The Break-up

THE BREAK-UP

That’s how it is
That’s what it is
That’s all she wrote
“Rien ne va plus”
I gambled … I lost

Numerals On A Spree

NUMERALS ON A SPREE

8, 10 and 6 got drunk again last night
And you know how it is after a few

8 stumbled, fell over and lay there prostrate
As if paying overawed homage to Infinity

10, as usual, got rather too full of herself
And declared loudly, “I am the Digital Goddess”

6 stayed silent and simply sat there, crestfallen
Embarrassed to have turned into a limp flaccid 9

Elegance

ELEGANCE

The elegance in the room
That no one notices normally
And is rarely spoken of
Remains when everyone departs

Truth To Tell

TRUTH TO TELL

They say time will tell.
Or will it lie? … How to know?
Or both? … Time will tell.

Playing With Words

PLAYING WITH WORDS

You can’t stand while sitting
Nor sit while you’re standing
But you can lie if you choose
whether with or without lying

In fact lying is so versatile
You can lie while standing
Sitting or walking as well

And sitting too is a little bit flexible
For even though you can’t stand sitting
you can still enjoy sitting at will

So if you’re ever accused of lying
You can change your position
Saying “I wasn’t REALLY lying …”
I think it’s called playing with words

The Eternal Optimist

THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST

A split-level home
And a failing memory.
Lots of exercise!

Cupid’s Rosary

CUPID’S ROSARY

I tell the beads
In the silent night

…..Open heart
…..Barbed wire

…..Broken heart
…..Broken glass

…..Bleeding heart
…..Razor blade

And over again
I tell the beads

…..Open heart
…..Barbed wire

…..Broken heart
…..Broken glass

…..Bleeding heart
…..Razor blade

Thumb and finger
Sticky, dripping

…..Open heart
…..Barbed wire

…..Broken heart
…..Broken glass

…..Bleeding heart
…..Razor blade

Seven is my lucky number
But I count only to six

Hope And Despair

HOPE AND DESPAIR
……………………………………………………………….For a friend
Like it or not
……..Acceptance of what is
……………..Is the sole exit from despair

Hope can learn
………To share this space with loss
……………….Contentedly
…………………..    ..If only you will

Please take it
……..From one who knows
……………..From
…………….  ……..(not always)
……………………….. …..Bitter experience

For love
……..For others
…………  …For self
…………………….Is the strangest of beasts
…………………………….I have found
…………………………………….My dear friend

And perhaps the sole gift I can offer you

Breath

BREATH

You breathe in, you breathe out
You stop a moment and remind yourself
That we are all creatures of habit
The habit of breathing, for one

Driven

DRIVEN

…..REFRAIN
…..“What is this life if full of care
…..We have no time to stand and stare?” *
…..Wherever you’re going, wherever you’ve been
…..You’ve been there before and you’ll be there again

Schooled in compliance and knowing your place
Trained to compete in the great human race
Driven like lemmings to follow the trend
Driven to keep up and on round the bend

Trapped by your drives like a rat in a cage
Driven in circles, driven to rage
Cornered and dangerous and on the attack
Driven to run like a rat with the pack

…..REFRAIN

You’ve no hope of learning what’s really going on
As you’re driven to abstraction by the media con
Where endless analysis by self-centred bores
Keeps your mind off what’s happening behind the closed doors

Or try “entertainment” and reflect on a nation
That gawks at its neighbours whose sole aspiration
Is a chance to be famous or the next millionaire
Will it drive you to distraction; more likely despair

…..REFRAIN

Living life on the edge, living life on the brink
Keeping up with your image will drive you to drink
Driven by passion, driven by greed
To see love as possession and desire as need

Driven under the knife in a vain stab at youth
Your face or your fear: what’s the uglier truth?
If acknowledging death is your idea of hell
You’ll be driven to hide from the present as well

…..REFRAIN

Like a leaf in the tempest, a twig on the stream
At its worst it’s a nightmare, at its best like a dream
If it’s all an illusion and nothing is real
Then you’re driven to wonder just who’s at the wheel

——————————————————————

…..* From “Leisure” by W. H. Davies.