Love doesn’t come

In the glint of an eye

Love doesn’t run

Or make you cry

Love hides in mysterious places

Amongst a crowd of a thousand

Faces

Loves finds it’s home

In peculiar spaces

Love is content

With quiet moments

The saddest days

Are when love 

Cements

It strokes your hair

And dries your eyes

It listens and promises

To always b...

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Oh, how often had I played the fool

Yearning to steal but just one glance

At the liquid mercury, silver and cool

Mysterious eyes that induced a trance

Mesmerized even now after many years

I avert my eyes and stare at your cheek

I force myself to remember all the tears

But to no avail, I feel my heart going weak

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Wednesday was always our day

The only constant across the many variations of “us”

Drinking as friends in the pub

Drinking as “friends” in the pub

Your hand on my knee in the pub

Definitely more than friends in the pub

Kissing in the pub

Sharing our scars in the pub

Falling in love in the pub

Laughing less in the pub

Difficult conversations in the pub

Crying in the ...

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The more I see

The more I say

We seem seized 

By generational decay.

All around expediency rules

While politicians take us for fools,

And "isms" are trotted out by rote

And change is needed when we vote!

Essential services now seem filled

By those whose caring appears chilled

Compared with the dedication in other days -

Now firmly focussed on just what it...

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The world where our paths did not just cross,

But merged into one, a unified force.

Together, we tread this road as one,

Facing ups, downs, whirlwinds, and storms, undone.

Our souls, intertwined, did not merely meet,

But fused into a unity complete.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, we now align,

Filling up spaces, fitting line by line.

Cupid's arrow missed, yet our hearts di...

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Within our hearts overwhelming emotion's sway,
Tears flow as streams in graceful motion's play,
Through the windows of the soul, they gently dance,
Creating rainbowed images, the crier's chance.

Like feelings packed deep within a secret chest,
They find release through eyes, a vent, a quest,
Meandering, like molten mass, they roam,
Breaking all the dams that dare impede their home.

Gey...

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Its start determines its end

There is one resolution from the beginning

When something is a foot

It is at hand

Pulverizing the foundation of time

That to be measured is to be understood

As we are bound beneath the heavens

As Adam's first words to Eve "stand back, I don't know how large this thing is going to get"

Billions of populous later

We've descended through "time"

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and so the swan glides on. 

and the water molten around her. 

the carousel days wander lonely, meaningless clouds.

her neck, so slender and linen, can't turn to stare at the onwards.

at the rounding of the riverbanks, grass grows taller than time,

swaying in the cold air, breathing with the beating of her wings.

people stand on the mudded edge, cooing.

her eyes can see their w...

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Our words are like ribbons blowing in the wind.

Quietly, they appear on the page,

written and then disappearing from mind's thought.

Oh, but that magic moment when the reader

reads and says Oh! 

Noticed, the words are happy,

grateful to be understood

grateful to be alive.

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You gave me an STD

So said the nurse in the pharmacy

You gave me an STD

Her proctoscope up inside of me

You gave me an STD

Sitting on the throne like His Majesty

You gave me an STD

So said the bloke on the BBC

You gave me an STD

Sitting on your throne on your lavatory

You gave me an STD

Sitting out the back on your balcony

You gave me an STD

So s...

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This Fenland million-acred sky,                                                     

Perceivable vastness beyond mortal eyes                                                      

An atmospheric canvas of blue-washed dye                    

Souls unbound by expansive skies                                                   

This Fenland million-acred sky so wide 

That fluffed white cl...

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Today my friend buries her mother in a coffin she has painted by hand. Today my friend's father tells her that she has taken on too much responsibility in the matter. She tells me he made her feel like she did not have a choice. Today I will get my hair cut. Today by mid day my friend will have buried her mother. My friend is only twenty four. Her daughter is two. I ask my friend how she has been ...

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Because I clean the lavatories,

I’m considered quite low grade;

In the last place on the list,

Overworked and underpaid.

Though down the pecking order,

At the thin end of the scale,

You rely upon my labours

With my brushes and my pail.

Do toffs and chief executives

Have to sanitise this mess?

I should get higher wages

Than the barons of the press.

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he played the man

not the ball

studs up, hard

worth at least

a yellow card

but he’s wearing

the armband

the grimace of authority

and nothing’s

going to happen at all

raw meat for the masses

and the physio’s on

run it off, son

run it off

he’s just letting you know

the big dog’s on the pitch

and if you get a bite

then you’re doing

...

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Falling

Falling

Can't stand.

Crawling

Crawling

Forward

Toward

Destination

Unknown.

Bottling

The

Ozone.

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Great newsletter - thank you!

Since Day One at Stockport Write Out Loud

I've been enthused: a better crowd you'll never see

Encouraging creativity

Without them, it is clear to me

My writing would the poorer be

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That’s the kind of girlfriend she was.
After a few dates she had me listening
to a little hip-hop, and some other music
I knew very little about. And going to nightclubs

on Tuesday nights in brightly colored shirts
she bought for me soon after we met.
Ensuring that everyone would see them before they saw me.

It was the same when she looked my way.

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The dirty waters of nationalism

Are flowing freely nowadays

A narrow-minded bigotry

Pervades the racist's ways.

The filthy pools of fascism

Rippling steadily outward

Craving invented purity

The racist feels empowered.

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How do you fancy ripping tents up, Angie,

instead of nipping to the corner shop?

Here in the town of Stockport, Lancashire,

when sirens sounded, townsfolk gratefully fled

to shelter under arches stout and strong;

but now, the stench of death pervades the air,

the body politic is now corrupt;

no air raid shelters for the innocents

of Gaza under rubble, three months gone;

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Back to the drawing board

When life itself drives you it’s always easy to return to the drawing board, start again take it all in but with a new outlook on things.

A pretty smile and bright eyes easy going like sunshine on the beat like sunrise on your feet in no time.

Knowing when is time to rest, undo stress, take out that tress, give yourself some tenderness and forgiveness and reset, ...

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Running down the list of eventuals

The trivial and the medical

I'm in the clear of everything external - all I control is whatever's left

On a cylinder en route to the sun

Ambivalent miles towards the outcome.

Hard wired circuitry disconnected

Stranded, rearranged, out of range of the source.

Inside the circulation of a volcano 

Slowly humiliating the earth.

All in graph...

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We have a standard bay tree now

That’s in our garden where it grows;

Our Gert puts leaves into her soups

But what it tastes like no-one knows.

In every book of recipes

For every dish in it goes

In curries, stews or Bolognese

But what it tastes like no-one knows.

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He was the man who had five todgers

But struggled to find love

He couldn't find a condom

To fit him like a glove 

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I caught my first glimpse of her
As she glided majestically across the floor
She moved and swayed to the rhythm of a salsa beat 
I plucked up the courage and asked her to dance
She rose to her feet and put me in a trance
As our fingers touched She threw me a glance
Then we entwined in a Latin embrace
I felt so alive - which came as no surprise 
My heart began to pound - and made me realise...

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a wall hit me like a ton of bricks

dont go any futher at this very moment in time

calm the nerves or trouble will await you

think again about the whole incident

act like an adult admit you were wrong

keep problems all to your self

walk away dont run just to cut some painful corners.

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To act to play 

pretend you're okay

Listen and enjoy 

Let go

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Every decision I take

And every mistake I make

Always has humongous strife

In my life

This I believe makes me aware

Of life lessons taught seldom and rare

For it is true

That experience is the best teacher for you

Yet as I live by my choices

Ignoring the vilifying voices

I wonder

How far I’ve come to wander

Not too long ago

I clung to my mother

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https://www.tickettailor.com/events/exploreyorklibrariesandarchives/1111994?ref=sb_twitter&fbclid=IwAR0ky4ffe3IgBJglBj-tyjxnoKQfUDC5YVGvaO34cf_MhTPud9PVb82dl_Y

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a wise history is a wise,
decision in the making
a wise decision is a wise,
point of decision
in the making is in the making, 
of a wise sense
history is a sense of history

a galaxy is a decision in the making
a galaxy is history in the making
a wise sense is a wise sense of history
a galaxy is a wise sense of history
history is a fact of history
history is a wise fact
a wise fact i...

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I often think about the past.
Had it been too slow or too fast?
Then I ponder on what might have been.
What I might have done and might have seen.

I think about all the times I've wasted,
And how I took for granted the things I tasted.
Where am I going? What am I doing?
What became of the life I had once been viewing?

Now all I see is a fog so dense
That in this life I can find no sen...

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me and my god 
go out for a walk 
sometimes she’s silent 
sometimes she talks too much 

about the state of the world 
her favorite perfume 
and anything else that 
crosses the block 

if I can get a word in 
I sometimes ask for 
small favors 
whether I deserve them or not 

my god likes to test my faith 
she hides my keys 
sends me idiots 
on Mondays 

to teach me patience 
t...

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I don’t understand you.

I don’t understand

The way you walk

Up and down restlessly.

I don’t understand

The way you dance

Around the dancefloor

Like a crazy Manic

Never looking at what I guess

Is your girlfriend

In the face.

I don’t understand

Why you don’t smile

instead looking at her

With what I guess

Is a look of hatred.

I don't understand

why y...

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Once upon a time in the enchanted kingdom of Avalora, there lived a young man named James and a beautiful woman named Isabella. They had known each other since many years, with time their friendship blossomed into a deep and unbreakable bond. Together, they dreamed of a future where they would be united in love.

The day had finally arrived, the day when James and Isabella were to be wed. Excite...

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I want someone to look at me

Like I'm a dying flower

I want them to see how pitiful I am

With dried out leaves

And a broken stem

And my yellow petals falling to the ground

I want them to see the other flowers beside me

The flowers that face the sun

And sing with the wind 

The ones that dance with life

Instead of fight it

I want someone to see them 

And to see me...

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Parish Councillor (after Betjeman)

I am a Parish Councillor; no job’s too small for me

From facilitating Bonfire Night to lighting up the tree

In every avenue and byway of our village small and neat

You’ll find me surveying the highway and examining the street.

Who’s that? people say as I stride along the lanes

Frowning, nodding, peering down to investigate the drains

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I no longer feel to voyage on, since I no longer feel

I no longer feel to voyage on this NICE pathway

That is no pathway but a rutted track that steers the wheel

On a golden course (for some) to where only dark shadows play.

And I know that once upon this path, largely for others' needs,

This chariot will charge forward with this form

(Only this supine body travels now...

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There is no such thing as a flawless heart 
they get bruised and broken along life’s way
Shaped by the ebb and flow of time and tide 
constantly evolving with each new day 

This little glass heart may be imperfect
it may not be shiny, sparkling and new
Like mine it is yours to keep forever 
a symbol of my timeless love for you 

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Let's escape our separate towns together,
Away from prying eyes,
Where no one knows our faces yet,

And our love needs no disguise.

Let's camp out in the world together,

And I'll hold you through the night,

With your head upon my shoulder,

We sit watching stars burn bright.

We'll laugh and smile discussing hopes and dreams,

And make known all of our desires,

We'l...

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They say that twin flames go through periods of separation

And this I know to be true 

For you were right, we did need this time apart 

However, I am praying it doesn’t last 

I needed to discover me and you needed to discover you 

Because even though we are one, our souls have still been split in two 

And we needed to work on ourselves separately

In order to reunite anew 

...

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Just be you and do you

Whether the sky is grey or blue

Not thinking about anything else

Even if the hard ice melts

Enjoying life and doing your thing

Counting the happiness, it brings

Living it up to the maximum

To gain that full-on satisfaction

Making every moment treasurable

With experiences that are pleasurable

Working, partying, kissing or rolling

Setting yours...

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This is my seat

From where I can feel the heat

The colours whirl and spiral

Exuding the passions and ideas of all

And the individual

I sit many ways here

travelling light years

Through fields and fears

Hoping tears clear

Comfortable and not

Alone in a crowd

I feel every sound

Hurtling to the end

Where danger transcends 

Passio...

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He was a famous cricketer:

Scored a century on debut

Against Australia at Lord's,

And took 6 for 36,

Against India at the Oval.

Such things I found out later;

Back then, he was just the old guy

Who lived across the road,

And wouldn't let us get our ball back

When it went in his garden

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Goodbye old keyboard

you served me well

your presence is a ghost from the recent past,

a man in high viz went up some steps

to a council skip and placed you there. 

I'm here to give thanks on your final gig

an insult for a life well spent

in an intimate bond of give and take

a parting touch for old times' sake

before your final swift descent. 

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Every time you ask me a question I nod my head,

I’d rather be lying than dead.

“Do you believe in god, are your priorities straight?”

Stop treating me like I’m eight.

Every time you say “I love you” Is it really true?

Or am I dreaming of normal parents,

A better version of you.

The yelling is constant and won’t stop.

All the daggers you stabbed me with are sharp.

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An oasis of space

my place

Conquer the mountain,

rest on top, and,

feel

I want to be alone

or alone is the last thing I want

regardless, here I feel

a safe space

a place to

feel

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I've gone through bottles

Of your perfume

Addicted to its taste

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Have you ever.......

Have you ever been strip searched in public?

Have you ever been beaten by a rifle butt?

Have you ever been spat on as you pray?

Have you ever been dragged out of your own home?

Have you ever seen your home burned?

Have you ever seen members of your family shot in the back?

Have you ever been forbidden from going to church?

Have you ever felt ill an...

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Three years after we last spoke, 
Lost in Christmas gossip 
Whether your Nephew 
Would get into what you had got him
On the way home from the cinema,
You walked past us on the bus
Fumbling in the darkness 
For the change in your pockets.

Three years after we last spoke, 
Buried in the shadows of your coat,
You stared down unable to look up,
Until you got off at your ex-girlfriend's
A...

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"Buy billboard space," the ad man said,
"To advertise your brand
In ninety-five percent of all
Locations in the land."

"But would you tell me, sir," I said,
"About that five percent—
The places billboards cannot reach?"

And when I'd heard, I went.

[Image shows a billboard making that claim, taken by Kai]

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In the absence of light

I feel safety in darkness

Nothing to fight

Nothing to fear

Togetherness needs no light

In darkness we have love

In darkness we have sight

In darkness we find God

For God is love

And love is God

Nicholas O'Farrell 2023

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New book of poems is out now.

Grab it here.   https://amzn.eu/d/eNbqhve

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In my recently published book, “Shakespeare’s Qaballah”, (A Companion to Shakespeare Studies) I also mentioned that plays were usually commissioned for performance at court either to entertain some visiting foreign dignitary, to celebrate a state occasion/wedding or some military or diplomatic achievement. (See “The Elizabethan Festival Cycle”). Depending on their success and popularity they might...

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In a world of plenty, where joy should reign,

A soul wanders lost, drowning in pain.

He has it all, or so it seems,

Yet inside, he's adrift in shattered dreams.

Possessions many, but feelings in drought,

Tears concealed, smiles worn throughout.

Once in a while, breaks down unseen, 

In the quiet ache, where joy's been.

Everything's there, yet nothing to hold,

A ...

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‘I hate my life’ my reaction to each new day.

And nothing will make this feeling go away.

Every minute, I struggle to see it through.

I accept this, my depression is nothing new.

Lovers, I have none, time is not on my side.

Tears, I have plenty, though all of them I hide.

Some of my very best friends, I no longer see.

The reason why, that’s still a mystery to me?

...

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what a tongue flick. a comet-tail
a touch of poison; a fluid sail
lithe
raised upright in a misty wood
to catch winds for long-abandoned boats 
a land-loch, waiting for heaven 
waiting, like I would 

pressed against a door frame 
mounded from earth and ash 

a home writ upon 
these hostile lands:
a space of teeming life 
mistook greens and greys
blotches and heightened braille
 on...

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Jeez!

I can't hear the telly 

for your bubbling belly!

Stop being horrible! You know I get IBS

Aye, Irritating Belly Sounds!

I laughed

She didn't 

Her cheeks glazed with cherry red

But, also, the weight loss?

And, you need to eat more! 

You're like a mouse lately. 

Eeek, eeek, She mimics (badly)

She turns, cups my face in her hands, 

kisses me

But, there's...

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Lions  

As life goes on the ice gets thinner

Easily fractured, translucent 

The wise tread carefully 

Looking down at the reflection in the mirror

Through the looking glass into the deep

Peering at the memories swirling below 

Unreachable , unchangeable

Thinner and thinner

Towards joinery’s end 

With luck

The boatman will arrive in time 

Before we are plung...

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ELABORATE SUBTERFUGE

By the Urban Poet

The agent unlocks his hard flight case

What few clothes he has in there he hangs

Then it’s a mysterious looking orange file

Placed on the coffee table for bedtime reading

Deceit and trickery are his specialism’s

Together with meticulous planning 

All the parts to this mission, carefully arranged

The details complicated, in thei...

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No husband or children,Lucy lived alone.

Zero text messages at Christmas not even from Vodaphone.

No-one to nest with over the Christmas break,

To pull the crackers and share a cake.`

Going to the cinema with automated cinema tickets,Lucy felt at ease,

There was no shame in saying,"Just one ticket please."

No food in the fridge,no kids and only two plates,

Nothing in comm...

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Headbutting life, dizzily I fail, the dog that walks beside me wags its ominous black tail, headbutt, headbutt no sense does prevail.

Scratching around, in this slightly disenchanted one-bedroom brain, an adolesce headbutt sees me sentenced to a life lived in vain.

Banged up in this grey matter, the cell doors repeatedly slamming shut,  thinking of a way in life, that I can make the cut.

...

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Tidings of treachery

in a hummingbird's trill;

An exchange of aspect

between wolves and sheep;

A blameless moon usurped

to illumine vengeance

enacted by temporal 

fragments feigning a whole,

eschewing their divinity

for some sublunary throne...

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I celebrate this day alone; no one knows.

Quiet moments of solemn reflection,

 A candle or two, some genuflection.

No one else knows that I revere this day.

In anonymous, silent celebration.

                                This day, the fifteenth of May.

Twenty years ago, at a place in the past,

We shared a meal, well away from the crowd.

“It may be therapeutic!” ...

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It's funny

How I start to recede 

And lose my voice

Whenever I realize how far I am

From being one of them

I forget how to speak

I forget how to interact

I tell myself I am not one of them

Though I live among them

My family is lost 

Lost somewhere in the void of time

Lost somewhere I can't return

I don't belong anywhere

And yet 

I know I belong everywhere 

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I stared long and hard at the tea stained mug in front of me
Remembering my age whilst pondering untouched thoughts
New life
The idea overwhelms me but not entirely so that I'm repulsed.
I've never considered myself a maternal being, I'm hardly the type.
My soul feels otherwise, she craves the journey, she longs to nurture. I carry so much love only for it all to go to waste.
I'm young but g...

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A word of warning 

My friend

Im watching this 

Thing

On Telly 

You know

It’s one of those

He did this

They did that

Someone died 

Then a another someone 

It looked like an accident 

It wasn’t 

There were some clues

I think I 

Missed them

And then I think

I haven’t a clue 

What is actually 

Going on

And maybe 

I’m not 

Giving it...

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When my head feels like bursting

And my body hurts from

Life and Living .

I  think of  you  to lighten me.

When there is a lump in my

 Throat and a twinge in my heart.

I think of you and feel better.

The pearl  in the middle of my

Necklace..The golden ring  with

The amethyst stone.

I think of you and feel calm.

When I feel like crying and

There is a lump in my t...

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I stood on Castle Hill,

Gazing at the tide washing in.

Leaving no corner untouched,

It overwhelmed and engulfed,

Bullying the light away and

Filling the vacated space.

I knelt on Castle Hill,

Refocused my eyes

To search for signs of life.

Fireflies and glow-worms drifted

In the flow like departing flotsam,

Distancing themselves in hushed escape.

I clim...

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It reaches further than "please fuck me" or "don’t touch me"

It’s a liminal in-between 

A line we like to call blurry

But I never asked you to undress me

My body abandoned me

My words went slurry

Tongue too thick to go beyond a mumble

Kind sir escorted me to save me from stumble

Four times play on my mind

One of them I even forgot

Until it accosted me during a usual d...

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the mother of a friend

will die at 11am today

of her own free will or

rather of a loss of will to live 

in pain

she is serene

everything needed to be said

was

in the past few days

necessary arrangements were made 

the near future is set

it is not my mother

not my end

but this cruel silence

we all share

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Still on the theme of fast trains

And eternal eagles

Welcome to the nasty party

Mutiny is in the making

Easter eggs crush the Christmas decorations

in the days of the New Year. But where

is the hidden message – the missing girl.

OCD rascals play havoc with my pegs

In the blowy greyness we can say anything is true

Window wind is it forever lost?

Blown bl...

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Little tiny ball of fur and tiny glass like eyes 

Miniature pet my love for you it took me by surprise 

When I took you from your cage you seemed so very scared 

I spoke to you and trusted you...You learned to climb the stairs 

Spiritual teacher Larry a mountain of love held in my hand

Thankyou for the joy you brought 

Be free in Heavenly Hamster land

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Relationships exist in patterns

Too deep for algebra to fathom

Adjust your focus change your lense and look again

Cosmic ocean tidal waves

ripple against vacuum space

Womb energy exchange

Ripe with life

Black holes suck up all labour pains

Explosive birth

Supernova babe

Microscopic worlds are born

Where inner space mysteries form

Abord atom's charged electrons

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So here we are again

We have turned full circle

Or so it seems

But we have turned another year older

And no matter how we try

Our resolutions to change all that was

To all that we feel it should be

Only grow bolder

This year I will lose those vital pounds

Shedding like so much Christmas wrapping

Or the unwanted brightly coloured pullover

My Gran knitted with one...

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The calm does bring a sudden clear reflection,
Destruction in your wake for all to see,
The tune you played to march to has us broken,
When tides do turn, look not to fault our glee.

To rise or not rise up may be the question,
To stand up and be counted, once for all,
Your reign on high’s demise is nigh, Almighty
One not chosen. Foundations crumble, fall.

Success you strive, the prize ...

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Let’s celebrate the rekindling candle, 

which forgot to light up,

But now it is ready,

To invite a foe over a cup.

Foe was like a glacier,

Inhumane, unkind and cold,

But in front was an ocean,

Giant, sturdy and bold.

Adamant was the glacier,

All caught in social trap,

Which was nothing other than,

A filthy ridiculous crap.

Foe was under the impres...

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Verbal Activism

The man went for a hair cut

The barber told him

He had a friend from Ukraine

A female pal not a lover

Married to a guy

Both were of fighting age

She was a house wife

That really needed to be there

Making bullets or missiles

Or tending wounded soldiers

Does she have Russian citizenship?

Plus Ukrainian like many does

She lived in his country

...

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January

January renews our lives

     washes out the soiled fabric

        of our selfish acts

     Bleaches the stains

        of regret and omission

     Refreshes languid minds

        with coolant breeze

    Cleanses, calms the vissitudes

        of the heart

     with frozen, filigree art

     Covers the yearning in our souls

      with freshly washed mantl...

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for the many hard-working and innocent

Post Office operators wrongly accused and

defrauded by their employer. Some were jailed,

and four took their own lives  

The best comedy lines are funny

because they resonate with truth.

Funny in a mirthless kind of way.

Some Post Office manager

got a huge bonus for installing

a computer system that didn’t work.

They coul...

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There's a revolution coming,

You can feel it in your bones,

Pour out into the streets,

In defiant defence of your homes,

Your beliefs or religion won't see you fighting on your own,

For my enemies are your enemies,

Together we can avoid their poisoned stones. 

No accidental creation,

We are little gods,

No way did we crawl out of water,

Not the decedents of a frog,

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As wise as your leader little did you know little did you know, The most expensive thing is air, I arrived back to the field for the first time in 6 months, A fuzzy welcome back, I made a snowball.. tradition never fails, I got my sisters back, I got my brothers back, what a time! in the Bay state!, We all gathered up at titi’s house, The truth spilled all over the counter, I developed an immense ...

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People scoff when I dig out my old reviews to boost a fading ego,
but I proudly boast to my contemporaries there was no one like me,
that old star of stage and screen, who almost became the ‘fifth’ Beatle.

Ah, but that’s another story.

As an actor, it hurt that some regarded me as a one-trick pony.
You see, being a handsome devil, I was often cast
as the romantic lead in our drama school...

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When the grip of our being obstinate clutches On the edge of a looming spiral. When escorting a change thrust A cluster of barbarous knives against us. We deal with this to accomplish A sense of pride in us, For what we usually ponder about, For what we usually act about, The Burning Dawn admires us.

When the solemn mind captivates one In showing what extremes it achieved, Just a look at ...

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As the skies cloud over and things look bleak

And the ever present self doubt creeps

Time spent with you shines bright and sharp

Like the merciless mermaid drowned by the angelic harp.

When people’s words bruise and break

My mind, my confidence and my happiness

Your words of cheer come rushing to help,

Reminding me my worth, and soothing the ache.

When people’s ey...

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Death comes without warning; it steals your life away.

It takes away your loved ones, and the lights of your day.

Death comes silently; it stabs you in the back,

It reaches round behind you, then comes in for the attack

Death comes slowly; it reaches for your throat

It overwhelms you; it chokes you, before you’ve had time to put on your coat.

Death comes quickly, i...

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Lift off

Record breaking

School-boy winner

Overcoming high-ranking

World beaters

Flying confidence

Arena arrival

World championship

Darts final

No slackening

Gaining support

Thousands followed

Narrowly losing

This hero

Never faltered.

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The Darlings

So, I was seeing this woman for a while who was in and out of the music business. She once married a man who was in a band who will ever be our second favourite reprobative darlings. She had kids by him, two. A boy and a girl. Nice kids. Their marriage ended with a smashed glass of whiskey and that was that. 

She sang herself and had a fair voice. A warm drawl that was too syrup...

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Cradled in the arms of my mother,

I sway softly to the beat of the sea.

Enjoying the peaceful scenery.

As I lay flat on my back,

wood groaning under the weight of me,

With my eyes directed 

to that heavenly scene above me. 

Smile lines dancing on my plump cheeks.

When suddenly the song of the sea

turns into a nausea inducing melody.

The gentle hands that used to ...

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la petite phrase  Proust

Back home and married

after our year abroad,

the heat was on all summer

as mortgage rates

and temperatures soared.

Recording it now,

the memory’s triggered

by the music a DJ plays –

which happens to be

George Benson’s Breezin’,

the track that eased me

into jazz, clocking on

in the council yard

to get one step ahead.

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Getting a difficult time! 

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Dawn in my existence
swaddled by unconditional love
I point towards the ceiling
a laughing baby
and my first word comes
‘light, light’
And the smile on my mother’s face
first light…

Sun broke across the rooftops
seagulls chattering overhead
As a waking town began to stir
me in my best suit, you dressed in white
Finally, we’re here
dappled in dawn light, sweet light
and the smile on...

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