In flashes

I see you in flashes like in the storm
Like blood surges that keep me warm
I see you in flashes through the rain
Lightening crashes through my brain

I see you in flashes through the years
Some days like nights, some nights are clear
Some final thunder crashing fears
But I see you in flashes through my tears

There is no name for this flame
Anonymous giver of great fame
The love that lasts a thousand years
The love that laughs all through the tears

The love that jokes, but jokes in vain
When the last laugh leaves you out in the rain
The love that rules from some high up throne
The pearls of wisdom turned tears of stone

Come step down to the mortal plain
Where Angels tread, you're not alone
I see them clear through my window pane
Just like the flashes through the rain

The well of life, the Liverpool
Where the liver birds sit on a ducking stool
The sounds escape, the fury fuels
Another tape around another fool

And deep down mercy draws its fill
From the lake of glory
And destiny's hill
We tell its story
We tell it still
Til morning is hoary
Til the frost it chills

I put my life in your hands
We walk along the wet sands
Our foot prints leave their soul mark
Like signs of life, flashes in the dark

The speed of love, the speed of light
The root of God over men who fight
Angels gather on yonder hill
Can we count how many
The lightening strikes will kill
How many shall live
How many shall die
The power to give
Falls from heaven's sky
It falls not heavy on hoary heads
It falls equal on cowards, clowns and crowns
Its quality like an elixir
Gives a second chance
To the man in the mirror

Seen in flashes of a hope unknown
The rain spoken in splashes on a telephone
The line goes dead
But I hang on
Even in my head
I know my heart lives on

We reconnect when she picks up
After the storm inside the coffee cup
After the night has cooled the drinks
The moon does rise as the sun it sinks

Way across the ocean her image I glean
In flashes the moon like a ship I've seen
Rising up into a foreign sky
But so familiar like a kind of spy

The thunder bolt is in my hand
The power I hold I can't understand
I am no God I'm just a man
No golden calf, lion nor a lamb
Do I throw the dice, leave it up to fate
Am I too early give or to late to try?
Do I let her live or do I let her die?

Bob Dylan - What good am I

What Good Am I?

Bob Dylan

What good am I some like all the rest
If I just turn away when I see how you're dressed
If I shut myself off so I can't hear you cry
What good am I?

What good am I if I know and don't do
If I see and don't say if I look right through you
If I turn a deaf ear to the thunderin' sky
What good am I?

What good am I while you softly weep
And I hear in my head what you say in your sleep
And I freeze in the moment like the rest who don't try
What good am I?

What good am I then to others and me
If I had every chance and yet still fail to see
If my hands are tied must I not wonder within
Who tied them and why and where must I have been

What good am I if I say foolish things
And I laugh in the face of what sorrow brings
And I just turn my back while you silently die
What good a I?

Just the same

It's all the same
Just a part of a name
The you and the I
The window and the sky

Well it's all just the same
The reason and the flame
The moth and fire fly
Fly to the light until they die

So why when she's a talker
Am I always a walker
Why when she is burning
Am I drowning in water?
Well it's all just the same
All just a part of the game

Then why when there's really no one to blame
Is it all just the same?

Castles

In the castle of my dreams

It was built above a stream

A long long time ago

We could have sung we could have screamed

At all the misunderstood things

About the love that should have flowed

But I stand by the wishing well

So deep the bottoms never seen

Like all the things that might have been

If I'd taken the other road

But I cannot lie

Nor hide from what's inside

You were right from your side

As I was right from mine

It's just a castle of our dreams

Built on clouds that float like cream

On the milky sky of blue

A long long time ago

Occurrences

The lights were looking sweetly
The moon so pale and meekly
I love to see the drunkard brawling
And to know that I'm not he
The sea is softly coughing
On the fish its scoffing
Light house turned on 'n' off
But not in bluffing like the tide

For truth sinks like a stone
The cats are chewing whiskers
And the dogs are talking bones
And I am speaking in whispers
To the matrons on the phone

I need a graveyards solace
To spice the life upon us
To rule with rod of iron
All these thoughts of being alone
And soldiers march in suchness of the
Expectations upon us
False antelopes of silence
That the lions hunt and own
The fledgling jungle grows
In tame pursuance of the rose

The Wind

The figs are burning in the bowl
The night time flowers hold their soul
They close then open
Their window holes
For the fir tree breeze
To waft air in

I'm in the middle of a tornado
And it blows, blows blows
Around my skull
But its calm inside my mind
My soul
Is whole
Like a cross wind

And the firs are blowing their customs
Their shaking down
Their interrogations
Like a cop in a New Orleans
Investigation
Sounding out a criminal

How innocently the wind now blows
So thoughtless in its mind
Its droll
Its happy to be on the land
Its happy to have left the sea
Its happy, its thick
As a sledge hammer
On a tree
Its thick not slick
Like an army of bees

Its drowning in stupidity
But its free this wind
Its free, its free
Of all logic
Or rules of the game
It knows none as different
To it we're all the same
It blows from the East
It blows from the West
It is a terrible beast
Or a welcome guest
It blows and it blows
Until it has us on our knees
And then from above
Its stops in a freeze
Like a whale opening its mouth
It is vast, unfathomable
Distance and depth
Going South
To the Equator
The warm antipodes
From the Winter Sport of the North
Where the ice bergs sneeze
And icicle teeth chatter
And breathes clouds of white breath
Til Snow flakes catch their death
And callous hands test
The warmest of vests

Plant life

Bratislava the cranes cried
Their iron lifts turn wind mill arms
So long ago
You used to be an actor on a tv show
You used to be a factor
In the government grow
But now you aren't
You're just a plant

So long ago
You used to own a factory
On prospects row
You used to be a
Satisfactory crop scare crow
But now you aren't
You're just a plant

Just a plant gone to seed
Just a tree shed its leaves
The crops they grow
Now you don't sow

None except the insurance salesman knows
Your secret
But you can bank on him
He'll keep it
Because he's your friend and in the
Final end he'll reap it
All the seeds you've sewn
All the things you've known
He'll steal it
I can feel it
In my bones
You used to cheat
But now your can't
You're just a plant

The fields are full
Of your breed
They blow like reeds
In the wind

And sun flowers turn their heads
To all the things you said
To all your scarecrows
You used to chant
Your war cries
Over foreign skies
But now you can't
You're just a plant

Master plan

When I live the life I live
In the way I want to
When shits been through the seive
And the golds found you
Then come to me
We will see the master plan

When the birds have flown the nest
And the long pigs gone down to rest
Then come to me
When you know who I am
And I will show you the master plan

Well it's been two summers passed
When I did see you last
And the goal posts have moved
From the football stand
But if you can hold onto your soul
And if you can reach the final goal
Then I'll show you who I am
I'll show you the master plan

There's been a tide that keeps on rolling
And snowball that keeps on bowling
And a fire burning in the heart of the land
But if you look up late at night
And see the myriad stars shining bright
For every woman and every man
Then I'll show you the master plan

There was a time

I leave you the lion's share
The work has been eked out
Like blood from a stone
Like Moses in the mountain
I've been looking for my staff
But I can't find anyone
To telegraph

Like Donald Trump
No, let's not laugh
The Circus is in town
And they're looking for a fall Guy
Adam applied
And Eve lead a Giraffe
She said you must have a stiff neck
To put up with the runway
Everyone is either taking off
Or pulling over on the road
And She doesn't want to give you the cold shoulder
But Paradise was sold
And they bought the plot
From the Virgin Mother
Who tended the verger's road
She cut the grass, while
The day was cut in half
But it never did perfectly fold

You see the blood line differed
Between Jesus and Clifford
And Rochdale never made the bounty
Where the county line dropped
When I was calling up the cops
And the bastards put me on hold
Now what about this for an emergency
I told them
Someone is being crucified tonight
And it maybe me
Or it may be Ben Franklin
But I can guarantee
Somebody's feet will get cold

So they left me in jail
Until I turned pale
And all the blood ran from my head
And I asked the judge for two years
So I could sink a few beers
Before they finally cut off my head

They answered now Chris
Don't take the piss
Impersonating Jesus
Is a serious matter
You cannot simply
Go around walking on water
Or interpreting in a spiritual chatter
There must be a substance to your ghost
There must be holiness to your host
So get ready to give your body
In the service of your post
And deliver yourself freely
Without further delay

I answered the Judge
Fifteen lifetimes have I spent
Practicing this speech
And I believe it heaven sent
Then I turned to the Jury
And with a twist of my tongue
I started to speak sideways
Like through the barrel of a gun
And they understood every word I did utter
And it fell like manna from heaven
All be it in the gutter
And eventually the river ran down the drain
And the rats absorbed the chemicals
I had put in their brains

Now I think this to be the perfect experiment
If you can judge me holy
Then you must give me your sentiment
But if you judge me wrong
Then damn me and your souls
And send me up to the gallows
Or set my body on your coals
For I am neither good man nor am I bad
But I am wise in everyone's eyes
And there is only one place
That such a man can reside
That is either in a cave somewhere
Or he must be crucified
Because he is too dangerous to let
Wander the streets
And tell everyone not to be afraid
Of Spiritual cold feet
But that to be brave
Is what the lord will most cherish
So put your hands on the chopping block
And let the tools perish

So they sent me up the hill
And I carried my cross
And I they did kill
When they nailed me to my post
But I asked them one question
Before I did die
I said when there are so many others
Why make me your fall guy?

The lines

The lines were drawn but crossed
And I paid to my great cost
For in the face of a ghost
I wanted to hang on to her who I lost

I made it personal when it should have
Been business
Made it a rehearsal when life is always
An essence
I made it a sugar coated pill to swallow
But I wasn't prepared for the sickness
To follow

I should have been sure that I could pass over
But I painted my door with a four leafed clover
And left it all up to chance
Oh but that I blame on the summer's
Aroma of romance

Heady with flowers' scent and honey
I fly busy as a bee spending my money
Not thinking on what has just been
But only on all the attractive things I've seen

But that was a day of the past
How come all these good things
Don't last?

Ironing boards

What's in an ironing board mama
Is it the heat of sun
When the clothes are rubbing?
Is it the run of textile on fabric
Or the clink clunk of iron
When you stand it?

What's in an ironing board mama?
Is it the love that you have for your son?
Is it the life that once went wrong
Or awry
Is it the steam that is needed
Because the cotton is dry
And the crease just won't come out
Is it trying to make perfect
Every last doubt
Until all the problems are ironed out
Smoothed over
No one screams and shouts
About jumpers and pullovers
And the shirts are ready to wear
And the trousers are pressed
And folded down the seams
And we all are impressed
With the size of our dreams
When we still had them

That's what seems
To be in an ironing board mama
That and a pea under a hundred
Mattresses of a princess
Who can't get to sleep

Suddenly the sunrise

Suddenly the sun rose
From behind the trees
Thistles and wild roses grow
In the whistling breeze
Finally in the evening
The nightingale sings her song
Of all the mornings of tomorrow
That are yet to come
And hope it springs eternal
In the valley of the sun
Where the empire rises
When the emperor wears his new clothes

I leave it all up to you

I shall leave it up to you
The river was deep, but we pushed on through
The valley did rise,
But like a setting sun
I know that you'll be getting it done
I'm gonna trust you to do
What you say you will do
I'll leave it all up to you

I leave it in your hands now
There's nothing left for me to do
You can take the reins from here
You can steer the ship clear
I'm gonna let you paddle your own canoe
From here on out
I leave it up to you

I could've told you how to live
I could've pointed a gun
But you see I wanted to give
You every chance that's under the sun
And if you really knew
Just everything
I've thought or done
Then you'd know its true
I'll leave it all up to you

All the woodland deer

Through the alleyways of despair
The troubled town of crimson wares
The blood curtains speak of passionate crimes
All the dead beings are out walking tonight

Following on from the thread of the past
Humans in the looking glass
Take on a different hue
Turning from their Rusty Rouge
To an indigo shade of blue

Mauve is the shadowy sky
Ladles of burgundy
As God's wine cellar spilled
Cross bow heart
Takes aim
At the creature in the forest
Going down, down, down
In flames

The size the weight
The body blow
The bolt from the blue
Which touches its brow
Like a charismatic healer
Bring her low
Falling in flame
Falling down in flames

Chasing off the chasms of scheme
Laying low in the undergrowth
The final aching biting scream
And fighting for her last breath
Turning in the psychedelic dream
Of a graveyard of birth and death

Poem for Marguerite

All the places I travel to
Time is free at no cost
Ashton - from ashes to ashes
To the poet's wood (Audenshaw)
Where Auden talked with Bernard Shaw
Even the weavers wove their web
In Droylsden where waters ebb
Then flow into the miller's dough
of Milnrow
Thrashing at the fresh hay of Newhey
A deer stalker passed by the way of Derker
And a freeman took his land in Freehold
Who knows why you'd risk your success in Failsworth?
Newton Heath and Moston are the best towns to get lost in
In Monsall, they sell moon rock on a Sunday morning
In Crumpsall they can buy it back again out of season

Of course you can get your arrows fletched
And your bowstring stretched
in Bowker vale
And some pom-pom girls will make you bouquets
In Pomona
If you feel the need to rest a while
Drop anchor in Anchorage
Its a strong foothold for a gentleman suitor
On his way to Ladywell
Where the finest dames are known by name
To wash their hair
And chambermaids collect their buckets of water

Be careful of the Vikings who invaded long ago
We paid their levees like their toll
When we travelled on the Dane Road
And the wives of Stretford are hoiking up their britches
As they cross the waters
Tip-toeing to Timperley

The summer birds are nesting in the eves of Martinscroft
Because the green leaves grow in the withies of Wythenshaw

And everybody knows a rolling stone
Gathers no moss
It only feels its loss
When it stops
In the shade of shadow moss

Fires

Fires in the heart
Fires burning by the road of despair
Fires on the hill
Blowing through the bracken of care
Fires on the holy ground
Where sacred rivers flow
Fires in Heaven's sound
As straight as the crow

I've got a burning to do tonight
I've got a burning work
Burning through the pages
Of a script I wrote
About the love of two people
In the towns of the red night

Fires where the dead are riding
On a flickering flame
Fires where farmers are crying
Out her name
Fires like a circus of animals gathered round
Wild and uncertain of each new soul sound

See the dancing animation upon the church wall
Candles of a salvation wax works of a fall
Every icon melting in the powerful sun
Liquid mass of a Helium gas
When I miss someone

All the balloons are blowing
Their jets are rising high
Into a sky that's a glowing
With Chinese lanterns flying by

Even the dragon is growing redder
With each puff of air
Breathing the fire of a holy desire
As flowing lock of golden hair

Some business men are burning
Down the street of a city tonight
Writing on the wall
The worth of all by torch light
And in the darkness the horses call
Across the chasm of their oblivion
Where their riders fall
Down to the fiery pit of derision