The sky is not blue
not for me and not for you
fly up there and see

In an orange sky
flies by
a foreign jet

In a golden age
clean pages
of knowledge

Inside our spines
neurons fire
and intersect

In grace, in church
on pews they perch
and genuflect

and

In fathoms blue
fish swim through
holy nets

In the morning
the day is born
Why do we sometimes
whinge and cry
when the sun rises
in the sky

Why do we whimper
late at night
when death has been
cheated
and at our feet lies
a safe retreat

We fear the hello
we say to the day
We hate goodbye
when the hour is late
We’re oh so fickle
stuck between two pickles

Clouds don’t stay around for long
like headline news
coming and going
becoming ‘old’ very soon

Like morning sun and nighttime moon
the switch one day will wear out
Our world will tire of hot and cold
black and white darkness and light

Gold or bust
Bronze is too close to rust  
and change we must

Be mindful when you live
Be careful when you die
Discipline determines
your dream day and night

Watch your mind
your mouth and hands
The winds may blow
where you don’t want to go

During a lifelong drought
two rivers of tears
could flow
from your eyes to your mouth

This thirst is the worst

When I finally die
losing me losing you
losing all the things I love to do
the only thing I might own
is my name carved in stone
if indeed someone plants me
like a silly seed
a mere name
claiming fame
but this will not last
for many years
It too will disappear
like a puff of cloud
or a candle blown out

Many people have the back
of Boris the blind buffoon

I wonder why

Some people like to spread their bread
and bite into their Marmite

I wonder why

He thinks he is an orator
and we’re all still at war

I wonder why

Overweight with a waddle
Winston is his role model

I wonder why

Lurching in Churchill’s shadow
They’re both destined for the gallows

I wonder why

He’s messing all the while
with Cromwellian consequences on the emerald isle


I wonder why

Not knowing the why of die
and the hidden truth of lies
The ultimate answer will suffice
for one who must be wise

Because of air there is breath
Because of birth there is death
Cause comes first then effect
Because of cause I win a bet

Because of effect I do not see
beyond the stars and skies
living here in misery
wondering who and why

Because of cause I live on earth
crippled and in fear
Because of cause I tremble
and wonder why I'm here

Because of cause there is a door
through which I'll walk one day
Because of effect I will escape
by rules I put in play

Because of cause someone will show
The path that will be shown
Because of effect we all will learn
those things we need to know

I'll not procrastinate
I'll write today
about the theme
for the next day
I'll get ahead of the game
Idle avoidance
of imminence
makes no sense

While I'm standing here
with pen in hand
and relevance
in the present tense
having a sober mind
it's now decision time

Supercilious creatures
come and go
shouting out
'Bingo'

while

In the garden
some boring plants
seem to lord it over
others

while

innocent
but effervescent
passers-by
spout out
non sense

It's so unfair!

I am unable to find something to wear
or feel as light as the air

I seem to like  sugar and spice
and have disdain for veggies and rice

Those foods that I like to eat for fun
put folds of fat on everyone

There are so many stairs I cannot climb
On and on I whine and whine

Please trend again those figures of old
fatness featured in frames of gold

I thought I saw an ocean
at the bottom of the hill
I set my self in motion
hoping for a thrill

Board in hand
and supercharged
but instead of waves and sand
a mirage

Mired in confusion
wrapped in illusion
Mind dynamite
it’s all finite

A straw between my teeth
I made no sense
I needed to concede
my innocence

No shades of grey
My mind was blown
and I had to abdicate
my throne

Under the canopy
we are stranded
and wondering why
trying to stare through the sky

Lives are like straw
They are fragile
We are not strong
People do not last long

Religions all promise
an answer to the question
We try to make sense
stumbling through our innocence

Please be consoled
if you're grief is deep
We will escape our plight
The mirage is finite

I almost ate a wasp
last week
By the time
my sweet
reached my mouth
wasps were circling
all about
If I didn't check
before I bit
I would have regretted it

Climb on my shoulders
breathe some air
While you're up there
say a prayer

I'll bear your weight
a little while
just another
little trial

I'll be fair
as fair as I can
standing here
your anchorman

In the end
Sugar and spice
is the trend
and everything nice

When the lilt of your laughter
came through
the crystal glass
of clear cognition
I knew
your innocence

In the same way
that the face appears
in the gold
of the coin
I could see
the sysygy
of you
and me

Google hasn't helped
Sysygy
is still
quite a mystery to me
Although I've tried and tried
to understand
the meaning keeps on slipping
through the fingers
of my hands

I find
the glass is misty
in my mind
I would pay
in coins of gold
if I could make some sense
of it
and in a lilt
free my self from
intellectual innocence

An omen was sensed by all
though the meaning no one saw
When we were stopped by the wall
there was nothing to do but fall
with passive acceptance
a senseless descent
into a rainy lake of stillness
then when the ripple began
we heard the voice of the captain

True tears
convince me more
than so many words
which seem to go
overboard
Effusiveness
gets less response
from open hearts
and refined minds
One listener
who was new
heard holy words
but did not think
that they were true

What to do?

Boris is bouncing
all over the field
with the power
he now yields
But he’ll soon
run into a wall
finding himself
‘behind the eight ball’
when he messes with Ireland

The ‘Real IRA’
may save the day
They blew Mountbatten
out of his boat
and into the sea
for messing
with history
I wonder
if  Jacob and Boris
can see
the tempting targets
they are
in British aristocracy

The puzzle becoming more muddled
some pieces hiding under the others
intuition not helping
confusion telling

High anxiety’s refrain
is in the air
and our breath has stopped
us in a stare

Paralysis and impotence
guard the gates
against
spontaneous response

How where when?
Will it all end?
Question marks abound
and surround the event

I will tease you out
from where you hide
under reasons tainted with pride
behind the walls built to conceal
all of the things
we do not reveal

If I can find the end of the thread
then follow the cotton
I’ll apprehend
something of value
to barter in the market
where they sell
trinkets
and old clothes

We will come to conclusions
that serve us both
for one perhaps
an unutterable oath
for the other
a manic
depressive episode

We flexed our muscles
monopolizing spice
and other things
We were not fair
we were not nice

Setting trends
to get some more
finding pirates
to win our wars

But the weight of the world
fell back on us
Now we find
they're treasonous

We climbed the highest hill
and then descended
Now we find we've been
'unfriended'

Climb on my shoulders
breathe some air
While you're up there
say a prayer

I'll bear your weight
a little while
just another
little trial

I'll be fair
as fair as I can
standing here
your anchorman

In the end
sugar and spice
is the trend
and everything nice

I thought I was sure
about
the nearness
of the shelter
but I was not

When the flare
flew up in the air
I knew I was
a long way from there

Then
when I froze
bullets flew
all around
and I fell
down to the ground

When they sent up flares
into the air
the light was too bright
for those on the ground

Instead of running for shelter
from the whistling bombs
we could only freeze like trees
in the dirt we were standing on

Theirs was a sure-fire
strategy
We were seen
then blown to smitherenes

We had to change our dream
yesterday
on Saturday
when the blasphemous
Catholic bells
were banging away
at our brains

We both ran
far away
from the bells
yesterday
to sit beside
a river stream
to try to change our dream

It worked

From a spark of anger
it all happened
one day
when
he should have stayed
sane

His face distorted
instantly
when her words
rattled his head

The surface waves
became too tall
crashing over
roads and walls

The blade spiralled
into her heart
her next life
ready to start

(Every Tuesday the O'Bheal Poetry competition in Ireland suggests five unrelated words and the contest or challenge is to make a poem from those five words.  On July 9th the five words were:  spiral   blade   spark   distort   surface ).  One can google.....' O'Bheal Five-Word poetry'  competition and submit any poems for an annual contest where the winner travels to Ireland all expenses paid to read their poem at an event.

Green is not my colour
Vacuum is not my sound
This morning my shirt is green
And they're vacuuming all around

I wonder can they change
the day the carpet's vacuumed
Maybe on a Friday
they can do another room

A tale I will tell
about people and places
of olden times

That which has been covered
almost forever
by stardust
will now be seen
in the light
of the sun
by everyone

In the desert of extremes
where day and night
are mean
at times
her heart
beat
as long as it could
until it surrendered
to a never-ending army
of mercenaries
who were paid
in silver
and gold

They surrounded
her oval oasis
until
there was quiet

Pretentious poetry
irritates me
Too many words
that people want heard
a lot
whether they mean
something
or not

My time is mine
and I am robbed
taken hostage
put in *******
searching for pieces
to fit into
pathetic puzzles

Some poets
should be muzzled

Eat your Eton Mess
and all the rest 
of the fattening food
you can fit into
your gluttonous guts

Make a display
in front of us
in front of them
in front of me
so we can clearly see

      the greed of the aristocracy

Caligula would be proud
to join the ‘Hunt’
to find the fox
to feed the hounds
spattering blood
on red coats
all around

This ‘tradition’ 
is sedition
to the king of reason
and the queen of hearts
who rule these parts

There's a deadline
for this rhyme
Let's not be late
Better to be on time

The clock is ticking
ticking away
and soon it will be
the end of the day

My poems are all
under a page
so they don't end up
in the New Age

Succinct and sweet
is the taste I like
for anything
I read or write

Now I'll end right here
in the middle of the sheet
Put up my pen
and put up my feet

Don’t get carried away
scientists say
If you savor your cinnamon-flavored tea
drink it moderately
you’ll live long enough
to reflect on your life
you may outlive
your husband or wife

With moderation
consequence causation
will be controlled
so we slowly grow old
guarding our greenness
as long as we can
But death will destroy
each woman and man

Come what may
our plane will crash one day
We will fall from a height
day becomes night
We jog and we cycle
off to our coffin
so super-fit
we jump into it

We are all migrants
in time and space
traveling far
to find this place

Distance is nothing
Time is now
We are going and coming
like a passing cloud

Water over fire
steeped in our sins
the cause of creation
elemental origins

Time makes us tender
for the coming feast
When the culture of the west
consumes the culture of the east

Oceans are warmer
ice is melting
We hear warning after warning
about global warming
But I live in England
and I wish
the climate would change
a little more
outdoors

They say

Your coca cola can
will disappear
in two hundred years

Your plastic shopping bag
will disappear
in a thousand years

Your cigarette ****
will disappear
in twelve years

Your chocolate milk carton
will disappear
in five years

Your new leather shoes
will disappear
forty years

Your glass bottle
of safe spring water
will disappear
in a million years

But how do they know?

My best friend’s father  
was an apple farmer  
who said to his son  most days
“By the way  
we’ll double up today on the pesticide spray”

“Son double up today on the pesticide spray”  

Walter was a miser
who exterminated bugs
ignoring all the warnings
on the pesticide cans
He killed his son Wolfgang but this wasn’t his plan

“We’ll double up today on the pesticide spray”

When Wolf was forty-six
he was feeling very sick
and noone knew the reason
for his terminal disease
the explanation for this cancer causation

“We will double up today on the pesticide spray”

The surgeon asked Wolf
if he was ever exposed
in a significant way
to pesticide spray
It was then Wolf remembered what his father used to say

“We’ll double up today on the pesticide spray”

In his garden of eden
everything was free
My friend brought bags
of apples to me
I ate a few, my family too but many many more he ate from his trees

“Let’s double up today on the pesticide spray”

Just before Wolf died
Walter sat by his bed
To his wife Wolf whispered  
these words, he said
“I have nothing to say, tell him to go away”

“He doubled up every day on the pesticide spray”

The ocean in which we sail and swim
is filled to the brim with plastic and tin

Forests are falling rivers are dry
and we are all wondering why

We believe it’s the fault of the corporate few
and not the fault of me or you

We’re looking here we’re looking there
it seems we’re looking everywhere

But the elusive answer we’re trying to find is
the persistence of greed in the human mind

A recycling program should be put in place
for delusions in minds in the human race

Our love is selective for those who are close
Our love is elective for those in the shadows

Other people who we do not know
are lucky to receive a cold ‘hello’

‘Self’ is the enemy over here
This is where we need some fear

Some words that I heard were certainly solemn
A wise man said “No self, no problem”

Poor penguins
and polar bears
no ozone
above them
in the air
Soon in the cold
arctic ocean
They'll be selling the seals
suntan lotion

The towns around me are boring
I don’t want to go out my door
I sit inside here snoring
There’s nowhere I want to explore

The people I see are not pretty
Something is wrong with each face
Exceptions are few, just me and you
I dislike the whole human race

When I plan a great escape
and fly from north to south
the sun is so hot I’m begging for shade
but don’t want to be in or out

The menus never change
The choices are always the same
I’m finding my food very strange
and looking for someone to blame

I’ve been living here way too long
I’m beginning to squinch and flinch
It is said that just like this song
The English love to whinge

Son number one remembered the words he could have said
during the days that he stood by her bed

The Pharmacist came to pay his respects and he cried
He came and he cried when he heard that she had died

Her husband descended into his loss
With so many holes to fill in his life
He now knew the wonder of his wife

One brother placed a teddy bear beside her
as she lay inside her heaven-bound home
She had told him no one had ever given her one

The Pharmacist came to pay his respects and he cried
He came and he cried when he heard that she had died

My mother’s brother grieved when he heard the words
that some of her sons said about the other ones

Her one daughter contemplated all the things
that some of her sons ought to have done
in the days before she was gone

The Pharmacist came to pay his respects and he cried
He came and he cried when he heard that she had died

Where was the call
that never came yesterday
Potentials were in place,
I was here you were there

Sometimes life insists
on something other than
the rituals and plans
of a woman and a man

Flying in cyber air
little bits of digital dust
bumping momentarily
into us

Catching up on our day
with not-so-necessary words
needing to be said
and needing to be heard 

One by one born into life
kernels popping in a heated pan
popped into the mouth 
of an  occasionally reverent fan 

An absence of  words  was  heard
as we drifted into an absence of light
I slept well 
How was your night

If you sit by my bed
while I’m becoming dead
would you remember please 
these words that I’ve said

Watch your thoughts and feelings
guard your mind against
gladness or sadness
or bedside pretense

My journey will depend
on the state of my mind
In peace, please help me
leave this world behind

Farewell to you and yours
As I walk through this door
to everyone I’ve known
I say goodbye for ever more

This end is the beginning
of a world that will be new
This one will disappear
along with me and you

We climbed some hills
then descended deep into
wild woods in the valley
where
we spent some scary time
debating our crimes
before climbing out slowly

Where are we now, my love?

We stumbled fumbled and fell
into the raging river
full of rocks
scraped by stones
beaten by bits of trees
Desperate for air
we almost drowned
before we crawled out
to sit on solid  ground

Where are we now, my love?

I am wondering why
we are still savoring
sour-tasting memories
of war games

We were headed somewhere
Do you remember where?

Green is not my favourite colour
but I know not why
others love the green of trees
I seem to love the sky

The colour I prefer
is the one way up high
the blue that can be seen
when we look up at the sky

But if I fly up there
to find something that's blue
I'll never find a blue sky
it simply isn't true

I think
some of them
think
I am
stupid

Sometimes
I think
I am stupid
Mostly I think
they are stupid

Come to think
of it
we are all
stupid
sometimes

When the sun and moon in our sky
finally fade
taking the light
at the end of the day
at the end of the night
when all the sounds and sights
have gone with the day
and the world has wafted away
now is the time for warm embrace
gentle quiet touch
a heart to heart hush
No spoken words are heard

If I'm not here now, where will I be
Thrown up on a beach, or pulled out to sea
Lost in a story, about someone named 'Me'
Tossed by the waves, of history

Did the things I remember happen
Will my fantasies ever come through
I picked up the pieces of so many days
I should know by now, for sure

We discussed my imagination
debated the day, me and you
"The light's turning red" I said
but all you saw was blue

Today we have signed a treaty
and now there is peace in our land
We agree as we sit in the sun by the sea
building our castles from sand

Is reality real?
Policemen know
that witnesses
see
a different reality
"He did this
or she did that
I saw this
but she saw that
then this went here
or that went there 
What I saw was true
I swear"

All our eyes they say
work in the same way
but what we see
depends I believe
on what we ate
for breakfast
that day