don't give up

Don't give up
For you are loved
Across the plain, the field

Don't give up
Lift on wings of a dove
Its just the way that you feel

These wheels keep on turning
The seasons keep returning
The world resolves
And our problems are solved
By day turning into dark
From the dark you must come out into light


Don't give up
Every breath must be a fight
Every day a struggle against death
Tell death to fuck off
Don't give up
Don't give up

All things pass
The summer wine
In the glass
Soon must be supped
But cast your net
Feel the sea sway
Hold tight the mast
In the storm
The new day will bring
Peace of mind

The tune to sing

Where are the tunes
That I heard you sing?
Summer comes down the street
Birdies tweet in the tree
Where are those tunes
I used to hear you sing?

Ah they're coming back
On the tide
On the new sun rising
They are the silver lining
Of the clouds on my horizon
And I can hear you sing

Well its two tunes for my life
One for my money one for my wife
And I know its funny honey
You can still sing that tune for me

Timpani no more

 How do you do?

Are you in the soup too?

How does it feel to be me?

Well how does it feel to be you?

Are you waking up sideways with your head in a cupboard

Are your ears like an attic

Where bats are recovered

Do you sweep cobwebs or webcobs

Do you chew tobacco sweet stacco

Are you stuck in the middle bracket

Income packet,

Under the living wage, or between the lines

On the living page

Of life's book

The devil's in the detail, but he lives to be on stage

And who should know better

Than the deep blue sea

Who could know better than you and me?

The words I wished I had written were caught in the trap

Of the unforgiven, and smitten, by folly, sore blades 

In sacks, holding a brolly to the the radio shack

And firing nicely the cannons' report

Oh reads the daily results on the sport

Slow tambres coming and an ice cream van

Calling out its sombre, sombrero lifespan

Its always summer in the north pole

And he will serve your soul flakey

Or dipped in petrol

And lice are crawling up the road

Carrying icicles of pericles

And shoulders of pork are still to be cured

But legs of lamb have been broken

If ever softly heard

Summer's bird

 I saw you lost your throne of stone

I saw your crown was broke

And in amongst the daisy chains

Was where the blackbird spoke

Saying I lost you in the morning

I lost you in the spring

And the fourth time I was calling

You came home to me again

For the cross was born in the winter

And the tides rose up in field

And we all feel so brave on the short summer waves

When the heat is our only meal

brief time

 I'm telling you the truth

Of the birds who sit and squark

And the colour of the chalk left

By the blackboard

If it was green or was it pink

Oh the submarine did sink

Below the waves of memory

That wash up on the shore

I'm telling you the truth of what I speak

Some days we were strong, on some weak

But we were children then

Running through the thick

Glory days of youth's summer

And on some of those hedgerows

Where the dinosaurs grow

Next to the graveyard wall

To remind us all

That time is brief

And life is short

Though back then time was sport

Life is short

Life is short

It looks out to the left

Is it right?

 Can you tell me, can you tell me

Can you tell me

Is it right

That the things which had been sworn

Keep you up late at night

And is it like a unicorn, moving so magical and bright

Across the favoured summer's lawn

Oh it keeps me awake at night

And is it right that the blacks

Have lost their rights

Is it right that the blues go down Madison's loos

Is it right

In the ailing ships that sway at bay

And is it right that my stopped clock

Is still right twice a day

Tell me in the graveyards

Who has brought the corn?

And scattered over the dead corpses

So that they might be reborn?

Tell will they get up and walk around til dawn

Oh tell me, tell me, tell me is it right?

Is it right that the plague comes and knocks upon my door

While it leaves my neighbour alone,

Makes me want to settle the score

Oh we are all alone before the accounts of the Lord

But I know I can't lift this millstone

That hangs around my neck any more

Tell me oh tell me, tell me is it right?

Oh tell me , tell me,

What keeps you tossing in your bed at night

Is it that you are lonely, is it that your dove has flown

Or is it only that your afraid of the unknown

And who should come and turn on your light

Well follow her to the aquifer and bleed that stone tonight

Tell me oh tell me, tell me is it right

That the blood hurts but what's worse is 

You don't even care

And of course I curse, of course I nurse

A kind of self-mocking despair 

But what's worse is I can see the hearse

Cannot park anywhere!

Tell me oh tell me, tell me is it right

That the carnival of animals

Are on the road tonight

That we all see a vacant sign

When there's someone in there

But she can't get out, and he starts to shout

That there's a human whose soul is laid bare

Or is made out of fresh air?

Love Spade sonnet number 5

 Shall I compare thee to a garden hoe

Thou art more buxom and less straight

And were I to call a spade a spade

A spade by any other name would cut as deep

As the wound your lover's blade has inflicted on mine breast

Shall I compare thee instead to a cold north wind

Which blows down my allotment rows

Freezing all my peas, tearing my cabbage leaves

But no, thine own wind is more poisonous by far

And were it not able to let sleeping dogs lie

I should compare you to a roamin' butterfly

Who wanders aimless through the summer fields

Makes acquaintance with dogrose, or dandilion

But her self has teeth enough when she's a pup

To cut as deep, into my brassica leaf or butter cup

Or as a caterpillar grub to hang high above in Beech

Or as pure as a silken glove as a Chrysilis who speaks

Of stolen love, and innocence though monsterous actions dreams

Well after all, lets call a spade a spade, you do no more harm

lest you keep your forked tongue behind your rake's teeth

For when winter's storm comes to blow dead leaves down my street

I hold you by the trunk and ask those same fastidious protuberances

Be used to clean the mould from between the toes of my frozen feet

The restless ship

 I am the ship that will never reach port

Sail all night for the pirate's sport

I am the ship that will never get caught

Well I sail all night, and I sail in the morn

By the morning light I'm still sailing on

Yes I am the ship that will never reach port

All the times that you have thought

I am the ship that is sailing on

To the endless seas far from the land

And I sail over the horizon

And I sail on from the dunes of sand

I am the ship that will never reach port

For I chase the fish can never be caught

Well I chase him south and I chase him north

Yes I am the ship that will never reach port

I am the ship that will never reach port

For I follow the rainbow for the gold I sought

And I sail through rain and I sail through snow

And I sail through the desert sun that I know

I am the ship that will never reach port

and I fight in the wars for the sailor's sport

And the devil knows my name but I am never caught

No until my fame tells the tale of my sort

I am the ship that will never reach port

And I carry no anchor and hold my court

For the kings come to me for to get taught

How to run the game like the devil's sport

I am the ship that will never reach port

And I keep them guessing just as long as I ought

And there is no answer, no answer can be bought

With their pots of gold and their rich consort

And I never reach the final goal

Yes I am the ship with the ghost like soul

I am the ship against the rainbow

That chases the light, that chases the snow

I am the ship that will never reach port

Through the many wars that I have fought

I am the ship that will never reach port

A sailor's life is for the devil's sport

Down to the south where humpbacks are caught

Up to the North where ice cuts life short

I am the ship that will never reach port

Well the sabres swing, and scabbards fly

And gull on the wing will teach us how to sigh

And the swords they flash and the sailors cry

I am the ship that keeps fighting til I die

Yes I fought on through the wars of old

I fought to the rainbow for the pot of gold

I fought to the ends of the earth you see

For I am the ship on the rolling sea

And it rolls on down and it rolls on wide

And it rolls forever to the bright sunshine

And it rolls there now and it rolls so fine

And it rolls on down to the bright sunshine

Yes I am the ship that will never reach land

And I never touched sand and I never held a hand

I am the ship that will sail alone

Through the times of the age, but never reach home

I am the ship that will never reach port

I will sail all night and I'll never get caught

And the fires on the raging seas of time

And I'll never stop, never stop while I'm in my prime

And I wend and I wander through the days of olde

And the seas are coming and the seas are cold

And the waves are breaking on the ship's stronghold

The ship that will never reach the land

For the love who will never hold my hand

I am the ship that will never reach land

I will keep on sailing for as long as I can

I put down no anchor and ask the help of no man

Yes I am the ship that will never reach land

I ask for no quarter, no quarter from man

I am given no help except to stick to the plan

To be the ship that will never reach land

I am the ship that will never reach land

I am the ship that will never reach port

For I'm chasing the fish that will not be caught

And we chase him south and we chase him North

To the river mouth and round the horn

And the sailors shout and bloody oaths are sworn

In the dirty mouth of babes fresh born

They cry we are the fish who will never get caught

Through the summer drought or the winter storm

And I heard him out yes I heard the sails torn

He was the tavern tout, a drunken sailor of the morn

And spoke his story through the windows cry

Twin town 4

 The dive bombers are dropping bombs all around and

The shattered land lies in pieces

Of Golgotha's cousin

And seeds are blown from the dandilions

Who roar at the daisies working on the chain gang

And the flower slaves are raving and splashing

With sirens and mermaids in the shallows 

Where our ark hits the breakers of the coral island

Is this false limb the true twin town I ask

And you are like Moses and plant your staff

And stake your claim in tomorrow's garden

Where the gypsies rob

Water from the gutters of the houses of God

And I say all this lighted lanterns of concern

And the burning effigies are not real

On Christmas Day or a Midsummer's Eve

I say run at the height of the festival's plan

Run away from the clan

Back to the seas

Back to our Ark

Back where the sailors are fighting with sharks

And the rough hands of God,

And horses rough shod

Are trampling firmly upon the iron rod

As a Tempest weaves around ruined Castle walls

And standing stones have belly aches from all the prayers they've received

Our ship pushes out away from the false land

Where Caliban is still howling like a banshee from the shore

And Queen Mary is in the tower

Writing her victory score

Fir tree Pet Hotel

 Cats with suitcases

Cats taking the suitcases 

From railway platforms

Passing eachother on the underground

Suitcase and hat on

Suitcase in hand

Dogs taking it easy in the hotel room

Just kicking up their feet

And taking a sip on a pinacolada

A Basset hound with a bloody Mary

A chiwawa with a gin and tonic

Oh the pets are enjoying their holiday

In the pet hotel

Won't you take me to the Pet hotel

Pet hotel is where I wanna stay

Away from my master for a week or two

In the Pet Hotel with you

Yes you can pet me all you like

You can mollycoddle and do what you like

But I'm a dog with my animal rights

Yes I want a holiday too

I'm going to the Pet Hotel

It's out in the sticks and stones

And little puppy dog tails and bones

I'm going to the Pet Hotel

It's not like a zoo

There are no prison guards

there's no cages too

Yes it's a Pet Hotel and I want to 

Stay there with you

Do do, do do, do do- do-do 

It's a Pet Hotel come on everyone

And kick your feet up in front of the fire

It's a Pet Hotel, anything you want is alright

In the pet Hotel

It's the Pet Hotel

Everywhere you go

In summer or snow

Yes Pet Hotel, you can forget about your cares

You can leave your worries at the door

Or under the stairs

Pet Hotel there's no door mat

To wipe your paws

Pet Hotel come on in Cat

You can sharpen your claws

And treat all your sores

De-tick your fur or cough up your balls

Pet Hotel I'm not trying to infer

It's mine when it's obviously yours

Rain on Ukraine

 The fits and starts of summer

Tarts

The rain, the rain just falls

And I complain about Ukraine

But nothing else appalls

I walk in hearts and apple carts

Upset in old St Pauls

But don't news dart

Like newts that fart

all about waterfalls

The rain, the rain, the rain

That falls

In buckets from the clouds

And England's island is the size and

I cannot be more proud

I had fallen ill on top of the hill

An ailment faced with scorn

But whether it is time I kill

I did not know when born

Rainbow

 Buy me a rainbow

Pay for it with a pot of gold

I've heard tell, it will rain though

Summer sunshine leaves

Come don't believe all you've been told

Not unless its make-believe

Come on and buy me a rainbow

I just need it for all of my dreams

Family of seasons

 Father of the winter

Mother of the summer

Call me to your homeward stack

Like a bee I fly to the hive

Like a gull on the wing

I glide

Cold climes, harsh times

The season's flak

Sway in the bristling pines

I look for my father in the winter

But my mother in the summer time

summer's son

 And if you don't know now

Just where you have been

The summer like a fortune

Of another world unseen

Unlooked for in the pages

Of the glossy magazine

And if you don't know by now

Then you'll never know what I mean

The fortnum and Mason

The bear bite and bracing colours of 

A shimmering dancing Queen

Where strange lace hangs

In curls

From the chandelier girls

And it seems like a nightmare

Or dream

But I fight with the surls and the earth encrusted twirls

Of biscuits bitten and clean

Like a shark bite in the sand

Bleeding into who I am

In pieces at the swimming pool scene

All etcher-sketched man

Rubbed out who or what I can

Erase the memory from my mind

But the grain lies beneath

Those dim shadows trace

And outline of her in his plan

Who's plan? His or mine?

The mirror

The desert, the mirage shoe shine

Can kicked down the road a mile

Son will bring with it

The smiling crocodile

Shepton Silence

 The drains glimmer like celebrities

In the sodium light

And families watch them on TVs

On some slow Thursday nights

The tree leaves are turning yellow too

And a sickness hit me this week

I stayed in bed

As the world it sped

Past equinox and winter seas

Come along to Shepton

You're sure to suffer some shocks

Come along to Shepton

Where we've all been put in the stocks

They take vegetables

From recycling bins

And hurl them at you in the docks

And they judge you if you're an artist

And they judge you if you are not

Come to Shepton in the summer or 

While the Church bells toll

While the men drink cans on the gravestones

While the youths are playing vandals

And Van Gogh cut his ear off

I told you once why couldn't you tell

That these kind of landscapes may clear off

All other escapes from hell

I lay my cards on the table

Yet The dog ran off with my shelves

I built up reputation yet

I couldn't control all my selves

Don't personify all the animals

The Llamas on the hill are not Gods

Though they look like enlightened beings

Still you must look at the path they have trod

No I come back now to St Paul's Street

He of faith and of fire

Branding the love of a creator

Into the dogs collars of a choir

If I shove the book off the table

If I even try to call up a friend

The telephone exchange holds the cable

And we meet in the middle and end

If I yank a wire

will it hurt

All those vandals with candles

Down wells

If you live in the valley

Do you wish for

A higher home near the elms?

 Do your wings beat like headless geese

Following yet going in circles

The arctic is one I can think of, I guess

But not one I mean ever to go to

Underneath us are copper and fibres

Underneath us, are caves and dells

Beneath us the water is eating

Like worms in rotten apples

The rock is like their candy

In geological time it dissolves

Yet we like miners from the North

Blast holes along the stream bed

Waking from the long sleep

the dragon trapped there by the elves

And we burrow like scientologists

Into the heart of ourselves

But like dwarves our hearts are greedy

For the gold beneath the mountains

Like kings we can't rest in our sleep

Until our coffers overflow like fountains

Mr Winter

 Mr Winter

In the height of summer

Hear the summer crows

Cast off black In white dove flight

The fashion

Of the rainbows

Mr Winter walks on splinters

Are they pressing in your toes?

What with hinter lands

And tomorrows

How does your garden grow?

Cold as is your frosty fridge

Dark as ivy briar

But in the cold the albertine rose

Shows in summer flower

How goes it now Mr Winter

Will you shed your coat of black

Come out into the sunshine

Feel the sun's warmth on your back

Come now, come now Winter

Oh once cosy in sad memory

No body thought

They could love again

When your heart is in the ashes' keys

Search in the charred wreckage

The wood that's blackened and burned

Somewhere there may still be the embers

From which Mr Summer may return

Mysterious ways

 Yes you work in mysterious ways

Yes you work in mysterious ways

From the smell of celeriac cooking

To the midsummer's haze

Yes you work in mysterious ways

There are paths where I walk

Reminds me of younger days

Seemed so much better than the present

Wrapped up in rosen glaze

And there are times when I talk

Or I see a woman's face

And I think you must work

In mysterious ways

Yes it's all a mystery I can't read your play

What I guess is behind the scenes

You are moving backstage

But I wish for you to be back

With me some days

You just say read my back pages

He works in mysterious ways

And there are some fruit trees

That in the breeze do sway

And I know the ghost of your electricity

Hovers above the haze

And I say with my earnesty

That I wish your ghost could stay

But you say in your own honesty

He works in mysterious ways

Acer Red

 Acer Acer dancing like a geisha

Star leaves cherry red

Dancing in the summer wind

Catch the current star fish seas

Like a carpet to the Oscars tread

Acer, Acer lipstick chaser

Kissing the sun with smacking lips

flashing and slashing, whip-lashing

red sashing

Bull ring matador

evading horns of the wind's thrashing

bloodied eyes bled

Through the aquarium of the conservatory

underwater, under wind

birds are fishes swimming

Geisha red Acer sea weed tree

Viaduct

 To the viaduct

Go walking

On the long wet rainy days

With your dog in the forking

Of the long hot summer hays

And Dripping with rememberance

Of a past now left behind

When railways and Steam engines

Crossed the valleys of our minds

And all the strawberries travelled and all the red currants

Too

Like blood and diamonds in parcels

From the mines of South African fruit

And the empty arches standing

As a door stop in our minds

Leaving open the door to the past

And passage way to a time 

before

Though we know it does not last

Duck Pond

 

Deep in the duck pond

Where the green weed grows

And the straw is yellow

Next to the track,

Where the ivy creeps beneath the Alder and Willow

Which brush their stems and stem their flow back

Deep in the duck pond

Where the green weed grows

Ducks fight and splash about

It could be a war or a turn about

Or a pair of lovers in a spate

One who loves, the other who hates

But deep in the duck pond

They see to their deed

Where the willow weeps in the green duck weed

Down in the duck pond,

Where fellows blow their horn

And the little spirited sprout

Sings for the sweet summer corn

While the West wind blows

Then across it the Easterly is torn

All along the deep duck pond

Where all the birds were born

Severed heads on severed spikes

All seem dead but go ask the tyke

Shadows shake in the shallows like

The deep duck pond

Of the bad old Pike

He swims about, he asks not twice

He sees a snout, then snaps his vice

And there he has you, pulls you down

Into the depths of the duck pond to drown

Where hell is a spirit on the water

And the wind chills the slender necks of swans

And the rails with the moor hens daughter

Falls to the pails and the sweet shorn sun

Where the kale sways in the shallows

And the bulrushes blow their seed

Deep as heartache over the water

Of the deep duck pond with the green duck weed