Thursday, 11 June 2015

The great adventure (re-visited)



Another old song, written with a friend, a lifetime ago

The great adventure (re-visited)

I wish that I could find a place
Where no one’s ever been before
A land of sun and open space
With palm trees lined along the shore
I’d watch the seabirds in the sky
And travel round the tropic land
And maybe one day I would find
A stranger’s footprints in the sand

We’ve sailed across the seven seas
Through stormy waters to a gentle breeze
Anticipation’s in the air
The sky is clear
The weather fair
There’s a look of pleasure on your face
As you hold the telescope in place
You can see the land
Underneath the sun
The great adventure has begun

I wish that I could drift away
To some oasis in my brain
A land that is so far away
I never would come back again
In a bottle I would send
A message to my friends at home
An invitation to attend
I would not care to be alone

We’ve sailed across the seven seas
Through stormy waters to a gentle breeze
Anticipation’s in the air
The sky is clear
The weather fair
There’s a look of pleasure on your face
As you hold the telescope in place
You can see the land
Underneath the sun
The great adventure has begun

Saturday, 23 May 2015

The wickedness of Iain Duncan Smith



At last. My "May 2015" trilogy is complete!
Now perhaps, I can get down to some proper prose

May 2015 part 3

The wickedness of Iain Duncan Smith

The dispossessed
The depressed
Whose homes have been
Re-possessed
The disabled
The mentally ill
The long term unemployed
Raised from the ashes
Of the scrap heap
To be demonized and ridiculed
And labelled
And subjected to the
Meanest of means testing
By jobsworths on the minimum wage
The countless casualties
Of the callous calamity
Born apparently from the necessity
Of austerity
The incompetence of the department
That sends letters declaring
Dying cancer victims
“Fit for work”
Diabetics unable to chill
Their insulin
No electricity = no refrigeration
That’s what you get
For being late for your appointment
The thirteen year old kid
Whose dad had a stroke
Was treated like the punchline
Of a sick joke
Only it’s not a fucking joke
His dad died
ATOS killed him
YOU killed him
And those who voted for you
And support you
And attempt to justify your crusade
Just take a minute to reflect
PEOPLE ARE DEAD!
Who otherwise would still be alive
And whilst you remain rigorous
And rigid in your determination
To ultimately destroy
The concept of the welfare state
They will
KEEP ON DYING
Until in the end all that’s left
Are the fit and healthy
Perfect fodder
For a lifetime of enforced
Low paid labour
Is that your plan?
You wicked
Wicked man!
  

  

Friday, 15 May 2015

An agnostic's prayer



Part 2 of the trilogy begun with "Born again".

This poem is very much influenced by Dostoevsky's "The brothers Karamasov", which I'm labouring through at the moment. Father Zossima, I salute you sir and God bless you.

And hardly a rhyme to be seen.

May 2015 part 2

An agnostic’s Hymn

God bless you all
All you fascists
All you communists
All you dictators
All you torturers
Of innocents
Open your cells now
Feed the hungry

God bless you all
All you chauvinists
All you misogynists
All you misandrists
All suppressors    
Of gender equality
Open your hearts now
Feed the hungry

God bless you all
All you closed minded
All you racists
All you sexists
All you haters
Of diversity
Open your minds now
Feed the hungry

God bless you all
All you nationalists
All you monarchists
All you patriots
All of you proud
Flag wavers
Open your borders
Feed the hungry

God bless you all
All you fanatics
All you crusaders
All you Salafists
All instigators
Of holy war
Open your eyes now
Feed the hungry

God bless you all
All you wealth creators
All you corporatists  
All you tax evaders
All manufacturers 
Of cheap labour
Open your banks now
Feed the hungry

God bless you all
All you consumerists
All you materialists
All you narcissists
All ignorers
Of deprivation
Open your doors now
Feed the hungry. 

 



 

Friday, 23 January 2015

Since the twins came down



There are just too many cliches to ignore at the moment. And they're all legit targets.


Since the twins came down

ISIS the Taliban Boko Haram Al Qaeda
Jihad Mujahedin Holy Quran Mosque Sharia
Intolerance to burkas in western town
Everything’s changed since the twins came down
The rise of the nationalist the right wing agenda the media
The misinformation hypocrisy Islamophobia
The propagated hatred of the racist clown
Everything’s changed since the twins came down
Iraq Afghanistan Guantanamo Bay Rendition
Hostages exchanged the war machine supplies ammunition
Hospitals schools villages burnt to the ground
Everything’s changed since the twins came down
Jihadi John Islamic State cutting off heads in Syria
Murderous regime school girls kidnapped in Nigeria
Scared asylum seekers and refugees drown
Everything’s changed since the twins came down
Depiction of the prophet, psychopath AK Forty Seven
White supremacists preparing for the next Nine Eleven
Marine Le Pen will one day be wearing a crown
Everything’s changed since the twins came down
Palestinians slaughtered yet no western condemnation
Leaders cross the line between free speech and provocation
The sacred and forbidden is no longer bound
Everything’s changed since the twins came down
Fat cat weapons dealers wealthy royals generous donations
Revenge for dead children hatred passed to future generations
A peaceable solution will not be found
Everything’s changed since the twins came down
Elected politicians make treaties with misogynist’s and sadists
Profits run to trillions more riches for elitist corporatists
The Euro the Riyal the Dollar the Pound
Everything’s changed since the twins came down.
ISIS the Taliban Boko Haram Al Qaeda
Assad the CIA Mossad SAVAK Abu Rida
Perpetual terror going round and round
Everything’s changed since the twins came down






    










Tuesday, 23 December 2014

FuCKINgPIgSHitLIars!


Thank you very much-whatever your name is-for providing me with inspiration. This isn't the first time I've been randomly set upon by someone not completely in control of their actions, but it is the first time I've been kind of grateful for it. 



FuCKINgPIgSHitLIarS!

SAwAnANgrYLOOKINGMAN
COMInGDOWnTHEHIll
TOWaRDSMEaNDHaDto
MoVENeArERtOTHEKERB
TOavoiDColliDINGWIthHIM
BUThEMUSThaveREADMY
M.I.N.D.aSHEdeCIdedto
DoTHESAmeWeverY
NArroWLYAVoiDEdtouCHing
EACHothERaSheMoVEDiN
FROntofMeANDpiCKEdaHAlF
LEmoNOUToFTHEGUtTerITHouGht
HEwaSGOINgTOSQUASHitINTO
MyFAcEBUTiNSteADheThrEWIt
ACrosSMeSCREaminG
“FUCKINGPIGSHITLIARS!”
BeFOReCArryiNGoN(HOME?)
LeaVINGmEShakenBUTOtherWIse
UNhARMED.

Thing is sometimes random stuff like that happens
I don’t blame him for his actions he’s obviously not well
probably lives on his own and needs support and care
care what care care and the community the way
I see it it’s the system that’s at fault when I
got a little further up the hill and nearer to town
I had to give way to someone with a child in a pushchair

AndYOuKNOWWHat?
ShEDIDn’TeVENSAy”THAnks”
SHEjUSTwaLKEDPaSTmE
ANdGAveMEadiRTYLookWHat
THEFUckISWROnGwITHPEOPle?
WhYaRETHeySORudeIwAS
MOreWoUNDupABout
THAtTHanIWasOFBEinGScareD
SHiTTLeSSBYthEANgRYmAnaND
IfeLTless IRrITAtED BYwHATheDID
THanBYthATOTHeRpeRSoNS’sLAcKoF
GrATITudEaNDRECOGniTION
OFmyCoURTeOusaCTioNMaYBE
ThEANGRyMAnHasAPOIntTheWOrLD
REaLLYISfULLoF”FUCKINGPIGSHITLIARS”
AnDUNlIKEMEHeCAN’T
BeaRSEdtOKeePTHatTHought
TOhiMSELF





















Saturday, 20 December 2014

Scarred for life



I have been reading, and enjoying some prose style poetry written by my friend, Jonathan King whose work can be viewed on my blogs reading list. I am now trying to compose some of my own poetry in this very attractive style of writing. I find it requires a great deal more thought than the rhyming couplets I usually produce and, as a consequence, it may be some time before I can up with anything reasonable enough for me to consider posting. In the meantime, here're some lyrics I wrote to a song I performed with Peter Gilsenen a lifetime ago.


Scarred for life

I saw myself today
In the mirror in the hallway
Reflection distorted
Like Dorian Gray
I watched the picture change
Like a living kaleidoscope
A visage in patches
Features melted away

They cut my face up
With the surgeon's knife
Stitched back together
Now it's scarred for life

You can change the future
But you can't take the past away
And the picture of your face
Tells a story today
It's a constant reminder
Of the times you left behind
Every line is a pathway
To the back of your mind

And all the time we pretend to be wise
This masquerade is a clever disguise
They cut my face up
With the surgeon's knife
Stitched back together
Now it's scarred for life

But I don't cry
I was scarred for life
I can hide my injured pride
I was scared for life

I saw my self today
In the mirror in the hallway
Reflection distorted
Like Dorian Gray
I watched the picture change
Like a living kaleidoscope
A visage in patches
Features melted away

And all the time we pretend to be wise
This masquerade is a clever disguise
They cut my face with the surgeon's knife.....

.......scarred for life!

Thursday, 18 December 2014

A Day Off

A Day Off
Security at all airports in the UK
Will be non-existent just for one day
Passport control told the government to stick it
So go board a plane
No need for a ticket
A police announcement at the same time
Said drink driving will not be a crime
On this occasion it’s not be a big deal
To drink past the limit
And drive where you will
The fire brigade's spending the day in bed
No fires will be put out today they said
For twenty four hours they intend to retire
Now strike those matches
And light up a fire
From this dawn till next no hospital will
Be looking after anyone ill
And ambulance callers can to go to Hell
It’s not a good day
For being unwell
In a further announcement the police released
A statement all patrolling’s ceased
Nobody’s watching CCTV
You can ram raid a shop
Grab something for free
Drugs are all legal kids can get drunk
Snort lines of coke and smoke joints of skunk
There’s no age restriction today there’s no need
Go spend your sweets money
On booze coke and weed
Back to work
Woke this morning the news was filled
With numerous plane crashes countless killed
No clues found no established facts
No reasons for so many
Terror attacks
On motorways vehicles stacked up in piles
Mangled dead bodies for miles and miles
Police have advised don’t travel by car
The roads are shut
You won’t get very far
Then came breaking news an aerial view
Of smoke so thick you couldn’t see through
Reports of charred bodies and arson abound
Westminster’s gone
It’s been burnt to the ground
The phone rang and I sat up in bed
A nurse’s voice at the other end said
I have some bad news I’m so sorry to say
Your father has peacefully
Passed away
I lay for a while got up and got dressed
Felt deeply disturbed despondent depressed
Went downstairs saw glass everywhere
Looked outside
And the car wasn’t there
And where was my wife when this day begun?
She was upstairs looking after our son
Now coming round from being out cold
In a drunken stupor
At twelve years old
Back to bed
Pondering impulses unrestrained
The morning has left me mentally drained
I head back upstairs reflect on the day
And lying in bed
I wish it away