A traveller through space, time and Ilfracombe
A Worm From The Author. Several years ago I started my career as a musician, a songwriter, a photographer and all these years later I am still plying my trade as all of the above. But, I have now had a dabble or two with a few other things (such as a paintbrush and an airbrush) that took my fancy along the way. I have written several books, mostly on the subject of Personal Development and a couple of adult children’s stories. However, all that taken into account, someone who has known me for nearly 20 years passed a comment earlier this year (2014) that really struck me hard. Whilst I understand the meaning behind their words, the deeper content of the phrase really got to me. So if the person who stated loudly (and in front of an audience) that I was “not a creative!” is reading this please note that the wound caused by your comment went very deep!!!! Anyway, dear reader, please take heed and if at the end of this read it is your considered opinion that I am not a creative person, so be it, but I would ask you ever so gently please keep you opinion to yourself because my ego could not take another body blow. You will find contained in these pages a collection of some of the poetic work I have created over the years, the earliest piece dates from 1990. Some may say it is “rubbish”, others have said “what mind expanding substances were you taking at the time?” Quite frankly both statements are equally correct - I just hope my Dad never reads that!!!! And so I will leave you in peace to read through the verses of this compilation and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy some if not all of my creations. Oh and before I forget this book is dedicated to quite a few people who have helped and supported me along the way, you mean so much to me………………. The gorgeous Alison (my wife of 40 years); my mum Maifred; my Dad Fred; Gladys; Alma; Tina Edwards; Pauline Mitchell; Becky Head; Linda Roper; Bridget diLuzio; Tom Newman; Bill Murtha; Stevie Duren and many, many more.
Is That Poet - ery Art? has been published to provide a light hearted look at the world. It is not to be taken seriously by anyone and is intended for everyone regardless of the variety of paths and choices they have made during their personal journey through this strange existence we call life. First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Moonshadow Media Productions, 6 Lee Place, Ilfracombe, Devon. EX34 9BQ Copyright © Moonshadow Media Productions All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the express permission, in writing from the publisher except by a reviewer who may quote passages and reproduce images for the purposes of a review.
Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
Thickly Buttered Crumpets The Cross and The Cauldron Doom and Rust Today In Paradise I Was Born A Sixties Child Run Free Tights ( A Female Myst’ry) That London! My Daft Cat Ode To John Johnson Football Arrgh! Lament Breakfast At Jean’s !!!! Gary Gary Two Left Feet I Wish The Flying Lady Noilly Noilly Noilly Pratt Jack The Carpenter Dr Johnson is a bum….. The Little Injun I Wish I Was a Tablecloth Summerland Ball Working Class Hero Angels On Bicycles Did They Really Set Us Free A World Of Illusion On The Edge Is That Poet-ery Art? Evening Stroll Sentinels Thermal Riding The Dawn Of Many Days I Remember Elephants Fimly Gramous Bubbles And When My Eyes Are Open Deleting You From My Facebook The Tatty - Bogle Clickety Clack - is it Jack?
1.
Thickly Buttered Crumpets
Thickly Buttered Crumpets A slice of Window Cake The quintessential English tea My grandma used to make "We’ll take it in the parlour" My grandad used to say "Don't forget best china And use the patterned plates!" There's something stirs me deeply When I sit here to think About those family values Whose memories I link There's really something missing Lost from those days of yore When thickly buttered crumpets Would leave me wanting more
2.
The Cross and The Cauldron
The cross and the cauldron A rare sight to see side-by-side and together just like you and me The difference is simple just one of belief And yet we were hounded For nature and tree Your God and our Goddess Are one and the same Our church is the forest Not brick steel and frame We breathe the same air and We seek the same thing To live life together Like birds on the wing But not in my lifetime Will ever I see The cross and the cauldron Together as we
3.
Doom and Rust
Setting sail towards the sun An evening voyage just begun No more smoking chimney stacks Several weeks with cases packed Off to visit distant shores Our changing life is stretching forth And as we pass through dead of night We slumber on our eyes shut tight Horrendous scraping, gouging deep Waking folk from peaceful sleep Men and women, boys and girls Caught in turmoil, breaking worlds The vessel doomed, with broken back Launching lifeboats filled with lack People screaming jump from high To icy water, bound to die That dreadful day those years ago It was not me, don't blame me so The ship they claimed to be unsinkable Ended life in ways unthinkable And still we mourn that waste of life Father, Daughter, Mother Wife To end their days with untold panic Aboard the greatest ship Titanic. We view the footage time on time The remnants of The White Star Line Collect mementos, plates and cups The greatest liner lies and rusts
4.
Today In Paradise
Today in paradise nothing stirred No rustling tree no chirping bird The land was silent all around The waiting mind heard not a sound What's happening here I hear the cry As bluebirds fall from up on high It's now a land that we forgot Where once was good, now all is rot Is it the fault of man and youth? Because they all must search for proof Of something once inside the head And dreamt of once within the bed Don't let it die my plaintive cry We need that place both you and I A place to go and simply be From all thoughts and fear set free Take my hand and with me come Let's build again what once begun Breathe life anew into that place The land between both time and space
5.
I Was Born A Sixties Child
Yes I was born a sixties child And I can see for miles of smiles I sat and watched the mushrooms grow The purple haze was all a-glow Yes I was born a sixties child Running free, hair blowing wild The soft machine was so much fun Eagle soaring run boy run Yes I was born a sixties child I met a man with clear third eye The July sounds were rock to me With alright now we were so free Yes I was born a sixties child An albatross soared free and wild Peace and Love and love and light Sleep inside a three dog night
6.
Run Free Tights (a female myst'ry)
I asked a friend the other day Do run free tights do as they say? Do they make you walk not run, Depriving you of girly fun? The burning question that I ask Makes me think, behind the mask Do you grimace, clench your teeth Appearances you have to keep? Thinking on this made me ponder How much money women squander Permanent dye that washes out Tell me just what that's about? I know I'm talking tongue in cheek But really girls I have to speak Of these things that cross my mind While I watch the bump and grind
7.
That London!
Hippity Hoppity Bobbity Boo I'm off to that London so how about you? I'm spending a night or maybe it's two Stuck in a room with so little to do I'm leaving behind the sand and the shore To sleep in a room with a wood printed door The food,shall I say, is really quite poor I'd be much better off if I munched on the door And then when my sojourn has come to an end I'll make my way back over tarmac and bend Home to the sea and my life and my friends That London, to me, is a means to an end
8.
My Daft Cat
She stalks a feather on a string And jumps a mile when people ring She’s hard as nails she likes to think And yet from noises she will shrink She sleeps all day upon the bed And goes out mousing in her head But when it’s time to chase a rat She really is just my daft cat!
9.
Ode to John Johnson
Mrs Johnson had a son With his band he had great fun Smoked a pipe and played a bass Until one day he lost his place Fell off the perch and quit this life No more smoking of his pipe
10.
Football argggh !
Roundly roundly roundabout Jerking straps on leather coat Crosses red on fluttery white Football bloody football!
11.
Lament
I'm down eleven hundred quid Not dirty as a dustbin lid The bouncing cheques with rubber legs Join Mr Sweet in Gloria's bed My names not Michael don't you know? But patience is my biggest woe You take me riding here and there As cobwebs in the graveyard stare I cast a spell to up on high With ear of bat and lizards eye That one day I will see again That mortal man is worth the pain But 'til that day comes round once more I guess I'll just forget the score I'll buy myself a thicker skin And drown my sorrows in the gin
12.
Breakfast at Jean's
Merry, merry, merry day Drinking cups of Milky Way Sausage, egg and chips and beans Have you eaten down at Jean's?
13.
!!!!
The exclamation mark issues.....!
14.
Gary Gary
Gary, Gary, don't do that You'll squeeze the life out of the cat Put it down you silly boy Can't you see it's not a toy
15.
Two Left Feet
Two left feet Sit on my knee It's Christmas!
16.
I Wish
I wish I was in Liddypool Now that the summer's come I want to hear the Mersey Sound And see the setting sun
17.
The Flying Lady
The flying lady on the car Sits upon the silver grille She's got guts!
18.
Noilly Noilly Noilly Pratt
Noilly, Noilly, Noilly Pratt Mr James is such a prat Drinking whiskey with his gin Building bonfires in the bin Snapping turtles in the dark Can't you hear that monkey bark? Sitting in his favourite tree Throwing stuff at you and me
19.
Jack The Carpenter
Jack The Carpenter raised an eye And picked a nail out of his bag Then bashed it's head in With a spanner
20.
Dr Johnson is a bum.....
Dr Johnson is a bum Sitting in the midday sun Smoking dope and drinking tea What a laugh we had today!
21.
The Little Injun
There was a little injun His face was always red Until the night I caught him Sleeping in my bed
22.
I Wish I Was A Tablecloth
I wish I was a tablecloth A tasty meal for Malcolm Moth Munching gaily on the thread Until the pain starts in his head He'll eat his fill of other balls And then fly off to climb the walls Up and up to dizzy heights Malcolm, Malcolm oh so tight
23.
Summerland Ball
Come to the Summerland ball Come to the Summerland ball Don't take offence at it all Just come to the Summerland ball With the wind in my face in the dead of the night I come to the ball but not just to fight There's witches and Demons and all things alike Who come to the ball just to have a good night See the man over there who is missing an ear He's come to the ball cos it's that time of year And the child over here who was taken by fear Is drinking her fill of cold whiskey and beer I've questions not answers and all I can hear Is chinking of glasses, not one single tear The women are raucous and make it quite clear They've come to the ball 'cos it's that time of year Come to the Summerland ball Come to the Summerland ball Don't take offence at it all Just come to the Summerland ball
24.
Working Class Hero
I'm a working class hero Doing the best I can I work in a factory No one knows who I am I live in a suburb On the best side of town My friends and relations Ate all dragging me down Got to be the best I am able Keep a fair meal on the table Put shoes on my feet, pay for the heat Poverty isn't a fable My children all need schooling What am I to do I haven't any money And so I turn to you You say you cannot help me But I know you can And if I turned to credit I'd be a very rich man
25.
Angels On Bicycles (dedicated to Tom Newman)
I met a man the other day While walking on my merry way We struck a chord like age old friends I'm keen to see where this part ends He cut a track some years ago That left its mark upon me so I knew not then our paths would cross Four decades hence, was such a shock The man has written many rhymes With music passing through his hands And now the latest in the cycle Finds an angel, friend of Michael Oh Raphael what have you done To meet the eye of Ireland's son Whilst looking at that rusty bike He was inspired that tune to write Another Bells it may not be But still it left its mark on me A new man born they called him Tom What greatness gene did he come from?
26.
Did They Really Set Us Free?
To make you think is what I hope To push the boundaries out of scope I'd like to hear you say to me Did they really set us free? Observe the flag that flutters high And waves toward the sovereign sky Taxes, charges by the score Bailiffs knocking, wanting more You have to work to earn your keep Then you worry, cannot sleep Pressure from those mounting bills Never stops, it makes you ill People from some foreign land Arriving here no cap in hand Settle down and have some tea Don't bother working, it's for free And so my friend, my island pal We work all day each man and gal And now I hear you say to me Did they really, really set us free?
27.
A World Of Illusion
People hate me daddy why? You come to me with tear in eye No they don't my darling son It's been like this since time begun I'm fat, I'm thin my daughters cry They come to me with tear in eye No you're not my darling girls All these woes are old as hills They're not as real as they may seem For if they were I'd be a queen, Floating gently on a yacht In a land that time forgot The thoughts begin inside your head Not in a world of mice and men Nothing's ever as it seems And probably it's just a dream A fantasy a dream has grown From deep inside where it began A thought can change my girl my son Illusion fools us one by one
28.
On The Edge
A boundary line was reached today You stared oblivion in the face Your feet about to take a step To where you almost crossed the edge A void so deep there's no return Some call it hell, it makes you burn Mists have formed before you eyes The manic laugh! The look of "why"? But you were stopped by gentle word From doing things which in my world Would see you cast adrift, alone Without the place that you call home I feel a sense of great regret That still you haven't mastered that The thing you think will set you free Can't take you where you want to be Yet even now my heart is heavy Filled with dread and fear and worry That you will go there yet again The outcome may not be the same But only you can make the choice About your future I've no voice So as this tale draws to its end I'm glad you're back my dearest friend
29.
Is That Poet - ery Art?
I have a friend a gentle man Who lived on earth when time began And every day a poem he'd write Just to read in dead of night His gentle wife with loving heart Tried but found it very hard To understand the words he said Each night before they went bed Rhyming couplets by the score Her aching head was awful sore She asked her man with fear in heart Is that poet - ery Art?
30.
Evening Stroll
It makes no difference where we are Not waters edge or healing spa The gentle lapping seems to be The comfort sound that we all need Watch the pulse of flashing light Guiding sailors through the night A single gull on homeward wing Her plaintive call she has to sing The water calls me home again A babbling brook or pounding rain It stirs me to my very core Even when the sea's a-roar Below the clouds of gathering night The cliff side walk a wondrous sight Blues and greys with orange whites Far off shores and twinkling lights I love the calm within my head Relaxed refreshed and soon to bed I taste the salt upon my lips The sea has placed a gentle kiss
31.
Sentinels
Proudly standing sentinels Stretch high to greet the dawn Above the verdant carpet Beneath a sun so warm Their distant sails are turning Creating power and light Oh how can you not notice That this is oh so right The energy they give us Is needed far and wide And if you were to ask me Then Yes, I'm on their side I also want to tell you That whilst I may be green I think it's highly possible That waves will steal the scene
32.
Thermal Riding
I watch the hawk that circles round A pale blue sky for miles around Ever climbing higher higher Thermal riding winged flier Growing circles wider, wider Joins another just beside her Then she hovers, gazing down Something tiny on the ground Like a stone she starts to plummet Senses taste within her gullet Her prey she carries ever higher Our thermal riding winged flier
33.
The Dawn Of Many Days
Passing through the dawn of many days we enter in a gold and silver haze It brings us nearer to the core of what we have been searching for It holds as many secrets there as we will find or we can share A white and iridescent light our eyes we shelter from the sight and by some curious nature freak we've reached the answers that we seek it shines so bright we cannot see but shows itself to you and me Our journeys perils had a cause for AUM we found on golden shores and each of us brings back a note to make a chord from what we wrote but even so this chord is wrong it will not end our final song.
34.
I Remember Elephants
Twentieth century dinosaurs that walk upon the land not forgetting anything and killed by human hand yes I remember elephants. Their size could not protect them from all the toys man made, for days and nights they lived in fear of who was once their friend, yes I remember elephants guns and spears are deadly toys they take away your kind And yet the trade in tusk and hide made all our people blind. Yes I remember elephants And so my child to hear the words and act to make things change will be the making of new man no more the sickening trade. Yes I remember elephants
35.
Fimly Gramous
Page two ladies in the sun Take there clothes off one by one Fimly Gramous picture graphs Cameras making lightning flash What a load of bull!
36.
Bubbles
Spiral drinks of lemonade Bubbles glisten in the shade Popping gaily in the sun Like the sound of bubblegum
37.
And When My Eyes Are Open
And when my eyes are open Will I see you standing there? And when my life is empty I wonder will you care? ‘bout the times we’d lie together Loving through the years And if I cry enough for you Then will you return?
38.
Deleting You From My Facebook
Oh woe is me, a dreadful fate I've been discarded by a "mate" I'm worried that my world might end Because I've lost a cyber friend I passed a comment, not too harsh A kinda sorta glib remark About a person I had heard Being rude about a third Venom spat and claws revealed A hatred that had been concealed And many insults thrown around It all took place without a sound My punishment was swift and harsh As then was played the final card The person's fingers quickly struck "Deleting you from my Facebook" I cannot help but wonder why Such anger lurks within the sky Social Media for the masses? Gods help us after this phase passes!
39.
The Tatty - Bogle
Round the twisty hilltop run Climbing high toward the sun The heather's gently crunching sound Hits the air and drifts around The tiny creature, rarely seen Colours black and shades of green Passing on his merry way Seeking food or friend to play The Tatty - Bogle is his name Rarely seen and without fame But yes I know that you are there Your scent approaches on the air I'll keep your secret, have no fear As darkness falls it seems so clear Your gentle sounds upon the heath Make me wish that we could meet But I know that cannot be Because you are more scared than me So here in Tatty - Bogle land The Laird is coming cap in hand
40.
Clickety Clack - is it Jack?
Hanging mist and static air Darkness falls without a care Heels are clicking on the stones A shawl pulled tight protects her bones Is someone there? turning round Tension mounting calls out loud A pool of light from open door Then darkness back again once more Heart beats pounding in her chest Breathing harder hair so wet Steps are quicker clickety-clack Goose bumps rising - is it Jack? She cannot run away from here She feels her body stiff with fear A belt across her chest so tight Plunging downwards out of sight Stopping quickly, lost for breath She wants to scream the world is deaf Heels are clicking clickety-clack Someone calling welcome back So now I leave you with a thought Was it real or was it false? Did her heels go clickety-clack? Did goose bumps rise and was it Jack?
So my friends, that brings you to the end of this journey through my mind and as you will have seen there is, in this reality today, a strange collection of thoughts that like butterflies last a but a short while and then are gone. They were assisted in their development by the music I listened to and the people I was at school with during those heady days of the 1960s. I hope that you have found something in these pages that you have liked or has touched a spot that resonates within you. And so as I take my leave of you for this time, I will wish you the very best things that life can give, Love, Light and Peace to you all and please, please, please take great care of this planet we call home. Blessed Be
THE END