What if the stars went round the earth
What if the day were night
And cows could fly and trees could cry
Would that resolve my plight?

And if the world were back to front
If the hands on clocks swept back
And the land would wash upon the sea
Our yellow sun turn black.

If all our children went to work
And the parents went to school
Then effect would have predestined cause
That would make fate a fool.

And if age reduced with passing years
And if dying started life
Then perhaps this nonsense that I feel
Would turn out to be right.

Tracheotomy!
Now there’s a good word
Though its medical meaning
May be far from absurd
What I like’s the phonics
Harsh and then round
And the fact that the spelling
Is not quite as it sounds
Then comes an image of trains speeding down rails
Puffing and blowing
In brimstone rich hail
Or adding the ending
Perhaps a train full of soldiers
From the Somme or from Ypres
All packed shoulder to shoulder
Passing the Woodbines
Some chatting, some leaning
Ironically smoking
Inside this words meaning
So all words have a life
Those wheels within wheels
And the poet just tries
To determine what’s real.

Little was said
Yet both of us knew
As the hands on my watch so treacherous flew
Leaping too gleeful between stolen glances
Obscene in their haste
Making light of our chances
Still the word would not come
How could that be so?
When it seems twixt our meetings
Whole worlds come and go.


Ten lifetimes could never do justice to you
Yet scant moments are all I can treasure as true
When my hand touched yours
Then all earth stood still
With a jolt of raw power
A tectonic thrill
As if Physics had said,
“This time is theirs”
“Forget for one moment responsible cares”
But too soon did the sun race low in the sky
Our own thief of time that demanded “Goodbye”
So with fortitudinous smiles we both did depart

And that word left unsaid
Still sits deep in my heart.

Avoiding words
Embracing feeling
One particular way
To precipitate healing

Life’s a *****, you must surely agree,
There are so many reasons that show this to me,
For instance, I just get the hang of the words to a song,
Then I find out the words I’ve been singing are wrong.

And why when out to dinner to impress a young lady,
Does my sleeve end up doing the “crawl” in the gravy?
Or sat at the bar; comes the moment to kiss,
Do I lean forward coolly and utterly miss?
Toppling face first from that three legged stool,
As I grin up inanely from a best bitter pool.

I remember my sports car, fast and blue,
With the wind in my hair, she really flew,
Strong and good looking, and to my touch, compliant,
(Though I did once get “burnt off” by a Robin Reliant.)
But “No” I digress, the story to tell,
Is the first time I took out a young girl called Michelle,
She had a nice smile; I thought she was great,
I walked her from her door, and held open the gate,
We got in the car, and made ready to go,
For a meal for two in a candlelit glow,
I turned the ignition and clickety click,
Nice time to choose for the starter to stick,
Under the car with a spanner and torch,
Whilst Michelle spent the evening sat on her porch.

And when I got married,
Thought thank God that’s all over,
Now for a life of roses and clover,
Ha, Ha - not on your life, not on your nelly,
Not like it is when they do it on telly,

I mean, when they’re in bed and they fancy a nibble,
You don’t see them smile and then start to dribble,
So your lover has hysterics, fit to bust,
Which doesn’t do much for the ***** of lust!
And in romantic movies - where are the tissues?
You see, for me, these just aren’t small issues.

So one thing I’ve learned and drawn a conclusion,
Is that life being perfect is just an illusion,
And it’s best not to worry about small imperfection,
For deep down philosophy’s just pure conjection,
So a far better line to put an end to this fable,
Is “Just laugh and just love as much as you’re able”.

She took away the bottle,
And replaced it with her hand,
She moved herself so close to me,
Graceful, deft and planned,
Before I even knew the rhythm,
She’d entwined my fragile heart,
And gently moved me round and round,
Accomplished in her part,
Her body warm and yielding,
Touched me through her dress,
The brush of thighs, her sparkling eyes,
And if she'd asked, It's "Yes”,
A natural fit too comfortable
For mere coincidence,
Focus now, and listen,
For what she says is making sense,
Easy chat, with feeling,
Acknowledged with gentle sway,
Reflected in our mirrored moves,
So please don't move away,
Now the music's fading,
With a little bit of me,

A simple smile, a break of hands,
But she'd left a symphony.

Darkness and Light
The twin engines of Art
Polar extremes
That compete for my Heart