we all have bits a tad imperfect,

(dark specs hide my killer squint)

other embarassments of mine

so many they're not fit to print

Beverley liked to hum during sex,,

she kept goats and preferred oral,

tight bandages on both big toes,

her orgasms were strictly choral

middle-aged smoke screens hide

natural signs of wear and tear,

I left Sue's bewigged head alon...

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butchery cuts it for Ruby,

well known for her brisket,

who gave men a wide berth

for she didn't like to risk it

offal unresponsive, so she

fondled the odd carcase,

pined for sheep's eyes to

tenderize her pining ass

Ted sold her pork products,

poor Ruby was easy meat,

his pies and sweetbreads

just swept her off her feet

his pig's trotters stumbling

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tree resin could not compare,

so soft and adhesive as glue,

drawn in like a starving fly, I

gorged on the love she grew

she's gone now, felled by time,

ironic mere insects survive her,

yet we are safe as any house,

secure but trapped in Amber

I'm stuck and its getting harder

I watch myself get fossilized,

years go by and I turn to rock,

humble yet curious...

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from the mausoleum

decay hums,

no spotlight betrays

eminent limbs aquiver with

star-struck worms

anonymous in entropy, iconic

bones emerge, butterflies from a

chrysalis, gangling in moonlight

they'll never see,

disarticulated by

microbes, where perfume of araby nor

mysore silk mitigates dissolution

beauty falls far,

ful red lips to vacant skull.

...

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those unsanitary days of yore

any hand-washer or hoarder

was deemed to be a victim of

obsessive compulsive disorder

gel meant KY or Vaseline, for

painful episodes down there,

often after inordinately free

bouts of sexy wear and tear

hands red raw from washing,

loft creaks with boxes of SPAM,

DT's swimming through my visor,

gel and tonic beats any dram

...

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it began with a close-up

lust licking every frame,

your lens loved my face

before I knew your name

I'm lost in your B-movie

my left profile badly lit,

direction hit and miss

script lacking any wit

zooming like a vampire

you pan along my fears,

cinema verite in spades

the denouement nears

you loved yelling: "Cut!

this reel will be your last",

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No-one likes to see tears, that

Liquid form of human distress,

Yet human life being what it is

They render make-up a mess

I'd never observed you weep

Your trusting eyes always dry,

Till catching me with Matilda

Made you break down and cry

Tears clear the air like a purifier

Provoking a quantum of sympathy

From anyone that can summon

A minimum degree of em...

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She's gone again, I dont know where

Her nightly walks a bit of a mystery,

I wonder if there's some fancy man

After all, she has a bit of a history

If I had any sense, I'd try to follow her

Difficult to think its come down to this,

Yet we dont communicate anymore

To be fair, it was never married bliss

A copper at the door with bad news

They've found a woman in t...

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marching years wear

furrows in our faces,

pits and wan hollows

no denying the traces

our faces look like hell

wrinkles so eerily bold

yet our hearts are kids

that'll never grow old

your skin was like honey

hair smoother than silk

hands, soft and tender

shoulders white as milk

honey and silk no more,

hands crabbed and bent,

shoulders thin and...

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History will wash its hands of 2020

Wuhan bats and disposable masks,

Just another year in human annals

Fodder for future historians' tasks

Who'd have thought it a year ago?

A holocaust of innocent old dears

Lockdowns and social distancing

I always felt it would end in Tiers

Hand gel and hissing ventilators

Dodgy oxygen levels all the rage,

Vulnerable citizen...

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She was like a breath of fresh air

Outspoken and straight as a die,

Her honesty was almost painful

Often it would make you cry

No hint of vagueness or deceit

Double meanings gone for good

Weasel words shown the door

With her I knew where I stood

Prevarications were not for her

She would let on the reason why

She never beat about the bush

She came true fro...

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Flo and Rose were lovers

they ran a florists' shop,

buds and lilies binding

a love they'd never lop

then Rose met a driver

new emotions but true,

she left Lily cut deeply

and eloped off to Kew

sick to death of flowers

Lily pined, got sick, died,

specified in her last will

no wreaths grave-side

her plot's tidy but bare

no blooms for her woes,

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hanging there its waiting

each and every little part

dangling just on the edge

the avalanche in my heart

snow melted has frozen,

stones skitter on a rink,

quick to rip and tumble

before I can even think

waiting at a precipice

crawling ever nearer

my fate in your hands

kismet never clearer

further descent of snow

dead weight on icy rock

I can...

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Her pearly teeth gave me migraine

I was awed by her withering voice

Her feet bigger than dustbin lids

Ella was my one and only choice

Riddled with human deficiencies

None of us are perfect after all

Ella was well aware of her limits

She was less than four foot tall

Yet she boasted hidden talents

She could easily manage a top C

On piano she matched Rubinstein

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Its always the same old story

I meet a woman and we click

We go out for a while and talk

Time seems to go by so quick

After a bit something happens

Signs of unease appear, frowns,

My mask slipped for she's seen

The dark side of my downs

Moods are fatal for couples

You have to banter and smile

Hide the despond with a grin

Play happy families for a while

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I was at a loose end

Coiled up for action

Capable of anything

Any hot infraction

You fanned my flame

Got me into a fever

Never let me sit still

Pulling every lever

Combustion failed us

From sad mouldering

We barely rose above

A gentle smouldering

We tried to rekindle

Gave the fire a poke

Rubbed twigs together

Lit not coal but coke

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At group therapy we met

Eye contact at a premium

In terms of looks she was

Bordering upon medium

Mam and brother hated

She came to stay at mine

I rarely saw her sober

She hid a stash of wine

I really tried to love her

But I didn't have a clue

She'd bled, half-formed,

Out of somewhere blue

Men she cordially hated

I was a means to an end

A saf...

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I loved that soft pillow's

Safe cradle for my head

Nothing could hurt me

Protected from dread

After my parents died

Auntie took on my care

Left behind my pillow

More than I could bear

Never forgot that pillow

Not ever to be replaced

One of the traumas my

Troubled life has faced

Each of my later pillows

Joined a joyless queue

Until I shared y...

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An Agincourt of pricks

Jabs from every quarter

Arms dangling needles

Syringes kill slaughter

Hypodermic intrusions

Violate sanctifed skin

That or get coronavirus

Either way you cant win

Why no virtual jab yet?

Just download vaccine

Saves on poison darts

That made me go green

Flu prick is bad enough

Arm ached like a bugger

Like being arrowed ...

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Never mind that romantic tosh

Love is nothing but a machine

Ignition is always the easy bit

It's not so easy to keep it clean

Spark plugs and pistons age

As we ride in country scenery

Remember water and tyres, but

Above all, oiling my machinery

Cylinders and connecting rods

Insist upon repeated lubrication

Keep handy your four-stroke oil

Available at the ...

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Of a sudden I see stars

I can barely utter a vowel

I'm down on bended knee

Trainer threw in the towel

That's what Bertha did to me

Her beauty rained right hooks

Love peppering me with jabs

Knocked out cold by her looks

She didn't pull her punches

Her uppercuts thrown at will

She trapped me on the ropes

Bertha's big punches can kill

They carried me...

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We met through a personal ad

Two desperadoes with sad eyes

Putting our pride in our pockets

Pained from others goodbyes

Desperation is a cruel master

Standards plummet to the floor

You tolerate the unacceptable

What you wanted is no more

Half-hearted, we fixed a date

Half a loaf is better than none

I wasn't keen on her manners

Normally she'd want me gone

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The book lies closed now

Gathering dust on a shelf

I look, but do not touch

That reminder of yourself

Better to imagine our life

Dream of better times

Envisage your lovely face

Hum your happy rhymes

Shady bluebells in spring

Red leaves in November

Bonfires and sparklers

The chapters I remember

More novella than novel

Not near enough pages

A ...

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We're all wearing straitjackets

Whether from madness or not

For nature has us by the balls

From our swaddling in the cot

The past is a potent constraint

Not canvas and straps of leather

It dictates what's a personality

By a life-long, iron-clad tether

Shackles of love and desire are

Merciless in their subtle grip

Marriage ties bind us with ropes

No hide-b...

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Gone, you parked me here

As usual to wait your return

What men took my place?

Such lessons I never learn

I'm gasping for air in here

A dark locker is bondage

You took the key to the lock

I'm unwanted left luggage

Claustrophobia eats at

What self-respect I had

As nearby lockers open

I'm sure I'm going mad

Is that a key into a lock?

Are you to fr...

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It boded well in summer

Blue skies and endless sun

When love adds sheen to

Bright days of endless fun

Seasons change like people

Happiness replaced by pain

Dark skies hiding sunshine

Love left rusting in the rain

Whispers like soft breezes

Promises of undying bonds

Magic painting hot dry air

Like fairies waving wands

Easy to envisage our bliss

...

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Official now, gone deaf

My ears are out the door

Words no longer hurt me

Speech that used to bore

They first heard my mam

Absorbed a wall of sound

Listened to words of love

From lovers that I found

Recoiled from animosity

Thrilled to airs of Mozart

Stood by when I was cruel

Inflicting a broken heart

Soaked up words of love

Tuned in to Radio One

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There was only one for me

She never was replaced

Her going was a very hell

Worst times I ever faced

We've all seen suns go down

Images burned in our minds

My eyes blurring as she set

A woman a man rarely finds

No cloud marred her eye

Her nature too open-wide

Proud I was to know her

Gaily make her my bride

I remember her blue skies

Sunlight lanc...

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Not by any means ready

I needed time to prepare

The whole thing rushed

Not even done my hair

Our first date was a joy

You polished up my id

Later it was downhill

Absolving what you did

Stop at such carnage?

Damage far too raw

May as well see it out

Let us call it a draw

Its become a pattern

Anguish, I'm a sucker

Clutch what I can get

I ne...

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A threshold's always looming

That shifting balance of power

What starts off in life as love

Brings me to bend and cower

Its the woes of needy lovers

A world of yearning and pain

Wondering will she like me,

When shall I see her again?

I start off so firm and resolute

Dont repeat mistakes of old

This time it will be different

She'll do just as she is told

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