The nails I’d grown

To cultivate

Dug deep & hard

In pallid flesh

I pulled my skin

Across my chest

And felt my ribs

That grasped for breath.



And as I lay

The more I thought

What tastes disturb

Upon my tongue

As teeth bit hard

On anxious flesh

And death recoiled

At what I’d come.



As nerves crept through

My empty veins

I challenged sense

Of earthly realms

Those cries I hear

On silent winds

That sing of death

And thrive in dreams.



Was I the one

That took first bite

Upon your stained

& soiled sheets

And satins touch

Is Satans lust

That spurred us on

In savage feast.



Inside I feel

The acids joy

That courts my soul

And marries minds

As logic flirts

And lures my will

In dance that speaks

Of tales unkind.



To walk in death

With memories lost

As shadows flit

We move in time

And nails that press

And rip my skin

Are needles through

My ravaged arm.



Now gone are days

And gone is slumber

As nights draw in

And waken me

To taste your flesh

Is my desire

And purge myself

Of dignity.

Sunk in my armchairI stare from the gloomThe never-ending soundOf cars that drift onWith minds on the roadAnd eyes straight aheadCash register for mileageChing ching in their head-If stripped of the clothingAre we all just the sameWe want to be themTo be part of this gameAnd the cars that drift onWith their badges of wealthThese tokens of greatnessMuch better than mine-Once I was partOf this greed that we wantBut now I am nothingSomeone that just hopesMy boys birthdays comingHow much would it costTo bring smiles to his faceWithout knowing the lossYet who will sufferAs my daughter is nextAnd kids have no boundariesWhen friends have the best-And people with moneyNow scorn on my lifeTo some I’m a scroungerWhilst dodging tax with their perksThose LLP peopleWho employ mystery wivesAnd lie on their tax billsTo hoard cash for their lives-A tenner for cleaningAn old boys flatBuys cake for my kidsAs a one off treatYet who is more guiltyOf conning the stateAs I sit in my armchairAnd cars drive on past

Hearts are pounding
Blood is rushing
Eyes are staring
Bodies shoving
Nerves are tingling
Thoughts are buzzing
Focus strong
Stadium hushing

On Your Marks
                 Get Set
                        Go!

Feet are pounding
Bodies rushing
Eyes are staring
Athletes shoving
Pack is tightening
Check your running
Focus strong
Hide your cunning

Legs are pounding
Hold the rushing
Eyes are staring
Watch the shoving
Stride is stretching
Pack is splitting
Focus strong
Not for quitting

The bell rings
       Last Lap!

Heart is pounding
Others rushing
Eyes are staring
No more shoving
Pace is quickening
Muscles aching
Focus strong
The Line’s for taking

The race ends
  Victory Lap!

Heart still pounding
Thoughts are rushing
Eyes are staring
Media shoving
Lungs are bursting
Tears are gushing
Focus gone
Defeat is crushing

Breathless I stare aghast and opaque

Stripped bear to the flesh, beaten & broke

Quests can no longer quench my soul

My innards are shred as wounds to the world.

Open sores cover where once was a cross

Halielujah I’ve cried but find it hard to respond.

My armour was strong my speed was my guide

To Jerusalem I rode with God on my side

For Christendom, eternity, In Hoc Signo Vinces

The steel of my sword that wielded the light.

Comrades whose love have camped by my side

Lay scattered, defeated, beaten & lost.

On this sand I now kneel my sword as my rest

My beliefs have deserted alone I must die.

Good knight is my prayer 50 bezants were true

Exuvias Modo Mortales, just mere mortals to you.

Closing my eyes the trumpets have gone

Visions of Jesus & Godfrey before

As the sand passes over and creeps through my bones

Death is my end but a matyr am I

Darkness prevails in a world full of tears

Defeated in battle and vanquished afar

Alone and on board I’ve sailed through the mere

I’ve beckoned her name but sunk only to depths

The steel that once fuelled the soul of my kin

Belongs in the shrine of the hand of my liege

Who’s might I saw crumble as he fell to the ground

But found breathe to summon and ask me this deed

Yet death was a whisper so imminent my friend

As I knelt at the cross of your beloved Sword

Reflecting disdainfully, remembering painfully,

upsetting, annoying, troublesome

Bickering, sarcastic, disputing, bombastic,

arrogant, conceited, unwelcome

Fastidious relations, private fixations,

foreboding, disturbing resentment

Silently scheming, nobody weeping,

selfish, unblinking, TRIUMPHANT!

Perched high upon this jutting cliff

The flint stood hard upon my feet

I lay with lizards and basked in warmth

As beneath the waves rose & swirled

-

Across the bay the castle walls

That stand in time & in a time

Many have been and dabbled in myths

To take the steps and do the climb.

-

Below the sea strikes on the rocks

And hides the cave where magic lies

As people wait for tides to drift

And venture down in search of quartz

-

The rolling slopes and ragged crags

Engulf the isle that now lays calm

Where once was death and battles fought

And magic brought the golden one

-

Behind my back stands Barras Nose

Who’s clash is vain with battling seas

As heat comes down and warms my soul

I lowered my head in prayer for thee

-

Whilst lost in thought of fallen foe

And knights that fought upon this spot

Of myths & legends within my heart

What was the power that turned the key

-

And waves that flow forever on

Like time can drift and so can life

Today I laid upon this cliff

And breathed the air absorbed as one

-

My eyes look out across this place

The colours that fester upon the land

From grass & rock & sand & sea

And birds that swoop in endless song


-


And those before and yet to come

Like beating rhythms within my mind

To find a place that brings you peace

As reality calls and beckons you home