Running at night
Guided by a torso mounted light
Stepping from the the pavement
Into the darkness

Into the wood
Scanning the forest floor
Looking to avoid the trip
Looking to find the way out

UFO lights turn out to be neon lit dogs
Jumping up steps, jumping over logs
The full moon provides more light
To guide me into sight

Cool air hugs my legs and face
Warm sweat heats my torso
The dark park is silent now
I smile as moisture drips from my brow

Give me your noise
On the Internet, on the airwaves
Give me your chaos
In the house, in the streets

Let's hear the sounds
Of metal grinding against bone
Let's hear you taking it all
Destroying that phone

Staple me to the floor
Do your worst to it all
Be the devil incarnate
Join the foray, join the mall

Tower above us
Show us your rage
Be the worst you can
Rattle that cage

Served up on social media
Like a cold steel blade
Your commercial response to the epidemic
Your binary product placement

Of course we must adhere
And follow the steer
That's the culture of youth
Please look at yourself, seek the truth

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

Paint the future
Paint it bright
Young ones don't deserve
The path of plight

Speak the future
Tell the tale
Speak the future
Take back that veil

Live the future
It's not that dark
Live the future
Be that spark

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

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

Perfectly presented
In white linen smock
Perfect smile
And perfect floppy hat

Perfectly seen
Prism of beauty
Axis of arc
Staring back at me

Perfectly grounded
Sereen sapphire lens
Moccasin heals
Treading towards me

In 1979 she walked into my life
Perfectly presented
Perfect smile
And a perfect floppy hat

I'm picking litter
To clear out the litter in my head
To clear out what was said

With a robot arm
I mean you no harm
It's a mental need
To sow new seed

The needs of the planet
Are called out by the Goddess Tanit
Let's gather more litter
And afray from being bitter

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

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

Promise me the sun
Promise me some fun
Promise me a good next year
Promise me a year without fear

Give me your grace
Give me a smile across your face
Give me the sun
n' I'll be the one

Pulse of breath
Pulse of heart
Beating beneath me
Beating to tell me that you're still there

Pulse of night
Pulse of light
Beating through me
Beating to tell me that life is still there

Pulse of wind
Pulse of fire
Beating at me
Beating to tell me that touch and feel is still here

Nature's rhythms
Nature's beat
Nature's rhythms
Nature's pulse

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

Like some form of re-animator
I morph into a new creature daily
To surprise you

My nails grow talons naturally
My hair becomes thick and black
Huge spikes come out of my back

My breathe gets hot and fiery
My smell of that of a fox
I stare at you and dribble
As you settle down and watch Googlebox

Shining lights on a Dalmatian shore
Broken little mirrors on an aqua sea
provides the backdrop for boys wrestling on a concrete diving board

Girls soaking each other with a push button tap
The thin old man in speedos intervenes
One hand holding a roll up
The other gesturing in Croatian

The setting sun behind the city of Split
Is a rusty heat haze for swallows to dart over
Truffle oil fills the air from the cafe
A couple use sign language to speak as the sea roars in

Backs and shoulders covered in beautiful inked art with Angels, crosses and devils
Pine trees provide shelter on the stony beach
Families playing cards and laughing.

The church bells signal it is time to go in
We start up the hill and look back at the sky.
A night to remember and a night to repeat.

Clothed up to the max
I enter the garage to mount my indoor bike tracks
On a digital road we drift
As we press Go on the biking game "Zwift'

Ride fast, ride free
No need to watch out for the tree
As the game takes us on a journey
Hey "ride on' there's Bernie

The sweat builds to a stream
I race on in my digital dream
Watopia world provide us with freedom
A place to gather, a fellow biker's Eden

Rust 'n red
All of the Autumn colours in my head
As I pass by trees and endless hedges

Leaves falling down comfort me from the fall
Leaves bright with colour, nature's call
Ochre, yellow and wine

Hidden cottages behind trees
Hidden animals, light deceives
As it beams through the woods

Past the bend
Autumn smiles at me
Lifting my heart, setting me free

Wave after wave
White tips of foam
With grey linings run towards
A warm brun sand

Spider web white threads
On a turquoise canvas
Swirling in and out
Lapping in on a black granite frame

Emerald shore
Lined with dulse and crab
The changing sea palette
Paints a different picture every second

Slate, ash, porpoise, dove
Lead, pebble, coin and fossil
Pewter , cloud, silver and smoke
All dash towards the shore

Grey sandpipers run like kids in unison
In and out, in and out
Orange puffins land on small nests
Black and white Oystercatchers nod for food

Shifting cloud darkens the beach
Walkers led by happy dogs
Traverse the length of the coast
As the setting sun signals time to go home

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

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

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

Spring came
Nothing would be the same

Looking out
No one about

Covid came
Insane

Politeness came
Would it remain?

Touch went
Hugs went
Feelings vent

Mothers wept
Fathers wept
Sanity bereft

Daily toll
Daily bread
Daily dead

Summer came
Hope came
Some things would be the same

Solstice came
Longest day
Longest year
Longest hour

Hope stayed
We played

Laughter came
Loving came
Some things would remain the same

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

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

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

When you think about it we are all storytellers
Whose story do we believe?
Whose story is out to deceive?
What story will you tell today?
Are sad, mad or glad?

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

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 ******!

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

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

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

The answer is not on your phone..
So stop staring at it in your zombie zone
There is nothing there to see
Nothing there to help your life feel free

We go from day to day
Looking down, nothing new to say
Lost on the street and in the shops
Blind to nature and blind to clocks

Put that flipping thing away
Stop living in the afray
Look up instead of down
Look forward to life, drop that frown.

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

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

The first bee landed on the open
tulip just then
He stopped and worked away
Did you see it?

He wasn't interested in me or the the news
Just focused on his work
and left....

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.

As the night grows dim
The Harbour bar draws us in
Past seagulls who soar
To the welcoming door

The fire is on
The people sit low
The bar is full
The taps are slow

We wait at the door
As the Guinness is poured
How you doin boy?
Not bad, just o'er from Gweedore

The craic is good
The night is long
The drum beats hard
To the Ceiltic song

More people pile in
To the small rooms 'n the floor
More Guiness to order
More time at the door

The last leaf just fell on me
Did you see it?
It was yellow and cheeky
Crept up on me behind my back and swooped over my shoulder

There will be no more leaves this year that's it
No more colour for us to see
Roll on Spring
Roll on colour

Come ye to the meadow of the tooth
Lay down, take nature by the hands
For Autumn is braking aloof
Come join us at the meadow of the tooth

Blackwater invites us to view
The abundant bounty of our youth
Rope swing is first for me
Watch out your napper is near that tree

Break out the picnic full of choice
Scream out your pleasing celtic voice
We leave nothing there to see
Except warm memories of the birthday glee

He's fixing time..literally
looking at my Swiss cuckoo clock
to find out what's wrong


I entered the semi detached house from the front
After several attempts at the bell
the millionaire opened the door

I walked past a sparse interior into the repair room
a small room with a lathe and every form of tool you can imagine
1950s magazines lie under tin boxes full of essential stuff

I ask what the old handset gadget does on the wall?
It's a remarkable build of switches and cables
"Thats the intercom so I can speak to her in the kitchen"
We study the cuckoo clock
We can't fix time, no fault found
Time is not broken
The only currency on show is kindness

He sits in the nursing home with his wife
"The house is up for sale and that's that' he tells dad
With no kids to leave his money will go to charity
Time well spent on the right stuff
Time spent on kindness not greed

Centre of the storm
Person of principle
Reaper of the future

Takes to the stage
Leads from the front
Drives us forward

Defender of freedom
Calmer of nerves
She takes my hand
And together we stand

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

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

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

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

The sound of the grit ravels
As the metal end enters the tepid ground
The mist opens up and then closes
God's not ready to start the day

As each movement unfurls
My brow gets moist with salty sweat
The small hole becomes a bigger hole
Robin redbreast comes over to investigate

I drench my hands on soil to sort the stones
Smelling the earth with a deep breath
I pause rested and squatted deep on my ankles
Stopping to think as the earth continues to spin

This work belongs with me
And I was brought up with it
Strangers who cannot handle a *****
Are alien to us, the children of the soil