I see

I see the greedy bankers

morals very lax

are queuing up to splash out

on charity and tax

the most aggressive football stars

that hack legs from under

contemplate life’s beauty

meditate and wonder

all the career politicians

that swindle lie and cheat

are working in soup kitchens

cooking up a treat

controlling newspaper magnates

of libellous intent

are queuing up with cheque books

to compensate and repent

but this is in the morning

life can be so cruel

realisation is dawning

I'm just an April fool

children light up a house

children light up a house

Children light up a house
With energy to spare
Flitting from room to room
Leaving lights on everywhere

garage radio

garage radio

At a garage I don’t normally go
I heard woman’s hour on the radio
Jenny Murray with opinions absurd
Had mechanics listening to every word
.
Such a phenomena, sowed seeds of doubt
Were they of the closet coming out?
I called the foreman a giant of a man
To explain the strange listening plan
.
Said the foreman gruff, in level tone
Scanning through channels as we’re prone
When we heard a woman state
Men only want two things from their mate
.
We thought about what the two could be
And listen to woman’s hour endlessly
Although it is dreary and we get bored a lot
We want to know what else women have got

tramps talk

Said Joss to his companion Jake

It’s been a long day now my feet ache

Let’s just sit on this farmers style

And watch life go by for a while

Look at those fields with fluffy sheep

And that silly dog rounding up in a heap

The cows are moving out of the late sun

I suppose it’s time for milking to be done

This is the life in good country air

Wish I were a farmer if life were fair

To wake every morning survey all I see

Knowing all of it belonged to me

Jake snorted as old tramps often do

Farming’s no life for a man to pursue

I was a farmer for years, more than two score

But now I owe nothing to banks anymore

knight templar

Knight Templar of the open road

Whose temples seem quite grey

On a journey to a town

You knew quite well one day

Doing your best for climate change

In a car with consumption low

Hemmed in and pestered by fast Jag’s

With BMW ‘s in tow

.

Gone the open roads of youth

Where courtesy was demanded

Now other cars cut you up

In methods under handed

As you sit and reflect

The other road user’s flaw

Just one more thoughtless act

You swear it will mean war

.

The traffic lights stay on red

The car behind horn sounds

Every where that you look

Stupidity abounds

The zebra crossing up ahead

Pedestrian oblivious stroll

How many times you contemplate

Increasing the death toll

.

You try to turn to the right

A road you know so well

Planners made it a one way street

On instructions from hell

The next turning is blocked

Diversions signs in place

On your lap an A to Z

There just in case

.

You drive around for an hour

You’re sweating like a pig

At last there seems a way ahead

When the labourers start to dig

Diversions of diversions

Your destination they seem to hide

As you head for out of town

And resort to park and ride

.

Gone is the patient plan

For timely courteous stop

Some placid humble gentle folk

Are for the bloody chop

Malevolent eyes and furrowed brow

Streaming incandescent wrath

Servile “Have a nice day “

Puts you firmly on the war path

in the waiting room

The physicians journey of which you dread

When seeking for a cure

He tries to keep you from being dead

Though sometimes I’m not quite sure!

In the waiting room festoon

The magazines so rich

To read until the afternoon

The waiting you’ll not bitch

.

Collection boxes for the poor

Show you are better done

Reading what the coil is for

The fitting seems no fun

Cystitis posters on the wall

The itch, some hints about

Abstinence, no sex at all

Puritanical cure no doubt

.

Other patients white as death

In loud Coughing audition

Asthmatic children hold their breath

With a queue jumping petition

Sitting there in health perceived

Becoming quite a cynic

A doctor’s time waster all believed

At your first well man clinic

contents

I bought my love a meat pie

the meat as pink as jam

it said it was beef and ale

but looks a lot like spam

It may Contain some horse meat

crocodile and kangaroo

but the ingredients are hidden

in case you want to sue

I've got glucose purée and vinegar

E numbers by the host

this chemical concoction

is know as beans on toast

serfvice

I've waited and I've waited
for the parcel due
so phoned customer services
as advised to do
listening to music that once
had a tune or two
I've pressed all the buttons
that they told me to

so I sent them an email
about the serfvice that they lack
and promptly I received a email
in capitals and black
thanking me for the email
Although my spelling was slack
there is no F in service
they sent back to me
precisely that's my complaint
on that we can agree

Virgin media Blackberry

I'm Jim of customer services

the Virgin media crew

you want know about your phone?

we've had for a week or two

I'm sorry the phone is knackered

Kaput, U/S, and done

but as a good will gesture

you can have a refurbished one

But the Blackberry is a few weeks old

guaranteed by you

under consumer laws

you should replace with new

But I'm Jim of customer services

don't threaten me you'll sue

we don't have to do anything

the contract was signed by you

I will give you a refurbished phone

see how generous I am

I work for Virgin media

so we don't give a damn

in the chair

Tired eyes with no more tears

Death a relief with few fears

At every movement she is there

Exhausted sleeping in the chair



Too big to bounce upon a knee

Too ill to wash too tired too care

Exhausted watching from the chair




It won’t be long he’ll soon be gone

No longer a burden to anyone

Hollow rasping from chest bare

Exhausted sitting in the chair




A daughter that can no longer cry

Waiting patiently for him to die

At each breath she can only stare

Exhausted waiting in the chair

why do

Why do they look symmetrical?

When viewed from afar

How do you keep a two pound mass?

In a one pound jar?

How do you fight gravity?

And keep all from sagging

And still managed to keep in shape

Without a ton of lagging

.

How do you bury the ending?

The bit that’s sticking out

How come they don’t escape

When swinging arms about

How do you keep them level?

When one wants to droop

Why do you walk so upright?

Without a perpetual stoop

.

With wire underneath

And catches you can not reach

Fabric made so flimsy

At the sides the flesh will breach

Fascinating observations

The science is bizarre

Why on earth did women

Let men invent the bra

which path

Upon the path the young man trod

Abandoned bright and gay

There he came upon a fork

Not knowing his true way

Said the elf beside the road

The guardian of the truth

Two paths you see before

Each can take your youth

.

The path you see over there

In colourful pastels bright

Is full of youthful pursuits

Your parents think not right

That path you’ll need a gamblers throw

For love in carnal form

With wasteful conversations

And a bed that’s always warm

Strong liquor will pass your lips

Good food you taste with glee

Adventure will constantly seek

As will joyous frivolity

.

This other path of piety

Obedience to the law

Abstinence and sobriety

With meager wealth be poor

The days spent in labour

The nights in marital bed

The Sabbath spent in praise

With confessions for life led

Clothes be black and somber

No fashion or gaudier wear

Walking in the shadows

No one knows your there

.

Both will end at the same place

No body will be stronger

Both lives will be led to the full

Only one will seem much longer

a candle

Early Christmas morning under moonlight

Cold starving children look up at the sight

No Chocolates, toys or presents full

There’ll be no Surprises in stockings of wool

.

No candles in windows no joy to express

Down in the slums they’ll not eat to excess

In a cold cell where torture is done

Prisoner of conscience has no where to run

.

Faces turn upwards looking at the moon

Will peace and good will be on earth soon?

Those that care but emotions can’t handle

Cry at the window when they light the peace candle

passing the telephone

Walking up and down
Passing the telephone
He must now need me
Now he’s all alone
His wife had died
Now she has his number
After thirty years
Will he still remember?
.
What waters have run?
Under the bridge of life
Thinking fondly of the time
When she was his wife
They were very young
Starting off with nowt
He worked far too hard
Of that there was no doubt
.
All hours did he work
Gave me what I demanded
Bought nothing for himself
Not thought as even handed
I was bored he was tired
Married life had lost its glow
I started going out at night
But he would never know
.
Then I fell and fell deep
For a smooth talking guy
I said I wanted a divorce
Not telling the reason why
To divorce I had to find
A just cause or reason
Saying he was very cruel
Seem a bit like treason
.
These past thirty years or more
Life has had some twists
The boy fiends that I’ve had
The arguments and fists
Although I broke him
He seem to come out well
Had a loving wife
Made him happy I can tell
.
He has his family
His children seem so dear
With old age left to come
Does he have my fear
Walking up and down
passing the telephone
He must now need me
Now I'm all alone

groomed

Young with life ahead of her
celebrity collecting spree
alone in a dressing room
force taken virginity

too ashamed to confess
to family and friends
she looses her self respect
no religion can amend

at night she smells the stale cigar
the animals foetid breath
with razor blades she cuts her flesh
for guilt relief or death

too late to cure a broken mind
too late to prosecute
the animal or accomplices
in manicured tailored suits

shearing

June is round the corner

A busy time of year

With little chance of frost at night

And many sheep to shear

Looking for machine oil

To keep shear blades dandy

In the junkyard of the byre

For things that come in handy

.

The dagging shears with rusty blades

Electric clippers stuck

A few choice words of wisdom

Will start them with some luck

The sheep line up in terror

As enthusiasm fades

All except the first two

Will need iodine first aid

.

The shear line becomes blurred

The back begins to ache

Not employing shearers

Has been a big mistake

A hot bath awaits you

To ease labours of the croft

Lanolin smell pervades the house

The day your hands are soft

convertion

Two girls taken for a Sunday walk

Skipping hopping trying to talk

Competing for his attention

.

Down to the beach to their rock pool

Where the water is still quite cool

Learning the marine life dimension

.

In school the friends that want to play

Ask where they go in the Sabbath day

Noted for their pious abstention

.

In their youth they want to know

Why all on earth works just so

Beyond human comprehension

.

A book they read it’s called the truth

To instruct the feeble youth

Of death and the ascension

.

From their father they are a part

Out to break the atheist heart

Following the religious convention

.

Missionaries with faith in good store

Out converting many more

To a truth of pure invention

a child prays

In the orphanage behind closed doors

Where no one can see

Beside the bed with hands clasped

A child prays on his knee

He hasn’t seen much of life

But he can’t fathom why

In a time of peace and plenty

So many children die


Countries that are very rich

Do nothing for the poor

For there limited resources

They spend millions on war

In the lands that are still fertile

Rich from sweat and toil

A paradise of earthly love

Till they discover oil


World leaders fly from here to there

With a mission said so grave

Thousand miles air travel

Just one world to save

Mass Security and protection

All for just one bloke

Protesters kettled and cordoned

Think its all a joke


The poppy fields for opium

Cartels and barons thrive

No land to grow wheat safely

For the growers to survive

But there are bullets and machine guns

Rockets and grenades

Uniforms, bright buttons

And medals on parade


The child is so confused

That cruelty is so cheap

And love so expensive?

Is that why children weep?

There seems no room for justice

Or nature that’s still wild

And no one who will listen

Because he is just a child

in the field

Sitting in his tractor high
The closest thing to the sky
The fields lush and steady growing
Bumper crop from one sowing

Above the crop the skylark sing
House Martin feeding on the wing
Butterflies take to the skies
With iridescent dragon flies

Beneath the crop daisy and yarrow
Scattered by the plough and harrow
Cocksfoot, rye and timothy
Grassland savannah will never be

Beneath the leaves rapid breeding
White fly black fly aphid feeding
Food for lace wing and ladybird
Their ravenous larvae preferred 

Slugs and snail in cover deep
Feeding frogs and hedgehogs creep
Parting leaves the stalking curlew
While thrushes break snail shells in two

Nature in bountiful display
For man just gets in the way
For you consumers this is done
Start the tractor and spray on

a day at the mart

Hill Farmer George in a rush

Stopped to say hello

"Nice to see you crofter

But I really have to go

Lambs in the auction mart

I seem to have some luck

But there is a line of creditors

That I will have to duck

.

The corn merchant is first in line

A man I really hate

Only half the certified seed

Managed to germinate

For the agricultural mechanic

The payment's in the mail

Machines that work fine all year

But at harvest time they fail

.

I must avoid the agrochemical rep

With his weed free land proposal

All the chemicals are now dangerous

And I pay for their disposal

Pass my regards as you pass

To the man from the ministry

That pay corporate landowners

And gives bugger all to me

.

"You’ll be off to the bank manager

To deposit before withdrawal?"

"He’s the one I try to avoid

The biggest crook of all

He extends the overdraft

When things are all plain sailing

Then doubles the interest rate

To keep me on the cusp of failing"

.

Off to the mart canteen

To enjoy a well earned snack

To buy a bacon sandwich

With Danish on the back

Every where I look

I see food that’s been imported

Poor farmer George will stay poor

Till cheap imports have been sorted

going to London town

Fourteen years of immaturity

With battles fought and lost

Ill fitting clothes of conformity

Poor style of little cost

Trainers with brand displayed

Counterfeit and market bought

Designer labels meant to say

You’re streetwise and badly taught

Travelling to the streets of gold

Such optimism is never down

The future that pop culture sold

Going down to London town

.

Middle aged looks in decline

Last years colour and style

Trembling from too much wine

With too many jobs on file

Heavy make up cheap perfume

Sitting with a distant stare

Trendy magazine to consume

Of a lifestyle She’s not aware

Travelling to the streets of gold

Such optimism is never down

The future that feminism sold

Going down to London town

.

Grey beard and greyer mind

Wrinkled deep with pain

Youthful rebellion well behind

Galvanised once again

To gather in the failed and weak

His courteous motives pure

His successes he’ll never speak

After so many a drastic cure

Travelling to the streets of gold

Searching up town and down

For what drugs and drink left cold

Going down to London town

Oscar

Oscar, Oscar
what have you done
you scored with three bullets
instead of one
and so you weep
in publicities glare
as the press takes pictures
of how much you care
so you have to prove 
if you were right
but there was no burglar
and she was white

the lottery winner

This is for all who like me desire to go Crofting / smallholding / farming

Farmer Brown had such a surprise

With his first lottery he won first prize

Six million pounds they had to present

So off to the studios the whole family went

Tell me said the presenter, with informal chat

The prize money you won are you happy with that

Brown gave a nod but did not uttered a sound

The presenter smiled seeking help, looking round

So how will you spend it he said with a frown?

Silence is all that came from farmer Brown

You could buy a new tractor you’ll need one of those

New furniture and wardrobes for the wives new clothes

Sell up and holiday buy a new farm in the sun

Buy a combined harvester you must need one

How about new stock a new bull for the cows

Some Deer, ostriches, new boar for the sows

Have house extension, new barns and new byres

Fit central heating, swimming pool, or fancy log fires

The family went into discussion and when it was done

Brown announced, we’ll carry on farming until it’s all gone

if you want

If you want unconditional love for you to hog
Get a dog


If you have the need to love without reciprocation and happy with that
Get a cat


If you need to share and are prepared to compromise on all issues no matter how painful forever after
Find a partner


If you are prepared to invest in the future to endure like a tree
Start a family


If you want to understand the future and ideas with out eradication
Open your mind and seek education


If you want to contribute to the future and change perceptions with a look
Write a book


None of these are pain free
As you will see


The dog can bite
The cat can scratch
Your partner may walk away in the night


Your family will never fulfil your dreams
Your education may be bias bigoted and extreme
Your book will be ill received and may cost you your liberty as your life swims upstream


Nothing can you do unless you know yourself, no need to run
If you understand your past, and have your place
In the sun

Busker Joe

Angry man consoling not

His wheelchair in a grove

Passer byes give not a jot

He’ll not ask help to move

.

For his king and country fought

To keep his homeland free

Shrapnel in his legs he caught

Were cut off at the knee

.

Sent home to rehabilitate

A broken spirited man

Drinking to inebriate

Became his daily plan

.

On the streets of London Town

Watching young life go by

With his guitar would settle down

And sing songs to make you cry

.

Busker Joe he was soon known

A character of ill repute

Living on the odd coppers thrown

By the smart executive suit

.

He sang his songs of futile war

Of love he’d never seen

In grim city rotten to the core

He sang of fields so green

.

He sang for those that were ill

He sang for those in need

He sang for young that lost their will

That on the needle feed

.

His songs cut to the deep

Their meaning was so clear

Were meant to disturb the sleep

Make conscience pick with fear

.

Angry man with tear stained face

His wheelchair can not move

His angry words that disgrace

Only heaven would approve

Dentist Frankincense

DENTIST FRANKINCENSE

Dentist Frankincense sitting

In his lavatory reflecting

Thought he’d build an assistant

From spare body parts collecting

He had the legs of Cyd Charisse

Right up to the thighs

Lips of Marilyn Monroe

And Bette Davis eyes

Had the hair of Mae West

And thought about some more

Her chest was far too big

To satisfactorily store

All body part in Sterodent

Well kept and observed

It seem to keep them fine

Clean and well preserved

.

Time had come for him to stitch

Put all parts in place

He had to work nimbly

Although there was no race

Harnessing the power

Of a passing storm cloud

There came a crash of thunder

So frighteningly loud

The spare parts of the monster

Breathed and gave a stir

He was so pleased with his work

He called his monster Myrrh

He would have to dress her

Give feminine attire

He said she looked good in rags

That typical male liar

.

Him and Myrrh went out at night

In shop windows nosing

Then they found an open store

Just as it was closing

At the perfume counter

The shop assistant quivers

Looking at the stitching

Thinking it’s Joan Rivers

Fainting when she smelt her

The smell of death alive

Myrrh helped her self to buckets of

Channel number five




A TV show producer

On his nightly walk

With his hooded eyes and fangs

To Myrrh he had to talk

There was something about her face

Her smile and well toothed grin

She looked like a composite of stars

A formula that could win

Myrrh is now a chat show star

She is a dead ringer

Getting higher ratings

Than near death Jerry Springer

What of poor old Frankincense

Still collecting parts alas

So let it be a warning

If offered an injection or gas

Hazel

Long Twenty four years of pony club

from age to age is passed

gymkhana and a gentle hack

new owners never last



now she stands too painful to move

wet breath rasping and thin

her eyes once bright are slightly dim

skeleton shows through skin




so many summers on the moor

Winters under a rug

winter is all that lies ahead

there is no summer drug




course rough hands with heart that is warm

head collar he removes

gone are the days when head would toss

with skipping dancing hooves




Behind the wall the children stand

clenched fists and nibbling thumb

they're dreading what will happen next

so still silent and numb




the vet looks but he does not touch

the hoof or hollow chest

no need to get a stethoscope

or to do some blood test




there is no cure in his drugs case

to make it walk or trot

from the old wooden box he draws

a gun with single shot




placing upon the ragged blaze

gun cocked for last goodbye

a shot rings out, and dead meat drops

then topples to one side




legs gallop the final furlong

with trembling jerking stride

the tongue falls out with bloody breath

muscle relaxed inside




trembling to the eternal still

eyes dry to final stare

loud sobbing starts behind the wall

young riders in despair

Ballet

She took me to the ballet

To educate and impress?

Such a colourful art display

In tights and a skin-tight dress

I watched the opening scene

As girls danced on tiptoe

It’s the oddest thing I've seen

To make short dancers grow

body armour

Body armour

To protect you from the back
A saviour from surprise attack
Against spears of truth tipped with lies
Such horror you are now despised

The armour moulded round your soul
A gift of love you now own
Loving arms to hold you tight
In the armoury of the night

investors in people

Investors in people plaque display

We lower expectation of workers pay

Promotion structures fluid and loose

Loopholes and trust we can abuse

Quality management system enforce

Traffic light system runs the course

Improvement notes non-conformity

Is the Holy Grail of our uniformity?

Conference, meeting, and seminars

All first class hotels and hire cars

Check list and proforma mentality

A tick in the box matters to me

We listen to what staff has to say

So we can ignore in our usual way

Staff suggestions and token payment

Always fob off legitimate claimant

To be first class and the kudos that brings

We’ll be forever reviewing and auditing

Customer satisfaction surveys done

Against complains we have a good run

Thank you letters we will let you see

Very few since two thousand and three

What is the Agency supposed to do

To be quite honest I haven’t a clue