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