there was an old temple of Thai
whose monks just wanted to get high
so they got hooked on meths
but were exposed through their breaths
so they all bid their temple good-bye

now off they all went to rehab
to cure them of the sniff and the jab
but their bright robes and habit
of the monks and their abbot
made the inmates think they'd gone mad

"we're seeing orange" they said to the quack,
who put down his bottle of Jack,
said he, rather tight,
"i think you are right,
but the bottle is better than crack".

We all need to belong
To have a special someone
Have a place to hang our hat
To put our feet up and call home
Where friends and family are
Somewhere
Somehow
To something
To be loved and love
Without it we feel lost
Untethered
Like a balloon loose in the sky

We all need to belong

Somewhere
Somehow
To something greater than ourselves
We need to matter
We need to have a purpose
A reason to keep moving
We need to feel a place in this world
We all need to belong

ribbons 'n posies, royal salute,
guns and canons in chorus shoot

poppies to adorn the sleeping dead
o'er rocks 'n pebbles and bullets of lead

blood that splashes on chalk-white stones
on dusty granite and weary bones

death and silence drown the cries
as no-one hears as soldier dies

plastic posies, nugatory salute,
together, forever, canons shoot

i remember a more tranquil world,
of grassy hummocks and neat tamed lawns,
lazy clouds and flags unfurled,
upright backs 'midst hard-earned yawns

i remember a more tranquil beat
people cared how others fared
there was laughter in the street
there was joy as bread was shared

i remember a world relaxed
uncreased brows, a world untaxed,
tuppence bought a pint of beer
camaraderie and heart-felt cheer

in the bustle at the airports,
in the stations underground,
queuing, handing tickets, passports,
there were humans all around,

somehow feelings were more simple,
******, purer and untouched,
like the soft skin of a dimple
of the smile i miss so much.

yes, i remember a world serene
people cared how others fared,
there were smiles to be seen,
but now that scene has gone and been.

is my memory playing tricks
a child's impression of Lego bricks?
was the world a different place
or was it always a big rat-race?

or perhaps today there's still grace
behind the neons and plastic face,
scratch away the false surface
morals 'n manners will surface.

once i was alive
my heart had a beat
i felt my emotions,
i felt cold and heat

i heard the music in the ocean wave
the angels singing in the grass enclave
the mountains strumming with careless abandon
the honey-bees humming with the blooms in tandem

but now my heart is still like a stone,
eyes vacant like effigy, flesh turned to bone,
my ears are deaf, they hear no music,
save constant reminder from clock with death's tick.

I can feel it
It is trying to come in
It glitters like gold
With rubies
And emeralds
It wants to lift the day
To spread light all around

Hope is outside my door

To erase the darkness and despair
To bring laughter and joy
To bring the bright yellow sun
It’s just waiting

To say everything will be alright
To inspire me
To push me forward

Hope is outside my door

To shine a light
To show me the moon
To show me the stars
To help me remember my path
To bring possibilities

Hope is outside my door
I just have to open it