The darkness took hold
A numbness years old 
Reawakened by circumstance
Stress took its chance

Lying under a tree 
Crying unequivocally 
I spiralled out of control 
A lost broken soul 

Rain mixed with tears
As the sadness triggered fears
That death might take 
My mother and my brace  
 
But unexpectedly 
With care and dignity 
She took my hand 
Like only she can 

Right when I worried 
She didn’t die, she hurried
To support and love 
My own soaring white dove

Thanks only to you 
I’ve nearly seen it through
A mother and a friend
Time and again

A dance with the moon presented itself 
But left before we could find our embrace 
Darting between the clouds and the rain 
Carelessly teasing, hiding its face 

The stars watched on from their elegant view
As I stretched out my eyes for that glimpse
I sit here at night peering into the blue
Hoping to dance but we haven’t since 

So I wait in the dark for that moment to strike
It’s shocking white that resets my core 
Bolts my imagination back to true north 
And humbles me back to life from before

Pour your heart into the bubbling pot 
It’s spitting blood from its previous lot 
The time and patience of ordinary men 
Hitting the grind time and again 

An economy for the many, not for the few
We didn’t realise that the many was you 
Hungry for power and forgetting the cost 
Bleeding the poor when all else is lost 

A race to the top, best job in the land 
He’ll do it better than the others can
Before long we’ll be back here again
Handing out the keys to number 10

Two generations share in reflection 
Stories of a man who caught their affection 
Rarely does both a mother and a daughter 
Share in their grief with one another 

Days like these can hit close to home
The thought of those left on their own
The end of life isn’t easy to face
The inevitable condition of the human race

But Jack’s soul has found rest with his closet companion
Together now on their greatest adventure
Up in the clouds they hold hands and giggle
Remember stories from when Gladys was little
 
Your passing teaches us one last lesson
That runs counter to our initial perception 
That though death is life’s hard reality 
The idea of death can set us all free

It eats away 
Every day a chunk 
More painful with time
A moth to her cloth 

Strips of my pride 
Flake away as dust 
The longer it resides 
The deeper she dives 

Shame starts small 
Slowly taking its hold
It has found my weak part of character 
Burnt out and decayed 

Trapped by the inevitable 
Commitments ive made
To people who’ve been promised 
And those with my name 

The route out is lit
It’s clear to see 
Yet I can’t bring myself
To its jaws of defeat 

Turn the other way
Let it wash over 
Another day gone 
Another day older

Murky mornings have a secret to keep
The wind sends her whisper whilst most are asleep
The crack of the cold is sharp in your chest
Appeals to some and puts off the rest

They won’t discover her wisdom or truth 
Set aside for those who venture anew
Time found alone to think and to feel 
To ponder life and determine what’s real 

Breath hits the air
Wind through your hair
Nature at its best
Your body at its test

I shouldn’t but I did
Hit and then I hid
Lust of greed and man
To fight the best you can

In over head
More than first said
A word hard to keep
But a necessary feet

Adrenaline of sorts
As events take their course
No feeling could ever touch
A taste of fucking rush 

A quiet space in London’s abyss

10pm and a place to sit

Seeing Toby who’s character and wit

Wakes me up and keeps me lit

Saturday nights in the centre of town

Heavy drinking and thumping sounds

We find some quiet away from the crowds

Sharing thoughts till homeward bound

Thank you Toby for sitting with me

Always listening (or pretending to be)

See you soon hopefully

Get home safe and say hey to Penny

Evenings fly by so quickly
Days flash past with no mercy
Friends and loved ones comes second
The clocks feel like they’ve broken
The world turns fast under foot
Time is known but not understood

Find a grounding and hold tight
You’re in for a long night
For it will swoop past
A category 10 blast
A day lost to history
No mystery 

The vehicle of meaning in a modern world
Friend ships shape the young and old
True companions of the heart find grip
That rarely let go but occasionally tip

The more you acquire, the harder to keep
The fewer you hold, the less they compete
The older you get, the more they matter
For man on his own will age much faster

Others set sail before you can blink
Some run aground and inevitably sink
But all connect us to a greater existence
The human endeavour of greatest Persistence