I was walking on the seashore when I heard a fearful cry
I looked out across the water where a man was drifting by
"You've got to help!" he shouted, "There's a lifebelt in your reach,
"If you throw it to me quickly I'll get back onto the Beach!"
I hastily began to do exactly as he said
When a little word of warning made its way into my head.

"You reckon this will help," I said, "that is what you believe,
"But to trust short-term solutions here is hopelessly naive.
"You think the belt will save you, and for now maybe it would
"But to teach a faulty lesson here could do more harm than good
"You want something for nothing and that just is not the way
"In the sophisticated economic climate of today -
"You need trade!  You need trade, not aid
"You need trade!  I can't help until you've paid.
"You say that you're in trouble and my help is all you need
"But a culture of dependency is all that it would breed!"

"What's wrong with you, you maniac?" he answered with a yell,
"I'm drowning in the ocean and there's nothing here to sell!
"We can talk about your theories when I'm back upon the shore
"Now just throw the ****** life-belt out, I beg you, I implore!
"You have it in your power and you know that if you can
"You've a moral obligation to assist your fellow man!"

I told him, "You are selfish!  This is difficult for me,
"D'you think a drowning person is a pleasant thing to see?
"You shouldn't be in the water if you haven't learned to swim!"
He said "You no-good lousy *******, it was you who pushed me in!"
Well this kind of moral blackmail made me look at him, aghast
And say, "There really is no virtue here in dwelling on the past,
"You need trade!  You need trade, not aid
"You need trade!  I can't help until you've paid.
"You say that you're in trouble and my help is all you need
"But a culture of dependency is all that it would breed!"

"Don't be so pessimistic," I advised him, "you are rich!
"The sea in which you're drowning must be lowping full of fish!"
"If that's what you're relying on," he said, "to judge my wealth,
"Then you know that I have nothing, 'cos you caught them all yourself!"
I said, "Well, you can't argue with the laws of competition
"You were wasting time by drowning when you should have been out fishin'!"

When finally he died I said, "My brother, I will miss you,
"But maybe more importantly, you've highlighted an issue:
"Drowning is a problem, and believe me, now you're gone,
"I'll be on the phone to Geldof, Ultravox and Elton John.
"We'll organise a concert so that everyone can see
"That drowning is a menace, we should make it history!
"Using trade!  Using trade, not aid,
"Good, free trade, the grestest plan we've ever made,
"You say that you're in trouble and my help is all you need,
"But a culture of dependency's a rotten thing to breed!"

Last night we talked instead
And words weaved their way
Like threads around each other
Into rope, at length
The hope and anchor
Between a future and the pasts
We did not share till now.
Moved together with the swell
Of gentle laughter
Cast out and overboard in faith
That a lifebelt given was a moment saved
From drowning.
Inadequately,
I thanked you for the chat
You disappeared down the hatch
And got a bout of earache
Shortly after that.

We head for home tomorrow.

one thing i have noticed
in my youthful years
and jottings
and observations

is that people rarely band together in the times when we should
when, for example, there is
a delay on a plane
a bus
a train,
we roll our eyes
and groan in unison
unison? really?
in frustration
in exhaustion

and yet, when the Titanic was
taking its plunge
into the Ocean's merciless and deep belly
brother turned on brother
friend on friend
drowing humans and enveloping their lives in water
so that you may have a lifebelt

Death once said
'i am haunted by humans'
and i agree

we are monsters.

I once compared you to the shipping forecast
A soothing distraction for an unsettled mind
But this was not a low
You were the one who left me drowning
Threw me a lifebelt and a shark whistle
And told me to save myself
He was the one who never gave up the search
Found me and hoisted me to dry land.

I lost myself in you and can't get myself back
My soul like so many pieces of driftwood
Carried away on the waves
All out at sea.

I'm Never Alone

I'm never alone, there's always someone there
To walk with, to talk to, to breathe the same air

In town or in country, I'm in good company
Because I always, bring along me

I always see me!  Wherever I go
I'm not on my own, there's someone I know

He's never a bore, though sometimes a chore
Can talk up a tempest, can talk up a storm

Once in a while, he may disappear
But then in a moment, he will reappear

Sometimes he gives me, such a fright,
When I wake up, in the middle of the night

It may take a moment,  a moment or two
Before he awakes, and I'm wondering: “Who

It is in my bed, all by himself
Grasping and searching, for his lifebelt

Those moments are rare, when there's nobody there
To walk with, to talk to, to breathe the same air

Sean Hunt
Windermere, Dec 26 2015

a late night
stepped
out of my
little hut
found
in the middle
of her lake
frogs, fish, insects
mimics her great voice
jumped
into the lake
the water splashed
full of her memories
swimming with
her thoughts as lifebelt
came out
never used towel
to wipe out…
allowed her memory
to dry on me
a divine experience!!!