Blood spelt sweat
Poisoned stick at my throat
Rush of adrenalin as I stand at the edge
Here's to being at this place again

The place, a false flag of declaration
The place, a false red light when it's green
The mind is detached from the body
And declares harm and evil is on it's way

The battle begins and I push against an invisible enemy
The first attack leads to no victors
The second like a punch in the gut
I kneel in pain, but the body is not hurt

Rotten forest leads to rotten homes and rotten people
Passing through the swamp of social deity
I cross a bridge with breaking timbers
Suddenly light breaks through a small gap and the toil ends

Stark, definition. ..gut, gross, hart, stabil
Stark world, stark value
Driven by obsessive digital noise
Driven by the need to control the narrative

Dark, definition..with little or no light
Dark world, darker world
Driven by people with dark voices
Driven by the need to bleed

Bark, definition ...loud noise that a dog and some other animals make
Bark world, full of 'other' animals
Driven by the need to be heard
Driven by the need to be part of the pack

Using mRNA
They seek to save our DNA
With no thought for themselves
Into the unknown they delve

To create something new
A kind of  'S protein' stew
Not only for the rich and greedy
Focused on the unwell and needy

They fight this new scourge of mankind
Leaving no avenue behind
The greatest minds on this earth
Will be the Gods of our rebirth

Goodbye 2020
You've given us pain, plenty plenty
Time to forget you even exist
Time for your pain to desist

******* to your cruelty
Now replaced with some congruity
Forget you n' your death
Forget evil 'theft of breath'

Farewell messed up leap year
Farewell year of fear
Twenty one is coming
Vials of vaccine running

You're now history to me
We've done it, set us free
No virus going to stop
The progress of man, man now on top

digital noise...everyday
humming at low frequency
disrupting the human flow

human noise... everyday
balking at volume in desparation
causing harm to all

animal noise.. everyday
beautiful tones and chirps
a free choir that brings joy

we have the choice to subscribe to all of these noises
or to seek peace with careful selection, wisdom and a smile

Wonder if there is a parallel life?
Opportunity to be nice to my wife.....or partner
Maybe we should see life through a double lens
Time to make amends

Wonder if we could pause time
Stop and look for God's sign
Maybe we might change how we act
When torrid people start their attack

Wonder if I could spare a life
From death's door, that would be rife
Maybe you can join my stand
Time to join the parallel band

Three miles of white sand
Fit into my hand
As I look out to sea
Mussenden Temple sets us free

The hills at the top
Look up, what a drop
Teenage time full of fun
Screaming to the bottom of 'the big one'

Forty five degrees to the wind
Sand, grit doesn't rescind
Nowhere to the South
Nearly at the bar mouth

I turn and it blows
My back takes a lift
Portstewart in the distance
I brace for resistance

I've laid a place for you
A place at our table
I'm calling to say you're welcome
You're welcome at the table

All around the world people
Set new places for friends and family
A place for friendship
A place for peace

We barged hard against the old door and managed to get in
Dark corridors led to a back alley where fantasy met reality
There they were, hundreds a shiny boxed small windows waiting for us
Richard picked up a stone, pulled his home made catapult and released.
Bam, a broken window now more broken
You have a go
I took it and hit a window, amazing sound and joy
The windows were in our sights

Left a bit, right a bit...
Patang, reload, hutchuck, dut, snnuuuck,
Missed
Adjust scope a little to the right
This time a hit, no movement from the crow
A small troop are marching up towards our house
Door bell rings
dad looks concerned
'There's a report of a youngster with a rifle?'
It's the UDR
dad looks very nervous
'Its just my son with an air rifle'
dad brings the rifle to the door and the gun licence he had
Firkin wee Duffie the headmaster has seen me with his binoculars
The wee sneak ..I rumble under my breath
'No problem sir, we're on our way out of here'
Wee Duffie had me in his sights

Returning from England the green walk up the Dungannon road is a fresh change from the hustle and bustle
Passing a bungalow on the right a man stares out at me, hands by his side
I take a left up a hill past Derek's place
We rode his white horse bare back in that field
Suddenly a car pulls up with the man and he winds the window down
'What's the name?' he growls
'What do you mean what's the name, I'm just out for a walk?' I retort
He reaches for the glove box, I stop
'What's the name?' he shouts again
I ignore him and continue walking
He accelerates quickly forwards stops and manages to make a U turn

Walking back home I'm confronted a small troop of soldiers marching the other way
A car pulls up
'What's the name?'
'Turner' I say
"It's the bank manager's son, stand down'
On reflection I processed this situation years later
The big man Stewart had thought I was a 'spotter' from the IRA spotting him an off duty policeman in his home so that a shooter could take him out
He had his hand on his pistol in his glove box with a view to pull the trigger
He had me in his sights

7.30 a.m up
8.15 a.m out
Water in hand
Ready to stand
As a marshall at the parkrun

At the park
People and dogs come together
Conversations, chat
People thin, people fat
Ready for the briefing

Allotment corner
Here I stand
Radio, safety kit in hand
Welcoming the first lap up the hill
Well done Madame, well done Bill

Well done dog
Well done man
Well done second lap
Diggin in with the last energy on tap

Thank you Marshall
Thank you Marshall
My pleasure
My pleasure

Tail marshall comes through
Thats the end of the run
Gathering cones and job well done
Fellowship, friendship and some fun

Marjorie mulls the passing man and fly
The marriage window has gone by
Her hair lies dank n' grey in sobern grief
Her clothes befit a teenage thief

Rejection is a common theme
Daily survival is the daily dream
She plays with beads and hears the chime
The grandfather clock, true keeper of time

She smiles when asked to play the part
Of successful daughter, mother and heart
But reality bites when she is inept
Losing in life she always accepts

Flickering sunlight
Bursting through hedges
Bursting through trees

Flickering sunlight
Dancing off my glasses
Dancing off the masses

Flickering sunlight
Glorius days
Flickering sunlight
Entropy rays

Today I saw an SUV
Coming along the side of me
Nothing sports or utility
Just a driver full of futility

He's in a rush
That's all I know
Foot on the pedal
Gas to the flow

I'll let him pass
I don't drive fast
There is no rush
No need to crush

The next time you see an SUV
Don't think of me
Think of the planet and going green
Inside an SUV is nowhere to be seen

Thank-you green stream
Thank-you for being so green
Thank-you for being 'glean'
For the watermeal, the wolffia
and the onomatopoeia

The dry day came
The baler the same
Walking behind they magically pop out
We march to the call and gurn to the shout

The lift is swift
And the landing is firm
On the steel trailer bed
Nothing more to be said

Off to the yard
To the pile at the top
We hide our protest
Man, this is hot

I can't see for the dust
The smell of the hay
Makes us lift faster
I'll remember this day

A neat puzzle is made
My energy will fade
Every bale must fit
Every lift, one of grit

The sweat and the heat
This job is not complete
Once more to the field
To gather the yield

After the freeze came the warm days in December 22
The days starting getting longer
The morning grass dew

The leaves stayed on for longer this year
Due to the warmth of November
We didn't expect it
We didn't remember

Walking is joy
And joy to see
Man and women and dogs
Forest, leaves and the trees

She speaks without thinking
He thinks without speaking
Two forces once linked as one
Bound for social discourse

She touches without feeling
He feels without touching
Desperate to entwine
Repelled by thoughts of separation

They break without being broken
They fall without moving
Mental forces at work
Emotions rushing out of sync

Manny said
by lunchtime she'd be dead

You ignored me at the simming pool when I approached
The desert sun glinted off the flat roof top
Manny was your choice not mine

The call asked for grid details and map locations
I rushed through the tumbleweed to the spot
The spot where it was to happen

A van pulled up
My heart raced
A shot rang out
You fell, I shout

Brushing is like dreaming
The paint presents the resistance to my thoughts
Then it flows to allow the next thoughts in

Another corner, another edge
Another spill, another thrill

More thoughts go by
Another coat and I'll be done

Maybe something was wrong but
For a moment I thought I was dying
I saw the pit, I saw my soul.
The darkest moments

Maybe something was right but
For a moment I thought I was living
My heart pulsed wildly
As you and I laughed together

Maybe something was destined to be
For a moment I believed the future was bright
Sunlight glistening over the house through the windows
As I looked up to the sky

Maybe these are just my thoughts
For moment they tried to convince me that they were real
I get up and start the day
Content and confident that I can have a positive day

Comfortable being uncomfortable
Comfortable with war and terror in the Middle East
Uncomfortable with the new price of Netflix and the Supermarket's next feast.

Guilty and not guilty
Guilty of walking past the homeless person
Not guilty in protesting against hate's latest version

Ashamed and not ashamed
Ashamed of the toothpaste stain on my denim
Not ashamed of homeless children in Yemen.

Gimme a piece of tape
So I can stick your mouth and stop you learning to vape

Gimme an EXIT
So I can stop everyone talking about Brexit

Gimme a curse
So I can stop you entering the multiverse

Gimme a reason
So I can be happy this Christmas season

Gimme a heart
So I can stop this world falling apart

Gentle seas reflect light near the island of Brac
Local men tender their allotments early in the morning
Swifts start to dart about
A local lady carries herbs and flowers down hill to the restaurants

Old men gather for coffee and cigarettes
People carry bread and cherry baklava from the bakery
The butcher's door is always open, he is working hard
Tourists sprint about in a hurry

Kids play cards as if it's the 1970's
Ladies show off dramatic tattoos on their backs
Walking down the steps to the beach
I sit near the outdoor shower and relax, getting ready to dive in

Oh mobile you are the one for me
It all started with my Moto Razr V3
If only other could see
The mast on the M4 disguised as a tree

From text to WAP to offnet rendering
More love from you I will be sending
That scratch on the screen I will be mending

Building a deathbox for the enemy to find
Concealed entrance, lethal aid inside for being so unkind
Not to big, not to small
Evil body shaped for evil to crawl
To meet their destiny
Revenge for the fall

We tried non-lethal but lethal aid is the way
To stem the fight
To stop the afray
Checking inside for the number killed
Is a bloodthirsty task, an uneasy chill

Removing the bodies is an arduous task
Left out for the red-kite
The dinner table is vast
Reset the mechanism, conceal the top deck
Ready for the next wave
Ready to wreck

I want to be a nice narcissist
perhaps a mediocre misogynist
being comfortable being uncomfortable
maybe a polite and pleasant *****

In my world I
control everything
my destiny is written 'n
your value has been calculated 'n summed up

I am the author of your future
Trading you for something else is modern day barter
converting you into money, a simple task and honey trapping your friend into a
pyramid scheme just a wave of my hand.

my confidence is soaring
don't threaten me with your matrix media
your questions are not relevant
my questions are your mandate

you have to listen because I love you
I can give you what you want
take you from your broken body and make you my creation

I have become a figure of hate
no wait.....
fk this, fk this, I'm no Andrew Tate

It was our second visit in six years to Ivy cottage
Inside the kitchen I crossed through the bookmarks of time
What will the future be like for the kids?
At the top of the stairs looking down another bookmark
Will our next home look as nice as this?

Those thoughts and wishes have come true
All I can say Ivy is thank-you
Thank-you for your park of 1000 acres
Thank-you for the swallows who chased me
Thank-you for the future that now faces me

O'er the Causway road
To the lands of the giants
We smile as the Atlantic roars below
The path is green, our hearts says go

Past the rope bridge we sidle on
The skerries frighten us with their brawn
Careful o' oncomers
Breath in,  they're vaughn

The architect's house
Provides little shelter
The harbour fights
The seaweed felters

Near the hill, the Scots and Rathlin anew
No time to stop, no time for a brew
The waters rage
No traffic, no queue

We reach the beach
'n cross the stream
The weather draws in
The water's sea beam

Back home via Bushmills
The Inn is a stop
Guinness and mussels
The head, what a top

On reflection we drop our pace
For this happy journey is not but a race
What a joy those places are for me
What a joy for you to see

We sidle up the road to the farmhouse on a hill and enter the dark gap that forms a door.
The ‘broken thing’ hangs heavy in my hand.
The floor is bare except for a big pile of metal scrap, the ingredients for the fix.

Two shadows have their backs to us and are deep in conversation.  
Heads are nodded and words are exchanged about the near miss and the loss encountered.

The Fixer enters stage left complete with Macbeth bowl haircut.
Hands fat with muscles he approaches me and grasps the broken thing with a swift tug.

‘Not good, not good, bad job, bad job’.
He is working it out.
His skill is not taught.
This is instinct, blood and sweat.

He disappears for several minutes stage right.
The big pile does not have what he needs.

More conversation goes on about cattle and sheep.
The accents are harsh. We are deep, deep in the country.

The fixer returns.
A flush of oxy-acetylene ignites and suddenly two become one.
A rush of steam comes from the barrel that the patient has come out of.

‘Better than new’, the Fixer says.
‘Better than new’ Dad replies.
‘What’s the damage? ’
’That will be…30’
‘OK 30”

No negotiation here, no debate on price.
This work is understood.
This is graft and money hard earned.

I won't react
to your matter of fact
your polarised view
your online cue

I won't react
to your social pact
to the weight of the noise
when you throw out your toys

I will react
to the empathy you show
for being there
when everyone said no

Taste the Summer
Taste the salt 'n sea
Taste the skin of you 'n me

Taste the Autumn
Smell the soil
Prepare for cold, take that toil

Taste the Winter
Prepare to embrace
Let go of fear for what we face

Walking through the park
Light pores through trees and leaves
Two swans stand casually preening themselves
Their white feathers lifting gently then settling, then lifting in the wind
A heron parks on a wooden post in the pond
Signets busy themselves on the surface
Just being, being there to witness this
That's all that is needed today
Being..

Boltzmann's constant rains
To reverse the great brain drain
Inversion must feign

With many atoms
Irreversibility
Hello entropy

Unexpected September sun
Beaming down settling, settling, blinding between leaves
Pigeon sunbathing, motionless head down, comfortable, mulling over something nice
The leaves are almost done
Steam rising from the wet laundry on the line
A change of view... and it's gone

A conker just fell in front of me
It popped open
I grasped it fresh and warm from its shell

New life seeking new life
Warm seed seeking warm soil
I merged with nature for a second

More conkers dropped around me
More colour
More life

With 2G phone in hand
No sign of a ring-light stand
The un-influencer comes to the table

He doesn't tweet when people die
Says negative things that will make you cry
Gets stuck when logging in
Wears holes in his clothes that really should be in a bin

Writes bad poetry that nobody reads
Writes bad blogs that would make your eyes bleed
States the obvious when asked
Laughs and then makes you gasp

Doesn't check his look before zooming
Doesn't check his volume, it's booming
To be avoided at social functions
Should be served with a court injunction

I met a man who swapped his head for a brick
I said 'hey man really...really are you thick?'
He said no.. no.. no.. he wasn't sick
Like most things these days he bought it with one-click

He said he didn't want to see
The world we live in now, the null decree
The division and fighting about
The hate, the polarising shout

I said 'man that's cool right...tick!"
It was then I went online 'n ordered that brick

Stoic voice calling me
Calling me in pain
Calling me when vain

Reticent voice rolling in
Rolling in under stress
Rolling in under duress

Cocky voice storming in
Storming in today
Storming into the affray

I pray today..
That you go away

I pray today..
That you let us play

The second wave is here
Let us take our ship and steer
A path away from fear

Take up the challenge
Believe in 'the now'
We 'of tenet' will show you how

Tenet is the reason I breathe in the morning
The reason I smile at you as you pass
The reason I believe in mass

Without Tenet there is nothing
And nothing to do to
Tenet is why there is me and you

Icy fog sets in
People stay in
Walking through a cold wall
Walking to stay warm

Temperature stays low
It's no, no go
Ice rules as King today
No change to the affray

It's like some form of video game
Where my ID is called up, instead of my name
The thing to do with every task
Is to wear a sweaty full face mask

You too have entered the skyrim
You too wear a mask, you're not that dim
We drop suddenly with hands on the floor
Seeking to beat our very last score

This is no type of emulator
But you choose to stick them on a ventilator
Thank God there is some form of medicine
To protect them from the evil of your sin

The next level is here for us to play
The next challenge is vaccination every day
Lets hope this vaccination works
Before the gamestation hits us with more quirks

where are you?
where are you?
I see you
I see you

hello stranger
hello you
yes I feed you
yes I feed you

little wire feet
little sharp beak
looking straight at me
born to fly
born to be free

burnt colours on show
awaiting the possibility of snow
ochre, reds, brown and black
falling, tumbling on the track

wandering through colour
wandering through time
soaking up the colours
taking up the climb

Building a house
The house of life
With foundations of flesh and bone

Building a bridge
The bridge of strife
With supports of words and grit

Building a barrier
The barrier to hate
With strength of love and kindness

They say when you are given a terminal diagnosis
That you reach a moment of clarity
A moment where material goods don't matter
A moment where that thing 'n'
her and him fighting doesn't matter either
A moment of euphoria

Psychologists debate why it takes this diagnosis to trigger such happiness?
Why can't we bottle up that feeling and press play today?
Let's not wait until that day
Let's go for that moment
Let's embrace Euphoria

Chaffinch on bended straw
Holding on for the ride
Like a red metal horse on a giant spring
I stare, it sings

3000 crows, maybe more
Gather noisly on the telegraph wires
4000 crows now, maybe more
Start fighting, some gore

Sea mist coming in over the Antrim shore
Sea mist cooling air round our skin
Farmer's wince for the time of day
Too late for the last of the hay

There's a hole in the sky where my soul fits in
Did you see it open last night?
It comes and goes when you least expect it

There's a hole in the thoughts of the world leaders
Did you see it on social media last night?
It comes and goes just before the broadcast starts

There's a hole in the socks of the poor
Did you see it on TV this year?
It never goes away

Memories flash through my head like a deck of cards
First in last out
Last in first out
Quad core, octa core

Signals stick and queue
Buffering and quick to view
I throw my head back
And drop it to reset the stack

Flickering memories
Lights of joy
Come to me now
Release the sweat from my brow

The space between my thoughts
Is where I want to be
Breathing in, breathing out
Time stands still

My heart and lungs as a piston
No thoughts now, no thoughts then
The piston moves up , moves down
That's all there is

Calm, no storm
Calm, no fear
Smiling I look up
Deep breath in and..
back to reality