap, just a dribble
And hold a straw, just off vertical underneath
The water will flow to the end of the straw
And drip off

Imagine many straws, densely packed
Just the tips showing
All sloping at an angle
And fixed to a steep roof

Water (rain) will be shed
And the roof will remain dry

The steeper the roof
The quicker the rain will shed
But the steeper the roof
The more material is used

Then there's the thickness
The thicker the better surely?
Well, the thicker the layer of straws
The flatter the angle at which they lay
And so the less efficient they are at shedding water

Thatching
Like life
Is a compromise

He asked me for advice one day
I told him bite the bullet
It's the only way

He said you're right, I will, I will

Now he's got a dentist bill
And asking me to pay

.
Those bestowed with special gifts are duty-bound to share 
           
So open up, we're listening, let them echo everywhere

Let your thoughts emerge, take flight, travel and rebound

See them ricochet off cliff and temple, filling air with sound

He told me his name was Cyril
And he  lived alone on the Wirral
He never let on
But I heard from his mum
He's really a secret squirrel

a sack rich in memories
slung on my back
like a part of me now

stopping to rest I open it up
regress, absorb, re-interpret

a pebble, a poem, a hurtful remark
danger and luck
friends made and lost
summits achieved
decisions carved as in stone
out of date currency
I cannot burn