First came the credit crunch
As millions lost their stash
And scammers on a hunch
Helped the markets crash

Then came Brexit,
Dividing the nation,
Lies like sepsis
Spreading altercation

Next with classic whiplash
Population took some dives
As Covid became a smash
And millions lost their lives

Roller-coaster aint yet ended
we've got some way to go
As Putin's got intended
And Trump laughs **-**-**

Let's hold hands now as we duck
Coz the next one's gonna hurt,
Wish I could turn clock back..
The future to avert ...

soft amidst the melting snows
peeping through the dew and ice
'neath the chill of wind that blows
'cross the plains of paradise

from the earth, in tender darkness
cradled by the arms of death
blooms a violet, purple grace,
and two pearls of fairy breath

soft from midst the snows that melt
peering through the latticed ice
'neath caress of wind heartfelt
breathed from Garden of Delights

from the soil, in the black,
wake from sleep of coldest season,
deepest green with gloss of lac,
zephyr blows from gardens' Eden.

loathsome stink,
the stench of mundane,
suffocates spark.
the pull of body,
fingers the neck and squeezes.

soul splutters,
spirit flounders,
hope is all but lost.

Yet whisper laughter,
and light flickers,
in moment, eternity,
life into shadow.

Then it passes.
corpse lies still,
as spirit lives on
in choice of host.

down into the valley of death
went two hundred and fifty five
into the mouth and jaws of death
into the jaws of hell.

Was there a man dismayed?
Not that the soldiers knew,
(Someone had blundered.
   Theirs not to make reply,
   Theirs not to reason why,
   Theirs but to do and die.)

For they'd come in their ****** brigade
marauders in planned coup,
burnt the children with parents alive,
wrapped with wire of hate,
***** the girls as thousands died,
bullets spelled checkmate.
  Theirs not to reason why,
   Theirs to suffer and die.

sliced off fingers, gouged out eye,
sliced off *****, left to die,
Theirs not to make reply,
  Theirs but to bleed and die.

They left no vestige of life
Where they plundered with murderous knife
Flamed the houses with kids inside
Laughed at the screams as they burnt and died

(Someone had blundered.
   Theirs not to make reply,
   Theirs not to reason why,
   Theirs but to do and die.)

down into the valley of death
Went two hundred and fifty five
into the smoke of bomb and canon
into the smoke of hell

bite ye humans, gnash your teeth
feed on blood ye hypocrites
but there in corner, 'neath the ash,
there's a nobody worth all your stash

he doesn't speak or power seek
he won't tread upon your toes,
he's still as water, in thought as deep,
that he exists no-one knows.

but around him the universe goes
in that silence that no-one knows,
and he'll be here when you're gone,
Western culture like Babylon.

Does nature find solace in human hands,
As plastic blossom replace G-d's plans,
And oceans choke on treasures' sands?

As mighty trees gasp for air,
Stagger 'neath man's love affair
With money, power, devil-may-care.

And as they splutter their oxygen,
Wildlife's symphonies echo thin
Beneath progress’s discordant din.

Ecstatic, humans tout repair,
As Earth, in silence, yields to tear,
Honey'd words, care insincere.

Resilient, you persist,
O weary warrior of iron-clad wrist.
Until ye despoilers cease to exist.

the music in the wood
sweet rustle in the trees
there's a blackbird and a thrush
whistling in the breeze

the gurgling of the brook
clear water runs its way
the squawk of duck and goose
reveling in its spray

sunlight glints off wings
of the mayfly and its mate
there's a fox i see swift running
in the hedgerows by the gate

and by the gate lies the horrors
of grey cement and death
the rushing of the traffic
that suffocates baby's breath

the coldness of the person
who cannot spare a smile
a helping hand or word
to the beggar or senile