there was a man from Tunbridge Wells
who gave off the most offensive smell
friend and foe
told him so
"go away! you smell like *!"

so this man of whom i tell,
the man from Tunbridge Wells,
he took a shower
till he smelt like a flower
and went off to climb the fells

but when he returned from his hike,
he smelt like haddock and pike,
said he, "what's the point
o' me washing me joints?
I'll smell like I ***-well like!"

perched on fir-tree, towering o'er fences,
its gold and scarlet delighting my senses,
his song piercing miasma o' reverie,
awakening the past, the shadow of memory

of years gone by, of years gone past,
of time that has run, away so fast,
a time when sadness had not yet intruded,
a time i lived, myself secluded

a time i passed through wild fields,
in morn of golden sunshine,
when rays of happiness pierced the shields
o' corporeal, to reveal the divine,

there in thickets, oblivious to man,
sings the goldfinch as only he can,
with black and red and beige of royalty,
as corporal general dressed flamboyantly

unaware of its own grandeur
twittering as skilled raconteur,
he ruled the air of my school days
and to this day sends forth his rays

we teach a child abc
as toddler on mother's knee
learns for life (for life learns he),
the person and being he'll grow to be

so it's vital to know which abc
you teach your child, adult to be,

is it a for apathy, in face of suffering,
b for brusque at child's snuffling,
c for coldness at beggar's uncovering,
the abc of demonic discovering?

or a for assistance to those in suffering
b for benevolence to child snuffling
c for concern at beggar's uncovering
the abc of devout discovering

the abc your child learns
will steer him in his life's sojourn,
when you're no longer by his side,
that abc will be his guide

so make sure those first small steps
set him right on life's project
so when he's faced with life's neglects
his instinct knows what to do next

for beneath an urbane veneer
can lie a devilish sneer
but mother's early applaud 'n cheer
sets an unshakeable frontier

it came abruptly when least expected
yet all predicted it would happen
humanity was least directed
free for all and all for passion
men were wild and unconnected,
religion, morality, out of fashion
nobody wanted to be corrected,
soul was dying, lying ashen,
it lay neglected, unrespected,
so when it came, it came expected.

there once was a little robin,
frequent visitor to our garden,
how i loved to see it bobbin'
on sun-drenched soil, paths well-trodden

it came within a foot of me,
with tilted head for me to see
into innocent, soulful eyes
that had soared the hills and flown the skies

well puffed was he on plentiful diet
of grains and seeds and slugs so quiet,
he loved to sip from the water tub
and shelter 'neath the bay-tree shrub

but now alas i see him no more
that robin redbreast that came to my door
i know it now but not before
he made life richer and now i am poor

if it's your pain i feel,
i'm living

crushed by heel
stronger than steel,
if i can forgive,
i'm living

hit by hand,
slipper and shoe,
crushed under stand
by bullying shrew,
if i'm surviving
i'm living

but those who delight
in offence and spite,
those who take joy
disturb to annoy,
those who take pleasure
in receipt of cringe,
needling at leisure
like dermal syringe

are dying

they see the morning light
but behold the mourner's night,
see white in Lady Moon
yet are deaf to her gentle tune,
though they breathe air of life,
their air's noxious as carver's knife,
as the shadows of twilight
that close in without respite.