My beard defines me
Upstages and belies me
Warms and hides me
Comforts and cools
Collects food and drools
In salivary pools
And it itches when dry
Catching tears when I cry

It’s brown streaked with grey
A mottled face display
Ive heard it described as untidy by my peers
An it makes me look older than my 46 years
What could be your reason for growing that thing?
People say with a sarcastic sting
Are you just lazy?
Trying to be hip?
Sensitive skin?
Or an ill defined chin?

I ruffle my stubble
Craft and shape it
And reply that those reasons
Fall short and dont fit
It’s a beard of protest
And the rest let them guess
It’s one of the finest things a man can possess.

Hazy star gazer watching through your scope
Seen a pattern purple in a sky that gave me hope
Wished upon a star
It came true as well yours might
For if you’ve seen a darkened sky
My friend that’s full of light

A power in a dream
Did bring me to this place
A family of cheer and vibe
‘Tis good to see thè old lost tribe
For if you see a darkened sky my friend that’s full of light

I think I thought I saw something and I looked and it was gone
I think I saw a scene of sea and sand within a song
A hazy day, a lazy day and a Minotaurs sweet grazing ney
A crazy canny kant hey hey
A crazy hazy day

I always come back to the river
The steady sway soothes me
The ambience moves me
Inspires thought and the silence feels like home
The lazy ripples distort time
I unwind
Let go of emotion
And connect to the ocean
Far but flat, a ribbon stretching to reach its destiny
A soft bow wave creates a loamy rush in the distance of a salty hush
Birds lap an flap, squeal and whistle
A bell rings in the echo of an outboards regular thud
The fizz as the water drains from mud
Weeds and wood turn in eddies
A ships crane clangs above a motors bellows.
I always come back to the river
It answers unasked questions in muddy swirls and sloshes
Captures inspiration in endless foamy washes.