no-one knows
i'm stuck in here
where no-one goes
'n no-one can hear

i've got no strength left to struggle
to dicker, bicker or to wrangle
soon a sound like geese-a-gaggle
as the rope squeezes the vagal

and then, release from veils 'n parable,
release from meanings allegorical,
from pretence, lies 'n deception,
from politic's priests of misdirection.

and then all bliss?
or a snap and a hiss
of ten thousand voices
all of my choices

haunting chasing
watching me racing
for in hell there's no escape
from black devil in hooded cape

tried to light a candle
a flame by the window
squashed by a sandal
an ogre and its shadow

dark like the night,
where the black is bright,
in favourite haunt
his prize he taunts
his suffocating air,
of decay and blight,
in web of hair -
i've lost the fight.

lost the fight 'gainst invincible darkness
envelops all, the heart, and heartless,
***** the life with nonchalance
blocks all light from ambience

hanging, gaunt, i sink still further
hellfires cackle with glee and fervour
lick my soul with blackened tongue
from lifeless body hung and strung

in the shadow
of a rainbow
through the prism of divine
in the soft light
by the window
sits a woman in her shrine

there she paints
among the saints
that like the sun and stars do shine
in the night
when all is faint
her expression of divine

free of slander
golden candour
gives her voice to yearning pine
shining bright
as shining amber
caught in moment crystalline

Oh, the grand old Duke of York
He lost his right to the crown
he did something he didn't do
[woops!] and dropped his trousers down

And when they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only half-way up
They were neither up nor down

Oh, the grand old Duke of York
He eyed another's skirts
He did something he didn't do
And couldn't get rid of the dirt

And when they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only half-way up
They were neither up nor down

Oh, the grand old Duke of York
He lost 40 million crown
he met someone he never met
And let his country down

And when they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only half-way up
They were neither up nor down

Yes, the grand old Duke of York
He hid in his mother's skirts
When he did something he didn't do
And couldn't get rid of the dirt

Yay, that grand old Duke of York
He hired the best law men
He marched them up to the top of the hill
And he marched them down again

And when they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only half-way up
They were neither up nor down

Yes, that grand old Duke of York,
He had 10 million quid.
He gave it to someone he never met,
For something he never did.

[all together now:]
And when they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only half-way up
They were neither up nor down

Oh, the grand old Duke of York
Caught with royal pants down
When he did something he didn't do
And lost his right to the crown

And when they were up, they were up
And when they were down, they were down
And when they were only half-way up
They were neither up nor down

in a crevice of the earth
beats a heart
like a newborn babe at birth
at the start
as new life emits a gurgle
and a cry
prepares to jump the hurdle
or to die

so the snowdrop lifts its sleepy head
from beneath its snowy spread
a revival from the dead
at the edge of flower-bed

its flash of white
like moon in night
augurs sight
of colours bright

as Artist starts anew
His canvas set and true
no imprecise slapdash
or impotence 'n backlash

for here He blends true harmony
the plant, the flower, the bird, the tree,
and all combine and music sing
in herald of [the] season spring.

scattered fireflies
wandering sheep
windows of a thousand cries
that make the angels weep

silent in the night
meandering in your flight
yet set course traverse G-d's haven
deepest velvet, black as raven

secrets of a million years
laughter of a thousand tears
stars that guide the world's affairs
from afar on unawares