golden chariot, by four steeds drawn
riding till the eve from dawn
incandescence, iridescence,
fattening aurum ears of corn

celestial orb, perpetual wonder
servant to her Glorious Maker
rolls in vacant space o' yonder
Obeisant to a Hidden Creator

Perfect globe, fiery love
Healing as the wings of dove
Embracing from the heavens above
A hand enveloped in velvet glove.

With what magic then has moon of white,
Lifeless, cold, Earth's satellite,
Dare presume block sun's light,
In passing over, height for height.

Two spheres they be in heaven far
Natural opposites, heat 'n algor,
One white and cold as ice 'n snow
One yellow golden warming glow

Yet Omnipotent deemed heaven's star
Be same proportion, on a par
To ball of stone, a rock bizarre,
That it change noon to witching-hour.

We, sole witness of this phenomenon,
Must draw from Father some sort lesson
At least, to pause, to stop and wonder
At His creation that knows no blunder.

they say you marry your mother
i don't know whether that's true
but every time i hear another
scolding from my shrew
it's mother's image my brain conjures
shaking her finger anew
i hear her voice through wife's responders
A feeling of déjà vu.

Dawn is knocking at the door
Peeping through the curtain
I turn, pretend again to snore
But sleep's gone for a Burton

Heavy-eyed I eye the clock
Squint and try to focus
It's not yet gone five o' clock
I lie back feeling hopeless.

How many hours of beauty-sleep
Brain attempts to calculate
Maybe I'll try counting sheep
Running wild, jumping gate.

Must have snoozed off, pretty sure,
I eye the clock again,
Long hands pointing to the four
Short hand to the ten!

Can't be true,
beggar's belief!
I look anew,
sigh with relief,

'Twas the second hand
Now on eleven
And the time?
Twenty past seven.

Late night
little rest
Midday bite
caffeine blest

Little wonder
Creativity
torn asunder
unto passivity.

A wizard from Tunbridge Wells
made matzoh with his spells
but instead of water
he added his daughter
and couldn't get rid of the smells

so this wicked 'un from Tunbridge
Decided to take umbrage
at his lack of sense
at his daughter's expense
'N fell into an apoplectic rage

He ranted and raved with such yells
the snails took refuge in their shells
till he jumped in the bray
of his daughter's fray
the old wizard from Tunbridge Wells

Speak soft words
Your soul to Soul
Whisper. You're heard.
Your part in Whole.

There's a little bit of G-d in you
That's feeling the pain, the cry in you
Listen to its cry, too,
Feel its pain, and cry too.

Heaven and Earth, the green and the blue,
In Sea combine, aquamarine hue,
The Cosmic Lips, in open chew,
Above and below, one, not two.

In empyreal arch, teeth as stars,
On ground, the shine of soul-avatars,
As land stretches up to the sky,
So bluest firmament longs to comply.

Brides of whitest, delicate lace,
Gowns immaculate, as snow their face
Softest pink, a blush to embrace,
Rose, as rising sun to race

Sheets of white, 'candescent as moonlight,
Waves of coral, leaves and floral,
Rows of candle, as calcic stalagmite,
Mauves 'n violet as wild wood sorrel.

So yon maidens of sweetest spring
Herald the Queen Summer's oncoming
Her nectarous drupe and fruit offspring
The bountiful boon she will bring.

Behold the language of your Beloved
Speaks in tongues of secrets vivid
Of kindness, giving, eternally sipid
Of warmth and fire, of ardour vivid

So when next you spy the verdant maidens
Bedecked finery, blossoms laden,
Whispering, bowing, to one cadence,
Know you see the One true Haven.

Aromas sweet of sherbet smell
Lily-o'-vale softest parget
Among the lightest blue harebells
Danced the fairies on lilac carpet

As river-current's shimmering wave
Shafts of golden sunlight
Bewitched the purple feys' enclave
Of pixies, elves and sprite

Dappled sun in woodland dell
Afore the hours o' nighttime fell
Like magic chessboard o' bluebell
'Twas the place the little folk dwell

In rolls of sky-blue tapestries
Checkered piebald mauve
Beneath the oak and hazel trees
'Mongst herb-robert 'n foxglove

There dwelt the wood-nymph fairie queen
With yellow hair and gown of green
Eyes dark-black and lofty mien
Spoke of things hidden, unforeseen.

She whispered as the seashell talks
As the soft tread of lovers' walks
As the windswept Dover chalks
As the wings of buzzard hawks.

There she taught the secret tune
Of eternal life, nature's boon,
'Twas the song of midnight moon
Whitest sphere of silver strewn

It was the song of constant yearning
Constant running and returning
She said it kept the earth-sphere turning
'Twas the secret of sages learning.

Then as the twilight spread its shadows
As the creeping water primrose
As the buttercup o' green meadows
As the dying in death's throes

Then I heard no more her whisper
Perhaps it was the water stream
Or the ripple of the river
Livened by the white moonbeam.

Clambering o'er crag'd rendezvous
beheld I a jewel of sapphire hue
a hue as deep as heaven's blue
God's gift on earth, from Him to you

Surrounded by lush tree and plant
my breath surveyed the view in pant
Eyes as pools as yon intoxicant
Senses wanted to yell and rant

About the lake of Grasmere village
Seen from mountain's hill 'n ledge
From Loughrigg fell and softer terrace
From high above bluebell effloresce.

About a beauty that cast a spell
Of cerulean blue in emerald dell
A sweetness that one canna quell
The waters from God's Citadel.

We crave recognition
Because it's our mission
To gain admission
To G-d's acquisition

The problem starts
When outside our hearts
We look to the charts
Others to outsmart

Peer within
You'll soon begin
To know wherein
Lies true linchpin

Of the worth of your deeds
Sort the flowers from the weeds
To grow the seeds
That goodness breeds

Then, will no longer
Ye seek yonder
Desire 'n hanker
Respect 'n honour

True satiation
Comes from good occupation
Self-examination
G-dly communication

With self-respect
You'll not be subject
To feeling neglect
From peers' reject.

With behaviour exemplary,
Love and empathy,
You'll experience redemptory -
Life's true nectary

i remember my grandfather
white beard 'n saintly,
soft of countenance,
smiling faintly

his grandpa passed early,
he, an unborn babe -
but his grandfather saw his,
Grand Rebbe of Ropshits.

So goes back a chain,
passing years, time immemorial
Rashi, from Rabbi o' Mainz
from line of Judaic kings' inaugural
Up Time's jugular veins
to royalty, King David's arboreal

So, surely, will come a time
generations hence'll form a line
of men and women so sublime
and i amongst them?

It gives me fright,
makes me ponder
i have no right
to stand, to maunder,
'mongst such august
gold stardust,
a link betwixt
new souls untold
and G-d-transfixed
prophets of old

and yet, as scion,
i'm more than a tie
between earlier aeon
of angels on high

of great lions
attached to the Sky
giants of Zion
who rode on high

and offspring hence
of future ages
babes of innocence
and learned sages

i am to serve
as loyal transmitter
a royal nerve
of heavenly glitter

What makes trees grow
the wind to blow
the **** to crow
the river flow

What gives the air its sustenance,
the small child, his utterance,
the living person's countenance,
the barking dog's truculence

He Who all coordinates
the universe orchestrates
from invertebrates to vertebrates,
amoeba to primates

Some say He is in everything
but i say this about this Thing
It transcends all the things
He is. That is. His name. King.

three thousand years of Passovers
in paper-thin bread,
three thousand years of sweat and tears,
of happiness and dread,
three thousand years of martyrs' biers
and of giggling new weds,
three thousand years of history
in flour, 'n soul imbed.

it took me years to form this being
instilled in him wisdom, sense for seeing,
a heart to feel others' emotions,
deeper than the deepest oceans,
to deal kindly, invoke my name,
see my love and do the same.

planted him in world so beautiful,
with mountains high, volcanoes' crucible,
lakes and rivers, birds and creatures,
a world of such divinic features

my only son, i begged of him,
kissing on brow i said to him
this world entrusted to your care
fire, water, earth and air,
i trust that you'll walk in my way
creating beauty from disarray

i still hope and long, son of his father,
will grow up, mature, cease to slaughter,
nature to nurture, loving to be,
he, my prince, my family.

visions of G-d
like kaleidoscope changing
the shutter opens
through glass-staining
for second, a glimpse
understanding gained,
a feeling, a sense,
uncurtained,
new grasp,
a gasp,
senses aghast,
then all darkens,
leaving a memory,
till it, too, fades,
like grey emery,
innocence of maids,
in cellar-scullery,
a washerwoman's apron,
But it will awaken,
healing the forsaken
humanity united
man undivided
in leaving satan
embracing Eden
as all hearts heal
as all souls kneel
afore recognition
of Divine emission

how do some people
manage with ease
to move in crowds
to do as they please

while others frightened in their skin
timid as rabbits, nerves paper-thin,
socially uneasy, inept and clumsy,
not knowing to smile or maybe curtsy.

how do some people manage it
smile and comment lickety-split
while i, as fetal, curled misfit,
cringe in a corner, waiting to quit.

but perhaps if i their magic had
could mingle 'n linger, take the good and the bad,
i'd be unable to lift up a finger
to write, to muse, as ******* binger.

those nerves that are taut are highly tuned
they feel the sun and they feel the wound
i would not have it any other way
rather inept be with spirit bouquet.

forgetting is
like the blankness
of a paper
hold it to the light
there's a word
erased
no more
it's gone

asking why
i was born
in this century
the year
the day
the family
is like questioning eternity

eyes piercing as arrows shot
deadly with venom 'n menace
tie my heart in double-knot,
nerves as vine on trellis

shaking, delicate, easily hurt,
by look, word, cutting 'n curt,
reaches deep, to stomach 'n innards,
hotter than red poker, colder than blizzards.

humanity that can heal and love,
a ray of God's golden sunshine
can hit 'n ****, push and shove,
server of devil's malign.

the way is clear
the choice is yours
be a light in heaven's sphere
or a darkness on the moors.

the problem with facebook
or social media
it's voiceless, like a book,
tomes of academia

arid and dry,
blunt and dead,
like burnt pie
or stale bread.

words in a message
cannot emotions assuage,
convey tone or gauge
happiness or rage

if what one smile can do
cannot a thousand words
if one vocal 'thank-you'
like the dawn songbirds

warms the heart,
and engages senses,
as a voice imparts
the feel in sentences

a poet with his prose
seeks to give over
the emotion transpose
from writer to reader

with art and dexterity
he crafts his rhyme,
capturing mirth, sincerity,
sound patterned in time.

what can the brief answer
hope to convey
a deft one-liner
chips from expressaway?

a click here, a 'like' there,
humanity at the mercy of cheap software,
the whims of the callous and apathetic
making your mood, creating fetich.

oh for the warmth of father and son
the ripple of water in afternoon sun
the spider in waiting in web newly spun
the waft and aroma of caramel bun

life's way deeper than a smiling emoticon
facebook likes or poem voted on
don't let the others rule your life
do what you love and give all a fife.

Under Your Feet lapis lazuli,
Oceans' cerulean blues on high,
Firmament of awesome ice transparent,
Infinite Beings energy apparent.

How can I address You on high,
Place supplication afore Your Footstool,
I of flesh and maggot nigh,
Speak before the Infinite Rule?

'Tis my soul that does the speaking,
Spark of Yourself in my keeping,
Planted in dust before its reaping,
The burning flame forever seeking.

If dust to dust, then flame can lust
For Fiery Source, in Thee I trust,
Father, however low I fall,
You are my saviour, You are my all.

Air, transparent nothingness,
Sustaining life with lovingness,
Shining fairie confronting us,
Embracing us, loving us.

Sweet oxygen and nitrogen,
Carbon dioxide 'n hydrogen,
Awe-inspiring leviathan,
Vitalising Heineken.

Think 'n quake
'For Ever-awake,
All seeing Eye,
The Invisible I.

Love and fear,
Retreat 'n draw near,
To the Open Ear,
With longing and tear.

Make space in your heart,
Let soul depart,
In lovers' embrace,
To Face of your face.

Covid 19 they called it,
Coronavirus' latest hit,
Through air 'n breath contracted,
Through touch 'n cough, sneeze 'n spit.

The plague it swept humanity
Plucked sweet lives of too many,
And suddenly, respite for yee,
Approved vaccines to keep us healthy.

They flashed the headlines with its news,
It beat Trump's company out the pews,
But then the naysayers proclaimed their views,
"It'll **** you; it's a public ruse!".

"It'll change your DNA", they said,
"Bill Gates is out to make you dead",
They came fast, those prophets of dread,
On social sites and media threads.

I heard it from son's father-in-law,
I heard it in the streets galore,
I heard it in God's Name swore,
In chemist-shop and grocery store.

Was it coincidence that the majority
Of those cynics said no to authority,
Disagreed with statistic, with facts in their face,
With death that had decimated the human race?

Might it be that the deniers
Were the real death-suppliers
They that spread the false fires
With their rumours and coloured flyers?

So I went online and booked my appointment
For a jab by the NHS and a dab with ointment,
I'll roll up my sleeve, I'll savour the moment,
I've made my decision, I'll have my enjoyment.

And with the injection, I'll fight disappointment
The confusion sown, the anxiety poignant,
I'll do my bit with the needle's deployment,
It's the ayes that have it, not your street-clairvoyant.

****** softness,
Angelic colour,
Gentle to taunt us
Queen of Summer.

Still she rises
Golden wonder,
Shows her prizes
Makes me younger.

Pink's too ordinary,
It's more lavender,
Heaven's emissary,
Beauty's avatar.

Aroma intoxic,
Sweetest optic,
First Rose in Spring,
Thou art everything.

I dip my quill
Into the ink
And wait for it to write,
Thought starts flowing,
Letters appear,
As sweet fire ignites.

Letter begets word,
And word - image,
Creating worlds old and new,
Magic of words
Combines with mind
Enchant you as voodoo.

From my mind,
The words flow,
Guided by rhythm 'n tempo,
Through my arm,
Into a pen,
Rising to a crescendo.

Like musical notes
There is a beat,
A tune the poet hears,
With dexterity
He arranges
Sweet music for your ears.

Quill, quite dry,
I let it rest,
Peruse rhyme manifest,
Mind finds pleasure
To read at leisure,
And sweet rhyme ingest.

Love is the smile,
The warmth in my *****,
As I hug my child
To his presence succumb.

Love is the crying,
The longing for father,
On his death-bed dying,
Face softer and calmer.

Love is the tea
I make for my wife,
The nod, 'I agree',
To avoid her strife.

Love is the worm
Fed to chick 'n nestling,
Grubs as they squirm
Into hungry fledgling.

Love is the strokes
Of artist on canvas,
The mellow sweet notes
Of musical stanzas.

Love is the cry
Of soul in prayer,
The longing eye,
The hot, sweet tear.

Love is the beat of butterfly wing,
The buzz of the bee with honey and sting,
Love is the heat of summer and spring,
Love is the language of Elusive King.

Crackly prickles,
Sharp as razors,
Teeth like little
Alligators.

Black thorn,
Stalk dried,
Bush forlorn,
Flowers died.

And then, Spring angel,
A whisper gave,
As in a fable,
A magic wave.

From dried twig,
Emerged a bud,
Within the sprig,
Elixir blood.

A hint of green,
Edged with scarlet,
The garden queen,
A youthful varlet.

Bedecked in emerald,
Gives haughty bow,
Once naked 'n bald,
Now jewel-filled bough.

With nod 'n light wink,
Royalty with diadems,
With sunrise pink,
Citrines, pearl gems.

Soul of my rose,
She lives on eternal,
Forever she grows,
Ever youthful 'n vernal.

The soul of your rose,
Lies hidden and waiting,
As poetry prose,
As life pulsating.

Am I dead yet?
Killed complete?
Without knife or bayonet,
Life taken, discreet?

Is what was, no longer?
Did she the fire extinguish?
Have I lost to the warmonger?
Soul perished in anguish?

Yes, the drummer still beats
With rhythm sweet,
But it's faint and retreats,
As a distant bleat.

I'm not gone yet,
There is a flame,
E'en extinguished cigarette
Can still inflame.

I believe still,
A fire can ignite,
As spring daffodil
On a building-site.

Don't give up hope,
Don't slide the *****,
If she still hurts,
There's sweet deserts.

Keep on fighting,
Try your best,
Know her biting
Is the acid-test.

He bent over
The shadow in grey
Kissed the lips
Of life away

Eyes, closed buds,
Ne'er more to open,
Veins of blood
Weary and broken.

Spirit released
From skeletal prison,
Body deceased,
Soul arisen.

Flowers of light,
Music immortal,
Embrace a child
Unto God's portal.

What shall we do with the child so wild?
How do we tame his flame 'n fire?
What shall we do with the child so quiet?
How do we allay his disquiet?

What do we do with our child so proud,
Strutting around with a spirit unbowed?
How do we deal with our child so vile,
Our delinquent juvenile?

What shall we do with our child, the clown,
Makes his class roar but his teacher frown?
What shall we do with our child, the boaster,
Who proclaims his prowess like a theatrical poster?

Plant a kiss on the wildness,
Whilst encouraging the calm,
Praise 'n embrace the shyness,
Pointing out his bonhomme.

Esteem 'n treasure the lordliness,
Give it a place of safety,
Love 'n welcome the vileness,
Whilst training his sensitivity.

Hug and adore the childness,
Like a jewel, the swagger,
Direct them with wiseness,
With acceptance, not a dagger.

Kiss the frog and watch it change,
An angel prince devoid of rage,
The sleeping princess shall awaken,
Before you, your golden maiden.

Silent, grey,
Memories call,
Bodies decay,
Spirits enthral.

Forest of stones,
Soldiers *****,
Markers of bones
Command respect.

Here, a soul,
In shadow, hides,
Tries to console
Young widow-bride.

There, a spirit,
of little merit,
dallies in grit,
whit to inherit.

Sobbing, a child
Kneels by her father,
Lips that once smiled
Buried before her.

Love-blind groom
Aches for his partner
Asleep in her tomb,
Asleep to his ardour.

Sighing tears,
Wind and rain,
Love and fear
Entwine the twain.

And gravel and grass
Watch from afar
as death and life dance
with bid, 'au revoir'.

"Who are you?
I know you not,"
Said little Daisy
To Forget-me-not.

"He has no tongue,
Speak not to him,"
Yawned young Lupin,
***** and prim.

"And who be you
To interfere?"
From overhang basket
Squeaked Lamb's Ear.

"Quiet now,
I'm trying to sleep,"
Said holier-than-thou
Peony Bo Peep.

And all was quiet
In yon flower-bed,
Save sweet little robin
Singing overhead.

January. Cold, wintry and bleak.
Cat killed a pigeon, talon and beak.

February.  Tree waking from sleep.
Found a few slugs under wood-heap.

March. Silky catkins and a hint of leaf.
Blackbird warns of a magpie thief.

April. Blossoms-pink, yellow and white.
Radishes growing ready to bite.

May. Greens and purples, a haze of colour.
Spring a-beckoning to Mother Summer.

June. World is abuzz with sound of living,
Bees and butterflies, taking and giving.

July. My, it's hot! Cherries galore.
Fox chestnut-brown scraped at my door.

August. Clear skies, velvety blue,
Saw buzzards chasing red-kite as it flew.

September. The ending of sweet summer-harvest,
Judging whose potatoes turned out the largest.

October. Runner-beans bid adieu.
Stone squirrel 'lone on grey patio.

November. Tree losing last leaf of autumn,
Golden mulch carpets, browns and aurum.

December. Bare branch, bowed 'n buried.
Snow gave a shiver, 'n winked as he tarried.

Sanguine fluids course my veins,
Neurons, synapses, excite my brains,
Nectar of life in unfolding leaves,
Verdant runner-beans ascending weaves,
Roses deep purple with aromas sweet,
Lupins and lettuces, begonias 'n beet,
The sound of blackbirds in morning chorus,
The light of the sun in breaking auras,
The patter of rain quenching the deep,
Herds of cattle, flocks of black sheep,
Stretching wings soaring the skies,
Laughter and smiles, frowns and cries,
Wind and hail, sunshine and breeze,
Love is the essence of all these.

As my legs brushed the bulrush,
As my hairs bristled fibres,
Long and slender brushed they by me,
As I traversed the golden whiteness,
As I crunched the golden snow,
Glistening, shining, in the spring sun,
As the maiden in her bride-gown,
As the delicate, trailing mayflower,
Sparkling white on the prairie,
Vellum soft 'neath scribe's beard,
Flowing like the ocean river,
Speckled grey as starlight clusters,
As the feathers of the starlings,
As the grey of children starving,
There he stoked the strokes of blackness,
Stroking, drawing, marking, scribing,
Drawing dells of deepest darkness,
Marking summits of sweet sharpness,
'Midst the valleys of butter-yellow,
Midst the velvet, whispering whiteness,
Midst the plains of swaying wheat-corn,
Coursed those rivers of ink-black starkness,
Dark as the midnight in icy winter,
Dark as the secrets of youngest maiden,
Dark as the cravings of inner madness,
Black as the heart of yellow sunflowers,
Black as the eyes of hater's glower,
I, the housefly, witnessed these secrets,
With my eyes composed of myriads,
With my senses known to no-one,
With my tender tip-toe foot-pads,
As I tread the path of no-man,
As I licked those tender fibres,
As I dallied 'neath the scriber,
As I fled my pad of scribes,
As I circled the ocean tides.

Dip your brush in crimson letters,
Add a dab of red-gold blush,
Paint a landscape of upsetters,
Those who need a soul to crush.

Those of hollow form of flesh
Those whose soul has left 'n fled
As they seek out weak to thresh
Till last drop of blood has bled

Here a sphere o' fire setting
'Midst a blood-hued sky,
There the haunting silhouetting
Tree with branches high.

Grasping, scratching air ephemeral,
Swaying to the sounds of death,
Knocking at the gates empyreal,
Clutching at pure babies' breath.

The dead not-living swarm like dusk
Crushing sweetest sprout
Winnowing ripe corn from husk
Winnowing the life-force out

Hear the hunted sheep begetting
Howl and wail and cry,
Watch the darting bats bloodletting
As Lord Life slips by.

Covered by dark guise of nature,
Everlasting bides his time
Safe as no nomenclature
Can guess his pantomime

Love had a son
Light was his name
But Light needed shadow
To see his game.

So Love bore shadow
Darkness was his name
Both born by Love
Light and shadow same.

I'll paint a canvas today, I said,
A canvas with my tears,
I'll mix the water with my blood,
I'll give voice to my fears.

Leering voices, sneering faces,
I don't know how to stand strong,
I buckle under pressure,
Yet I know the right from wrong.

I look around with despair,
I know not what will be,
I lift my hands up in the air,
I cry, 'Do not see'.

Do not look down at humanity,
Look not at what it's become,
The violence, the inhumanity,
The soul quite numb and dumb.

But see the little sparks of good,
The hope, the kindness, the longing,
See the suffering, little flame,
The bewilderment, pain and calling.

Give strength to the lame and weak,
Salvation to the few,
Let Light and Grace fill the world,
Let us all see You.

Eyes black,
Watching my back,
Gun acock,
Face a rock.

Oh, so gracious,
To friends, loquacious,
Bowing deeply,
Ever so meekly.

Words sebaceous,
Ever vivacious,
Smiling sweetly,
"I am .. uniquely.. "

But, spouse salacious,
Being-mendacious,
Do you not know
What I undergo?

So fallacious,
Power-voracious,
Flirtatious, audacious,
Make us or break us.

Utterly invisible,
There is a Gown He wears,
Through that Gown He's visible,
To those who are aware...

That Gown reflects His Name,
Hidden in life's affairs,
Through It the world became,
Through It He hears your prayers.