There’s a new sunrise coming your way
It will arrive at your place any day,
You will greet its arrival with glad eyes
And sing your praises for this surprise.

It nears the horizon not so far away
You will see it clear around midday
Your arms will be enveloped by sun
You won’t forget what you have done.

Can you see the sun’s rays streaming,
In the blue sky, no you’re not dreaming
Your new sunrise wants you out and about
Don’t hold back go on just give it a shout.

“The Government announced today
That it was going to abolish the alphabet”

In an unprecedented move they
Were unanimous about getting rid of it.

The Prime Minister in an unwritten statement
Replied to criticisms by stating “It’s got to go!”

After privatisation and economic disasters
The government felt that words were being wasted.

The Prime minister said “We will not tolerate
Anything that wastes time and money”

This government he said “is in serious debate
About getting rid of the evil British state”

News Three Months Later

The Prime Minister spent a comfortable night
Under the stars near Charing Cross Embankment.

He said, when pressed “why don’t you fuck off?”
To which there was a resounding Yes Prime Minister!

Mirror me – mirror you
The cold glass true view
Edges a scene far from new
Echoed shapes and colours too
There you are in the mirror
I can see a glassy you
There’s a reflection of the you
You are the image of who?

Mirror this mirror that mirror all
Hanging placidly upon the hall wall
Making the shortest seem to be tall
Shrinking the colours, not at all
Blazing light and hard edges an’ all
Mirror brings me sadness, a fall
Mirror conjures joy happiness well.
Mirror me – mirror you
Mere man, that’s all I can do.  

Mirror in perspective
In Perspex
Reaching a double depth
Seeing everything.
In the mirror
Without the mirror
Is like standing on a bridge
With motorway mad cars
Scurrying beneath.
A cool hard look into the glass
We someone who we think we know
Who isn’t really there
No, merely a representation
More real perhaps than a photograph
Because the image is steeped in living colour
Mirror 
No falsity nor lies do you bring
Only shades of reality be within
In a mirror I am representing me,
But I am not really there
Because I’m over here.

I remember a poem 
I wrote called Mingepole
I wonder whatever 
happened to the rhyme.
Not been seen by me
for some considerable time,
Not that I can remember
what it was all about
Could have been tall flowers
buses or some scouts,
Funny how these poems
always turn out
Like in straight lines
full words dancing
On the page to a musical
sound out of range
Whatever it was 
I am sure it was strange. 
Where does such a word
as this originate,
Makes me think 
I should further investigate.
But where will I begin, 
my memory I suspect.
Was it from a book
of silly rhyme and verse
Now I would be unable
to describe I expect.
What does a mingepole
conjure as its worse
Talking a new word 
thrashing it to shreds
I collect words
I hide them in my cage
I feed them quite often
before they enter a page
I want them to feel fit
ready to go – robust
I have no time for unready
words on my tongue
I spit them out for everyone
to hear old and new
Words I try to fit them
in whenever there is a cue.
I was only young
my pen was not broken in
So a word like mingepole
I used once laughing!

I’m melting and becoming part of the dull background.
Where I have held out my hand in kindness and care
All I see now are the flames of the devouring fire
Lit by disappointments, unsaid and awkward desires.

What do I make of a melting human kneeling in prayer
Do I try to put the flames out or stand still and stare?
The ignition took place when out of the dark corners
Explanations devoid of context or connection danced.

My meltdown is the process of thinking there is nothing
No feature in the desert where I now live, burning
From the heat that is inches away from no answers,
Questions won’t extinguish the fire only dancers!

From around the time the fire was started my heart
Bled all over the floor I tried to retrieve every part,
But the goo and sickly smell made me vomit flames
I now live heartless and try to remain calm in dullness.

I’m melting into a new shape that defies description
A remoulding of my personality so far from satisfaction,
You can smell my burning flesh during this meltdown
It pulls uncontrollable retches from way inside down.

Don’t look at me now I have melted away to almost zero
Leave me alone I can cope with unreliable explanations
That cast dozens of spears through me, where did they go?
I want them back to use against my newly unwanted foe

It is so easy to judge
But the thought never enters my mind
I prefer to let my compassion take over
Understanding and patience I find
Is preferable, it leads to inner peace.

I believe that good hearts sometimes
Choose poor methods or so it seems
I pray that whatever is hurting gets better,
All you need is a good progress to catch you,
May the dark thoughts exit your mind.

Slay the overthinking let its blood ooze
Stab the doubt through the heart, lose
The confusion that has dominated
Be the phoenix rising up into light
May peace, calmness fill your life.

What price imagination
With backdrop degradation
An endless subjugation
To mad totalitarians.

Planting the ecstasy
With gold shiny buttons
Rock block and barring
With Police doing the hitting
These are a few of their favourite things.

When the heads break
When the laws are broken
It is when these things happen
I think of my favourite things, 
,,,,,then I don’t feel so bad!

Leaning from my window in the dusty rooms
I hear the cry of joy in the nearby cafe
Drinks on the table, serving waitress smiles and wages
Music spilling in every direction as it rages
From poorly concealed speakers
Dank expressionless commuter wrecks
Trying to hide from the noise, adjusting their specs
Delaying their departure from the monster City
Leering at young office women trying to look pretty
Newspapers soaking up the stale beer 
Hanging from the edge of the mock oak table
Strange how photographs merge in wet newspapers
A horse jumps over Cyril Smith advertising leather sofas.

Leaving the window to gape at the night
I return to the dusty room, I imagine a newspaper without print
Not wanting a drink I finish off a can of lager
I wade out into the warm night air
I lounged in the lobby of some run down old hotel
Cursing the musical notes flying passed my ear
The musak guaranteed to annoy to prevent relaxation
I spoke to two lizards lounging therein
Who grinned impassively, they left without a sound
The musak peeled off my remaining peacefulness
Wrought iron action was needed, but I threw up.

A lively party wreaked of pitter patter talk
To which high principled brows balk
Take a book full of favourite areas of attack
Obscure authors were a delicacy
Strange how unknown phrases and ideas
Suddenly become significant
After four glasses of wine
After hours of tedium
In the shape of pretentious pen pushing
The hilarious stories were confetti
But the shallow drift of conversation 
Is worth defeating
I’m here to have a good time.

1.	The Park

Like sitting in a park
My eyes laze easily upon the lawn
I’m floating along alone
Because the length of each day
Is really so much shorter than an hour
Much longer than anyone can say.


2	Newscast

Pre-baked, over-starched
Looking like moulded plastic sides of beef
The presenter of the news
Is really beyond belief.


3	Pretty Hard

So stammer your hatred
At the pretty hard
Words
Learn from a bard
If it really satisfies,
But just don’t bother to write.