The Mars Rover

 Well he roved out around about

The red hills and the mounds

And he Roved into tunnels

That led to caves underground

And inside every crater a martian he espied

And the next time he looked like rabbits they'd multiplied

But he could not catch one, though with his hook he tried

And like a martian fisherman, he cast his net far and wide

Yes they call him the Mars Rover, as he roves round and round

And he can look in every nook 

And Cranny that he found

But there be some hill which he cannot face to climb

And there be some cliff tops from which he cannot

face to look down

Yes they call him the Mars Rover

As he Roves round and around

And if you bend over

You might think him Earthward bound

But this is his home now

For the next six hundred years

Or however long it takes us all

To step foot with eyes, nose and ears

For then when we might look

For ourselves at the tresures he's found

And not just on TV screens

With it's surround sound

Evergreen king

 And the river is king

And the river is a snake

And they cut off its head with an axe

But it grew back

Yes he is the King

And he is evergreen

Sempervirens, vipers heads so strong

Green snake slithers belly down

Through peat beds

Through marshy bog

Of reed

Into the lake

Where the lady lies awake

Yet dreaming

And he is come

Here is the king

And he is evergreen

No end no beginning

Always must grow

Always must flow

Out to the sea

Into the land

Land is his home

Land is his spring

And he is come

Here is the king

And he is evergreen

flower power

 All your enemies are wooden

You said it as you walked out of the swamp

And all your needles are lost in 

Those hay stacks of your stomp

There are queen bees a buzzing

There are wild roses too

And the marsh marigold

And celandines

Know just what you're up to

Oh Butter wouldn't melt in your mouth

You say

And all the birds are flying south

You say

And if I take you by the tongue

Then your kisses are as good as done

So for the sake of Canada

Let your wild geese roam

And for the sake of united grief

Paint all your steel horses chrome

For I see your white teeth

And I know your false belief

In the idols of the tomb

But if you will bring your knife

I'll slice your butter life

And show you the sweet honeycomb

So show me the way to walk home

I'm lost and I need your advice

I've been tripping over wires

Talking with country squires

But none of them will leave me alone

So show me the way to go home

I'm tired

Willow man

 Who is the willow man, the willow man, the willow man?

Yes who is the willow man, twisting underground?

Pushing up his willow hands, his willow hands, his willow hands

Pushing up his willow fists, willowman

He's been laying underground, underground, underground

He's been laying underground,for so very long

Sucking up the waters around, the waters around, the waters around, 

Sucking up the waters around his willowy tongue

Who is the willow man, the willow man, the willow man?

Who is the willow man laying in the marsh sun?

He's gonna rise up from the bog, from the swamp, from bog

He's gonna rise up from the swamp and take your willow hand

And hold onto the willow woman,  the willow woman,the willow woman,

And hold onto the willow woman, and they will dance their jig

They will jog along, and they will dance and the will sprig, and frig

And mighty all the swig, they will dance their wedding song

Yes who is the willow man,  the willow man,  the willow man, 

Yes who is the willow man, who has layed so long?

Mars babies

 Mars Babies

Get born on Mars

It's a one way mission

Retired people - get your pension and go

Beautiful women go to Mars,

Little choice of men, Marsmen really

Redplanet daily, your newspaper for the year,

Not much to report on here

Quite a boring journey there

Get through a lots of series

When you get there

Grow poatoes

Build a new colony

Cement your place in history

Produce oxygen and air,

a new plant

Moon house

Mars House

Training day

Train rumbles on
With the inevitable song
Of the bumble bee hum
On the iron drums
That roll like bread pins
Upon the flat iron railings
They flatten as they go on
Their iron rumblings

And I see without despair
The green river running there
Like a serpent as a spare
Jade sea snake dragon
Like an ornament upon somebody's shelf
Where dynasties once dwelt
But now they are remembered
In old people's retirement homes

past times

I used to go to a sweet shop
Some kids wanted a gob stopper
I just wanted to chew
I used to, I used to

I used to have the sweetshop blues
I used to I used to
All the candies there from which to choose
I used to I used to
The penny sweet, cola bottles
Sour lemon drops
Some kids want a gob stopper
I used to want to chew
Gum,

I bought the cards and rolled out the strawberry chew
And we walked home
My friend and I
talking about this and that
Teenage mutant ninja turtles
Bouncy balls
And yo-yos
I 've got the sweet shop blues
The post office blues
For days gone by
Sitting on those flag stones
Where the ivy brushed our legs
And the sun baked on the lichen
You run your hands over
Watching little money spiders
Run on their brittle red legs
Too small, too small to be real
I used to do that there

I used to climb trees in the orchard
The four or five that were there in front
Old apple trees big and strong my mother said they were cookers
When we picked them earwigs fell out
And you twisted one, one way and one the other
And if they came off without pulling too hard
They were ripe
Otherwise you left them - they were the fallers
The wind would blow them down both day and night

I remember looking around in that orchard
The high grass cresting my elbows
Before it was mowed
And Healey the dog bounding through them
I was so happy back then
The trees were our spaceships Katrina, Tanya and Peter
We could ride them and turn on the knobs
And then run down and change and chase
Each other or avoid the sharks below or alien blobs
We lived in our imaginations or least I did I know
I could spend hours day dreaming on the woodshed rooftop
Baking in the sun drenched old wooden doors
I remember especially I liked them especially the locks
The heaviness and oldness of them their copper turning green and blue
Or brass
And then a family cat, Emanuel, Smokey or Bimbo would come up
And sleep next to me
Down the side was Virginia Creeper the whole shed was covered
And I liked to go up there so I could be alone and hide and no one could find me
And now I wish I had not spent so long away I miss the company of family
On these long lonesome days