Storm clouds gather on Surrey hilltops
Shadowing the thatches along the street
He hurries his pace over the cobbles
To where she waiting on a pinewood seat
~
She touched his cheek with shy affection
Love lines traced with finger tips
Lifting her face for his attention
Tasting heaven on eager lips
~
He took her in his arms once more
Kissed her once- then twice
With arms embracing, hearts a’ racing
Touching the tip of paradise
~
Drum roll thunder split asunder
Skies torn with lightening chains
Nature blessed, then caressed
Their love with April rain

Interval
A release of conversation
Above me
Vivaldi lingers in the blue mushrooms
~
Theatre smell
Music dust in crushed burgundy
Climbing the stairways
To the halftime bars
~
I sip overpriced whiskey
Amid a peck of cheek kisses
Murmur of nothing talk
and the fog of stale Chanel
~
She stands by the window drapes
Isolated by timidity
I engage her
With the price of a smile
~
Elgar easy on the lifting strings
As the ****** casts it spell
Oblivious
To two empty seats.

In the patchwork land of green and gold
They walked where Chaucer’s tales were told
Cross the rambling rustic shires
To raise their eyes to the towering spires
From far flung lands across the sea
From Avalon and Linden Lea
~
Oh mother Church of England fair
In morning mass and evening prayer
Poets take up their pens and quills
And write of blue remembered hills
Ask is there honey still for tea
In Avalon and Linden Lea.

The springtime of love
When we played with life
Conjured sunlight in November
Wonder in suburbia
Shrunk the world to fit our dreams.
~
Now the winds of time
Pull in opposite directions
The gap, ever widening
The weevils of familiarity
Feeding on our union.
~
Nights of pretend passion
Stirring the embers
Going through the motions
Is there meaning in a kiss
Is there truth in a caress?
~
The lies I tell you
The lies that I tell myself
Will this play still run?
Or time to pull down the curtain
We seek the answer.
~
Between the silences.

Saddened mask of yesterdays make up
Tousled hair and shrunken veins
The tinselled high life long forgotten
In her world of constant pain
~
Selling her favours for a pittance
Placating a demon that never rests
Petty crimes, begging letters
Sunken beauty, sagging *******
~
Living with the beast within her
Ringing sweat from every pore
Demanding, pleading, ever feeding
That always open hungry maw
~
New Cross station Monday morning
Bored commuters, London rain
Poppy killed her screaming torment
Underneath the city train.

The Bowl, the Garden, I've played them all
Las Vegas in the September Fall
Caesars, Stardust, and the Sands
Obliging girls the one night stands
My face on all the magazines
Penthouse keys, stretch limousines
~
Still singing through my autumn years
Though the young don’t want to hear
My greying hair is touched with blue
I sing the old songs, nothing new
Though the voice is clear, the pitch still perfect
I’m booked to sing the granny circuit
~
But I’ll never quit the spotlight glare
Push me on in my old wheel chair
I’ll sing for a dollar or one thin dime
Strike up the band, just one more time
This ageing idol doesn't give a ****
So give me the intro, play it Sam.