The dragon checked
His swishy tail
And that his breath
Was still bad enough
To catch fire.
He was all set to go,
To wreak destruction
Once more.
So he looked outside
His lair
And an ambulance
Nearly took
His head off
Then another
And another
And he saw the people
Coughing into their masks,
In the morning drizzle,
And he sensed
Their fear.
And he thought,
If they are already
Half scared to death
Where's the fun
In that.
So he went back inside
For another hundred years.

Look at us now
Your body, my body
I'm glad we met
Got to spend some time
In this world of abundance
With all its moving mountains
And flowing rivers
And hopefully we did take
Something of them back
Into our souls,
And of all things
Bumping into you today
Beneath a glorious sky
For a cup of tea
And a walk
As we had done
A hundred times before
Or was it a thousand,
Look at us now,
My body, your body.

I saw you twice today!
I swear on my grave I did.
The first time
I called out your name,
The one before you changed it,
But you were just out
Of earshot
And later I almost touched your arm.
So close!
It's a shame, we could
Have gone down by the river,
Done a bit of shopping,
Bought you some new hair colourant,
Maybe gone back to my place.
I know!
"In my dreams!"
Oh yes I definitely saw you
As well as any trick of the light
Would let me.

I am an infant

With a big box of colouring crayons

Speechless, lost for words.

After all this time
You wouldn't love me now anyway
I've put on a few years
And a few pounds
And I've got a spot,
This time it would have to be
Our souls coming together
If you did
If you could.

Now all has been said and done
We are still talking,
Ours is a desperate kind of love.
We know every day
Is our last chance to be together
Before bitterness wipes away
Whole years.
Anxious to show each other
The other point of view
The different perspective
Where everything makes sense.
The usual emotions played out,
How quickly lines become rehearsed
Resentment, hurt, guilt
Over and over again
The same old ground
All the world over.
But still we keep talking
Anxious to show each other
Our desperate kind of love.

Throw caution to the wind
Cast off all misgivings
Set a course for the unknown,
Abandon fear, quieten worry
Dispel uncertainty, dive on in
Give yourself up, trust me, hurry
Dare me, hold me, hold me
Responsible for all your longings
With a kiss.

Worcester has the earliest settlements
Of anywhere in the
United Kingdom.
Crazy to think that
People were walking
These streets
And going into
McDonald's
Five thousand years ago.

My best friend's ex
What can I tell you?
Well she was an ex model
In her own way quite exotic
But a bit of an exhibitionist
A bit too excitable
Sometimes even explosive.
Her jokes we're always at his expense
With thinly veiled references to ****** experimentation
Even after they were exclusive
And she was so full of excuses.
Of course her tastes were too expensive
I tried to warn him but it was like he was on an expedition
To explore her excesses
And then as expected
His expiration
Love became executioner
The fire was extinguished
He became expendable.
Don't look at me.

Across heavy
Raven swept skies
My browbeaten footsteps
Wind check my voyage
Land locks your eternal.

Now silken angels wings glide
Silently into amber mornings
I linger close to the shore
A fool lost in paradise
His beacon arched against the wind
And with drums of lovers beating
I am swept away on the tide.

When I walked with you on Sunday mornings
Was it ever frosty like today?
Did Cathedral bells and footballers' shouts
Fill the still air?
Were you talking, was I listening,
Could I see your breath?
Were people washing cars?
Were children playing
And dogs barking
And shopkeepers yawning?
Did we ever stop for something to eat or drink?
And did we cross the bridge
And walk back alongside the river?
Were there even any boats?
There must have been,
I can't remember,
But what a wonderful memory.

Some of us are grains of sand
And some of us are jellyfish
***** and shrimps
And some others are starfish
Anemones and snails
And still more of us are oysters
Worms and plastic bottles
And love is the sea
That washes over all of us.

Black as the sea at night
Your hair flows through my fingers
Away from this dry river bed.
What kind of naked flame is this
That longs to be doused?
Naughty angel you lead me astray.
You will need all your training for this.
What lengths must you go to
To save me?

Today I answered the call
For more commitment, more passion
And everything I did came off.

Today the wing belonged to me
I had it all, I really flew.
I was the danger man, the hot shot
Whose courage and vision
Rallied a late victory.

Trouble though when I arrived home
Full of it and still trying to score
As all of my best moves were ruled offside.
When I appealed I was warned, no more
And answering back resulted in a sending off
To the spare room
Where I was eventually given what for.

Gravity, old friend
How are you?
You were always there for me
All the time I was growing up
And kept getting too big for my boots
You kept my feet on the ground.
The way you keep the planets
And stars and galaxies in place!
And you brought her particles
Closer to mine
How great is that!
I just wanted to say thank you
Before I float off into space.

From the damp dark recesses
Of cloistered bookshops
Into the blinking glare
And thronging crowds,
We are all unfocused
And unrecognised except
For our reflections
In shop windows.

Down newly cobbled streets
Walking at your speed now
Whistle, guitar and violin
Offer original renditions
To down and outs and drunks
Who dance where they slept
But quickly if you want
To hear some real music
For the Incas are in town.

Wheelchairs and children
Are politely ushered to the front
Gathering around
Standing next to me;
Until the shouting and screaming starts
His shots indiscriminate
Knocking me over.

A moment before I was drifting
Shipwrecked and sailless
Clamouring for a sip of cool fresh water,
The reassurance of your love.
But here there was a silence
As complete and sacred as any pilgrim
Could wish for.
Here there was a promise of treasure
Beyond my wildest dreams,
Not gaudy baubles hurriedly discarded
By lurching pirates, their escape route foiled,
But something lasting, as yet unmapped.
How easily I turn from friends calling
Pointing to safe pathways over the cliff,
And suddenly I'm in the bear's cave
Unable to make any sense of the shadows,
Peering through cobwebs which cling
Like my fear, and walls silently moving
Closing in on my last few breaths.
At last I stumble gasping into the sunlight
And collapse exhausted on the warm grass
Just lying there until a gentle breeze
Stirs me, fills me with a new sense
Of gratitude and peace,
So that when you called me to your bed
I was loathe to leave the safety of this,
My own love.

And they wore streamers
And tinsel in their hair
And baubles on their belts
And angels around their necks
And gave their present money
To the dispossessed
And prayed for those they wouldn't see
And gave twice as much love to those they did
And forgot about Christmas that year.

Angel, did death come between us?
It's been so long since you wrapped me in your wings
Pulled me to you, to the centre of your universe
For amazingly, I have known your love,
The mystery of you
I've seen how, despite the storm
Raging around you, inside you,
You can pull fear and excitement
Out of me
And turn it into peace and safety,
And more than that,
Childlike wonder.

Thank you Lord
For stopping me dead
In my tracks
So now I have more time
For my prayers.
I'm sorry if there was a day or two
Somewhere in my life
When I wasn't in pain
Or didn't have anything major to sort out,
Can't think when that was though,
When I just enjoyed being alive
When I forgot to give thanks to you.
I will try to be more grateful.

This morning it matters slightly less
If we part unkissed
(In the end it was all remarkably unspectacular)
Or love's empty hand goes unmissed
(I needn't have worried)
For a siren soon reminds others
(There was no conscious decision)
That this is not heaven
(There was no great awakening)
As I turn the corner
(No dawning of truth)
And fail to dodge the ring road cars
(No sudden realization)
I simply ran out of time.

The day before we get the bad news
Is like any other
Drifting away from us
Like the boats that are starting
To appear on the river again.
And no matter how fast we swim
We can never catch them up
And no matter how many times the cold water
Brings us back to life
It is as if we never quite recover
From first jumping in.

I hardly knew the man
Had only spoken once
That he had spent many years
In the high country
Was plain to see.

No matter how far I walked
How high I climbed
He was always just ahead
Always just above me.

Within shouting distance
If I dared to call out
My cries longed to split the air
Instead of lying festering
Inside there.

When I faltered he strode on
When I stopped for a drink
And looked round
He was gone,
When I was overtaken
By exhaustion and wanted
To turn back
He found the mouth
Of your cave
Down my forbidden track.

Still here, another year older
A little closer to being
Another year colder
In that place we don't talk about.
And here you are
Heaven sent, right on time
Ah marvelous time
Don't want to waste it
With the pre *** meal
As if the world needs
More food and water
Or the pre *** chat
Couldn't we get straight
Down to it?
Why do I have to spell out my dreams
In words small enough
For the child in us to understand?
Ah there's a thought, as if
The world needs more young dreamers,
Come to think of it
Let's skip ***
I want to love you
As if the world needs more love.

Comfortable at last
Our love
Easy on
Like a pair of old slippers
I would walk a thousand miles in
To sit by the fireside with you.

Today He is at your side
Looking after you
In my stead
As He did before me
And will again
When I am gone
And I'm not afraid
If I can feel
This way about you
After the short time
We shared
How much greater
Will His love be
Seeing you as
He does
With your capacity
For infinite love?

He is average in most things
Falling over and not hurting himself
Juggling with fire
Flying the great trapeze
Making seals jump through hoops
And lions stand on one leg
Also, riding the white stallion backwards
Running across a tight rope blindfolded
Lying under an elephants foot
And throwing knives at the princess
But if you gave this man half a chance
He would really pull something out of the hat,
Your love.

There is a chill in the air
Time to dust off
My battered old coat
The one I wore when I saw
You, really saw you
In all your majesty
In all your finery
In all the regal splendour
Of your soul
When you walked with me for a while
And that was just the start of it
Through rain and sleet and snow
You name it, we walked through it
No ****.
Those were the golden miles.
And in the pocket when you first
Held my hand on a frosty evening
I found some loose change
And a sweet wrapper
And a scrap of hope
Rolled up in a scrap of love
In a scrap of paper
A note to self
It reads something like this
It wasn't meant to end like this.

In the bookshop, the museum and cathedral
She is looking for you
And does not know it.

In the dress she has just bought
The new hairstyle she is unsure of
In the something different she might cook tonight
She is getting ready for you
And does not know it.
In her thoughts and actions
Which have led her here
To this city today
To the doorway now where she waits
For the rain to stop
She is waiting for you
And does not know it.

In her turning to go
Her change of mind and footsteps towards you,
In the carrier bag spilled at your feet
And her voice saying thank you
As you hand her life back to her,
In her walking away
She is looking for you
And does not know it.

I disintegrate into a thousand stars
Of myself, when I see
Your footprints in the snow.
I am still blinded by your winter beauty
Yet you have banished me
To the edge of your world.
Every day I return for your broken water,
The scraps of love you throw out
Keep me alive.

I must get word to you
But my clumsiness gathers dust in the corner.
I will always love you
In unwritten poems.

For those who don't believe in chance
It was destiny when they met
Both being at the pub
And at the dance.
But in the High Street of all places
She chases him, spilling apples
Around a tree
And when they embrace and kiss
It's as if they want the whole world to see.
But I find it strange
No one tells them
Feelings change, so much happens
To get in the way
Of so many good intentions
Oh well, let them
Enjoy their moment
While they can.
The moment of love.

Phone - check
Wallet - check
Dreams - yes
Live for ever - yes
Keys - check
Doors locked - check
Open to life - yes
Enough fuel - check
Know where I'm headed - yes
Time - check
To say our goodbyes - yes
Reality check

Me and my sandwich
Are going driving today
Just the two of us
Getting away from it all
Up into the hills
For a bit of cheese meditation.
It's on the passenger seat
Looking depressed.
Cheer up I say
It might never happen.
It's not like there is a virus sweeping the planet killing thousands.
It's not like they have another ten lined up until everyone in the free world is dead or subjugated. That's conspiracy *******.
It's not like they are trying to destabilize the world and make it vulnerable for a nuclear attack. The sandwich still looks glum. It might be looking out of the window. It's hard to tell.
I mean on any given day 150,000 people die around the world anyway. And that's a good day. There have always been wars, poverty and disease. It's the way it's supposed to be. There are more people dead than alive. We are the survivors. It's not like people can't see doctors or operations are being cancelled is it? Its not like people are losing their jobs and going homeless. Or we can't go on holiday or see loved ones and if you do it's not like you can't touch them.
Nothing I say will cheer the sandwich up.
Finally it gets a word in.
I'm depressed because
You're just about to eat me, it says.
No I'm not, I say.

The red plane was back,
Sweeping low over the trees
To avoid radar detection,
Then banking steeply
Away to the right
Into the adjoining field
At the back it's my house.
I could run
In those days -
Perhaps that was it.
I was the only one
To actually stand
In the rainbow,
When the others arrived
The DDT was already falling
In a fine mist,
Like that summer rain
That soaks you
Through in minutes.
Then again it could
Have been any of
The other chemicals
I breathed in,
Ate and drank
Over the ensuing years.
I don't think there is any need
For an autopsy.

Child: Mommy what was the pandemic like?
Mom: Not nice ... Not nice at all.
Child: But it went on so long.
Mom: Of course we didn't realize it was going to last
Fourteen years.
Child: How did you ...
Mom: Get through it? Well you know
What people say...
Child: A stitch in time saves nine?
Mom: Well ...
Child: If you can't say anything nice
Don't say anything at all.
Mom: That helps, but ...
Child: I know, live one day at a time?
Mom: That's it.
Child: So, the same as we live now.

Not Creedence Clearwater Revival
Have heard nothing through the grapevine,
I am dreaming white sands
The jewel in the crown.
I want to wake up at the Hyatt Regency
With nothing to worry about
And be the first down
To the lounge chairs and beach umbrellas.
As long as the lizards don't get me.

I want to wake up with nothing to worry about,
Head out for some paddle boarding and swimming,
As long as the jellyfish don't get me.

I want to wake up with nothing to worry about,
Go across to Honeymoon Island
For some hiking and shelling,
As long as the lightning doesn't get me.

I want to try out all this marvelous food,
Eat my fill on the beach
As long as the ants and cockroaches don't get me.

I want to go on a beach walk,
As long as the alligators don't get me.

I want to go dolphin watching,
Take a trip on the pirate boat,
Try some skiing and scuba diving,
Anything to take a break from the spiders
If not the snakes.

I want to visit the marina
And marine aquarium
As long as the mosquitoes and double headed bugs
Don't get me.

I want to be the last person with you
On the pier
And hope the sunset gets us.

Clever monkeys have learned to talk
And write and sing and dance.
Most of them are not very good
But it makes them happy.

Other clever monkeys have built roads and houses
And schools and hospitals and offices and factories,

And cars and trains and planes
So they can get there and back quicker.

And other clever monkeys have left
The rainforests alone.

Hidden but not hiding
I worry about my soul
If it is involved anymore
Or just keeping score,
If  I get something for struggling
Barefoot up this mountain
When I could have worked harder
And saved up
For some climbing boots
And not left my gloves, obviously,
I don't know where
And not let my hat fly off
In the first gust of wind
And thrown away my sunglasses
Because she wanted to see my eyes,
And maybe it will whisper to me
In the dead of night
And I'll remember why I'm here
And get a few points
For blisters.

If such a thing could happen
A common man
Should probably look for a woman
Not a princess
For although she will be
Infinitely more beautiful
And he will love her truly,
And love even more
Being caught up
In the magic and romance
Of a wonderful fairy story,
He will always have to live
With her disappointment
For she will only ever
Get glimpses of a prince
And it could break her heart.

People are stealing poetry books
To cut up
To use as toilet paper.

She texts him four times at work
To remind him not to forget
Tea bags when he goes shopping,
And cucumber for the fish
And her prescription
And to send him three kisses.

He's back home now
And she glances up from her sewing
And TV
As he puts the food away
Gets the washing machine going
Feeds the dog
Starts the meal
Takes out the *******
Makes her a cup of tea
And helps her with her pillows
Before serving the food.

He's clearing away now
And washing up
And making her another tea
And taking out the laundry
And locking up
And fetching her blanket
And helping her adjust
Her magic chair
And she kisses him good night
And half way up the stairs
He stops to check his phone
As she sends him
Another three kisses.

He chose you
Over everyone else in the world
He doted on your every thought
Every word and breath
He missed you
More than life itself
Felt sick to the stomach
That horrible emptiness
In the pit of it
When he couldn't see you
He was unable to eat or sleep
Was looking in bad shape
Until you scooped him up
And healed him
With a smile and a touch
As you did me,
I have given way
To a better man,
That's how I see it.

Five minutes into the journey
Someone in the back pipes up
We need to go back
I forgot my phone.
Not ideal, but fair enough.
Nobody ever says
Oh wait I forgot my body.
Before sandwiches and suncream
And all the other essentials
Bodies are top of our lists.
They get to go everywhere,
See everything,
They are our pal, our best friend,
Or could be.
We even try to find someone to love them,
How selfless is that?
But it usually happens
Sometimes early on
Other times later,
Wariness and suspicion creep in
We would rather keep them
At arms length
Because even when they are doing their best
We know what's coming.

She summons me
To her side
Entices me to embrace
The morning shadows
And dance in the sunshine
She evokes
All along her tide.
She beckons me
To reach down
To be unafraid,
Unashamed of my
Own mortality.
She anoints my feet,
My ankles and knees
Then my chest, my neck
And head.
She envelopes me
In her deeper self
She drinks me up,
Laps me up
I am awash with movement,
Drowning in her love,
Then her scream
Masks my cry
I am lucid again
I am creation.

You are such a lazy slob
I'm always cleaning up after you
Why should I do all the hard work?
It's always me that has to make the first move
Why don't you sweep me off my feet for a change
Instead of moping around most of the day waiting for some action?
But when you think I'm not watching
I see you dancing in the sunlight.
It makes my eyes water,
Fake tears I know
But there is no denying the chemistry between us
And I can't help myself.
I'll be joining you soon enough
And we'll be together for ever.

We saw the beauty
And wonder
When we had eyes
And held hands
When we had fingers,
When our bodies tricked us
Into being alive.
And we walked on
When we had legs
And kissed
When we had lips
And said words
When we had ears
And started to believe
In things we couldn't
See or touch,
And we threw ourselves away
When our bodies tricked us
Into dying.

I eye death nervously
Choose a life sentence instead
A padded room, windows
Without bars make it harder
To jump.
I listen to my heart
And sometimes hear
Another's beating
That's it
I only dreamt you
I was always alone.

I see a flashing white hearse
A cavalcade of mourners
Unable to keep up.
Strangers setting down
Their shopping
To give little cheers
As if there is no separation
And death was a celebration
Of life
Could be celebrated
In life,
And in the space
We make for it
Another comes.

I could sit here for ever
Watch it all pass by me
In the fantasy of time.
Other lives unfolding around me
Bring a sense of peace
A feeling of relief
That their happiness will never
Depend on mine.

I have returned to the Roman road
Where you chased after me
With your fantasy of love,
Hoping I might find you again
In that alternative dimension
Where reality skewed off
Into different tenses
And where we have prospered ever since
On a completely different course
Before the fantasy of life
Turned our love into mere senses.

My fate is sealed
And not with a kiss
Though I am thankful
To him for turning
A blind eye
A couple of times
But I can tell
He's a bit miffed now
That he didn't take
One of those chances
And he's got a contract
To fulfill
So he's asking everybody
I know
Where I like to go
And I am going this way
So if you could tell him
I went the other way
I'll owe you one
And if he does catch
Up with me
I'll say it's a case
Of mistaken identity
I'm not the person I used to be
I used to be courageous
And when I wasn't old
Enough to know better,
Laugh in his face.

Father you led me down the path
I knew at first
But then it veered off
Crossing others I didn't know existed.
Sometimes the path was too steep and narrow
Dark one minute then too bright to see the next
But these weren't seconds
They were the years
I spent always looking back
Trying to get my bearings
Searching for signs,
And I have never felt so lost.
You led me down the path
And left me there.
So now I must go on.