Death of a Dog

Death of a dog

Brown eyes
Trusting me with life
Not sad, not scared
Just secure that I would always be there
Protecting
Solicitous
Always the one to save you
The one to trust without reservation

But little did you know
That I, who stoked your head,
fed you chicken - was the one to fear
Yes me, the duplicitous one
The one who held you gently
While we drove to your death
The one who lied and softly rubbed your fragile frame
"Its alright girl, don't worry. You`ll be fine!"
Flushing with the shame of deceit

So I, the murderer's accomplice, held you firm
While he fixed the muzzle over your dear face
With appalling nonchalance
And stopped your sweet heart with the callous plunge
of a hypodermic
While you fell to your death
Still gazing at me with such love and trust
Never knowing how you were betrayed

Or how I cried afterwards
and shook with grief
A brandy in my hands
Heavy with black guilt
An image of a small white dog
dead upon a vets wooden table
Implanted with horrible certainty
That I will never forget what I did to you
My faithful dog.

Me, myself, I

Me, Myself, I

The party swings on
Voices clink like china
and garlic bread wafts across the room
on a wave of tinkling laughter

The girl in the red dress flirts
with the spike haired, hollow cheeked bus driver
While the fat man tells a joke
the air tinged blue with his effusive charm
His audience scream the sycophant's laugh

Then perched high astride a chrome bar stool
the blond bomb-shell holds court
A bird of paradise
in skin tight black and flaxen curls
Admirers gather like circling amoebas
Ready to engulf her brittle frame

Meanwhile, I skulk in the festive outskirts
blending nicely into the shadow zone
Well hidden behind the vodka bottles
Checking out the pizza
with a studious air As if it mattered
what I said or did!
Dressed as usual in the wrong clothes
and last year's hair style

I am the faceless, nameless one
Part of the background
a swirling, seething void that slips
and slinks between the perspiring ravers
Behind the erudite who flash their witty
repartee like sweeping blades
Between the garrulous drunks in the garden
The gluttons in the kitchen
For sure my friend, you won't remember me
Tomorrow

My Love for You

My love for you, it knows no no end.

My lover, partner, my best friend

To be with you is my desire

You fill me with eternal fire

I gaze into your timeless eyes

I'm filled with wonder and surprise

And as our hearts and souls entwine

I see your spirit reflect mine

Without your love the world is grey

No sparkle on a dreary day

No flickering flame to bring me light

And guide me to my hearts delight

If you were gone, my world would end

My lover, partner, my best friend

So, my true love, please say you're mine

Today, tomorrow for all time

My Heart

My Heart

My heart beats like a drum

Every time you walk in the room

And a flock of butterflies flap their wings

In unison

To tickle my insides

With a delicious trepidation

You make me shudder with delight

At the sound of your voice

Or a glimpse of your head

Flashing by in your car

I watch you walk

I hear you speak

I know your stride

The way you move

When will you notice me?

And hear my loving heart

That beats like a drum?

Will you quiver when you kiss my lips?

Will you smell my hair with gentle tenderness?

And watch from your window

And smile at the sight of my face?

Will your heart ever beat like a drum

In rhythm with mine

Every time that I walk in the room?

Treason

Treason

Treason!
You committed assault on my heart
You battered my senses
And violated my love

You poured oil on my tenderness
And set it alight
And fanned the dying flames
With your hatred and mistrust

I sentence you to Life Imprisonment!
Locked in your cell of self destruction
For the crime of Treason
And the murder of trust.

Send back the Roses

Send back the roses

Please send back the roses
Flowers are not what I need
They are so rich and luscious
But they make my heart bleed

I wanted to love you
I needed you so much
But although you`re close beside me
We never seem to touch

My mind has such a hunger
My soul has so much greed
You try so hard it hurts me
But you never sate my need

So send back those roses
With petals red as blood
They conceal such savage thorns
Though I never understood

The rose is sweet and fragrant
And can bloom in desperate waste
And like our love, is doomed to fade
Into a bitter taste.

The Stranger

The Stranger

You`re new to me, with your strange, sharp ways
Your elegant manner and turn of phrase
You twist my words, and make them a game
I allow you to do it and don`t complain
Your mind is a tunnel which delves underground
While your thoughts spin through at the speed of sound
But you make me think
And you make me feel
Realities hard - and it cuts like steel

I don`t understand you and don`t want to try
But you charge and elate me
Though I don`t know why
The futures uncertain
The past fades away
But while you remain
I will never move on

You`re strange to me, with your sharp new ways
Your superior manner, your cruel turn of phrase
Your intellect dazzles but you spirit is poor
But for my self survival
I must walk out the door

Flowers for a Blind Man

Flowers for a Blind Man

You should smell this flower

Drenched in rain

It intoxicates and overwhelms

Inhale its sweet aroma

Of which no man-made scent could match

If you could see this flower

Beautiful as life

Delicate as a filtered ray of sun

You would see its colours

Vibrant as a rainbow

Dazzling as the ocean

Absorbing all the hues of sweet nature

You must feel its petals

Soft as silk

Fragile as an infant's skin

Moulded to perfection

Into a floral crown

How can I describe a flower?

A simple work of art

A complex feat of nature?

The intense purity of a flower is a treasure beyond compare

A gift of love for us to share.

After Christmas

After Christmas

After Christmas
Fat and bloated we sit
Amongst discarded packaging
Of toys, already forgotten
And chocolate from selection packs
Piled high
Too much for even greedy mouths
To consume

And still we drink with festive cheer
The dregs of whisky
And sparkling wine
Its sparkle depleted
And eat
The sausage rolls
We cannot waste

But where is the renewal of our spiritual joy?
The human warmth
The tears of gratitude for a single toy
Forever loved
A precious gift
And not a moments diversion
Until a newer, sharper thrill
Arrives to take our eye

After Christmas
We wait
And hope the coming year
Will bring us the renewal we crave
Our hopes and aspirations reborn
Our resolve for better lives
Reaffirmed in resolutions
For the coming joyous year.

The Summer Garden

The Summer Garden

Stepping into the morning breeze

Inhaling timeless summer smells

Freshly mown grass

Scented jasmine

Infect the air with fragrant charm

Gently coaxing virgin shoots

That slowly reach for life and beauty

Shaping tendrils strong and wild

Fighting to dominate and control

Ruthlessly killing the roguish weed

That springs unsought through solid earth

Raking and hoeing the harsh, dry soil

And planting miracles precious as gold

To grow to dazzle and inspire

The Father

The Father

A father is the rock, upon which the family stands
And that we truly love him, a father understands
He decorates the house and unplugs the kitchen sink
And hums a funny tune, with a cheery little wink

He's always there for everyone; he makes us all feel good
And always buys us what we need just like a father should
So the rock which makes the father a rock that's hard and pure
A diamond that's what father is, the man we all adore.

The Mother

The Mother

Forty-two years of fish and chips
and sometimes a pie.
She smelt faintly of grease and Harvey's Bristol Cream
smile stretched taut against painted lips.
A husband once
until he slid down the bottle never to climb out.
She didn't miss him.
She had a son who was her world
but he contained in his strange world
barely noticed her.

Plump and pink on Sundays she sang her
jubilation in the church choir.
Prayed to God with eyes scrunched tight
then home for Coronation Street.
The years had made her frail. Stolen her dreams.
A canvas blanched of colour, pale and
diluted. This was her life.
Disappointment, a clenched fist within her chest
yet still smiling the deceiver's smile.
Too proud to crumble.
Heart aching with love for her only son in his shadow world.

The Grandmother

She sits alone and smokes a cigarette
Long fingers gnarled and stained with nicotine
A life lived without love but no regret
Content within four walls and rarely seen

A boorish husband was her Lord and Master
Cold and sly he dallied with his women
If only he had died a little faster
His fists now passive, limp within his coffin

But once her hair flowed auburn at her waist
Green eyes absorbing light and life and beauty
She never knew how sour life would taste
The cruellest trick of matrimonial duty

To me, Grandmother had a poor existence
To her, a more than adequate subsistence.

The soldier`s last day

The soldier's last day

Cradling his rifle
He stands on guard
He waits in fear
Not wanting to die

He thinks of his home
Of his mother's face
Football on a Sunday
The Daily Express

He tastes fish and chips
And a pint of cold beer
His favourite song
And a comfortable couch

His senses are numbed
As he stands and he waits
All time stands still
Yet his life flashes by

He smells sulphur and fire
Smoke scorches his throat
Eyes red and streaming
He falls to his knees

He prays to a god
Though he's never believed
And he calls for his Mum
As he weeps like a child

And when death arrives
And his body lies still
All dreams lost forever
His future wiped out

But we will remember
The lives that were lost
And a sacrificed life
Is beyond any cost

The Soldier

The Soldier

Squinting into Iraqi skies
Helmet low to shield his eyes
Stifling in the mid-day sun
Clinging tightly to his gun

His head is filled with scenes of death
Grown men fighting for their breath
Bomb blasts causing death and pain
Bullets scatter round like rain

The soldier kneels, he feels alone
Missing fresh green grass of home
Missing friends, his kids, his wife
Looking back at his short life

Then Robert sees a blinding flash
Feels searing heat, a deafening crash
And as he falls on foreign land
He reaches out for someone's hand

He sees his wife, her smile is sweet
His Mum and Dad are at his feet
His spirit melts as death arrives
Just one more used up, wasted life

Please remember Robert's story
His lonely death was not in glory
A life lost in a tragic manner
Sacrificed under freedoms banner

Death

Death

A soft velvet blanket to cover and conceal

As men wait patiently for the comfort of eternal sleep

Death

A claw-like hand which reaches out

And points a bony finger towards the old

To call their tired bodies to his ranks

Death

A faceless vacuum

Deceitful as he sucks the souls from new born babes

Not meant to grace this world

Death

A hooded figure dark and cold

He stalks the battlefield

To claim the fallen soldier

To demand the slaughtered child

Death

His form mutates as he roams the world

His face contorts

As he calls your name

Death

Sometimes welcome, often feared

He shows no bias, holds no bent

He meets us all with equal love

His claim is life's true certainty

When I look at you

When I look at you

When I look at you a brass band bursts to life in my heart
And circus clowns cartwheel their joyous tumbles
Ballerinas pirouette and feathered horses canter
All for the love of you

When I look at you I feel an effervescent fizz in the depths of my soul
You are the caviar and champagne in my life
The flashing neon that illuminates a winter night
You are my joy

When I look at you, your face tells me I am home
You are my compass, the clock that makes me tick
You are my anchor without which I would sail adrift
Lost for the want of your love

When I look at you
I know that I am loved too

Liverpool Ode

Liverpool Ode

Once a thriving shipping port
Now more famous for its sport
Men grew rich through human trade
Slaves transported fortunes made
Trading links brought untold wealth
Splendour bought with pain and stealth

As years roll by and time moves on
Those trading links long since gone
The docks fall into disarray
We learn the phrase urban decay
As jobs are lost along with pride
Life seems bleak on Merseyside

But as sail through eighties gate
We hear the term regenerate
The Albert Dock restored inside
Houses built or gentrified
No longer desolate and forlorn
The City Centre is reborn

Now this city has new fame
The Capital of Culture name
A chance for growth and to create
Will culminate in year 08
Art and culture celebrated,
Musicians, writers, artists feted

But urban troubles still remain
The yobs that treat us with disdain
Graffiti, litter, theft with knives
Guns and violence blight our lives

Still Liverpool's spirit can't be broke
No longer always England's joke
The people full of fun and humour
Rise above the scorn and rumour
Always changing, vibrant, cool
The dynamic city Liverpool

Losing You

Losing You

Today I looked at you
And wondered who you were?
You looked the same
Smelt the same
Had the same air about you
But you were gone

Your smile curls with contempt
When once alight with pleasure
And eyes that crinkled with love
Now flat, Artic orbs that do not see
Although they look at me
In dispassionate scrutiny

Today I looked at you
And wondered where you were?
A lover's bed
A winding road
A player's turf
Anywhere but here

Today I laughed without mirth
And bought you wine and beer
I laid on the floor and cried
Wore a new dress
Started a diet
Pretence is my only defence
Against losing you
Although I know you've gone