A restless mind keeps dreams at bay

Now copper taints my golden ones

In spiders webs are gathered thoughts

That hang from threads this life has spun.



In borrowed clothes we huddle tight

But youthful minds find wonders true

Friends that mock and judge our plight

But pride does come before we fall.



Chests that heave and long for touch

That burst with pride in shining shoes

But leathered souls will wear in time

And innocents grow with doubts of you.



Cherished things from long past lives

That lose their gleam on pawn filled shelf’s

And clothes we wore when once were proud

Now hang from limbs like tattered shrouds.



Yet restless minds with flickered thoughts

Find strength to grasp and hold what’s true

Like sands that slip through nothing hands

We drift in search of hopes a new.



Then winter brings those chilling winds

That holds our breath in sleepless nights

As rain seeps in through leaking roofs

The cobwebs grow in darkened heights.



Where golden dreams are all that’s left

And children’s laughs bring hidden cries

Where strength is found in food we eat

But pride has left without goodbye………

The poison that works within my soul

Chastises the angel that lives in my mind

Ahead is a battle, a fight I must win

Aside are my brothers whose arms they do bear

We warrior clan that fight only for kin

With swords as our cross to protect us from sin

Roads that we tread are often retraced

Once more into battle, once more we must brace


The poison controls and runs deep through my veins

My sword severs limbs, my angers now rage

My shield is pushed tight, the smell of his breath

Beneath I stab hard the, warmth of his flesh

And on to the next as we stand side by side

Driven by brothers, their blood curdling cries

The crush is unyielding pushing air from my lungs

My armour is heavy but my honour is strong

Yet on do I surge as the poisons runs deep

Chastising those angels that lived in my mind

If only for peace his swan song sighed

Amidst the gallant yet frightened few

With weary bones a heavy heart

Beat might when spied the resilient wharf.


For ships who berthed they uttered words

In thanks for land upon this sea

As storms would rage to shatter strengths

In triumph our pier had welcomed thee.


Like those who’d trod its solid beams

And left these shores to honour King

Behind them stood our naval borough

Whose people echoed valiant deeds.


For ships that harboured off our shores

And streets of London that prayed for calm

Forget we not our honoured task

To protect this land in air & sea.


And now that candles gently flicker

Uniting friend & foe as one

As doves fly by we thank the heavens

For the peace that grows upon our cliffs

In youth I’ve glimpsed

But with age come constraints

Days disappear as I stay in time

Yesterday I played outside with my friends

Today they are gone, dead, alone

A black mist swirls and tempts my anger

A ****** heart squeezed tight in my fist

An unquenchable thirst a desire to lust

To be free to enjoy to taste the delights

But then I play its yesterday

Outside in the yard with my friends

As boys we dreamed and hoped to be

We watched the game and chose our team

Match day comes and passions rise

We gather in tribes & watch from sides

We’ve spent a week of misery

In life & work that has to be

Our only escape is on TV

And hope the wife stops nagging me!

-

Then match day comes & passions thrive

I stand and feel the bile’s rise

And those I cheer are part of me

The team I watch and want to be

He’s off his game it angers me

I shout I scream it should be me

Yet they all seem to disagree

But they don’t feel the pain in me

Coz he’s the best there’ll ever be

How dare he try to degrade me

He scores a goal no good for me

He should have scored already 3!

-

The whistle blows it comes to an end

I cross the pitch he sees a friend

But do I say “well done my son?”

I moan at him for missing one!

-

What right have I to tarnish thee

His garbled words his looks at me

An adults fears and misery

Are skills we teach too easily

We fail in life but hope they’ll be

The dreams we lost but yearn to see

He wants to be from watching me

I shout I swear accusingly

The love we shared can never be

We fight we scream so bitterly

He sits he stares he looks at me

Then turns his back forever on me!

A petal falls so silently

To land and rot amongst the weeds

A roses head tilts & sighs

Its stalk been snapped by wicked lies

Each day you toil to keep alive

Your dreams of love that never die

But weeds grow up and strangle stems

As blood drips from the petals end

Your lawn was lush and velvet green

Now dry & barren like your dreams

And age has caused your bones to tire

Your hands are cracked with skin so dry

You mask your pain in solitude

Bereft of friends that vanquished you

And as you prune each budding shoot

You snap the growth of disrepute

Oh how you once was young & free

You bloomed & blossomed flirtingly

Each eye you caught would turn a head

But times have passed & lovers left

A robin sits and watches you

His gentle verse that warms you through

But robins fight & guard their place

Whilst you just laughed amidst disgrace



Indoors he sits a lonely man

Across the table his bread & jam

And through the glass he watches you

Inside he cries at nothing new

A once proud man who gave his life

Who gave you all as man would wife

And yet here now he sits alone

The man you loved no longer known

The smile that wooed a million girls

That made you heart a merry whirl

But now the bones are cleansed of meat

His once large frame admits defeat

He grasps for thoughts no longer there

And through the glass he sits & stares

His children come his children go

The names of which he’ll never know

You made a vow to stand by thee

So still you tend & still you ****

But deep inside you’re very scared

To lose your rock that always cared

Yet still you hide in solitude

The pain that hurts inside of you

A petal falls so silently

To land and rot amongst the weeds