A River View

Small consolation, this pitiful perch
Surrounded by steel and starch
As visiting faces stare out
Through grubby perspex
Wrinkling their noses at
That curious hospital smell
Their eye ever drawn toward
This floodlit cradle of democracy
Ignoring the quieter agonies
Of their own flesh and blood

159

Gentle sway and vicious jerk
As shared expressions ebb and flow
Upon the crowded upper deck
We, homeward bound, together plough
Toward what goals to us remain
Each counting landmarks, old and new
And lulled to dullness by the rain
Take comfort in familiar view

Swine

False pearls and hilarity
The forced gaiety evokes
My more murderous urge
And I long to feel a hand
Upon that throat

Wet-look reality

A plastic parka
Fingerless gloves
Blinking in the
Chilly dawn
At the penniless
Passers by

A Stand-Up Guy

The boy waits just too long
To tell her how he feels
A better bet, and gone
The girl has new ideals
But still he hopes again
To hold her in his arms
When tired of lesser men
She’ll warm to older charms

Dr Feelgood

Traitorous feeling
This hand on my breast
Senses no ceiling
My mind on my chest
Carefully squeezing
The sensitive flesh
And leaving no doubt
That the doctor knows best

Unacknowledged

They sit at the back
Unobtrusive, anonymous
Hope to remain ignored
Surrounded by the
Insular hostility
Of another crude creed
Ears pricked, faces lowered
And poised to panic
They await my signal
As the concert begins

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

An ordinary secret
Behind closed doors
They didn’t care to open
That would have passed
Unnoticed, but for the
Self-righteous intrusion
Of the curious

Words and Music

There came a point in my teens
When the sounds of the world
Invaded my palate
Until I was choked
With a burning desire; to speak
What I’d swallowed; to say
Everything possible
Tear myself open
Screaming words
The world could understand
But at the age of minority
People rarely listen
So I sang melodies
Whose complexity spoke
Of a simple beauty
And we became friends
One day, the words may
Overtake me in my music
And the whole world will hear