In the sunshine
the breeze licks
my skin
sweet tantalising kisses
the smell
of flesh longing
for the flesh of others
The shadows
nip at my heels
happiness
is a fleeting
distraction
We have been fooled
and fools
once more

Do you ever think
that these wittering words of wisdom
spat out, sang out,
by poets lurking in shadows
will stay hidden among the cobwebs
of a like-spirited mind.
No great explorer
with triumphant cries
to carry these forgotten words
into the light
like a treasure long lost.
A diamond brightened
by the passing of time.
Shyness
You have my eyes.

I wrap my arms around myself.
Myself?
Where have you gone?
Has it been four seconds?
Or four years?
The world still turns.
Who told it to turn?
Do I remember you,
Or is it a phantom?
People still laugh,
They must not know.
I still laugh,
I’m sorry.
You’re gone,
I’m sorry.
I’m here,
I’m sorry.
****** live,
You die.
I’m forever sorry.

Did you hold her hand tightly
As you walked through the woods?
Waiting for the day to end
So we might join you.
The filtered sunlight
Warms your ageless skin;
So warm
Skin so cold.
Your voice echoes within my heart
And hurts my jealous ears.
A snapping branch of reality
Coaxing tears from the secret place.
The forest is vast
But the trees are not endless.
I will meet you at sunset.
And wonder at you once more.
And wander with you once more.

Did you hear the poem
I wrote about you?

Roses wrapped with thorns
and coal on your smile.

The sweet caress
of a stinging slap.
Beautiful words
smothered with barbed wire.

Dr?
Mr?

With whom am I speaking today?

How didn’t you hear
my poem?

I shouted it
in my loudest whisper

Only the loneliest
write.
And so,
they are never alone.

There was darkness
and there was light,
much as the morning
bows down
to the night.
And I knew not
which one I sought,
but I knew which had me
in their sight

I walk these
streets of bones
wherein you lie.

I scour the
broken stones
neath a broken sky.

I lay my
pitiful flowers
with a silent cry.

My broken stone heart
with a feather beat
that has yet to die.

The winds of truth
carrying honest lies.
Cataracts on young eyes,
old beliefs.
Promises freely given
with a high price.
Purses filled
and bellies emptied.
Think for yourself,
the eternal command.
The sheep flock,
the dogs bark,
the hens peck,
and the pigs get fatter.

Ever fatter.

And the fields,
through which we ran,
become graveyards.

I scratch my skin,
My memories flake
towards the ground.
My weeping hands
reach out
to catch failure.
I search
with desperate eyes,
with a screaming heart.
Treacherous mind -
you stole his smile.
It fades,
a drumbeat
echoing to nothing.
You
You stole him.
Leave my memories be.

Riding high on crests
Whispers hidden 'neath the waves,
Our desire to drown

I shed my skin.
Winter take my petals,
Leave me naked
With the wind.
Bare, you see me.
Love's stunted growth?
The leaves were
Only ever a facade.
Sweet Jesus,
Let the sap taste as sweet
As promises given
In early spring.
I shed my skin.
Please love me still.

The night claimed you
for herself
The moon, it stole
your smile.
The stars borrowed
Your laugh.
And the sky wore
the midnight blue
of your eyes.
Dawn broke,
like a cane on the back.
And the morning wept.

A skeleton key
opening a golden door
to a room filled with lead.
Smiles on hosts
with rotting teeth,
tongues of poison.
Garments of silk,
moth ridden,
falling apart.
A garden of roses
weeds slowly choking;
perfume of decay.
I walk
this crumbling earth
and will sleep
with no lies.

You filled my world
with dust
and left me with
an empty cup.
Oh that salty tears
could quench this thirst.
Pass me a bottle
and watch me drown.
Treading water is not
for me.
Hold my hand.
I dive.

There lies night
With a cape of fear
Drowns the dreams of those
Who dare to step near.

And here lies the day
In shimmering gold
Bolsters the hope
Of the brave and bold.

But the line between
Is as solid as air,
The loss of a smile
And the will to care.

Deeper I fall
Down this well
With no water.
Darkness takes my hand
And fear kisses my lips.
Take my eyes,
I was blinded by sight.
Guile was not a coat I wore,
But innocence keeps
None warm.
I reach for one moment
Any moment.
Sanity is fleeting.

In my dreams you came,
as if you had never gone,
carrying branches
with buds still closed.
Paralysed
with awe
I could not stop you leaving.
I woke.
Shaken to the core.
I could not stop you leaving.

In dreams we dance,
under a sweet pastel sky,
where the sun sets the mountains ablaze.
And the birds long to nest,
but are loathe to leave,
and the broken buds
and the beautiful souls
are carried on an eternal wind.
And the feathers that fall
are white.

WIthin the shadows
Find what's true
Someone to hold
While they hold you.

Within the noise
Peace can be found
Crushed velvet rug
On stony ground.

When cold is all
That's in your soul
Strike the match
And stack your coal.

With eyes closed tight
You cannot see
You live in chains
And think you're free.

When on your own
Trust who you are
Never all alone
Under watchful stars.

You're not gone.
You just live
Beyond a thin curtain
That one day
I will pull back
And you will take my hand
And guide me through.
And the days from here
Til then
Are the blink of an eye
And a slow rolling tear.

Beyond the clouds
There is a light
Gentle and strong
The promise
Of the end of night.
It shimmers
With the sound of
Children's laughter.
The hint of
A happily ever after.
Or maybe just
Okay for now,
But we'll make it
Through this storm
Somehow.

Im lashed to the tracks
Waiting
For the trains that come
With no warning whistle.
The air is crushed from my lungs
And my heart shatters.
Still I lie
Still I wait
Still I live.
Sometimes I laugh
Before I cry.
Mercy travels elsewhere.

The night is here again
I taste it on my tongue.
Sweet starlight burst
With an undertone of pain.
I wallow in my sorrow
And drown in selfish thoughts.
The sun's a distant memory
Of a never seen tomorrow.
Fill the brittle glass,
Bitter tears of regret.
Hold the memories close,
Living dead in the past.

Just an ordinary
Boy,
With an extraordinary
Smile
That is gifted only
To me.
What an ordinary
Life
What extraordinary
Love
The ordinary boy
And me.

The voice sings
Of missed trains and lost loves,
Lonely nights and lost lives.
Mellow notes tell a bitter tale,
Familiar,
Too familiar.
I feel the needle scratch
Under my skin.

I take one

Last

Drag

And let it burn away
Until the embers bite my skin.
Drop it in the ashtray,
Already overflowing.
My eyes sting
And I tell myself
The smoke got in my eyes.
The smoke got in my eyes, right?

Come gently twilight
Dance softly on silken skin
Sweet breathless wonder.

Bite my lip
Draw blood
A perfect red
On imperfect white
Pain
Within love
Arched backs
On flat sheets
A moment
In a lifetime
Of moments

Sometimes my silent screams
Drown the white noise.
Sometimes my shattered smile
Comforts their fickle tears.
Sometimes I wrap your hand in mine
And feel the love unspoken.
Sometimes words are not enough.
Sometimes words cannot be found.
Sometimes ....

I will not bow down
To defeat.
I storm ahead and
Won't retreat.
I am the captain
Of this fleet.

The storms may rage
Beneath my feet,
But in this race
I will compete.
I will not bow down
To defeat.

A single spear of yellow
Whispers a promise
Of spring to come.
I long for light
To pierce the darkness of this forest,
To break this hibernation,
To bathe in a golden glow,
To see the world,
And I,
Reborn.

Wicked vines
Come wrap around me,
Dip into my soul
And feed your blackened branches.
Trail your fingers
In the water.
Constant ripples,
Ever changing reflection.
Give me roots to call my own.
Sink and save me.

The sun set
Before it had a chance to shine.
But i see it
Reborn
In the star that lights
My darkest night.

And now the
Sweetest voice
Is a whisper of an echo
Of a memory.
And pictures fade,
Muted colours of shame.
And the mind
Plays ***** tricks.
And the heart
Drowns in silent tears.

Just a little doll
Wrapped in blankets,
Dark lashes
Pillowed on milky skin,
Still warm to the touch.
Only white lips
And eyes,
Not quite closed,
Giving lie
To the belief
That you're sleeping.
Be at peace little man.
Be at peace.

Hopes, dreams
And any thought
Of a future,
Cast by the side
Of the road,
Among broken bones
That never learnt
To dance
Or kiss
Or love
Or lose,
The way we've
Suddenly,
Brutally,
Learnt.
A small broken body
Breeding broken
Hearts.

On shattered dreams
And a broken past,
We build a solid future.
Only looking back
To see how far we've come.

When the night is still,
She comes,
Licks the nib
And spits her words
Upon my pages.
I wake to read thoughts
I didn't know I had
But the writing
Reads like a mirror.
With shaking hands
I tear the treacherous paper.
Words born of wine
And what is best left buried.
The mirror me waits.
***** in hand.
Nothing stays buried forever.

You are
The whisper of wind
That tickles my neck.
The music
That makes me dance.
The bird
That lands so close.
The rain
That soaks me to the bone.
The perfume
That brings me to tears.
The threadbare blanket
That keeps me warm.
The voice
That speaks through photos.
The song
That sings in my heart.
The memories
That are never far.
You are.

Angry swirls
Of blacks,
Dark clouds
Rolling in.
Swept by
Desperate hands.
Claw marks
On the canvas.
Kissed by
Gentle strokes
Of soft pink
The promise
Of a sweet sunrise
Breaking through
The clouds.
This is my
Painting of love.

I fell in love
With the man
Behind the mask,
The actor
Beyond the
Performance,
The tears
Under
The smile.
I fell
Without looking
For a rope.
I fell
And still fall
And smile
While I do so.

The lies
like dirt under
fingernails.
Call on your inner
Lady Macbeth
but no amount of scrubbing
can cleanse them.
They lie thick
on the tongue
tainting tastes
with blistered buds.
A thousand ants
marching on your
skin.
Unscratchable itch.
Descending into
madness.
Only truth can
set you free.
Only you can
free the truth.

I am shrouded
In forced laughter.
Chainmail with
Weakened links
Of bitter tears.
A suit of armour
Grudgingly,
Necessarily,
Worn on a straight back.
The weight of
Expectations born
Of a weary soul
Will not bow me.
The true steel
Lies in my heart.

I'll meet you at the top of the mountain
When the sun is setting
And the stars are in the wings.
Where the wind tosses our hair
But the cold is superficial.
Where we stare across the lough,
Our whole world before us
In miniature
Where we hold hands
So we won't fall off
Or we'll fall together.
I'll meet you at the top of the mountain
When the sun is setting.

Early in the evening
She teases.
Hiding in the shadows,
Winking playfully.
As she slowly
Sheds
Her inhibitions
And stands before me
In all her wondrous glory.
Brazen and proud.
Doubts
Tossed  aside on the wind.
Clever little luna.
You don't have to
Play games
With me.
I'm at your mercy.