400 (31.07.2015)

And music will out live them and pull through
And will reverberate around the stars
And will always sound glorious and new
And will be sung in rowdy drunken bars
And quiet Buddhist gardens on the sand
And music will then heal the lonely souls
And give them passioned comfort of a hand
And remind them that they too have their goals.
So let the sound of music fill the air,
Let it be perfect, digital or bad,
I like to hear those play who just don't care
And do what they do 'cause it makes them glad.
So come on music blind me to the night
Come fill my ears and make me feel alright.


399 (30.07.2015)

A world where music's lost is sad defeat
And each day's therefore cumbersome and bland
And never's there then that heavenly treat
That reaches us through someone's favourite band.
Well music's used to torture some I've heard,
Repetitive and loud and on and on
Into the cells of terrorist we hate
Barney's love song until all hope is gone
And resurrection of the soul's too late.
So music's heaven but it can be hell,
Yet only in the hands of devil men
Upon whom obedience has cast a spell
And who have not the brains to think again.
Forget them there's but little we can do,
And music will out live them and pull through.

398 (29.07.2015)

Then teaches each of us where we belong
The sound that reaches far beyond our fears
And celebrates the world of perfect song
That quells our hearts and rectifies our ears
And brings us all in line with heaven's bells
And shows the way that hearts are made for love
And echoes through all time in all our cells
From nano particles to skies above.
See there a bird up high beneath the clouds
Hear the funeral bell where memories roam
See every type of music that's allowed
And let each note of blessing lead you home
A world that's lost in music is a treat,
A world where music's lost is sad defeat.

397 (28.07.2015)

In all the glories of the human voice
See what we do when we are given soul
When we are given chance and love and choice
When all our bodies long to rock and roll.
A tiny child hums twinkle little star
An opera singer contemplates the spheres
When people sing then no where is too far
And there's no need to contemplate our fears
The sound of song gives strengths we cannot know
And every message is beyond all thought
And nothing that we every speak can show
The thing that music shows that can't be taught
The human voice gives place to God through song
Then teaches each of us where we belong.

396 (28.07.2015)

Come let me weave you a musical crown 
That you can wear until your dying day
And in those magic music waters drown
Or let those sacred sounds take you away. 
Now listen with your heart and ears and soul 
To every sound you ever hear that's played
And let the all consuming take control
And think of all the wonders music's made.
See how it raises up the sorrowed man
See how it evens out pauper and king
See all the wond'rous  things that music can
See how it changes every single thing.
So think with me a moment and rejoice
In all the glories of the human voice.

395 (27.07.2015)

The Sun it covers things so very well
Give him a nickname 'cause he took some coke
Expand the front page of his private hell
With every drunken word he ever spoke.
So he made a mistake and he's a fool,
Spouting off opinions to himself
Diligence seems to be the only rule,
That he might just have left upon the shelf.
Well done for all the things that you've 'obtained'
And well done for the justice you impose,
What would have been the point if you'd refrained
And not made sure that everybody knows.
I guess in life we all make our mistakes,
And sometimes we're deceived by little snakes.



394 (26.07.2015)

Down through the woods and off towards the stream
We passed the afternoon out in the rain,
The light at times was like inside a dream
I tried to achieve mindfulness in vain.
Although I managed to appreciate,
The fact that I was with the middlies,
Alone with them to try and concentrate
On 'Now' and set my rushing mind at ease.
It worked I think, a tiny bit at least,
I got a little cold and pretty wet,
And then we drove home to our pizza feast
And all the things I'd managed to forget.
We ate our dinner while Frome won The Tour,
And then to bed like so often before.

393 (26.07.2015)

Don't look too far forward it's a mistake,
For everybody knows what's finally there.
But still all the decisions that we make
Should show that we reflect and take due care.
And yet, perhaps, that isn't really true
Have people ever come back from the dead?
I heard that someone did and that they knew
There was no God but only black instead,
But someone else said that they saw a light,
And someone else said they'd flown round the room.
But Buddhist monks say it will be alright
And that's enough to get me through the gloom.
So I'll make my decisions warily
And try to live my life responsibly.

392 (25.07.2015)

I know it's these that mark my sense of time
I sit each day and watch the things unfold
I get up on my little hill and climb
And push and watch as sonnets get unrolled.
So close now to a year is gone for good,
And all that I have left are memories
And all these little lines that have withstood
The waves of time that brought me to my knees.
So I look back on these and I feel calmed,
But when I look ahead I'm filled with dread,
I wish that I could not feel so alarmed
Yet wonder at which number I'll be dead.
I'm not complaining but we're in a line,
You think your days are numbered? Look at mine.

392 (24.07.2015)

The rain's so loud that I can't hear a sound
I've closed my eyes to listen for a while
The way it whispers when it hits the ground
The way the tree's drips follow with a smile.
A constant hissing out upon the grass
As though at last the lawn had found a voice,
The sound of rain, like bits of broken glass
Whispering to my deepest soul... "Rejoice."
The weather's been so good all summer long,
And now it's celebrating with some rain,
To prove that nature's very rarely wrong
Only interpretations are profane.
So we're out in the storm and not in bed,
Since we can't get the rabbits in the shed.




391 (23.07.2015)

I have some bile can I pour it out here?
Better not I guess, better keep it in.
Anger is powerful when it's so near
I feel like my whole self is caving in.
Run around, run around, run around run
Forced to do everything but what I need
Just keep some perspective, living is fun,
Nothing's too easy that's bound to succeed.
Fall down, just fall down, fall down and then flow,
Into the space of what's real and a dream
Forget what is done just let it all go,
We aren't really here, we aren't what we seem.
Anger is fleeting, or is that a lie?
Love is forever but rage will pass by.

390 (22.07.2015)

Another busy day is laid to rest
All that remains is to go out and play
Another step upon my little quest
Another step towards a brighter day.
But now I sit and write this just for you,
It's little things in life that make it great,
If only there was something I could do
To fill the world with love instead of hate.
The boys are in their bunkbed nearly gone,
They've had a long day out and now they're tired,
They need a good night's sleep to rest upon
Since all their energy has now expired.
Another busy day and then the night,
Sweeps all of us away till morning light.

389 (21.07.2015)

The wind it blows the tops of evening's trees,
The sun plays through the light and dark of day,
Should all mankind not get down on its knees
And bow to nature's glorious, subtle way?
There are so many questions left to know,
And still so much that we wish to believe
So many signposts telling where to go
And yet belief is so hard to achieve.
If we could clear our minds of all the noise,
We might then learn to see with different eyes.
If we remembered what the soul enjoys
Then surely we would never compromise.
I wish that I could lose my mobile phone,
So I'd know what it's like to be alone.


388 (20.07.2015)

The child is over tired and in tears
The parents act the way they should with love
The poor boy's only been on earth some years
His sorrow now would shame a mourning dove.
It's hard to be a parent at these times
You have to try and understand and give
A tired child can often commit crimes,
But being human's learning to forgive.
I'm asking Brodie please to go to bed,
He's an eight-year-old exploring how to choose
He wants me to be angry but instead
I let him know I love him and refuse.
He yawns a bit, I tell him it's alright,
I lift him into bed and say "Good night."


387 (19.07.2015)

When I consider how my life has changed,
In little steps it seems I've come along,
And everything in life's been rearranged
To try and form a place where I belong.
Yet now I'm nestled in this perfect life,
As though I'd made a plan when I was small,
To have these children and this lovely wife
But I don't really understand at all.
How was it that things turned out for the best?
What was it that made my life full of peace?
I must have grovelled well or passed a test,
For recently my troubles have all ceased.
And now I sleep in peace till morning's near
And celebrate each passing day and year









386 (18.07.2015)

When I consider waking up alone,
When I consider life without your love.
I feel my insides turn to bitter stone,
And my world's colder than the moon above.
I hope that we will live forever dear,
I hope that for us time will never end,
May we both live a life without the fear
That death will take away our dearest friend.
So let's hold hands and let's try not to think,
About the speed with which the days they fly,
The little pleasures here and now they link
To form a chain that nothing can untie.
And so I wake beside you every day,
Convinced that love will never fade away.









385 (17.07.2015)

We went out and we picked some strawberries
The English countryside was on great form
While we were there we ate some raspberries
It rained a little bit but it was warm.
I stood inside the light and damp and looked
Across the fields out to a far off hill
I watched a while until my soul unhooked,
And I was separated from my will.
Iris' face was bright red from the feast,
Lochie was stung by nettles on the hand
For a small amount of time we were released
From all our memories and things we've planned.
Sometimes it's wonderful to slip away,
If only for a little while each day.





384 (16.07.2015)

I'm standing on the outside looking in,
We're searching for a film we'll both enjoy,
And even though I know I'll never win,
I fail to see the tactics she'll employ.
My wife and I are choosing on Netflix,
Yet there's so much to chose from that she stops,
But now I see she's up to her old tricks,
She searches for "Romance" and up it pops.
Romantic foreign films now fill the screen,
And Sci-fi and Adventure's been forgot
So naturally I don't want to be mean,
And I act like I haven't just been shot.
She'll hold my hand for two hours then she'll weep,
Though all I want to do is go to sleep.

383 (15.07.2015)

The world has sinned and is hidden in fog
The lightest drizzle's seeped into the air
The garden's turning slowly to a bog
Is loving just another word for share.
We all have muses hanging round our head
It's very hard to hear them if there's noise
Sometimes mine whispers to me in my bed
"Forget about all fun that fear destroys...".
The summer's lost its smiling summer face,
It seems as if the autumns come to try
And see just what it's like to own this space,
The only truth it seems to be we die.
I'm trying to think of something else I know,
But now my muse has gone it's time to go.

382 (14.07.2015)

At times like this when I'm just getting tired
I try to focus my mind on one thing,
I think it's just the way my head is wired
That makes me want to play music and sing.
The happy woman loved On Hastings Beach
She really seemed as if she had been touched
On Sunday night a song managed to teach
Me, how to let go what is being clutched.
I am so busy now that I could pout
I'd love a moment just for feeling rest
Yet I have so much more to talk about
And struggle on and try to do my best.
So round and round the days and years they go,
There's nothing else on earth we need to know.


381 (13.07.2015)

Listen to a little bit of silence,
I listen to a bit of rock & roll,
Nothing good will ever come of violence
But often it feels good to take control.
Listen to the voices in me speaking,
And listen to the wind out in the trees,
Often it's too hard to keep from peaking
Into the eyes of those upon their knees.
There's no point in asking many questions
The answers are as plain as they can be,
Everybody keeps making suggestions,
On ways I can improve on being me.
There's nothing in my will that time assaults,
Since I'm quite happy living with my faults.


380 (13.07.2015)

Give me five minutes where I'm all alone
Give me a second to just be at peace
Children are lovely, I don't mean to moan,
But when will all this servitude just cease?
It's been a lovely day of course it has
But busy, busy, busy, busy mad
A bit like I've been free falling through Jazz
With the ghost of Dizzy Gillespie's dad,
I'm in a whirlwind but my mind's alert
'Cause now they're all asleep and I can write
If I was teaching I could iron a shirt
But I don't do that now so it's alright.
So that was just another busy day,
Now gone forever but that's still okay.



379 (12.07.2015)

She's only been on earth for two short years
She speaks to me and can communicate
She wraps me round her finger with her tears
I have no choice but to capitulate.
She wanders round the house in her own world,
A constant stream of words flow from her tongue
As gradually her language is unfurled,
It's strange to think I'm old and she is young.
When I was eight the ones at twelve were men,
When I was sixteen twenty-two seemed old
And in my twenties there it was again,
I cannot understand how years unfold.
It doesn't make me sad or bring out tears,
I'm just amazed I've been here fifty years.


378 (11.07.2015)

They played a game of Dotty Dinosaurs
We did the park run in the morning heat
He slept a little on the grass outdoors
I busked an hour in Observer street.
He watched the Tour de France on the TV
Then did a wash and hung that washing out
We know that what we think is what we'll be
But do not feel a need to scream and shout.
She's entering a new phase of her life
Where she will do what she is meant to do
We will forever more be man and wife
And never be alone but will be two.
Sometimes life's really nice, sometimes a chore,
It's Saturday and still not even four.

377 (10.07.2015)

We are so lucky we can swim like this,
I'm gliding through the water with my friends,
If I were ill I'd very badly miss,
These moments exercise all else transcends.
The water seems to wash away my thoughts
And gradually my worries slip away,
I guess it's just like many other sports
Which help to keep the stress of life at bay.
I see the water rushing past my face
I feel my muscles pulling H2O
Sometimes we end our sessions with a race
And side by side into the blue we go.
I think perhaps it's here that I'm most free,
Just swimming up and down, my friends and me.

376 (09.07.2015)

Sleep well all you princes and princesses
I hope that your dreams are all full of joys
Sleep is the king of all our recesses
Worth more than all the world's gold or your toys.
A pleasure that's known only when it's done,
Travelling through time till you open your eyes.
Is this where you were? Is that the same sun?
Is that the same ground? Are they the same skies?
Wake me when it's time to leave this place and
I will then sleep the night away in bliss
And when I wake up I will understand
Just where I am and what it is I miss.
And I will sleep away my waking day,
And live in dreams to pass the night away.

375 (08.07.2015)

I'm sitting in a play park with the kids
It's one of the great pleasures in my life
A simple thing that no one yet forbids,
Just past the reach of austerity's knife.
A chance for me to be out of the house
A chance to forget all the bills and mess,
Although I miss my friend the little mouse
Who's there at night to hear as I confess.
But right now all is innocence and fun
Though I ignore the children and write this
Though soon I'll stop and play football and run
When they've grown up I know just what I'll miss.
So goodbye sonnet number three-seven-five,
Now let me play and feel that I'm alive.



374 (07.07.2015)

My body used to work so very well
But now there's little bits all going wrong
It's like a sort of early warning bell
Reminding me that life is never long.
It's difficult to get up of the ground
When I've been lying on the grass to rest
And recently, to be honest, I've found
That I'm not always at my very best.
So slowly time is whittling me away
And gradually I'm wearing down inside
And this continues with each passing day,
Much to the indignation of my pride.
So I am like all other mortal men,
I sleep at night and then wake up again.

373 (06.07.2015)

Eight years ago today my wife gave birth
To our dear son and we were both enthralled
With his arrival here upon the earth
And straight away we knew he should be called
Brodie. It's hard remembering that day
Sometimes the world goes by in such a blur
And all we want is to slow down and stay
And try to understand just where we were.
For from one second and out to the next,
A thousand changes can take place in us
And things are often not as one expects,
Although we do not want to make a fuss.
Eight years ago my son he did arrive,
Adding to the joys of being alive.




372 (05.07.2015)

The complications that you make in life
Sooner or later they will all come back
And then you have to explain to your wife
About the little things you think you lack.
Now I have not done anything at all
And I am innocent, I know I am,
But I've a friend who is about to fall
And got himself into a little jam.
So I would really like to let him know,
That things will always work out in the end
Often there is a toll on roads we go,
But never is it more than we can spend.
So come now friend and brace yourself a while,
And greet both good and bad times with a smile.




371 (04.07.2015)

Do everything upon my iPhone now
I brush my hair and wash my shiny teeth,
I am upset that it will not allow
The closing of all sorrow and all grief.
For what's the point of material things
I need something that's got a bit of soul
There's elegance in pretty diamond rings
But nothing's quite like nature as a whole.
An iPhone can't draw back the veil of death,
Or make a barren mother be with child,
Yet everyday they film a child's first breath
And happy party people running wild.
I'm writing this upon my iPhone too,
And posting it upon the net for you.

370 (03.07.2015)

A sonnet now to celebrate a song
To indulge what is closest to my heart
And what perhaps I have known all along
Will always be my most important part.
I do not sing as sweet as any bird
I cannot play the guitar like Joe Pass
I am not like another voice you've heard
And cannot help myself from being crass.
But this is all I've ever really known
And all I've ever really cared about
And so this bank of songs has grown and grown
And all I can do now is let it out.
So watch this space and see these trickling streams
Become a flood and fulfill all my dreams.


369 (02.06.2015)

In a coffin woven from willow trees
Lay her down peaceful 'neath the autumn sun
The rest of the world may do as they please,
When one life is over another's begun.
So celebrate now the life that she lived
As we watch those branches covered in earth
No one is living who has not forgived
No one has passed who was not of some worth
Think of the scoundrels, the villains and thieves.
See the bright sun setting down by that tree
Think of the tortured that no one believes
Think of the fate that is waiting for thee.
Don't waste a moment, the end it is nigh
Who can imagine, one day we will die?






368 (01.07.2015)

An orange moon is melting in the sky
I've been possessed by demons in the heat,
They rage inside the space behind my eye
And trample on my brain with burning feet.
And when I try to speak they hold my tongue
And when I try to move they trip me up
And then I notice that they have begun
To use my blood to fill a golden cup.
They've melted down the moon and sold it on
They've carved away the sun and stolen trees
They've used the human soul to sit upon
They've cut off both my legs below the knees
I close my sleepy eyes and then I find
These nightmares raging through my sleeping mind.

367 (01.07.2015)

Look at me, debilitated and ill 
Driving along with one of my daughters 
Listening to voices that won't be still
Longing to dive into clear, cool waters.
All senses heightened and so much alive
All senses dulled and at the doors of death,
Collapsed and down and unable to thrive
Imagining each ones my final breath.
See how the waves of self pity revolve?
Around me though it's just a bug I've got,
Watch my hypochondriac self evolve
I try to take control but still can not.
I'm sick and that is all there is to say,
Tomorrow I'll be better set to play.