The Witch Upon the Hill

Upon a hill in the dead of night
The wind did rage about its height
And there a young man saw a sight
That stayed till his end of days.

A silhouette upon the peak
Of spirits dancing cheek to cheek
To this young man so mild and meek
Were such unusual ways.

But drawn he was and he did climb
And with each step felt the flow of time
Slow to a stop; And beauty sublime
He saw on the summit there.

Standing with her back to him
A body long, slender, slim
And wonder filled him to the brim
At her ravishing raven hair.

She turned and fixed a steely eye
A look upon him which did defy
And then turning into a fly
She buzzed about his face.

But he made no move so change again
She did into a clucking hen
A fox, a rabbit, a deer and then
A bride dressed in white lace.

"Love upon you, I do bestow
And when you find her you will know
But be faithful or be struck by woe"
She said, with a piercing gaze.

With that she turned into a mare
With a mane of raven hair
And left the stunned man standing there
As she leaped into the bonfire blaze.

And as the embers floated up
She left a gilded acorn cup
Full of wine which he did sup
And fell into a drowsy state.

Then awaking to the morning sound
He found himself on lower ground
With a shock he looked around
And wondered at his fate.

Was it real or just a dream
He could never quite decide.
But when he found his love and married
Remained faithfully at her side.

Pilgrims

Ringing like bells
Of the empty footsteps
In the cloisters,
The coin in the cash slot
Clangs the tin box.

Cracked bones settle
On the stone cold
Stone slabs of paved floor.
Remembered prayers
Recite themselves
For the long departed souls
Who have forgotten them.

The singing psalms
Dance the flames with their breath
Weaving back and across
In their lighted shape
Of pointed hands to heaven.

For the candles there is company
In the heat and light,
Of warming breath and hope,
Faithful kisses caressing
And sparking out of the dark.

But the pilgrims soon depart.
And darkness creeps
With each and every smoky streamer.

Barrier

They squat with their shields
Armoured in aggression.
Beating our their bounds
With justice that knows no bounds.

Sticks at the ready
To repel legitimate protest.
Breeding violence to cover their own mistakes
And those of the state.

A thin blue protection racket
For those in power.
A human barrier
To public freedom.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-32499116

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/27/baltimore-police-protesters-violence-freddie-gray

Stink

The phrase 'All in it together'
Begins to smell more and more
Like an aging sewer.

While the policy of austerity
Begins to rot the heart of society
The stinking, filthy rich get richer.

Ideas of fair taxation
And wealth distribution
 Decompose on the compost heap.

And the poor are provided
Modest scraps from the food banks.

Amid the reek of zero hours,
Bedroom taxes and benefit sanctions
Ordinary lives get flushed away.

But the rich still benefit from raised noses
And fresh perfumed posies
Of tax breaks and loopholes.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/26/recession-rich-britains-wealthiest-double-net-worth-since-crisis

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/27/life-at-the-sharp-end-five-families-hit-by-five-years-of-austerity

Marathon

A swarm of agitation

Nervous at the start

Bunched up runners await the off

Buzzing anticipation

Bees within their hive

Flighty bubbled limbs

Adrenalin kicks and dances

As the start line does arrive

Twenty six miles of pain

Of euphoria, adulation

A challenge to be completed

With only pride to gain

A backdrop of London gems

Greenwich and the Cutty Sark

Canary Wharf and the Tower cobbles

All beside the sparkling Thames

And a crowd gathers to see

Effort and endurance

Sweat and sweet success

As they watch from park to quay

For each runner hopes to tame

To purge their soul upon the course

Arriving with spirit cleansed

Only self won victory to proclaim

Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration deserts you,
Like the back end
Of a vanishing train.

Sometimes it overwhelms,
Like the flood of fizzy drink bubbles
teeming up your nose.

Sometimes you have to work hard for it,
Like that pretty girl
Who's playing hard to get.

And sometimes it just flows,
Like the sensuous water
And kneaded massage
Of a spa treatment.

Flag

Can a symbol or a flag
Be truly national?
When we are so diverse.

Doesn't it just highlight
Differences in ethnicity?
Making situations terse.

Nationalism has surely run its course.
We are all human
A species that could harmonise

Within our lonely planet.
So let's come together
And for once do what is wise.

Shift

They're drilling for oil
Fracking for gas
Just to extract
A pile of cash.

Burning coal
In power generators
Pushing the spin
Of renewables haters.

Seeing the oceans
As mere dumping grounds
Since a dying coral reef
Makes no protest sound.

Destroying the ground
Destroying the air
Destroying the seas
Destruction everywhere.

So lets wrestle our planet
From their hands
Amalgamate
Our grains of sands.

And shift the balance
To nature's favour
Leaving ourselves
With an Earth to savour.

Smudge

Dead on a windowpane
Sightless eyes missing
The speeding landscape

Shuttered wings
Famed for buzzing platitudes
Sparkle in dawnlight

Spirit flown
Into smudges on a page
Smearing the truth

Drowned

Riding the waves to escape
In a sailing boat of hope.
Battling for a better life
And a fairer wind,
Away from the choppy waters.
Seeking refuge in calmer seas.

But hope is dashed
Upon the rocks of inhumanity.
Blown off course
By storm winds of fear.
Safe harbours blockaded
By the bobbing drowned,
Who found their escape
Beneath the waves instead.

Scream

A scream; A flow

Of onlookers pours itself,

Like a tidal current

Surging forwards; Tugging

At the roots of bystanders.

Waves with lapping hands

Compel others into the flood,

Condensing individuals

Into a crowd.

Clouds of sirens

Burst like thunderclaps.

And the watchers

Drizzle away in a rain,

Of satisfied curiosity.

Happiness

It's proved that money can't buy you
Happiness it seems
But lack of money holds you back
From fulfilling all your dreams

For a decent education
A home without damp or mould
Away from dead end jobs in which
Defeat can take a hold

So let's all demand a wage that pays
At least the most important bills
So we have a chance to save
And put an end to unhappy ills

http://www.pnas.org/content/107/38/16489.full

Age

It's just a number
That counts the seasons
But still we find
There are many reasons
To feel afraid
Of our rising age
Panic, anger
Regret and rage.

Forgetting that wisdom
Often increases
While fear of ourselves
Often decreases
And we need to learn
That loving and giving
Should be our only worry
As we go on living.

Summers

He will be forever synonymous

With my summer holidays.

After lie-ins and late breakfasts,

I would watch the sun lazily

Burn off the morning's dewy chill.

The hands on the clock 

Would tick by languidly,

Increasing the anticipation.

As eleven approached, the scent

Of my brewed coffee wafted hazily,

And crumbs of chocolate digestives

Would scatter in laconic fashion

Upon my plate.

And then the music that lifts;

The soul, the portal, the limbo,

Between before and after.

Followed by the voice that oozed

Summers and relaxation and temperament.

Setting the pace for the day's play

Of calming Cricket.

Flavours

We limit our flavours in adulthood
To that of a Cuban ice-cream parlour.
The flavours of our youth sit
Permanently under frosted windows;
Memories in deep freeze.
The lemon of bitter disappointment,
And the pink strawberry sweetness
Of a stolen kiss.
Darker desires kindle
In the fire of orange and liquorice.
While friendship and fun tingle
In Rum & Raisin,
In Raspberry Ripple.
And with green mint freshness of growing up
Having melted on the tongue,
All that remains is the choc-chip
Of bittersweet experience.

Sucked

Amidst the mad panic
As if the station
Is about to explode
They are sucked into the carriage

The train appears to offer
Their last hope of salvation
As its open doors
Hoover up the platform

And as it lurches off
With a smoker's cough rattle
All that remains is dust
And the patient

Selfish

So it seems that wealth creation

Is not about greed

But an overwhelming desire

A need

To show love and protection

To our family

Ensuring that they are safe

Living happily

And so saying

It implies a lot

That if you don’t desire wealth

You don’t give a jot

About your children’s lives

Or dreams

Selfish in poverty

Or so it seems

Scare

How children love to scare
You into tearing out your hair
As you watch them climbing
Into their own highchair

How children love to fright
When teetering on the edge of height
While clambering out
Of their cot at night

Future

Willing it out of the mist,
That great grey swirling in the distance.
Hope pierces.

Seeing formless shadows,
Materialise, dance and disperse.
Creating new shapes,
From thoughts and desires.

A smoky light,
Blinks into existence.

Interlaced with silvery weaving threads,
It beams with a happy eye,
Confiding the future,
It carries in its wake.

Dinosaurs

Just like the Brontosaurus
And the Apatosaurus
They are hard to tell apart
They may even be
The same

They lumber
Gently turning their heads
From side to side
Never straying far
From the centre ground
Rarely seeing
What is not right in front of them

They are living fossils
Dinosaurs in a
Broadband age
And the mammals
Are scurrying
In the undergrowth.

Hunt

They’re searching under the bushes

Beneath the roots of trees

Trying to crack a policy

For all of us to please

While hidden in the long grass

Are reforms that might bring changes

But to the ruling classes

These shells are the dangers

And now after five years

The hunt is on to find

The truth of this curates egg

Is all ideaology blind?

Joyous

The morning squeal
Is like a whining wheel
Turns at changing speeds
Constancy of a horn
Renting the air torn
Communicating needs

Or wishes, desires
Passionate fires
Of emotions inside
Explosions within
That just can’t be kept in
And you’re along for the ride

These are toddler days
And you know they’re a phase
But energy takes a hit
And despite feeling low
You just go with the flow
Since you can’t ever quit

So you give them hugs
And feel the tugs
At those inner heart strings
You love them down deep
They make you smile, make you weep
Joyous little things

Maundy

The rich really
Could do more
By taking note
Of the day
And giving
To the poor
Vulnerable
The needy
Those under threat
Of hunger
Eviction
But I'll bet
That instead
They'll ignore
These people
And hide it
In accounts
On islands
Far offshore

Only

You're only a fool if
You give in
Take it on the chin

You're only a fool if
You get used
Please don't be amused

You're only a fool if
You make no complaint
Difficult, it ain't

You're only a fool if
You lose your pride
Be on your own side