I slipped
through a crack in the world
rolled down the bank
and lost myself
among the bottles
and discarded papers
you, a collector of trash
found me
and made me useful again

Drifting
on an ebb tide of confusion
which flings me up beach of myself
then rolls me down to the roaring ocean
before I have time to think that I may at last be saved
the dear dear grasp of reality
slippery through my tangled fingers
is lost to the maw of the waves
pitched and tossed in the blue
sky or surf
fish or floating plant
flotsam or jetsom
I do not know
It is a seaweed day

Fat shiny pebble
Bright jewel on golden sand
Dries dull in your hand

Dream with me of the beach
hold me as we glide
in tempo with the tide
let us dance
let us tango
a lyrical fandango
like it always used to be
just for you and me
passion unrefined
when I wake up i'll find
sandy footprints on my mind

Flowers will bloom in battlefield mud
amid army boots and battlefield blood
a robin will chirp on a battlefield wire
joined by others in a battlefield choir
except for the camps
where no bird will sing
the silence of ugly is a terrible thing

Do not think of me as gone
I am still here
in every leaf
every blade of grass
yes I am changed
rearranged
beyond understanding
freed from earthly bond
yet I go on
for now I know not where
but in every waking moment
be sure I will be there

I am the wind
the rain which pelts and blows full in the face of adversity
and the silent sound of a million damp and aching feet
I am friendships that will never come again
and the voice of doomed youth
I am memories in old age
the scarlet smell of crushed poppies
and the iron tang of spilled blood  and rusty wire
I am hope and loss
dignity in duty
and outright defiance in the face of defeat
I am all these things
I am remembrance