Underneath the rug
Beside the discarded crumpled crisp bag
There is still joy

Underneath the illness
Near the vial of medication
There is still joy

Underneath the hyperventilate
As panic sets in and desparation takes over
There is still joy

Undereneath the funeral pamphlet
Reading the order of service
There is still joy

Light may fade
Light may go but come the morning
Joy can be found still

Postman, binman, policeman
My language constrains my thoughts
To a small world, Brian's world.

Whorfianism is the constraint
Language rules, the paint
To paint a better picture
To expand our universe

The time has come where
We need to think past the pathetic notion
of linear time, past and present
To a sentence where past, present and future
are one

Back to burgers
Back to beer
Streets full of laughter
Streets full of cheer

Back to haircuts
Back to the gym
People start to chatter
People start to grin

Long time coming
Long time to sleep
Ok to vent now
Ok to weep

Next stage is coming
Next to open up
More fun to be having
More new life erupts

Like some kind of Irish David Lynch
I awake, words fuse together
As my synapses spark

Nanosecond choices
Picosecond bonds
Served up to me
Shall I offer to others to see?

Phrases of alien tongue
'The Pernapalise principle'
'The Goodwin ghost'

The day goes by
More synapses fire
Less frequently this time

Normality resumes
I give in to reality
Time for bed

Just go to a field
Sit on a bench
And breath...

Just go to a field
Don't take your phone
And stop thinking...

Just go to a field
Take in the grass
Forget about stuff...

Just go to a field
Don't drive there
No need to race...

Just go to a field
The light is there
Smile...

The space between my thoughts is my destination
breathing in..
breathing out..
I'm almost there

I envisage a piston as my lungs
breathing in..
breathing out..
I'm there

Listen to the Internet
Listen today
Lots of souls shouting
To get to the afray

You tell us we must take on your word
To diss it would be absurd
It's your new world of thought
It's your new world of fraught

I'll stay here in my hall
If I need you I will call
No need for the Internet
No need for your intercept

You came to me thirty years later
Whilst I was on my back sleeping

Like yesterday you haven't aged
The emotion is the same
The same smile remains

This meeting place is sacred
I stir..
and you are gone...

I see you there
Light of grace, light of air
Wings spread out
Be-clamed with the sun

Who am I to stir you?
Through my kitchen window
What have I got that can't wait?
What have I got that I can give you?

You lift a wing and clean it
You shimmer yourself in the heat
You look up to the sun
Stay happy little one

I planted hope today
With bulbs and seeds for Spring
Everyday hope takes us
To a new strong place to cling

I planted love today
With acts of kindness and good
It seeks to combat the online hate
It seeks to stamp out the rude

I planted thought today
To lead us from the affray
Positive thought takes us to a different space
A space of grace

I planted us today
The roots have taken strong
The branches are bearing fruit
It's where we belong

Mid November 16 degrees
Mid November should be time for freeze
Mid November leaves drop still
Mid November eating ice-cream to chill

What has happened to our seasons?
What has happened, so many manmade reasons?
What have we done to change the planet?
We must do something positive now ******!

When I was wrong
Were you quick to judge me?
Were you quick to make sure I was vilified for it?

When I was wrong
Did it make sense to comment?
Did you think I did it deliberately?

I'm not the signal for attack
I'm not the first line of defence
I'm the guy who wants to move forwards
I'm the guy who wants to mend the fence

I’m OK, you’re OK
That’s how I’m gonna start today
A neutral position to drive through
The brilliant feeling of new me, new you

I’m OK, you are not Ok
This isn’t going to end well
I can tell, you fell

I’m not OK, you are OK
I give in it’s yours to take
Let’s hope your path is not a mistake
Let’s hope my news is truly fake


I’m not OK, you are not OK
The worst position of all
Ok fine I hear you
Let’s end this call

Fortitude saved me
From taking the wrong path
The mind takes decisions
It tries its own wrath

But the mind isn't always right
When there is going to be a fight
The body must say
If there is any price to pay

We must listen to our bodies
And sometimes ignore the mind
Listen to our bodies
Listen and be kind

Notifications come in..
'Your iCloud account is full'
'Your Google account is full'
Full of what.. I wonder?
Bits and bytes of memories
Some of which matter, most of which don't
Data cooking on servers, data cooking the world with heat

Handle won't move
Drawers full
Wardrobes full
Full of what.. I wonder?
Clothes that haven't been worn once this year
Shoes that lie dormant in little door mice boxes
Decent covers for others that need them to stay warm

Fridge door is stuck
Shelves are full
Cupboards are full
Full of what.. I wonder?
Good fruit, tinned meat and veg that I sometimes eat
But mostly goes into recycling
Fuel for hungry soles

I stutt..er, words can't come out
Synapses stuck
Brain is full
Full of what.. I wonder?
Media junk from many screens
Mostly *******, occasionally useful
Negative rhetoric filling valuable spaces
Brain fog and digital clouds, clouding the future

We approach the pub from the harbour storm
We gather there in lose form
A time to switch off from the norm

Status is left at the door veneer
No room for that here
It's simply time for beer

At the coal fire strangers mix
Do you know so and so?
Ah yes of course
He used to be a hallion didn't he?
Time for our fix

He died
She died
It died

She used to do that
No way?
Why can't she see sense?

Did you hear that he is leaving now?
We never knew
He'll never come back

Smile and laughter reign
Black stuff is ordered, refusal is feigned
More words are exchanged for the craic
A time of friendship
We'll always come back

Social distance flouter!
Mask avoider!
Isolation idiot!
Covidiot !

I didn't chose to ride on the bus, I have to
I didn't chose to come near you, the alley is too narrow
I have a lung condition, I can't wear a mask
I can't isolate I have to put food on the table

Your view is part of the balkanisation of the Internet
Listen to me, hear my conversation
Listen to me, be human again

I love to stare at rain
From the comfort of the door frame

Am I in or out?
Your rhythm and beat has no doubt

Am I stuck in stasis?
Can I cope with what faces us?

You rumble on
We rumble on
Keep rumbling

After the storm the mist forms over Mussenden.
A cargo ship appears to sit still in the bay.
Lit up like a landing beacon at night.
Hardy souls on board.
White sea horses rumble over kelp strewn shores.

Wagtails dart over basalt towers
The strand with it's white sand round the corner.
Donegal, hidden by dreich looks like a far away land.
All is quiet.. nothing to report...calm returns.

Shafts of light
Break through the leaves and folliage
Oranges and white

Constant beams
Enhancing the run
Enhancing the fun

Breaking light
Breaking twigs
Breaking ground

Open ground
Open sound
Solace found

I've been staring into your bungalow from my rear bedroom window for about a month
My house looks down on you
You can't see me
I can see you

Why do you shuffle so?
What are you doing to that woman?
You are pathetic
When did you get so old?

Your hair is gone
Your back is stooped
You've lost your direction
Fool

You've come out to the garden
Your profile looks familiar
That scar on your chin
Wait....no wait
You are me

White ear-pods in, society out
Living in a cocoon of sound
Cushioned from interruption
And deaf to everyday communication

Smartphone on loudspeaker
Holding it like a defiant torch or gun
Marching defiantly
Oblivious to the self enforced broadcast on the street and in shops

AI auto corrects my grammar
Like a bad teacher changing the sentence meaning
I consider changing it back but decide that
Digital wins and I give in,
Elon can have my words
Back to solace, back to pen and paper