As children, closer to the floor,
we scoop up much discarded stuff.
Words not meant for little ears
are treasures we can find and keep.

We've all been taught that if
we blow a ***** thing or wipe
it quickly on our sleeve it's fine
to pop it back into our mouth.

As we grow we should discern;
***** words from tiny mouths
are some of the more shocking
things that ever ever can be heard.

But worse than that are words of hate,
the ones that teach us to discriminate.
As we grow we should discern;
some words are better to unlearn.

I think I took that photo.
The photo encapsulates,
But I can also see beyond
The edges of the frame.
White bathroom tiles, the kids
Splashing and singing in the bath,
Everything covered in bubbles,
Frog and duck stuck steadfast
To the wall, almost submerged.
Later, wrapped in blue towels,
Our cold first flat, with constant
Love like hot running water
Nurturing those two babies.
You said you felt like you
Were drowning, but look how
They've grown up so big
And strong. It's okay to
Share different memories.

I seek my refuge
Somewhere always degrading
In other refuse

If I listen carefully, I can still hear it.
Barely audible beneath the boorish
Drone, my voice is shrill and bright
Like a child's. Not much caring who's
Listening or even if the words make
Sense, my voice trills around the
Knee high world of table legs and
Creepy-crawlies, socks with clips
And carpet grips. I hear it best when
I too crouch down and touch the
Grass or squeeze small pebbles in
The palm of my hand.

What if darkness were like light?
The blackest places would spill out
And every shadow would conspire
To keep the day as dark as night.

So when that boy leant over me
And saw his true love in my depths,
Was there not some tiny spark,
Some part of me, that lit his heart?

He stayed quite still from that day forth,
Becoming quite forlorn and gaunt
Until at last he fell, drifting down,
Down into the deepest place of all,

Where no living creature can survive
And even darkness cannot dwell.
In his place, a flower grew with petals
Whiter than snow, brighter than the

Moonlight as it dances on my rippled
Crests, caressed by the wind, sipped
By birds that skim across in flocks,
Whilst others watch from distant rocks.

Still edging along
A tightrope, but now knowing
There's a safety net

Let your thoughts move the air,
Turn despair into pitch, anger to a growl.
Imitate the sound of darkness,
Lying stagnant at the bottom of a well.
Let the mountains in your dreams,
Cause a ripple on still water.
Hum the note the earth first sung.
But never, ever, sing Wonderwall,
On the top deck of the 271.