The Burbling Anthology

The Burbling Anthology Poems and Odes by The “Non - Creative” Wizard

The Burbling Anthology Poems and Odes by The “non creative” Wizard

Foreword “The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself.” - Alan Alda

This collection has been compiled as a follow up to “Is That Poet-ery Art?” by the same author.

Several years ago the author was in conversation about creative people with a work colleague when the immortal words were uttered “of course you are not a creative……”

Had I had my Book of Shadows or my Grimoire to hand then he could have been joining the colony of mice that share the space with us.

However, despite the permanent injury that those thoughtless words caused, I stoically followed the path of “a creative” allowing this book, my other books, my music and my photography to continually bear witness to the fact that I am a creative person.

So There Mr Colleague!

The burblings contained within these pages are just a collection of random thoughts and ideas that popped into my head. Some are whimisical, others are serious but certainly they are all written without malice or any desire to cause anyone offence, injury or even perhaps have their legs fall off!

Merlin (aka Dave Baxter M.A.S.C. life coach) ©2015 moonshadow media productions

Contents 01. Ode To A Bin Bag 02. The Serpents 03. The Longest Night 04. The Hospital Cardigan 05. Transparent Butterfly Wings 06. The Spirit Of Yule 07. The Siren’s Sound 08. Autumn Dew 09. Malvolia 10. Do You Feel It? 11. Girls And Guys 12. The Dime Bar Kid 13. The Raven’s Kiss 14. Beyond The Veil…..

15. The Moon And I 16. The Vodka Vixens 17. Lost On Both Sides Of The Paper 18. Mr Grey Will See You Now 19. Pendle Melody 20. Much Burbling 21. The Lilac Panda 22. Circus Of Marbles 23. Does Anyone Live Here?

24. Life In Counterfeit Motion 25. The Grass Growing Society 26. The Bucket List 27. The Goddess Moon 28. Awesome Alliteration 29. Good Night, Sleep Tight

01 Ode To A Bin Bag Crinkly bag of plastic Sitting on the floor Holds the household rubbish 'til put outside the door The secrets of the bin bag Are much to dark to tell Unless you are a council spy Who digs the awful smell

02 The Serpents The serpents were waiting In a corner quite dark Sitting and planning To pounce on their mark Demeanour of vehemence They sit and they scheme The downfall of innocence The lambs in the field They hissed and they slavered They slithered around But at time appointed They made not a sound They crept up behind him And struck one two three But the lamb kept on standing No weakling was he He fought back with courage Surviving the fray His friends rallied round and The snakes went away Back to their corner and Whispering ways To plotting and scheming And new venom days One smiled oh so sweetly And said "was not me" "I stopped in the corner And looked far away" And so as this story Draws close to its end Beware of the serpents Who say "be my friend"

03 The Longest Night The longest night returns anew With howling wind and falling snow Coldness numbs the fingertips It is the time of Wintersmith Lanterns glow behind closed doors Fireplace crackles keep us warm Snowflakes drifting to the ground From the garden comes a sound Who is walking through this night Who is hiding from plain sight Elven footprints on the floor The Holly King is at the door Welcome, welcome come inside Will you sit with us a while?

Wine or whiskey, beast or fowl?

A Royal visit makes us proud Yet time stands still for ne'er a man The wheel is turning once again Days increasing oh so little 'Til the Kings are locked in battle But let's not think on this just now And celebrate this Solstice night With wine and gifts and company Let's sing and dance and merrie be! *(set to music and recorded by Whyte Raven 2014)

04 The Hospital Cardigan Never mind what people say At any time of night or day Always waiting by the door Ever ready, that's for sure It was a regal shade of blue A colour not for me or you But worn so easy on your back You never changed your way or tack You knew before the phone call came Somehow a trigger in your brain Set your senses on the edge Ready for the journey hence No matter what the day or hour The garment wrapped you in its power As wife or mother, friend or nan You donned that famous cardigan You wore it every single trip Sometimes fastened near the hip You kept a hanky in the pocket Heaven cursed if you forgot it So indeed it stood us proud We knew you'd come when time allowed Broken, battered, bruised again Here comes the famous cardigan Where is it now, I cannot tell When you left it went as well No more illness will it see No more trips to A and E But I thank you from my heart For being there when times were hard I often wish I'd see again The faithful old blue cardigan

05 Transparent Butterfly Wings The other day a friend of mine A picture sent to me She said I'll donate 50 quid if you can plainly see.....

A sight not there but yet it is For everyone to see So when you find it let me know and your reward shall be I looked so hard a strange request!

My eyeballs fell apart But fifty quid is fifty quid and so I made a start A picture showing nothing there What have I got to see?

I asked the question and she said "It's nowt to do with me" For days I looked, and then some more An ache within my head Looking hard my ears were numb and so I went to bed I settled down for forty winks or maybe fifty three And hours turned into days The strangest thought occurred to me, a revelation made Closer looking, closer still I spotted something there A line so fine and then one more just like a human hair My heart was singing very loud And soaring to the sky I saw the thing that was not there, a wingless butterfly A butterfly, transparent wings For all the world to see And yet you'll miss it every time, unless you think like me The fifty pounds? I set it free I let it soar and sing There's something greater in the world, transparent butterfly wings

06 The Spirit of Yule Deep in a forest on the edge of a lake An old man is silent, decisions to take He ponders a question yet he is no fool How can he harness The Spirit of Yule?

People have left him to age day by day His children deciding to move far away And so he is asking because he's no fool "How can I harness the Spirit of Yule?"

Alone in his lifetime his friends passed away Summerlands' calling but just not today The answer is somewhere, he knows he's no fool The answer to harness the Spirit of Yule.

He suddenly wakens with thoughts rushing in His eyes are wide open and seeing again Dawning, enlightening no way he's a fool He knows how to harness the Spirit of Yule.

The day is the shortest and life starts again The spring round the corner goodbye to the rain The new sense of life tells him he is no fool He's now understanding the Spirit of Yule Rejoice in The Goddess, Rejoice in The God Rejoice in the snow and Rejoice in the rain Give of your heart and believe you're no fool And then you can enter The Spirit Of Yule. * (set to music and recorded /released by Celia Farran 2014)

07 The Siren's Sound Just the other morning While standing in my room The day was almost dawning I heard a plaintive tune The window started shaking As music filled the air I felt my heart was breaking My mind in pure despair I looked inside the wardrobe To see if she was there But all that I discovered Was brightly coloured air I looked under the carpet To see if she was there And all that I uncovered Were wooden floorboards bare The mystery was growing The music all around My mind was fairly spinning With that mysterious sound My head and ears were aching My feet had left the ground Electric air was sparking I'd heard the Siren's sound So in my head, confusion What reason could there be?

And then, no more illusion I live beside the sea

08 Autumn Dew Dancing tree tops green of hue Framed against a sky so blue Herald autumn's falling dew Shorter days return anew Northern winds they bring a chill And longer nights a bitter pill Drivers need to use great skill Frosty roads a test of will Hearth and fire will keep us warm Safe from windy rain and storm Once dead spirits are reborn As Samhain celebrations dawn The veil is thin and once again It can be said that folk are Fayne To be without the mortal pain And reunite the family name But all too soon the night must end The Wintersmith becomes our friend Till Beltane brings about his end And summer dancers round the bend

09 Malvolia Dripping poison's venom Sitting in your chair Plucking hateful phrases From the fetid air You cannot help but target Those you consider prey And yet it stands to reason These dogs will have their day How anyone can like you Is really very strange They do not see behind the mask The misery you make Your evil wicked vengeance You reap with poisoned words And one day when you're older A fate will be conferred The clock is ticking downwards Your countdown has begun Days of scorn are running out The judgement day will come

10 Do You Feel It? Tell me do you feel it?

Building everywhere The beauty of the forest The magick in the air Listen with your eyeballs Hear the things you see The symphony of autumn With colours dancing free Then winter falls upon us Jack Frost he makes us cold The whiteness of the Wintersmith Spreading out so bold And as we reach Ostara The sun begins to climb Days are getting warmer Much greenery we find And so we meet the summer days The wheel has turned again Dancing in the warmer air Rejoicing when it rains And as we turn full circle The harvest gathered in And thinking of our Mother Earth The cycle starts again

11 Girls And Guys It really doesn't seem that fair That girls get dresses, shiny hair Silks and sequins, bows and lace Soft skin, curves and pretty face And yet a guy get things so tough Leathern skin his hands are rough Drab and dull the colours are And then he buys a red sports car But sometimes nature has a giggle A guy who has a girly wiggle She puts a sail upon a bike A challenge to the stereotype

12 The Dime Bar Kid John and Paul got in a fix They tangled with some bigger kids Teased and picked on they would be Day and night, including tea Then one day they had a break A hero came at half past eight He came around to sort it out Look at him, has he got clout?

"Now then lads it seems to be The problem here is lack of tea" Paul and John looked all a fluster Was this the best that he could muster?

The stranger who was very hard Smiled and said "let's make a start" He called the bullies to the table Said "sit down where you are able" "I do believe we have an issue" "And so let's get the girls to kiss you" Faces drain, they start to panic Screaming like a mad mechanic They ran away to mum and dad Saying that they weren't that bad Did you see what he just did?

He really is the Dime Bar Kid!

13 The Raven's Kiss The Raven's Kiss is a dance in the moonlight Dark as the sky on the blackest of nights Once you have tasted the feelings of pleasure Never again will you want to let go She rises above on her wings of pure midnight Above to the heavens and far out of sight She takes you to places you never could dream of And never again will you want to let go Moon shadows herald the first light of dawning Clear as the Dew in the mists of the morn’ The kiss on your cheek has the touch of a feather Never again will you want her to go But soon she will leave you for now and for always With dreams you'll remember for all of your days The Raven has kissed you, you'll always remember Deep in your heart you will never let go

14 Beyond The Veil.....

A glint of sunlight through the trees Magick myst and budding leaves Reaching upwards, touch the sky Colours dance where dragons fly The lazy brook meanders round This sacred copse where can be found A sense of wonder and of awe Behind the awesome Unicorn She stands with Magick at her feet No gentler vision to be seen Where dancing trees kiss grassy knoll The Land of Fae is to behold Such beauty, very rarely seen And mortal man may only dream Of wonders that can happen there Beyond the veil of mystic air And as the dawn moves into day The Land of Fae moves far away The Unicorn has left behind An image etched upon your mind A picture paints a thousand words But words create a great deal more Did you see upon that day The Unicorn and Land of Fae?

15 The Moon And I A silver orb, a jet black sky She watches o'er with Goddess eye She helps the tides to ebb and flow Affects more things than e'er we know Her power so awesome we can't tell Affects not you but me as well But nothing here like moon and June To show the link twixt me and moon And so I speak of no such thing But say she helps my heart to sing And regular she runs her course From dark to full on every shore Yet Moon and I we share a bond Of mortal being and Goddess strong And as her power Is drawing down I feel the Crescent on my brow The pale glow fills me to the core I feel Her presence, drawing more A sense of deep and awesome power When nothing beats this blessed hour.

16 The Vodka Vixens The almond flavoured liquid Sat quietly on the shelf A bottle to be savoured And drunk all by myself It was a Christmas present Wrapped up in colours gay A gift from up the mountain To savour every day But then the Vodka Vixens Not having drunk their fill Searched out the treasured bottle And emptied that as well The moral of this story This epic tale of woe Never leave your bottle Where vodka vixens go

17 Lost On Both Sides Of The Paper When I awoke this morning I knew not where I was In a children's story or in the land of Oz The story books had told me to take a few days off Go have yourself a party, play conkers with the dog So here I am, not knowing if the world is flat or round Nor if my ears are waking to the voice of Plymouth sound The mixed up congregation sing rap songs by my bed Can you really sing a rap or is the music dead?

But there is more confusion, more words to boil my brain If two things are quite different how can they be the same?

Supermarket trolleys packed with things galore This one's full of e- numbers but fresh ones harbour spores So boil your cooking daily and sterilise your bath And if you read instructions then,"you can do the math" The English talk American with tongues inside their head I think I'll just forget it, and go back to my bed c2015 Dave Baxter (or am I?)

18 Mr Grey Will See You Now! The tension slowly mounting She feels it in the air The clothing wraps her body And yet her skin feels bare She knows her heart is pounding She feels it everywhere The atmosphere electric While waiting in her chair Her thoughts are wildly racing She senses feeling there The great anticipation She tingles everywhere The prim and perfect lady Her voice so soft and low The telephone is ringing “Mr Grey will see you now!�

19 Pendle Melody The Demdikes and The Chattoxes In Pendle Forest lived The were two evil families The village people said A pedlar man was walking Across Great Pendle Hill To market he was going His pots and pans to sell Mistress Davies he espied A-talking to Jim Crow She on him a curse did place And caused his mind to blow So a witch hunt was begun To put his mind at rest The Demdikes and The Chattoxes Not one of them was left The all were hung on Pendle Hill With Mistress Nutter too That was back in 1612 But they still reign save two.

20 Much Burbling Much Burbling is a pretty place Beside the River Yeow It holds a party every day In the back room at The Cow The pillagers sow fields of rape To see them through the year And if the pub is running dry They bring their home brewed beer The landlord's Mr Teddy Lear A witty raconteur He has us laughing through the night And keeps us plied with beer With music by Obsiddy Anne She really is the best And when it's time for singing out She gets it off her chest And every village has a fool In that we do not differ Our candidate is Julie Phyll The daughter of the vicar So here in Burbling we have fun And parties by the score We may not have a money tree But we are never poor

21 The Lilac Panda I met a friend the other day, A lady friend of old We swapped a bit of history And then a tale she told That many many years ago When spirits were quite down She took a brave decision To visit China Town A grand old dam of ninety three All wrinkled skin and teeth Invited her to sample A treatment for her feet She sat upon a wooden chair And rolled her stockings down The older Chinese lady Began to wear a frown.

Her broken English faltered She tried so hard to say That all her corns and bunions Could soon be on their way She rummaged through a cupboard And then with joyous sigh She turned to look at Elspeth A twinkle in her eye Her hand held forth a panda With white and lilac fur She could not help but notice Her spirits start to fly “Take her” said the lady “And keep her by your side The Lilac Panda’s blessings Will help you bye and bye”

22 Circus Of Marbles The colours of glass are distracting the eye Higher and higher the daring ones fly Causing the oohs and the ahhs of delight From bystanders watching the magical sight The dance on the ground is of delicate grace As watchers look on with huge smiles on each face Daring and skill mix with talent and knack Until every challenge is beaten right back But yet this performance must draw to a close Mothers are calling the stars to their homes Same time tomorrow we'll do it again As long as the sun shines and it doesn't rain How distant this memory from life of today When scrambling around was the essence of play Simple the pleasure of being out with friends Not sitting hypnosis with monsters for friends

23 Does Anyone Live Here?

The darkness of a summer's night The stillness of warm air And as I stood upon the track I sensed the mystery there I felt your arms around me close But could not see your face And then the rope around my wrists Held them firm in place You led me down a rough made road With rubble underfoot I could not see a single thing But heard an owl's hoot "Stop!" you whispered "here we are" And much to my surprise The blindfold dropping from my face I focused blinking eyes A mansion dark against the sky It held no sense of fear I tried to loosen off my bonds "Does anyone live here?"

You chuckle softly in the dark "oh no my dear just me”.

“I bought it as a birthday gift, Like you it's mine you see”

24 Life In Counterfeit Motion Today I met a copy cat Who wore pretty copy hat Her figure clothed in copy dress And copy make up on her face About her wrist a copy watch Copy shoes made both feet match A generous waft of copy scent Left behind her as she went Beneath her clothes a copy bra She drove off in her copy car To buy some copy booze and fags With money from her copy bag The copy watch says time to run Much more copying to be done Football game on copy grass In copy strip for all the class And children now think it's ok To copy schoolwork every day Genetic copy girls and boys Play their games with copy toys

25 The Grass Growing Society Every week at half past eight The doors are open wide And men in caps and cycle clips Step orderly inside The multi coloured knitted tops Tweed jackets side by side They carry charts and biro pens All rowed up in a line Glasses foam with bitter ale The chairman starts to talk “We gather here this Monday night To present our Jim his fork” “He grew the straightest blade of grass All perfect, green and true Also the winner's watering can We're pleased to give to you” A hearty round of mute applause The winner takes his prize Thanking Mr Chairman Frank With blinking teary eye

26 The Bucket List Hilton Guest has a bucket list Of things to do and say He wants to swing from Marble Arch And ride the Milky Way But in his world the humdrum days Were very much the same Until he met the rocking vicar Snogging Penny Lane Do unto others as yourself And never be afraid Of asking questions of the sky Do as you would be done by. “The End is nigh� he heard them say But is it strictly true That if you eat too many sweets The worms will conquer you?

His grandma said a lot of stuff And none of it made sense That's why he sat upon the fence And clutched his bucket pens One day he knows it will be done The list will be complete The things to do will all be done That trip to Downing Street.

But was it worth it you may ask To see the policeman's face Outside the door of Number 10 With custard tart in place?

Do unto others as yourself And never be afraid Of asking questions of the sky Do as you would be done by.

27 The Goddess Moon A silver light in darkened sky She watches, guiding you and I With pure clear sight she sees it all So will you answer to her call?

The Mysteries along the way Will be shown to you one day Step by step you walk the path With Fae to help you learn her craft Spirit, spell and candle work The Goddess Moon you will not shirk Craft and knowledge gaining strength Until the crescent you can take A Priestess of the Goddess Moon With book and candle, bell and rune Building power at each Moon Dark Silver flash and lightning spark

28 Awesome Alliteration Forty flighty fairies Flying from Fiji Found famous Freddy Flintoff Frying fish for free Fifty for Fiona Fed Frances Fred and Fay Mister Mike McOrange Met Mary's mother Marge Making magic moments Melting mead and Mars And Martha met my mother While mending messy mats "Oh what utter nonsense!"

I'm sure I heard you say But listen while I tell you There is no easy way To use alliteration In new and novel ways

29 Good Night, Sleep Tight I want to end this little book In some way that will round it off To make it finished and complete With readers saying “isn’t that so sweet” A better way, I could not find To tuck it up till morning time Than saying words I say each day To my family, it’s my way Good night my darlings you sleep tight Be back again in morning’s light And as you’re drifting into sleep I love you more than words can speak Good Night, Sleep Tight xxx

End Bit Well readers, you have now successfully completed your foray into this collection of burblings from The Merlin.

I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading this work and that, as a result of the experience, you will become a life long fan and shower me with gifts of gold, precious gems, oodles of cash and kisses (if you are of the female variety).

If you don’t provide any of those things then a simple nod of appreciation or a recommendation to someone else would be fantastic.

Here is a list of some other works of mine that may also be of interest Is That Poet-ery Art? - my first collection of poetry The Merlin Collection - a collection of poetry inspired by the artwork of Peter Pracownik Pagan Paths - a living book written by friends and acquaintances of mine who all have one thing in common they follow the pagan path through this life.

In Search of a Lost Dream - a photographic journey along the remains of the former Barnstaple - Ilfracombe railway line For more information please contact me: By email: davethemerlin@mail.com By phone: 07050 644101

MERLIN

The “Non - Creative” Wizard