THE SEASONS OF LOVE

Our love was born with the lambs
In the freshness of spring
And like the lambs we stepped unsure
Uncertain of what life would bring

When spring turned to summer
We had caught cupid’s eye
Our hearts danced like flowers in the breeze
As he shot his arrows at you and I

When summer waned into autumn
Love changed colour like the leaves
Life draining away dying leaf by leaf
And began to drift away on the breeze

When autumn gave way to winter
Love lay bleeding in the snow
Each flake of snow buried it deeper
Nothing of our love was left to show

A PORT IN A STORM

Is it too much to ask
For my love to be returned
Just one simple gesture of warmth
That is all I’ve yearned

A burning passion is hoped for
Though in truth not expected
A heartfelt acknowledgement
But no heart has been detected

Drifting in and out of my life
As if I’m a convenient respite
Then when interest wanes
I am again alone in the night

Each bland uncaring rebuff,
Is another dagger to my heart
My love is treated with apathy
But I miss it when we’re apart

I chastise my self for my weakness
For accepting it and making do
I deserve better than this
I deserve a love that’s honest and true

I have paid all my dues
I have paid in like an endowment
Never made a withdrawal
Still there is no return on my investment

Now my will to continue is gone
As I am left once more Forlorn
I pray my for anguish to be at an end
Like a bird impaled upon a thorn

TAINTED LOVE

Cruel fate
Cursed our souls
When cupids arrow
Missed its aim
And speared our hearts
Hearts not free to love
Hearts otherwise wedded
In blessed union

But cupids strike
Left us fettered
Bound together
With loves chains
Enslaving us
Bonding us with love

Conjugated by fate
Entangled marionettes
Puppets of love
Reluctantly performing
To another’s will

Held in love's grip
By fates curse
That bitter sweet gift
Of deceitful ardour
Duplicitous romance
Forbidden passion
That gift of love
With the curse of betrayal

Knowing loves intimacy
The joy of closeness
The warmth of tenderness
Passion made manifest
Emboldened the psyche
Elevated the soul
Flames of passion
Burning deeply
Cleansing all
But the guilt

Enchanted by Eros
Beguiled by Amor
Spellbound by adoration
But gripped by fear
Fear of being together
Fear of discovery
But the overriding fear
Of separation

RAINY SUNDAY

It’s a rainy Sunday
And I’m feeling blue
Remembering the past
And thinking of you

Do you happily look back?
Across the years
Or do you view them
Through bitter tears

Do you ever think of me?
Just once in a while
With a furrowed brow
Or rueful smile

You thought our love
Would last an eternity
But I was quite happy
Just to wait and see

I just wanted us
To enjoy the laughter
But what you wanted
Was happy ever after

I loved you so much more
Than I would ever say
When we broke up
On that rainy Sunday

When you asked me
I should have said
“I really do love you”
I just shrugged instead

I wish I could go back
To that rainy Sunday
I would get on my knees
And beg you to stay

ADDICTED TO LOVE

I have given her only love
And tender affection
In return I get only contempt
In its equal measure
I cannot cut the bond
The unseen umbilical
That binds me to her
I am a slave to her will
Chained and imprisoned
By a dominating mistress
Cruel and controlling
In an invisible metaphor
Her words are like whips
That lash me with cruelty
Each word laced with
Bile and poison
That cuts into me deeply
But never scars my flesh
If only one word
Bore but a hint of kindness
I would be uplifted
But I remain down cast
My hopes and dreams
Have faded into ether
Enslavement has led
To a foul dependency
Now I am addicted
To her poisonous love
The stuff of nightmares

HOLOCAUST

Since the cooling of the Nazi’s oven fires
And the fading glow of the funeral pyres
The world has had to endure the mutterings
Of those who deny the holocausts sufferings
The inane ramblings of conspiracy theorists
The bigoted bile of Islamic fundamentalists
The holocaust now stricken from the syllabus
We must not speak of it lest we cause a fuss
We must appease the liberal sentiments
For God forbid we might cause offence
But the holocaust happened, SHOUT it aloud
Shout it in the face of the apathetic crowd
For if we do not condemn the holocaust deniers
Somewhere, one day they will relight the fires

THE LAST TOMMY John “Harry” Patch 17th June 1898 – 25th July 2009

God bless you Harry Patch
The last British Tommy to fall
Jack, Jill and Maudie are waiting
Can you hear that distant bugle call?
The serried ranks stand cheering
Calling you to glory Harry
Calling you to reassemble
You must go now no time to tarry
Jack, Jill and Maudie Allen
Are waiting to greet you proudly
Goodbye Harry so long old friend
Can you hear the bugle calling loudly?
Come to the cookhouse door boys
Come to the cookhouse door
Oh fallen heroes, oh hearty lads
I fear we will see your like no more

Jack, Jill and Maudie Allen where the nicknames of Harry Patch’s Lewis machine gun crew who were killed by shell fire on Pilkem Ridge, Passchendaele, Belgium in 1917

HARRY’S LAST POST

Soldiers bear the last of the lads
In casket draped in the union flag
And then a reverent silence falls
Before the last post’s mournful call
Trumpeting his journey into grace
To feel his comrades warm embrace
Goodbye Harry a soldier known
The final Tommy going home

PRISONER OF LOVE

I stole a glance at you
Lustfully larcenous
More than one in fact
I was a repeat offender
A serial gazer
In perpetual regard
Loitering with intent to stare
In open mouthed infatuation
And you caught me
Apprehended me in the act
Of elicit observation
Your arresting look
Took custody of me
A petty felon
With prior form
And with merciless intent
You stole my heart
Without hesitation
No mere act of petty larceny
You took it from me
And at once captivated me
Imprisoned me
Behind the bars of love
Once in your possession
It became valueless
Scornfully regarded
You keep it under glass
On display
Where you can watch it beat
Or by capricious whim
Play with it
Like a cat plays with a mouse
While I die by inches
Knowing you have my heart
But not one of your own
So sits a prisoner of love
In sight of death row
Indefinitely incarcerated
Behind the bars of love
No hope of parole

THE JUDAS KISS

You said you had to go away,
Just a day or two
A business trip
Something you had to do

But I knew better
I knew that you were leaving
I found out
About the cheating and deceiving

I wait for the truth to come
But you just keep lying
You’re leaving me
And inside I’m dying

But you won’t see me cry
I just smile instead
I won’t let you see me
I will do that in my empty bed

You kiss me on the cheek
And look me in the eye
And with that Judas kiss
You turn and say goodbye

I SPIED A CHRISTIAN MAID

From my pew
Where I stood and prayed
My eyes were fixed
On a Christian maid

Is it inappropriate?
My lecherous behaviour
When in church
Worshipping the saviour

I studied every inch
Right down to the floor
Instead of hymn numbers
Vital statistics I saw

A glimpse of lace
A bra strap showing
My eyes consumed her
Without her knowing

The tightness of her jeans
Her shape within
I missed the sermon
Doubtless about sin

A sight to feast my eyes
Which affected me so
That I had a quiver in my voice
And a tingle down below

Oh lord forgive me
For being such a sinner
But you must admit
She really is a stunner

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

She had a distinct aura
That pervaded the senses
Femininity, without vanity
Beauty, without conceit
Forthright, but not brash
Confident but not cocky
Refreshingly sincere
Intelligent but not haughty
Wit without cruelty
Laughter without malice
Principled and scrupulous
Morality without piety
Could no one else see it?
Was I in a minority of one?
Surely I am not alone
In my admiration of her
As she looks at me
What does she see?
She looks at me appraisingly
What does she see?
How is she evaluating?
Is there an attraction?
Yes but more than that alone
Then simultaneously
In mutual acquiescence
We reached the conclusion
It was simple recognition
Of the similarly disposed
Of kindred spirits
We are soul mates

SPEECH IMPEDIMENT

Each morning, we stood at the bus stop
Not together, but in proximity
Day after day, week after week
I would glance at her in admiration
But I would never speak to her
There would be an occasional nod
And sometimes a smile
I would have liked to ask her out
I had almost done so many times
But my nerve would always go
So often I formed the question in my head
But the words wouldn’t come out
I always steeled myself
For the big moment, but it never happened
Then one day
When she looked particularly alluring
I thought to myself
This time will be different
This time I have rehearsed,
Though only on the cat,
This time I will do it.
So armed with a well constructed sentence
I made my move
I took a deep breath
Turned to face her,
The sentence looping through my head
Over and over
I opened my mouth to speak
But the sentence did not appear
Instead jumbled words tumbled out
From my anxiously dry mouth,
But not in the order I intended
Some words inappropriately joined together
Giving an all together different meaning
That may have caused her to be offended
It had gone better with the cat.
I just stood there
Spouting my nervous stuttering gibberish
I thought she must think me such an idiot
And fully expected her to laugh in my face
But instead she smiled at my nervousness
And reformed the words into a sentence,
The very sentence I had rehearsed,
Spoke it back to me
And then smiling broadly, answered yes

FILLE DE PAPILLON

Remember when we were young
Those long halcyon days
Down on your dad’s farm
Joyful hours spent
Idling our time away.
Swinging on that old rustic gate
Roaming the countryside
Happy lazy days,
Nothing particular to do
And a world of time to do it in

They were wonderful days
They were innocent days
Before the end of childhood
Before those weeks
That special summer
So long ago
When you seemed to transform
Into something new
Like a butterfly
Emerging from its cocoon
Spreading its wings in the sun
Displaying fresh beauty

Your transformation
From the cutely naive country girl
Awkward and ungainly
Into a beautiful young woman
An altogether more graceful being
Though I was fond of the grubby faced girl
With untidy hair, wispy and uncombed
I would very soon fall in love
With the butterfly that had replace her

With the emergence of the butterfly girl
With all the beauty
Of the first flower of spring
We trod an unfamiliar path
Leaving our childish games behind
Taking our first tentative steps
Towards love

A love that was a stranger to us
Yet we stepped eagerly in to its turbulent sea
And immersed ourselves in its waters
We soon knew at once
The excitement of first love
When joy was all we could see
And all of our thoughts
Were only for each other
Sweet moments spent
In blissful adoration
Until love was burnt deeply on our souls

Now as we walk the familiar places
As we have so often done
With scenes much visited
We can stand in that spot
Where first I beheld the butterfly
Resplendent in the sunlight
And say to you
With heartfelt sincerity
That I love you still

I HIDE ME

I hide me
From the world
Protect myself
Within an amniotic sac
Like a babe in the womb
My heart in a cocoon
Free from harm
Wrapped in cotton wool
Safe, secure,
Out of sight, out of mind

I hide me
The best of me
Protected from
Deceitful hearts
And transient desires
The Schemers, dreamers,
And false redeemers
The superficial and the shallow
The morally hollow
Those that would hurt me
Use me and abuse me
All these and more

I hide me
The essential me
Keep me hidden
From the bitterness and bile
Of the vindictive and the vile
Free from recrimination
And spiteful retribution
Heart locked safely away
Never to see the light of day

BENEATH THE WEEPING WILLOW TREE

Like the star-crossed lovers,
Romeo and Juliet,
They come from feuding kin
And must hide their love
They meet in secret
Beside the quiet lake
The only sounds,
Are of the faintest breeze
Disturbing the lofty tree tops
And ducks squabbling on the lake
But despite the quiet
Fearful of discovery
They embrace hidden from view
Beneath a weeping willow tree
Whose leafy pendulous branches
Trail down into the still water
Stirred by the gentle breeze
They dip in an out of the water
Like the toes of a reluctant bather.
They kiss there in the quiet shade
And feel at once renewed
No words are spoken
Their language is of caress and kiss
Such tender converse
With limitless vocabulary
And languid pronunciation
Every syllable well employed
And when the final paragraph is reached
They end with perfect .punctuation
Stirring from their lovers languor
They tread separate paths
To rejoin warring tribes
Adopting adversarial manner
No knowing looks to be exchange
No casual brushing past
When for that exquisite moment
Hand touches hand
They must remain entrenched
Until they can once again
Embrace beneath the weeping willow tree