The Door in the Wall

Behind the towel upon the wall
There lay a door that was very small,
Just large enough to permit
A mouse to tightly squeeze through it.

Luckily, I have a plan
To shrink to mouse-size from a man,
Then scuttle through the waiting door
To find what it was put there for.

Wrongs and Repercussions

When all of the questions are answered
And all of the tears are dry
And all of the glasses are thrown and smashed
Please don't say goodbye

I know I've said it a thousand times
But I'll say it a thousand more
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry
Don't walk out of the door

I know that I've betrayed your trust
Words can't heal what I've done
I was drunk and alone and away from you
I swear that's the only one

That's why you had to hear it from me
That's why I had to say
I don't know how I thought you'd react
But I didn't see it going this way

You're right I'm a naive idiot
It's the stupidest mistake that I've made
If I could change that moment for anything else
By God I'd make that trade

I know that my promise is worth nothing now
But I swear to you never again
Whatever you need from me, take what I have
Please, come in from the rain.

The Secret

Given time to remember
And recall what you did,
Fell foul of the thoughts
You had long kept hid.

Took time out to turn back
Stowed safe on a ship
And you ran and you rambled
But I knew you'd let slip.

And the secret came out
And the secret was grim,
And it told of the deeds
And the thoughts of him.

And the water now still
And the past far behind
And I held you until
You had emptied your mind.

The Second Seat

Two seats to watch the trains go by.
We met whilst all this was still in its infancy,
Green as a newborn.
The first construction was a ladder
Nailed up against a dead tree.
Trunk hollowed, junk hallowed.
I spent as long as I could
Just watching birds flap
Between the twin trees of the furthest field.
It was almost an acrobatic manoeuvre,
Acting out a dare of finding the fastest speed
For navigating that nest of branches.
Or maybe it was something more scientific,
That insects swarmed between those heady boughs.
I wonder how much art or science
Brings me back here to the second seat
Gesturing to nobody like a lonely fool.

The hawk

A hawk hovers over the marshland,
Lord knows what it's found,
A world, perhaps, hiding in the mallows,
Or maybe just a vole, a baby wader,
Injured otter frail and young,
Waiting for a mother who's tangling,
Shaking to escape a sleepy fisherman's net downstream.
Perhaps it's better to fly with the hawk
Than wait for the hungry night and what it brings.

On Dusty Streets

You didn't burn me,
I bled onto the flames
And turned iron to steel
With the smell of rain
On dusty streets

Devil-head

Tongue-tied, devil head
Taken time to breathe instead
Of just falling for the wrong one
And seeing the right one long gone.
It doesn't happen that often anymore
That someone that you're so sure
Is perfect, is not, just another
to run from for cover with a
Trusted loved one. No, it's
A long time since you thought
Anyone was perfect. You're
Still sure there could be
Something wrong, paranoid
That things that went before
Will come around again. You
Have a deep-set feeling that
Your worrying will only serve
To bring things to that
Head, to that wreck that
You've seen before, but
Nothing you can do can get
The thought out of your head
That every time it will fail.

Escape and all that it stands for

Screws and fastenings
Tooth and nail
Clinging to the past in case you fail
To understand the meaning
of his letter,
That things get worse before they get better
Or so he says.
And you believe him,
Even though only a week ago it was you who deceived him
With your intentions.
He offered his hand
And you accepted thinking he'd never understand
If you'd rejected him.
Had you given him the chance,
I think he would have. He's not as stupid as the stance
You take on him would suggest.
He knew what he was doing
Just as you knew exactly what you had in mind when you were doing
Your other 'other half'.
I don't care who has the last laugh.

Misremembering

Your hair was curly
My hair was straight
You had the fish
I don't recall what I ate
It was a long time ago
That we were in love.

I went to Torquay
You went to Hull
I thought we had fun
You thought I was dull
It was a long time ago
That we were in love.

Dangerous ground

Someone's asleep on the train track
Lying on his back with his head in his hands.
Someone's asleep on the train track
And his fingers reveal all his plans.

Someone's broken into the graveyard
Stepping hard on buried bones.
Someone's broken into the graveyard
And they've broken all of the stones.

Someone's leaping from the pier
I can see from here the water's too shallow.
Someone's leaping from the pier
Straight onto the rocks below.

Someone's trying to warn me
Their lips I can see, but I can't hear a sound.
Someone's trying to warn me
That I'm treading on dangerous ground.

Stranger on a train

People like him are everywhere in this city. You'd expect no less. He smiles at you, but you don't see it, only his hands catch your eye as his fingers twitch and turn in complicated rhythm. You suspect something awful is about to happen to you, but put it down to paranoia. Always trust your instincts. You tell yourself that, but what can you do? Break into a run? Scream for help? Turn and face him. You're on a train in the middle of nowhere. None of these things will help you. He asks you what the next station is, and in the darkness you fluster and tell him you're not sure. He tells you that it's Teddington, and it's not for another 18 minutes. He looks at his watch and corrects himself. 19 minutes. He sits back and slides his fingers up and down the table that stands between you.
   "It's funny", he says, "how in the dark you can't tell whether the train is moving or not. Blinded by your own reflection, you can't be sure if the world's still there."
   "Unless it's light outside", you add, figuring that if you keep him talking then you're safe. "Oh yes, unless it's light outside", he continues, "but it's not."
   Any minute now, you expect the lights to go out and a violent laugh to grab you, but instead you are jolted to the present by the sound of the door opening between the carriage behind and your own. A boy with a large suitcase struggles in. He is wearing a bright yellow patterned t-shirt, shorts and sandals. He looks desperately foreign, and walks past you and into the toilet cubicle to your left.
   The man leans forward, almost to touch you with those reaching hands, and asks, "May I?"
   You're not quite sure what to say, but you notice there is a meaning behind those twisting fingers, they are gesturing towards the seat next to you. A newspaper is there, but you could have sworn it wasn't before. You bend to pick it up, when suddenly the toilet door slams wide and you see the suitcase open on the floor. There's no sign of the boy. The hand reaches forward and grasps the edge of the paper, the door slams shut. "Thank you", he says. You release your grip, and the paper is gone. There is no contact between you, but your fingers feel uncomfortably warm.
   "Is Teddington your stop?" you offer. "No, my dear," he replies, "I venture it's not yours either?"
   "No," you agree, "I'm going to the end of the line." You regret it immediately, but it's too late, the damage is done. "A friend is coming to meet me at the station." You thought it would be a good idea to let him know that you'd be missed, but now you just think you sounded desperate. He says nothing. Doesn't even look up from the paper.
   You stare at the window trying to see out, but only see the reflection of his hands reaching inside his coat. He withdraws a pen, and proceeds to reveal the nib and write. His writing is strangely violent. He seems to move the paper in opposite movements to the pen, as if he's using both hands to write the words. He looks up and catches your eye in the reflection. You hold his gaze for a while, pretending that you're looking through him and out into the world, then with a long blink you break it. When you next open your eyes, you are looking in the direction of the toilet. You notice that the door is open, and it looks empty. The boy must have left whilst you were looking the other way. Your mind flashes back to the open suitcase, but you can't remember for the life of you what was in it.

The Perfect Pirates

There are some pirates on the China seas
That do not have pegs beneath their knees
Instead, they take the greatest care
With how they look and what they wear.

These prissy pirates are often seen
Pirouetting from beam to beam,
Leaping from the lanyard with the grace of a cat
And warming up thoroughly before they attack.

The captain is a salty dog by the name of Jolly Roger
He's the kind of man your mum wouldn't mind taking as a lodger
Polite to a fault and with posture precise, he patrols the whole of the ocean
Raiding ships' holds for mountains of gold and bottles of lavender lotion.

Paint

Canvas and paint
He relents and spatters
Not really a picture
Not that it matters
He calls it 'idiom'
But in his mind
Changes the 'm' to a 't'
And leaves it behind
Turns a new leaf
In the oldest sense
Starts a blank canvas
Some recompense
This time he thinks
Of calling it 'joy'
He'll paint what he feels
At least that's his ploy
But it doesn't work
It never does
The spatters arranged
Just because.

The barbecue

Terrible. It could be.
Vegetable. It was.
Marrow at a barbecue.
Vegetarian - because.

Thought of turning carnivore.
Just a thought, nothing more.
Sausages are soft and pink.
Marrow ends up in the sink.

Plughole blocked with marrow chunks.
Carnage medal gold achieved.
Water flowing through the kitchen.
That's my barbe-cue to leave.

The Winter's Toil

You put the Winter under the sun,
The camera lens on me.
The exhausting sight of seven years,
The other side of four-score and three.
It's been long and it's been hard,
But I know it was worth the toil
For this and this, and everything,
All green and forward-leaning.
The thrust of life is still within,
And joy it steps away.

Fish

Have you ever carried a fish home
Sea-fresh and smiling?
Here's one for you, kitty,
Dark and beguiling.

Shopping

Incorrigible, that's me in shops
Wallet out I can't be stopped.
A frying pan? I might take two,
A piping bag, an old canoe,
A box of nails, a Christmas pud
In June, I know, but it'll still taste good.
Some furry slippers and heritage seeds
For me to scatter amongst the weeds.
A chocolate bar, a length of rope,
Some car paint in my colour, I hope.
A suitcase that was now half price,
Bags of pink shrimps and white mice,
A towel, some bread, a book and pen,
Tomorrow I'll be back again,

Red and Blue

It's such a long way to go to get to you.
I feel like I'm an ocean away, when it's only a train ride or two.
So much has happened, so much still to do
Before I stop seeing red and stop being blue.

So what was it that you said
The last time I woke up in your bed
And you pulled me to you and kissed my forehead
And stopped me being blue, and stopped me seeing red.

The House

Fourteen years was all it took,
Fourteen years, no more.
To sell the house that I had built,
And buy the house next door.

Dunkirk

"Dunkirk!" He spake, and in flustered mode
Bucked the horse and met the road.
His back it snapped, but mine was strong,
I stole the horse and just rode on.

The Machine

I spoke to a man within a machine
Part glass, part steel, part flesh.
The window he needed was within his dream,
And this journey was all he had left.

The Bells

"You did what?" The vicar asked.
"Broke the bell", the boy replied.
"I let go of the rope on Saturday
To have a quick look at the bride.

"She plays Karen in Eastenders,
I watch her every week.
I couldn't ring at her wedding
And not have a sneaky peek."

"But how did the bell get broken?
Presumably it was resting on its stay?"
"That's right, vicar, the bell started there,
But it didn't end up that way.

"You see, I told Dave to come have a look,
And Davey, he told Tim.
Tim told George and Harry,
The Girdenbecker twins.

"Soon the whole team was over
Trying to see down to the aisle.
I thought Karen looked nervous and drawn,
But Dave said that he saw her smile.

"Harry said he'd tied the ropes,
But the string was a little bit frayed.
First the tenor tipped and teetered,
Then it started a full cascade.

"The sound was rather lovely,
I wish I could play it back,
But the tenor swung a mite too fast
And the beam developed a crack.

"We ran for the nearest exit
As it dropped to the bell tower floor.
The wood initially resisted,
But now the floor is no more."

"Wait - so the bell tower floor is ruined?
Then tell me, where did it land?"
"I'm afraid to say, dear vicar,
That's when things got a little out of hand.

"By the time the bell tower floor gave way
The wedding party had scattered.
Which was lucky, as onto the still-warm pews
The bell and roof beams clattered.

"The slabs of the great aisle floor cracked
And through the cracks it slipped.
Down into the darkness
Where it now sits in the crypt.

"Now what's wrong, vicar?
Your face is growing whiter.
None of this would have happened
If the bell's had been a bit lighter."

Sig Cig

She lit up a cigarette and smiled.
It took me a little while to get
Just what she meant
What it signified
When she smiled and lit her cigarette.

Treasure Hunt

1. At Christmas time with lights wound round
A fairy sits atop my crown,

2. Granny Smith and Cox are my fruits
The clue lies buried in my roots.

3. Tools are kept behind my doors
The next clue lies upon the floor

4. Turn me on to make water spray
Even on a sunny day.

5. Planks of wood with plants in pots
Only one pot holds me, the others do not.

6. From a branch I swing and spin
The clue is where you sit within.

7. One, two, three, four
We go up to the garden away from the door.

8. Plastic with four legs to stand
I can be filled with water or sand.

9. Rabbits live in me underground
But covering the plants in the garden I'm found.

10. Wood stocked high where woodlice grow
The final prize is right down low.

Regret

It's one of those times in life you find
When a perfect jigsaw fills your mind
When something clicks and the last piece fits
But the train pulls out and you're left behind.

The Mirror

The mirror played back every feature perfectly
Except for a whorl in the glass
That added a curl to his lip when he smiled.
Luckily, he very rarely smiled.
His trailer contained mirrors on either side
And every morning he caught himself in infinity
Growing on forever until he stepped away.
But infinity and eternity are such different things
And eternity can be so fleeting
Cameras on, powder down,
He prepares to read the lines he's given
Locks that dead-eyed gaze straight down the lens
And sees again a million copies of himself
Broken free from his mirror.
The mirror broken.

The End of a Beginning

This mistake was yours and mine
Pillow bred and born
Too weak to open just one eye
It never saw the dawn

Electric

You make me smile
With your curling lips
That spread electricity
Through my finger tips.

The Beginning

You mouthed "Hey",
And I mouthed "Hey",
And across the room we smiled.
You had a half of cider and black
And I had a pint of mild.

We were a long way from infamy,
Neither of us particularly wild,
But I had a head full of filthy dreams,
And you had a house and a child.

Throwing

Thrown in time, the potter's wheel
Shifts and spits and spins
And caressing hands, plunging thumbs
This primitive clay, This rough skin
And the potter's pumping foot
The incessant circle of energy
The bass drum beat, the craftsman's tattoo
And mud becomes bowl.

A Life in Numbers

"3 and a half", over breakfast she said,
"Perhaps 4.3", he replied.
"Decimals today then?" She said with a grin.
"An ingenious equation, this marriage", he lied.
She was feeling almost a 7 at lunch
And asked if tonight was still on.
He said perhaps if he managed a 5,
But now he was barely a 1.

An hour or so later he was feeling a 9
With his P.A.'s Cs in his hands.
She said he'd been 8 as she gritted her teeth,
This wasn't the rise she'd originally planned.
At tea he was 3 with a frown on his face
And a smirk in the place where his secrets were filed.
"Well today's been a 10, what with 3 other men
And a call from your P.A., you bastard", she smiled.