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Wraith
Wraith
We all reach that point in life
Where Halloween holds no magic
The ragged clothes and haggard looks
The pale of face and wrinkled mask
The wild unkempt hair of cobwebs
The brittle touch of ancient hand
The racing heartbeat
Pounding out its horror rhythm
The nervous look into dark corners
Death waiting across the grey veil
A cold sweat and night chi...
Friday 6th November 2020 2:08 pm
Damnation Trail
Damnation Trail
Through forests dark and shadowed vale
He follows the damnation trail
Along the river’s twisted course
Through bracken thick and clutching gorse
The ancient path cut through the land
He walks with devil’s hand in hand
And where his steps flatten the crops
No more will grow the wheat and hops
For he has footsteps cast in death
He steals the fa...
Wednesday 28th October 2020 12:25 pm
Messiah Of The Fields
Messiah Of The Fields
They left me hanging on a cross
The saviour of the summer crops
Just rag and straw so no great loss
My blood is in the wheat and hops
I faced the black and vicious hoard
Their coal cruel eyes and sharpened beaks
I am the ragged overlord
Who scares the crow yet never speaks
They pray to me to save their soils
From dark boned devils ...
Sunday 27th September 2020 11:21 am
To The Saint Of Lost Causes
To The Saint Of Lost Causes
Melancholy Monday
Brown sugar blues
In the same vein
As your father
But you never made it
Across the river
To the other side
When you combine
The names of flawed giants
Who have fallen by the wayside
More than once
There is a grim
Divination
You leave us
Those sweet moments
From the Tennessee sun
To ...
Tuesday 25th August 2020 2:36 pm
Dog Day
Dog Day
The day was hot
Hot and humid
Stretching out
Into a dog day afternoon
The boy was young
Young and stupid
Stretching out
Beneath the furnace sun
The tarn was cold
Cold and ruthless
Stretching out
Along the sunny banks
The swim was exhilarating
Exhilarating and cooling
Stretching out
And heading for the shore
The tar...
Wednesday 12th August 2020 12:36 pm
Independence Day
Independence Day
At first they said ‘infect the herd’
but experts told us ‘that’s absurd,
you will cause deaths in the old.
What sort of shepherd risks the fold?’
So they put the cattle in the pen
only to be let out when
the time was right, or so they said,
they didn’t want their people dead.
The woolybacks baa’d and the daft cows moo’d
And farmer Boris calculate...
Friday 26th June 2020 1:52 pm
The Truth Of Colour
The Truth Of Colour
The colour of humanity
Is not white skin
Or black skin
Not brown skin
Or yellow skin
It is the red blood
Of a beating heart
A blue shield
Is not the colour of humanity
When it takes a life
And all the greys
of muddled opinions
cannot change the truth
that a man could not breathe
because his skin colour
was...
Saturday 6th June 2020 3:53 pm
Kneel
Kneel
I saw a young man kneel today
He hung his head as if to pray
But he would take a life away
To honour and protect they say
Another black man has to die
Before the country questions why
They let enforcers kill and lie
and let another mother cry
Fear and hate mix with malice
A city faces the abyss
A cocktail of vinegar and piss
On the streets o...
Thursday 28th May 2020 2:35 pm
Death (XIII)
Death (XIII)
My entrance on a pale horse
Raising the black standard with white rose
Is anathema to most
These bones are survivors
Of the battle between
The worlds of living and dead
This black armour
From the land of eternal sleep
Is unsurmountable
Before me
The clergy, kings and peasants
Fall beneath my hooves
When she flips me over
...Wednesday 27th May 2020 11:29 am
The Next War Is Here
The Next War Is Here
Out there, we walked quite friendly up to death,
Sat down and ate beside him, cool and bland,
Asked of his health and shook him by the hand.
Recoiled in horror at his fetid breath.
Before the world went crazy, he was there,
We treated him as though he was a fly
Who we could swat away - and never die.
We were invincible, without a care.
Now ...
Wednesday 8th April 2020 12:47 pm
Is There, In Truth, No Beauty
Is There, In Truth, No Beauty
I am the dry path
Sat between
The first rain drops
I am the dandelion
Dancing in a field
Missed by the scythe
I am the spark
That jumps
From flint to straw
I am the breaking wave
Crashing up against
Deserted beaches
I am the words
Caught in the throat
Of dirty liars
I am the light
Crawlin...
Friday 20th March 2020 11:28 pm
The Keeper
The Keeper
Unlike many in his position
He was never the last to be picked
Because he was one of the best
Not for him the fast quick feet
Or the well timed volley
Or the crunching tackle
Safe hands
That night
In the cold
With his team mates
Where bravery
was an afterthought
It was his greatest save
Not a shot from the edge of the area
Not ...
Tuesday 18th February 2020 1:05 am
Bedlam
Bedlam
The greying morning
Barked like a dog
Trapped in a well
A sound so hollow
It shattered glass
In the cabinet where
She kept her memories
Tied in knots
The braying moon
Shone silver needles
Into the face
Of the weeping child
Screwing its hooks
Into soft flesh
Making the lanterns
Quiver with rage
In the ragged garden
Tendrils...
Tuesday 11th February 2020 12:08 am
Dead Leaves
Dead Leaves
You once grew green
On lofty branches
Defiant against the clouds
Fluttering in the breeze
But now the tree has gone
Just a pale ghost of memory
And the sky is dominant
In my front windows
Your first death was brittle
Old man skeleton scratching
Whipping up your decline
In whorls of frustration
And when the rain came
Like falling tears
...Tuesday 4th February 2020 12:37 pm
Thaw-Irkhet-if
Thaw-Irkhet-if
at last the light
the promised light
slipping from Osiris’ grip
crushed by the wheel of centuries
yet
this is not the land of the lord of silence
this is not the fertile valley
this is not the underworld
this is the harsh light
of an alien world
where sacred sarcophagus
is rent asunder
and remains displayed for voyeurs
of the dead
my...
Monday 26th November 2018 12:57 pm
ðə króz ləmɛ́nt
ðə króz ləmɛ́nt
(tékən frə́m ‘the bʊ́k ə́v crows’)
kró stǽnd ən fíld
sɪ́ŋ kró sɔ́ŋ
tú hjúmən ɪ́r
sáwnd rɔ́ŋ
koww koww koww
kró blǽk ə́v wɪ́ŋ
kró blǽk ə́v bón
kró blǽk ə́v hárt
kró só əlón
áj hǽd brə́ðər blǽk
bə́t brə́ðər blǽk ɪ́z gɔ́n
tékən báj ðə wɪ́ntər
hɪ́r máj sǽd kró sɔ́ŋ
“stick mǽn
...
Wednesday 23rd May 2018 2:02 pm
Back To The Park
Back To The Park
It’s mid July,
a summer’s day.
School is just
a memory away.
We lay on grass
and watch the sky
and count the clouds
as they pass by.
We talk of bands
we’d like to see -
Led Zeppelin, Quo,
Sabbath and Free.
Insects buzz,
a distant bark,
children playing
In the park.
You turn to me
and kiss my lips
and move in close,
h...
Tuesday 3rd April 2018 2:55 pm
Sacred Path
Sacred Path
we walked the ancient path together
where ancestors had worn the land
into a waypoint to the barrow
carefully observing rituals and customs
under azure skies we stumbled on our way
across this land of Albion
the hops the wheat the barley
bowing heads in solemn recognition
of the passing of souls
as we walked we talked of many things
...
Thursday 22nd February 2018 12:19 am
Gave Me Up To Tears
Gave Me Up To Tears
"And all my mother came into mine eyes
And gave me up to tears."
— William Shakespeare, Henry V
The air tastes of mashed potatoes
When she looks into your eyes
And you look back at the fear and hurt
And she says she’s sorry for dragging you here
And you tell her it’s nothing
Even though you were complaining
That very same thing on the drive h...
Sunday 29th January 2017 9:35 pm
Saint Valentine's Day Mascara
Saint Valentine’s Day Mascara
She cried when I forgot.
She cried when I remembered,
her tears like silver arrows
to my heart,
her eyes black-lined with sorrow.
The ink, barely dried,
smudged with liquid joy.
A big wet splash on the ‘o’
turning ‘love’ into ‘live’
and crowning my name
like a liquid tiara
for a princess
in a cruel land.
Granting wishes
like kisses.
So I wished s...
Tuesday 3rd February 2015 6:53 pm
A Tree In The Elephant's Graveyard
A Tree In The Elephant’s Graveyard
It began with a pen
and paper,
beneath a tree.
Carried here
upon a rat
to rest awhile.
The paper was white
and stared at me
insolently.
The pen hovered,
dripping ink
like tears.
A serpent
coiled itself
around My neck.
I thought of stars
and dreamt
of gouache landscapes.
Still the paper
would not
fuck the pen.
My thoughts
were clear,
...
Monday 17th November 2014 8:13 pm
funeral days
funeral days
funeral days
should always be like this
early mourning dew
in the eyes of those gathered
under a slate grey sky
(not blasphemous blue)
whose heavy tears
will splash
the golden Judas kiss
of leaves crackling
beneath disrobed trees
betraying the sadness
with their joyful colour
the heavy damp sods of earth
clinging close to the coffin
like the grief
that surrounds...
Friday 10th October 2014 7:14 pm
An Angel Bathes In Tears
An Angel Bathes In Tears
Diniel rested for a second
and turned his eyes away
from those that he was caring for
and in that moment all was lost.
Now he bathes in the cascades
of acidic human tears
that flood the world with grief.
Erosive and corrosive
at the passing of infant souls
in a war that has no meaning
in a world that has no morals.
Now his dainty angel features
disappear unt...
Friday 25th July 2014 2:30 pm
War Boys
War Boys
“YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU”
We’re going to war boys,
we’re going to war,
Lord Kitchener asked us
so we formed a corps.
Joe and Jack from the factory,
Ted and Jim from the farm,
the recruiting sergeant assures us
that there’s little chance of harm.
We’re part of the great pals army
and we’ve fallen for his charm
as we march away to war.
We’re in the war boys,
we’re in the ...
Wednesday 25th June 2014 9:01 pm
Home By Christmas
Home By Christmas
I fear I let my feelings rule my head,
that you would have no trouble getting leave.
You would be home by Christmas as they said.
All through the Autumn, sleeping cold in bed,
I dreamt of all our marriage would achieve.
I fear I let my feelings rule my head.
Not since the day that both of us were wed
had we missed carols, sung that holy eve.
You would be home by Ch...
Wednesday 14th May 2014 2:15 pm
Grievous Angel
Grievous Angel
the cosmic cowboy
overdosed
on a deadly cocktail
of alcohol and morphine
to ease the pain
to ease the heartache
to ease the way
to redemption
Louisiana bound
to a friendless funeral
stolen away
in a cheap hearse
five gallons of gasoline
and a lighted match
in an open coffin at Cap Rock
under the Joshua trees
a blazing fireball
of wasted dreams
a flame so bri...
Friday 17th January 2014 7:22 pm
Winterfylleth (October)
Winterfylleth (October)
We die! We die!
scream the old men
of the trees,
as their grip slips
from skeletal fingers
holding them aloft.
They fall to earth
in a blaze of golden glory,
coming to rest
at the feet of
great oaks, sycamores,
birch and elms.
Rustling in their cardigans
of orange and amber
like dry skin
in...
Friday 4th October 2013 11:53 am
On Sandal's Field Of Ghosts
On Sandal’s Field Of Ghosts.
Mist hangs over fields -
ahead, the castle looms where
died the Duke Of York.
At the willows three
a chill permeates the air
and touches nerve ends.
Here fell the Yorkist
hope – body mutilated
and dragged through the mud.
Decapitated.
His head sent on to York to
top a traitors spike.
I...
Saturday 28th September 2013 12:21 am
stroke
stroke
no words
blood ricocheting
in all directions
going places
where blood should
smoothly flow
not rush headlong
apologies
made by sign
for dragging me
seventy miles
to see
your broken body
no words
thinking
is this it?
is this all there is?
will I live
the rest of my life
motherless?
no wor...
Friday 6th September 2013 7:29 pm
warRANT
warRANT
the ack-ack-ack
of sobbing children
a tear
for every bullet
the roll of pressure
heal to toe
erasing limbs
flies swarming on open wounds
picking at the scabs
of wounded families
the searing pain
of widows and orphans
scorched flesh
hurt is local currency
guns from foreign currency
a...
Friday 19th April 2013 1:05 pm
From Virginia
From Virginia
He sat and watched them
draw from pipes of bone and clay,
eyes closed in peaceful
meditation. Cast in clouds
of bittersweet transcendence.
I sat and watched him
turn into a hollow man,
wrapped in shrouds of grey.
His constant, shuddering, barks
cough your epitaph, Raleigh.
Wednesday 13th March 2013 10:24 am
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