In the recent storms and typhoons, I heard advice from US police to people not evacuating to write theirnames on their arms as it might be the only way to identify them.  This somewhat brutal advice inspiredthe following rather apocalyptic poem - if you look closely I hope you can find a message of hope! 

Run for the Hills

Write your name upon your arm,

On your sleeve tattoo you...

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My step dad, Robin, passed away a short time ago at the ripe old age of 94.  An incredible man, he lived an incredible life, including working at Bletchley Park codebreaking during the war, putting out fires at ST Paul's Cathedral, living in Australia, India, Ireland and Scotland and writing numerous books in his role as a well respected minister and scholar.  He met my mum again after 50 years, p...

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Tell Me

Tell me, Stranger, tell me do,

What makes the world spin round for you?

What do you love, what makes you cry?

What do you hope, before you die?

Tell me, Father, plant a seed,

What path I follow, where you lead,

Give me compass, strength and plan,

To show me how to be a man.

Hold me Mother, sing me songs,

Give me rites for all my wrongs,

You g...

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Only One Winner

He dropped a glass

On my stone floor

And there was only one winner.

She breathed her last

Was at death’s door

And there was only one winner.

He took a chance

She faced a threat

And there was only one winner.

He lived a life,

He paid his debt

And there was only one winner.

My nights were dark

The sun arose

And the...

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The Body of Life

RIP Paul

Don’t hold on to the cord too long

As the casket drops back to the ground

Listen and hear the blackbird’s song

As loved ones whisper all around.

Holding on can pull you down,

Time to let go with laughs and tears.

One life so brief now clearly shown

Should soothe all worries, quell your fears.

Suits new pressed in Sunday be...

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The Shooter

Must be quite a kick, that feeling

Walking the corridors with power,

Knowing you have that which others don’t

Holding it close, nestling, kneeling

Taking aim as others cower

Doing that which others won’t

Taking life, paying back, being

For once the number one,

The big man, standing proud and tall

The one who sends the toughest fleeing.

Alone, just ...

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Wrote this after a visit to Southern Cemetery... see what you think.

Grave Thoughts from Above Ground

They lie so quiet in the ground

While leaves and nuts fall all around.

The slanting sun, the shadows fall

The squirrels scamper, magpies call.

The shortest stories ever told,

Their lives in stone stand out in bold.

A middle name they won’t confess

Or all three ...

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