All bets are off (2)

 All bets are off

All tinctures too

And the milk is sour

and the bread is like glue

And the body's power has returned to the zoo

Where its animal instincts

Have cut a hole through

The fence

Oh what a thing to do

And the hunters watch

The men in towers

Who call off the search

For the middens two

And maidens lurched

With the carriage crew

As the parrot fell off his perch

And flew back to the zoo

All bets are off

And now I am too

The Gods in the church

Don't know what to do

And the fires scorch

And the torches chew

Up light and darkness

Of the school yard crew

Oh I need a rehearsal to drive on the act

I need a reversal of a graveyard fact

That we all are dying and the museums are packed

With spectators and nurses nursing the artefacts

And sculptures are crowing and cockerels too

And it's all in the not knowing of what to do

All bets are off

And I'm off too

I'm going to church where the sky is blue

And the crucifix is reversed and man is a God

And I walk like Jesus across the seas of sod

But I don't sink through

I don't know what to do

All bets are off

And now I am too

The bet is on

 I bet you did, I bet you spotted

The pig

I bet you potted the dig

With all sorts of paraphanalia

Regally adorned the azures

In blues and pinks

Little tropical sunset

In a mood of long longing

Frog spawning through the hawthorn

In horned devil detail

Of particular garland

Ornately ordained

Conupiscence of arabesque curves

Oh how long, how long I ask you

Now

Must I wait

Under her thumb

 She's got them under her thumb

Oh and all the roses

And the garden hoses

Oh the green grasses and flowers in bloom

And oh they are so well trained

Under her eye's strain

Yes she has them under her thumb

And with her green fingers, she moves like a

feeling lingers, a cloud of pollen

A haze of sun

And all in the rein of

The land girl we're in praise of

Yes she has them under her thumb

To dig for victory, see the stars sing for me

Hear the sound of trumpets at dawn

Raise a model army from the levels

Where folk are barmy, instil the yoke of loyalty

upon someone

Yes she's got them under her thumb

They love her in the salt quays

Where stevendores unload the ferries

See the cargo from the land of the endless sun

No one knows her true name, she carries only her own flame

The ships of a slavery, are rubbed from the sum

And Walking in the graveyard

You'll find her skeleton playing hard

For the piano keys are all under her thumb

And then we saw dragons

Before the flood

And then there were Dragons

And after the time

Of the rolling wagons

And I caught a mouse inside it's wheels

And the mouse did squeak

And the wheel squealed

And the spokes did speak

And the folk did feel

That it was no joke

That life was a wound that would not heal

Because before the flood there were no wagons

Then we started our journey

And it was then that we saw dragons

And St George did come

For we needed a dragon slayer

And saint Joan did hum

As we needed a scale player

And we played down the back of the dragon's keys

And he sang in his scales

But he never scaled me

Because when we were one, we were giants back then

Tall as house and eaters of men

And they sang as they doused their moustaches with wine

Of the sheep that they'd stolen, and then swallowed the swine

But the giants had never before seen a dragon

And wagons were rolling to the westerly horizon

And the days were getting longer, and the clouds were long streaks in blue

And above them soared the dragons that I had looked right through

It had been in a time of mists and of magic

And they swallowed the pill of drug that was tragic

That hazy pot of gold at the end of the rainbow

That cure for the world's soul, that takes happiness out of shadow

And the clouds parted then as the sun burst through

Surprising the giants who had just knawed through

The bones of a pleasant neanderthal man

Who had been operating machinery at a poetry slam

And he got his fingers caught in the web of a spider

And he began to talk and walk like he was an outsider

So soon they cast him out of bounds for the best

And he became a traveller to the grounds of the west

The otters two

 Well I came from the river

And I walked on the land

And the fish were like glitter

All in my right hand

And I saw the otters two

And I saw the otters two

And the brazen brown heron

He bored in pursuit

Of the darting white minnow

That shot from his foot

And I saw the otters two

And I saw the otters two

And parkland was fiery

With the breath of the common man

Who said I claim thee sweet Mary

By the last death I stand

And I saw the otters two

And I saw the otters two

And the Cathedral bells were tolling

Like a rock and rolling sound

And the priest bishop mourning

For the lost souls in the ground

And I saw the otters two

And I saw the otters two

And the cupboard fell over

And on its side did it land

A scraping the plaster border

Which will need a fill and a sand

And I saw the otters two

And I saw the otters two

They were running down the long track

Like sprinters in the high jack

And they raced like two cats

But low down as in attack

And they ignored the running man

They ignored the roadside van

They dived to the lake

And continued their love-make

It was a screeching and a hollaring

And one got a collaring

And he ran off alone through the undergrowth

And I saw the otters two

I saw the otters two

In every wave

Freedom is a distant dream

In every wave it can be seen 

In every wave that hits the shore

You are mine and I am yours

And in every wave I see

The rise and fall

In every wave of yours or mine

The crests that lift or break in line

The Armies come along

To save the people

And the boats they drift on waters calm

The sands they shift in the ocean's arms

And the people stand on the beach hoping

Hoping that every wave won't be the last

That the tide will return, like memories past

And every wave will bring from them a prayer

Singing hold on, singing hang on

Singing help us, singing save our souls

And the SOS is written in the sands

So it may be seen by ships that stand

Way out in the far reaching horizon

And every wave that breaks the line

That comes in rolling on the rocks of lime

Will tell them they are not alone, but time

Time alone will save them

As the clocks that tick their seconds past

And the sands which fall through the glass

The people know that the sea is ageless

But its waves are wrinkles from the moon

And on the sea's face time stretches and moves

And soon, oh soon there will be an answer

And time's lips which are now pursed

Will open up and and speak their first

That every wave that was sent was a messenger

And the message had no bottle fit, to carry its words

Of sand and grit, but hold on tight and do not quit

For in the end there will be a ship

With an answer

With a rescue

But we must wait, we must wait 

For it

Lady of the lake

 Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay my body down in somebody's town

Lay my body down in the reeds

Give me a straw hat, give me a straw hat

Give me a straw hat, and lay me down flat

Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay my body down

In somebody's town

Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay me down by my sword

Lay my body down by my sword

Lay my body down so I may meet my own lord

Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay me down by the river

Lay me down far from where pigeons quiver 

up where the branches are harsh

Lay me down in soft marsh

Lay my body down in the reeds

Lay my body down in the lake

Lay my body down in the lake

Lay my body down without a mistake

Lay my body down in the lake

Let me see your reflection

Let me see your every complexion

Let me see your face, oh the one I can't replace

Then lay my body down in the lake

Oh the king is come home to his wife

She is laying down by his side

And they will know no more strife

Not in this nor the next-life

If you lay their bodies down in the lake

Family bonds

 Oh what do you see and you see and deliver

And through it all live on, live on again

And through all her children, grand babies

a million

See what you see through the eye of the lens

See what you see, see and deliver

Stand and deliver the sermon of men

And women in posters, all hosters of coasters

And seeing the ghosters all around the firemen

When the building is burning

And the children are learning

That we can't be water, we have to be men

Far from the daughter

The father did slaughter 

the fatted calf on the alter 

Oh way back then

And far from the mother 

the son and his brother

Were fighting one another 

to see who would be men

And you see what you see, you see and deliver

The sand and salt in the halter of when

You see what you see you stand and deliver

The mighty white river of the rushing green glen

You drink of the water that's thick with the daughter

But the blood ties are thinner by the winner of men

And who will be winner, the blood or the water

Which will be stronger the women or men?

Song of Spring

 From the hedgerows the foxes bark

And the swans like diplodocuses 

glow in the dark

And the otters paw the banks of gold

Where golden sunlight falls in folds

Raising heads and spirits high

They sing:

To live, to live and not to die

And the Willows twist and stand

Like ancients' fists grown from the land

As Alder drink from watery cup

Their roots that think the wrong way up

And branches are like wizards' sleeves

Too dry, should die, but still believe

Then from their sleeve

Green hands' new growth shoot forth 

and speak their ancient oath

They cry:

To live, to live and not to die

The Narcissi trumpet loud

Spring is come in sky and cloud

As dandelions like lions bold

Turn their yellow faces to uphold

And all the flowers to winter wave goodbye

Singing:

To live, to live and not to die

 

And the Bittern booms his bottle top song

A bottle bank of woodwind birds sing along

And chaffinch dart, and crows they swarm

Come are spring months sunny and warm

Gone are winter months so long and bitter

As Egrets are blown like paper litter

They all sing out their oath and cry

to live, to live and not to die!

 

 

 

Quark Family Values

Have you seen the Quark family?

Buzzing around in their proton cars

No they never rest

What colours are they?

Oh all sorts, they're very multicultural you know

Not much like the Jones' next door just plain old electrons for sure

No, the quarks have spin, this way that way, they have charisma you know

Oh sure they can be up or down, don't catch them on an off day

Or if they're entangled, that can be a mess, some jerk

The other side of the universe pulling their strings

Really they are a piece of work

Catch them on a good day when they're on a wave riding high, some might say

Not always good just as a particle, sometimes here sometimes not

You might be waiting a long time on the front step

But go round to the back, more than likely

They've got stuck in the grating of the conservatory

And they are just waiting for a neighbour to observe them

Then magically they appear, it's like they can't make up their minds themselves

To be in

On that note, mind you don't step on the neighbour's cat in the alleyway

The Schrödinger’s are always letting him out the box

I swear I saw him flat dead on the road last week

A hit and run

Then on Monday, there's the old rascal again on the driveway

Must have given him the slip,

But he does leave his gifts on the quark’s lawn

That's why they installed a motion detector, just to catch him in the act

But they never do, at night the light comes on but no body's home

Then I think it must be a ghost in the machine, so I checked the device

And what do you know? They only forgot to plug the darn thing in

Still I'm house sitting for them next week, I'll catch that cat in the act then

And if not I'll give that security company a ring, photo-electric sell they're called

Oh I don't know where they're going, they said Alpha Centauri, just buzzing off again

Think of the air miles, and you know they've got twins, quite a handful little yang and yin

But put them together they're an inseparable thing

How much will it cost? Well I know they live on a shoestring

And recently I heard it vibrating like to the sounds of world's smallest violin

Paganini, you guessed it, virtuoso player that yang, and her brother Yin

If you ever heard him sing, you'll have thought an Angel sang

Still they'll be back next Sunday via a round trip to Japan

Then a turn around CERN to visit their Swiss Gran

Higgs Boson their Big Grand Daddy is having a smashing time

Flinging himself around the particle accelerator, at his age it's grand

Well I can't be standing around her all day chatting, Einstein's the name

Welcome to the neighbourhood neighbour, yes I feel the same

Let's meet up one evening for a game of poker or dice

You a friend of mine will join us also, but he doesn't always play nice

Sometimes he throws them where you can't see them

And then he makes it all up, but you've got to play along with him

While he's holding the cup.

Yeah, I'll give you a call around seven or eight

My house is Pi times the distance to the garden gate

Go down Time street until you cross space square

I'm on corner 3D but you have to down a blind alley to get there

Then it opens up into multidimensional park, there's a statue of Isaac Newton

who needs polishing, and Maxwell the dog may give you a bark,

But he's just doing his field equations, walked by Gauss and his metric

Of course the Jacobians will be dancing the jig, and the Hamiltonians

may be roasting a pig, but if you don't get distracted, or don't give a fig -

Ignore Adam and Eve in the leaves, they're on another rig-

I'll be setting up stage ready for the open air performance

Of a Midsummer night's dream and Plank's constant gone electric

But you say that scene is not for you alright

Why not try Twelfth Night, it's more your score

and it will sure score a hit, with the kids at the door

They're trickle Treating with string theory

It's Halloween and more

But you're getting on like me, we're a couple of pumpkins

Let's just sit down and cogitate that rousing squirrel nutkin

From his Winter store of goodies, and locked in wooden wealth

Yes you better call it a night old chap

And why not call it the Twelfth

The white van vaccine man

Why is a vaccine political?

I don't want a shot in the arm of nationalism

Should the vaccine be exported in a van

Or will there be an export ban?

I imagine a white van man

delivering vaccines around the country

Opening his refrigerated coat pockets to show

a clattering collection of vials and test tubes:

Fancy a bit of Pfizer madam? - hot off the press

or a tipple of Astrazeneca?

How about I shoot you with Moderna?

It's the great hold up

It's a one-armed robbery madam

Literally I'm robbing myself blind

I'd give an arm and leg to be in the position you're in

Oh I wish I had the chance to take all these vaccines

But alas I can't, I'm allergic you see

I tried the Chinese one it turned my head red

I tried the Russian Sputnik and it gave me

A free kick, loose limbs and a few ticks

But other than that no bad side effects

In fact I fitted in well in Moscow Square

They are all a little bit mad over there

So anyway try a vaccine out the back of my van

All refrigerated, never mind the export ban

Why should a vaccine be a political pawn?

I never knew a person didn't want to get born

So why in the hell would they want to die?

For lack of agreement between two conflicting sides

When we all know it's about Brexit and EU's misgivings

Oh who knew the exit would be a farewell without forgivings?

Anyway the little man has to thrive

And Britain is made up of small businesses like mine

I should say forget it and go back to plumbing

But what the hell I thought when I saw a vaccinator thumbing

A ride

Why not help the little guy?

He's just trying to get across the border

Doesn't mean everyone is an Astrazeneca hoarder

But it turns out this chap knew more than first appeared

And he could get a stash of vaccines from a  grotto (as Santa feared)

But that's not the worst place to find them stowed

No I've seen them under bridges and in the forks in the road

I've seen them locked in fridges so none of them could get out

So I'm the vaccine liberator, call me Che Guevara without a doubt

This vaccine dispensation has been a war of attrition

And it needs guerrilla fighters who are willing to do so for a small commission

So come on Madam why not buy an armful?

You've got vaccines from the East and West and none of them are harmful!

Boost yourself up, give yourself a jab, it's just and wink and a nudge, but

It's hardly smash and grab

And you can be sure they haven't fallen off the back of a lorry

Look it says it on the plastic bag - if broken we are very sorry

There is no use in looking like that at me Madam

Well what would Eve have done? Would she have turned down Adam?

And he was sold on an apple and a promise of something better

Well this comes with a guarantee written in bold letters

Product of the EU or Made in China, 

manufactured in Russia or by Uncle Sam Junior

The only one I'm not so sure about is Oxford Astrazeneca

But the clues are in the name Madam, though that's terra incognita

Made in China

Going to China

Get the jab

But no UK, American or Russian prefab

Rubs me up the wrong way

Against the grain

Feel the chemicals rushing

Through the arm vein

You must have the vaccine

Before you come 

But only if it is 

Made in China

Used to be that plastic rubbish from China floats up

Used to be they flooded the market

With their crap

But now they are the market

All kinds of rip offs and add ons

And recalibrations of existing scrap

Made in China

But now it is vast

This world of people and machines

Moving as an ant farm

Industrializing Spring

The march continues

Wave the red flag

They're coming over yonder

While the cat is in the bag

Keep it in there - they cry

Meow, Meow Mao Tse tung

Now he's out

There's no point crying 

Over spilt milk

Something's brewing

It's a rumbling storm

It's a maelstrom of damage wanting to get done

But in the destruction and chaos

Something beautiful is created

Perhaps an idea of the dissolution of power

Being dissipated

But we want no more men with moustaches

Or marching jack boots in our streets

Perhaps a carnival of dragons

And sweetmeats

Made in China

Something decidedly British for us

To accept cultural indoctrination

Like drop it in our afternoon tea

As an afterthought

A little piece of Mao

Or an imprint on a cup and saucer

Look it's already here read it in

The tea leaves

Made in China

The job market

 It's the job market

Take a job for life

Earn enough to have a wife

Take a job until your death

But you can't afford to take a breath

It's the job market

Don't give up the day job

Don't throw in the towel

Unless you want to bank rob

Or listen to the wolves outside your door howl

Take a job and stick it where the sun don't shine

In a factory, in a warehouse

In pit full of lime

And stand in line

in the dole queue wondering who is who

Am I you? Are you me? Are you you?

Cuckoo, cuckoo

Work all day and lose your soul

Work all night still don't feel whole

They take you away like a chinese roll

Place you in a pick and mix

Ready for the grabber

It's the job market

They make the rules we must all follow

But then they take the carpet away

But their words are hollow

And their bonds mean nothing

Despite your loyalty

If they can hire someone cheaper

Then boy you are free

Wave good bye

With a "generous" redundancy

In other words the pay out would be

Too large if you kept working til you're sixty

So they cut and run

The dirty sons of someone or other you see

It's the job market

They work you silly

They work you dry

They work you like a billy goat

They work you till you cry

No more, no more I need my rest

But the pay packet they say

Will cover the rest

You know times are hard

And the goings rough

And you might be a billiard

In game of blind man's bluff

But don't you shout shard

When you see the crucifix splint

They've been hanging you there

By a horse's hair and it's time you split

They work your nose to the grindstone

You clean your hand with spit

They haul you up and make you shake a bone

Then you pick with it in the pit

There could be two ways or there could be three

Of going about it this graveyard malady

But you better get smart kid

You better believe

There is no work of art hid

In the eve of the tree

In the job market

And the gallery is hanging you

In scenes from a crime

It's the last supper

And it's past closing time

And they need to work for man's soul

Because God does no work

And God knows he's in control

He's the creative manager who gives us over time

He can fire and hire us in our prime

But if want a good living you better get in his good books

There's a page or two devoted

To blacked out crooks

it's the job market

They are never coming back

To work on the shop floor

They'll be in the engine room

Stoking the flames of the poor

And wretched ones

Who deserve nothing more

Except if you believe in divine grace

In the Job market that's the place

I'm sure

Ballad of the Gym

 Lifting iron

Barbells pile on

Weight upon weight

Sad, cold garage

Steel eyes and cameras

Look on, look on amazed

Like a spider looks

Constantly surprised

Though unblinking

Robotic and cold

Lifting its arms and legs

Up the silver steel spool

And back on the mat

The square of star jumps

Now I'm a supernova

Now I'm a red dwarf

Watch me explode

Who's watching Mr wolf?

Counting time

Jumping to the seconds

The drudgery of counting

Your life away in bodily ticks

And contraction-expansion of muscle fibres

Like a spider up and down a wall

Well a spider creates a web

Something beautiful

While I surf the web

The internet of uncool

And who knows you Uncle?

Uncle Sam knows all

He twitches his web in NewYork

And there's a tornado in Hong Kong

While I in my gym of body promises

Carry on, carry on

Lifting the kettle, put the kettle on

Polly, take it off again Hun

Back and forth like a serf

And manservant of the humdrum

And I contrast this in my mind

With the beautiful Hungarian forests I could be in

The place of cliffs and whims

And fun, saying come and put the kettle on

To my real hun

The only Hun I call Honey Bun

I long for that back again

I ache more than sinews

From a gym

Ache within on my interweb

My soul search engine

That continually rifles through memories

In the hope of finding a door back in

Or a page in the book of feelings

And hearings of the mind's comings and goings

That gives me any sense of peace

And I realize like through a sandstorm

That I am like a statue made of glass

blowing bubbles

To climb inside to escape sand grains

But I am made of that storm of sand

That is blowing

I am melting that desert life into thicker

Walls for myself

And all I want to do is to smash them down

And break the glass

Shatter these false skies and ceilings

And stop living in this vacuum chamber of feelings

I need to touch what is real again

Spirit of Mars

A long way off in space lies Mars

The spirit of the caves spoke:

Who is that with the eyes of gold shining down her face?

The Sun said - 

It is I, Sun Queen, don't you know it is to me you owe your grace

The Spirit cried:

 no, for millions of years you've dried and scorched this place!

The Sun said: 

no my dear, it was the doing of your Martian race.

They tried to build ladders up to the sky, 

They reached beyond their reach

And from that pride they would surely die

It was as the Martian prophets preached

To try to touch heaven is a mark of pride

So many have done it failed and died

But what they missed in the offing was

To hold on tight to their cherished land

The spirit of the cave looked sad,

How can this be, that they never knew what they had?

Tried to stretch when they should have stayed still

Tried to fetch the impossible will

What destiny has taught them

Is to remain where water still runs in rills

The chorus of the Martian sand dunes

Then all sang in choir:

Oh what has happened to our promised land?

Oh look what has befallen us!

Take heed ye giants and heroes of other planets

Not to follow the example set by us

The water spirits who once lived on Mars are now sleeping in the sand

Take heed, take heed they sing anon in their water lost song

Water water nowhere,and not a drop to drink

The ice fox and polar bear, are unbearably white in ink

The turtle and the whale who once swam our seas

Are lost in the sands of time

Rolled under the rug of memory

And folds of slime and unbegotten mud layer the deep Martian plain

Like an ocean these desert dunes roll on

Swept by the red winds of a planet's pain

Blood red in autopsy of the crime

The all seeing moon Phoebus sings:

My eyes are filled with red, from the blood planet's suffering

I lost my rings, have you found them?

I lost my wedding bells

They lie broken in the sandy ground

No more do their joyous songs sound

I saw destruction from my cold height

But I was hot with rage

Oh these Martians caused the onset

Of the next ice age

How when they had plundered the Martian crust 

For all it was worth they turned their greedy eyes abroad to rust

And rest on Mother Earth

But in building their starships

They were taken ill in toil

And famine, pestilence and starvation

Crept upon them like a relentless snail

But it did catch them in the end

For finally their mission failed

With the loss of resources came the fight for land

And wars sprang up across the globe near and far at hand

Which none could hope to solve or understand

They fought until every last Martian soon was bleeding their blood

Into the ground

Then my eyes turned red to see the flood

Of blood leave its gruesome trail

Abandoned of its life the planet gave up too

And gravity a friend to so many, now became 

a bind for two

The last two souls left alive Martian Adam and a Martian Eve

And they left the planet on the last transport

Out to a distant reprieve

abandoned now the planet turned in its red sunset sinking way, 

out across the solar field for forever and a day 

Then Mother Earth spoke

Her voices sounded shrill

As the yelp of a pup:

Help, help the whelp

They're doing the same to me

My forest fires are burning

Polluted are my seas

My whale's song is drowning

In the dirty tides of misery

The men in their factories

The women in their yards

Building suiting and soldering

Robots for iron hearts

And doing their bidding

And bidding them well

Though they know not their nature's

Are in artificial hell

Developed and exploited

By the few who smell

Money at the bottom

Of the wishing well

Take heed, take heed the Angels cried

From a top the mountains

The well is drying, soon no more

Will flow the fountain

Take heed take heed the wolves howled

Take heed the bears baulked

Take heed the foxes spouted

Take heed the Herons squarked

Listen to mother nature

For she is whispering quietly to us

Press your ears to the ground and feel her cries

Of pain and anguish

No pain no gain cried the fat factory controller

No gain, no rain cried the weathermen

No money no honey cried the cockerel in the morning

Who was following the weather vein

No Sun no flower cried the honey bee

Who was shivering and dying

In an acid rain shower

No love no money cried the woman to the man

Ain't it funny hunny, cried the man back again

And the sworded word fish darted through the shallows

Because that was getting to be all that was left to him

And he looked up through his silver scaled eye

And saw the moon

The moon reflected the sun

Said - I am the voice of all mysteries past

What I have seen has come and gone so fast

I never forgot and I never laughed

Because I have seen life come and go

And I always will last

A reflected glory is what I am

I tell my story to the little lamb

Who comes into this world bleating and damned

To be another leg of mutton

But I shine on like a button

Lost in the endless threads of space

In the sewing basket of a pin cushion sky

That shines with a trillion pin pricks

And I say we are lost like a needle in a haystack

And all this mystery is fantasy

And all this fantasy is mystery

And what I am I am

And can be no other

Brother Sun and sister moon

I look upon the Earth gone soon

And at my back goes red Mars

Streaking a bloody horizon

Sister Sun and brother moon

The yin and yang

Of the silver balloon that floats above

But the big bang 

Will soon cause a mighty implosion

Up and down in and out

The breathing fire

Of inward doubt

The cave spirit rushes 

From hole to hole checking nightly

For the water vole

She was here I swear I saw a mouse

Creeping through my dark red house

But low and behold the water ran out

And then so too did the little red mouse

Soldering on

 I was soldiering on with my soldering iron

When somebody stopped me, I think named Brian

Brian I said, I think.., but he stopped me

It's Ryan he said, pop screw or Siad 

I said can I use a solder to fight this war

He said if you hit it against an iron door

I said can I soldier like I were an iron

He said no but you can iron like a soldier

And solder like a lion

Can I lionize my iron?

It depends on your pantaloon platoon

Well I said how about a panda division

He said don't you mean a panzer division

I said yes I was never much good at maths and in addition

If I substitue one soldier for another will the match

Be played as well?

He said I think you're thinking of the future

By looking down a well, try to focus on the present

With an iron will, 

I said I wrote it last Tuesday

He said with your consitution, 

I'm surprised you're ill

Well the fact is I said it matches my mood

He said it's a game of two halves

Well try eating some food

I said I've nothing to cook it on

He said why not try the iron

So I kept soldiering on

Thinking this beats talking to Byron

You keep working on that electronic circuit

Where the electrons go round, it's an eclectic gown

And they just drop down in poteniality

Same as me

Crowku

 The crow sits in the upper most branches of a bare silver birch

Watching the pale wan sky

Black against almost painfully pale white

And in another tree another crow does the same 

Wild goose chase

 He went up dale, round tail

Round the garden and round the bend

In the planter, out the schooner

In the everafter, baby boomer

Tin cantatta, left out laughter

Voices chanting Karma Sutra

Dim sim barter, outward bounder

Yes he lead me on a Wild goose Chase

Goosey gander, little panda

Piecemeal sander, colonels sanders

Rabies horses, beet root beater

Baby courses, in stepwise seater

Trammled and trailed

Traipsed and trooped

Booted and suited

Even Chicken cooped

But he was smarter

Some late starter

Yes he lead me on a wild goose chase

Railing rioters

And beat up outsiders

Inward darma

Of Buddhist mantra

Goosey gander

Crispy fryer

Don't look but duck

Chinese good luck

Up town down town

In the lady's chambers

Yes he led me on a wild goose chase

Swan on Swan

 Juan Swan was very wan

Then he became very mute

For he sang his song all day lang

To the duck and the drake and the coot

The last words he said before he was dead

Was this wan that wan two three wan

And that was the end of the very wan swan Juan

In everything you do

 It's in everything you do

It's in the night and day

It's in everything you do,

It's in the night and the day

And if you pull through

Well you'll be on your way

It's in everything you do

It's in the black and the white

It's in everything you do

It's in the black and the white

Oh you can read it in the news

Yes it's what everybody writes

It's in everything you do

It's in the land and the sea

It's in everything you do

It's in the land and the sea

Well you can look it up baby

Or you can just believe me

It's in everything you do

It's in the ice and the fire

It's in everything you do

It's in the ice and the fire

Well everyone is trying it

Once you try you will not tire

It's in everything you do

Whether you live or die

It's in everything you do

Whether you live or die

Well theres' no time for the blues

When nobody has time to cry

It's in everything you do

Why can't you let it be?

It's in everything you do

Why can't you let it be

Well why can't you see

It's in you as it's in me?

Woody the wood pecker

 Woody the wood pecker

Flies from tree to tree

And he brings his song

All day long

down to you and me

He knocks on wood

He knock knock, knocks on wood

And what do think he says?

He says this wood ain't no good

So he flies on over to another tree

Hanging there with the honey bee

Woody the wood pecker

Like a messenger

Flies down to tell me

Yes this wood is good

He says knock knock on wood

Just knock,knock knock on wood

Anytime that you feel good, 

just knock, knock, knock on wood

Oh he goes out just about every day

And he knocks his poor old head away

He goes knock knock, knocking on wood

Then he bangs his head up against another wall

He bangs his hard head until that dead tree falls

He says there now what'd I tell you this here tree is rotten

He says hey pal are you listening or have you just forgotten?

You now come with me, this tree ain't no good

So you better move on over to another tree

Keep knock knocking on wood

He goes knock knock, knock, knock-knock knocking on wood

He says this tree yes, that tree no, and the others ain't no good

So you better move on with me, just on over the hill

That's where you'll find me, looking for another tree

He goes knock knock, knock knock,knock-knock knocking on wood

He says this tree yes, that tree no, and the others ain't no good

He says I make a hole in every one

So I think I might find a bite

Just a little something to eat

Like a bug or a termite

You know when that old tree dies

Well lots of creatures crawl

Well they all make a tall order

Because I can't eats them all

You know I just knock, knock, knock.knock, I keep on knocking on wood

And one day one of them trees is gonna sound hollow and good

So how about you do like me, keep on knocking on doors

Because one of these days one door will open to you

And you'll get a round of applause

So woody says to me you know opportunity knocks

And I'm just about the best opportunist on these blocks

You don't need to give me a second chance, I'm always looking

And I'll be right there, because if it's not in one of these

Then there's sure to be one of them spare

Mosquito Cloud

 Mosquito, mosquito cloud

After the rain hovering

Feathers mobile

Little ant wings

After the rain

Angels sing

Mosquito, down on the swamp

Up on the hill listen to the thump

Beating down rain drops jump

Splash up from the ground

Like a spring

Mosquito, mosquito cloud

mobile on invisible string

Jog up and down

By the invisible hand

The same one that claps aloud

What's that sound that I hear now

Just the sound of one hand clapping

Mosquito cloud before the thunderstorm

Waking aloud to the moist and warm

Crackling like the voice of thunder

Mosquito flys in radar under

Bombs me now from the breaking skies

Heaven has broken, its banks open wide

Down rushes rivers of rain

Mosquitoes know in their hive brain

There's no home like space

 There's no home like space

At least you make it your own

As a Mars Rover you roam

From Place to place

 

There's no mark that's ungiven

By grace's decision

The fate's incision into conflict or crime

A plastic tree, a plastic hedge

What is real is inside your head

What makes a house a homestead?

 

Is it the plants, the sink or the sofa

Is it the door handles shining in sunlight

Is it the plans that you make or hope for

Invested, imbued with spirit

Human habitation

The scent and the sound

The movements the aches

The partaking in common ground

Perhaps all of these, and some vision

Of the future, what can you make of the

Home shaped mould, how can you create

A life you can hold

And treasure, how can you meet the measure

make the warmth to keep out the cold

 

So there's no home like space

And space is no place at all

But if you can create space

From the vacuum of thought

Out of nothing give yourself 

To make the life spark

You can be the creator of your future

Designer of your own destiny

Like an ace tennis player make space

To make the right move

Shuffle of the foot

Angle of the racket

Keep the ball at arms length

Like your problems

That come at you from out the vacuum

 

That is what space is all about

That is what the asteroids are dashing at

Like an interstellar tennis match

You must bash them back

To what ever corner of the space time continuum

They flew at you from

Like a ping pong of problems

But that is why Space can be a home not

Only a vacuum

So tidy your room

Make space, not war

Dirt is alright

What in the world are we all fighting for?

Space, space the final frontier

Whether it's in your back garden

Or free from the veneer

Of inward turmoil

To outward decrepitude

You have to clear your mind

Give yourself some latitude

And in the process of atmospheric freeing up and flying

You might find your altimeter begins to stop lying

And tells you some home truths

For those not only are hardest to hear but

Can also offer the most comfort at times

Like when you know somebody or some buddy's

Got your back, free from the fear of attack

That is space and home, so get back there Jack

If you are smart, you will know

That home starts with your heart

And the heavens opened

 The heavens they were opening

They had been closed for quite a while

And I thought with a hoping thing

That smiled like a crocodile

I thought what has heaven given to me

When it opens

Like manna, like gifts of friendship

Or of life

I thought of the many times

I have wanted a wife

Heaven had been closed yes

With sign saying out for lunch

Will be back in 5 decades

After the credit crunch

So I turned away from Saint Peter

I looked back then at Saint Paul

I said I don't know if you remember

But you were once called Saul

And you had these same problems

That in life I am so incumbered

He said life's problems are in the hundreds

But by life's gifts they are outnumbered

Like the stars in the heavenly sky

Try counting all your blessings

You have been rescued from many worse fates

By the fortitude of those who stand next to you

And not one of them would hesitate

To come to your aid or to your side

If they knew the trouble you were in 

They care for you with great pride