..
Rust makes weak old parts
until they crack in caustic riot.
Then slow we slough
through finite term
searching for some quiet.
Then settle in a nice safe box
to wait this whole thing out
A smile for every grateful year
prostrate to our diet.

A slight huff descends at today’s candy cane pic.
Those abstract blues,
lost along with childhood,
of time moving way too slowly.
Still a whole week of school to go,
stretching vast like an ice shelf,
with only a hint of impossibly brilliant things
in the far, far distance

I kept them for years
those fingerless stripy gloves
a last little link with my mother
who was a diva with the needles
the yellow strands of wool joining us together
in a beautifully knitted chain
although she is long gone from this world,
I found comfort in them once again today
although many years have passed
and I noticed her hands coming out of my sleeves

Faces are our covers
They show the world what we want it to see and to believe

A replacement cover can make a tired old book look new

But hands tell a different story

On the ends of your arms are two gossiping wagging tongues

They always tell the truth!

To being and end
Life undoubtedly used to be thoughtful
until you became thoughtless f**
with the inconsiderate
Why inflame to be tough with words.
Out of all the nouns and verbs heard mouthing,
Mimicking public gimmicks vue'd
reused hoping it'll rescue you
from your current situation.

They have finally cloned man.
Vultures looking for validation
to eat
One man's trash is another animals treasure
In this kingdom.

I hate the word humble
I'll rather have reality over imaginative validation
having to tip toe around to not offend the ground
rather i'll leave a building for my young to build on wealth

Generational Empire or at lease somewhere to live
Deconstructing these blueprints
that has been illusory to pass me's and future men

Clarity is nothing unless action follows.
Rest today always become rest assure tomorrow

Finding comfort in your demise because
At lease you have a bed this time
Though this house is not your home

Time merits beauty
Breath is food for thought
Cognitive slips into depression is reality
and shell be appreciated as such
As this is proof of you living.

I myself used to be a superhero.
Oh my, I have aged.

Punters only buy into words
if they believe there’s worth.
I’ve been begging for buyers
before premature birthdays.
Let earth spin unaware –
never questioned its axis.
Hid from the anxious parties,
continued chewing table cloths,
then choked on the spike of a train stub.

Not much value in a decade thrice lived –
standing on the coast in yesterday’s underwear,
a teenage busker sits between hip-hop legacy
as new marble faces arrive in constant rotation.
I’m waiting for my estranged brother dance,
who ran out on me despite his free diary entries.
Desperate for reunion. Bitter for the jives lost.

I’ve stepped further than I ever pictured
but I’ll never walk away from the stalking wolves.
Cubs are warned but continue to ignore all advice.
Lions that scrap with the pack tell me to enjoy the plains.
So I forget the bites and burn this poem in my future face.

I’m in my forties now
and if I knock my knee it aches for days
even if I can’t say
precisely when and how I did it

Vexed I am left to neck ibuprofen
and recall what I took for granted
in the fat rosiness of my twenties

But I have my own front door
and a car
and keys for both
and when things go wrong I can fix them
or at least pay a guy called Steve
to pop round and do that for me
while I watch the news and tut

I have my own front door
behind which I can hide safe
with only the news to scare me,
I put a tire iron under my bed
to feel better

Late at night I look out the window
from time to time
to see the reassuring flash
of my car’s alarm indicator
and I wonder in the dark who else can see it

The news and my social media
say things are bad and getting worse
so I’m glad of my front door
I don’t go out too much anymore
anyway

not like the past
when knocks and bumps were shrugged off
and my guts could take a hit
and I was one of the people
making drunken noises in the night
but it was just a laugh, right?

Not like now.
These folk have no respect.
I lock the door as soon as I am in,
car or house
and check the news again.
I might call Steve and see if he can set me up
some CCTV.

MAN .....
I Can Feel The CRACKS ... !!!
As My Body ... LACKS ...
The Youth It Once Had ... !!!

When I Could Withstand ...
Exercise Programmes ....
That Worked All The Muscles ...
That Slowly DO Crumble ... !!!

When Old Age GRABS ...
And Let's You Know ...

" Slow down there bro,
because you should know,
that your muscle tone
ain't there no more !
So, slow your roll
because your getting old ! "

You See ...
When Your OLD Bones …
And Muscles CRACK ...
In DIFFERENT Ways …
To When You Were A Lad ... !!!

It's Time To Ease Back ...
And ... RECOGNISE ... !!!!!!!
That Cracks In Your Body ...
May Well ... Subside ...

Like Cracks In Homes ...
Because of Landslides ... !!!

So Take Your Time ......
When Cracks Are DEFINED ...
Within ... Your Life ... !!!!!!

Like Those In The Pipe ... !!!
That Affect Young Lives ...
And Result In Tears ... !!!

Or Those That Appear ...
When Angst Is Steered ...
Towards ... Your Wife ... !!!!!!!!

And You Start To REALISE ...
That ... Married Life ...
ISN'T Working For You ... !!!

Because of The CRACKS ...
You ... REFUSED To View ...
When She Was Making Love To You ... !!!

And Girlies TOO …
RECOGNISE What's REAL ... !!!
Don't Let SWEET Talkers Make You Feel ...
As If NO Cracks Will Ever ... REVEAL ...

The Person BEHIND ...
All Those SWEET Chat Up Lines ... !!!

That May ... In Time .................
Become BITTER When FIGHTS ....
Make You Recognise WHY ...
You ... NEED To Take Flight ......

Because That Guy ...
AIN’T ... Mr Right ... !!!!!!!!!

You See Cracks Can Hide ...
If You Don't Choose To OPEN Your Eyes ... !!!

And Make SMART MOVES ....
Rather Than Take Rides ...
That ... AREN'T SO NICE ... !!!!

Once *** And Smiles NO LONGER Provide ...
What You THINK Will Link Your Souls For LIFE ...

Because Spirits CRACK ... !!!
So ... THINK About That ... !!!

Before You Make Plans ...
With Those Whose ... STANCE ...

ISN’T Firm Like Land ...
That's … EVEN And FLAT ... !!!

Well I Guess That's THAT ... !!!
When It Comes To FACTS ...

But FACTS Like Tracks ...
Where The Bass Is PHAT ... !!!!
Are Where What’s CRACKED ...
Can Be FILLED And WITHSTANDS ...

The Pressures We Face ...
As Our Bodies AGE ...

I Wrote This Piece ...
Because My Back ...
Said To Me ... TODAY ...

Via ... PHYSICAL PAIN ... !!!

" Right now old boy,
I can't take the strain,
of the exercise,
that you should maintain,
but maybe these days,
in different ways..."

So Now My Brain …
Has Found A Way ...
To CRACK Away …
Via Pen and Page ...

To Write These Words ...
That ... DO NOT Hurt ...
Quite Like MY BACK ... !!!!!

And That's A FACT ...

Like It Is To TRY HARD ...
To AVOID The ....................................

.... " CRACKS " ....