Wi yer eyes stingin n wet wi tears
N muk bungin up tha nose n ears
N a white rimmed ed where thi's ad thi hat
Up tha floats on't lift like a drownded rat

After twelve hours tha's pretty dun in
Whilst t'other folks as been kippin n dreamin
Tha's bin diggin n drillin like summart daft
Now up tha floats on't hydraulic raft

The cold morn air meks tha lungs urt
Cause tha's bin breathin muk n dirt
Fer nigh on forty years or more
That most folks wudn't ave on't floor

N as tha washes all't muk away
Tha knows thas sum that'll allus stay
N whilst outside tha luks nice n clean
Tha's stuff inside thi th't'll never be seen

Until o course tha's gon n died
N them docter fellers tek a look inside
N in amazement they'll stand n stare
At all that muk th't shudn't be there

N wen tha's ded it'll be nowt new
Not too a bloke what's lived like you
Fer now tha's on'y six feet under
Wen undreds is what thas bin used to

N't Crowner'll say thi ad a natural death
Not like them th't had their last breath
At sixteen, seventeen, twenty or more
When sum big explosions brought ceiling t floor

But a doubt if tha'll think it wer thi turn
As tha lays there nattering t worm
Crawlin in n out o yer ears
Not much t show fer sixtyodd years

Still what else cud you ave dun, that's it
But follow yer old man down pit
A mean even his dad was a facer tha knows
Kem out at thirty wi' ands like claws

Ah well it's time fer sum grub
Then half-a-dozen pints't pub
Wi an hour or two o noonday sun
Then back t wife fer an hour o fun
N be six next morning I'll be feelin well
As I teks yon raft t bowels of 'ell
Thirty shillin a week be summer the reckonin
Ah but then they can't see yon worm beckonin


Remember this is a 'Performance Poem'
and the style of writing acts as a
speech prompt. The accent is loosely
Yorkshire. A 'Crowner 'is an old word
for a Coroner.
I hope you enjoy it.

© David Irwin Phillips 2008

Love meanz: 2 commit oneself without a guarantee,to gv oneself completely in da hope dat our love will produce love in the lovd person,its an act of faith n whoever iz of liru faith iz also of liru love, its sm'n eternal i.e. the aspect may change bt not da heart,its a dream that only bkams reality wen we meet,its friendshp set on fire by 2 hot souls,its the master key that opens the gates of happiness n it dsnt mek da world go round instd it meks da ride worthwhile,its the emblem of eternity that confounds all notion of time n effaces all memory of a bgnning with all fear of an end,true love bginz when nthn iz lukd 4 in return n its equal,infinite,pure without violence,its an irresistible desire 2 b irresistibly desired by some1 special n all love is SWEET whether gven or returned..!! SURELY THERE IZ NO CURE 4 LOVE BUT 2 LOVE MORE.! I pray dat 1 deh sm1 will love me bak 4 ril. Amen.....!