Hit play to listen or right-click and ‘save as’ to download.
There’s a girl in tears upon the cathedral steps as I walk to work the rain a mist that swallows us leaves blowing by I want to wrap my scarf around her and say
There will be better days there will be lighter times there will be happiness again
And there will be birds in the morning singing for you and me singing for you
There’s a boy in a phone box framed behind glass, he sighs as I’m passing by his call has ended the last call of that friendship I want to get him a beer and say
Don’t forget the love you have don’t forget those faces it will be bright again in time
And there will be birds in the morning singing for you and me singing for you
And the rain comes down and leaves blow by all the busses look so busy I laugh quietly to myself wondering Do birds even sing on winter mornings?
[2019]
Thanks for reading.
Oct 2022: Reposting again (sorry) – audio remastered with clearer vocals.
Click ‘play’ to hear me read this poem. Or right-click ‘save as’ to download an MP3.
Her fingers tracing mine Lily danced me out of the garden those green eyes brimming lively with purest abandon Then barefoot on the boardwalk her summer dress riding high she leapt onto the jetty and gestured to the sky
We let our tanned legs hang below as we bottomed up the bottle the air was hot and heavy the sea around us peaceful There was lust upon our minds as a veil upon a bride the deepest searing truths politely shot between our eyes
And no man could deny us loose and open all the time our hands and fingers; wanderers tongues locked in a rhyme By the spit between those kisses our burning lips were sewn her dress was barely there my body carved from stone
With each nail driven into skin I felt a clapping thunder the temple tapestry was tearing as she pierced my thin armour A melody sung upon her voice a lyric loudly grows I’d have gladly turned my back on all that I held close
We could have traveled every sea taking turns to lead the way if only if only she’d have asked me if only I’d thought to stay…
Dusk light falling on the harbour the day became a dream with toes curled round the boards she danced me to my feet in one movement I was shirtless in another she was naked a smiling glance was shared as we leapt with fingers knitted
Our kisses painted salty lungs burning between breaths the solution we had longed for as our bodies coalesced We swam until our limbs ached then floated side by side in the moonlit wideness of her eyes; another world, I spied
I was so thirsty for the moment and drank it all too quickly my mind got blurred and cloudy my greatest drunken folly Too naive to know the value of the treasure in my grip like sand through careless fingers I stood and watched it slip
There was water on three sides and only one path back to land but somewhere on that journey I somehow lost her hand Now, I wonder if she thinks of us a moment spared for all we shared does she ever sit upon that jetty singing of a parallel despair
We could have traveled every sea wild adventure every day if only if only she’d have asked me if only I’d thought to stay
If only I’d had the wisdom to stay…
[2020]
Extra special thanks for reading, I know it’s a long one. 🙂
When the song is sung out of me all breath wheezes away When those closing eyes are mine and silence fills my mouth then I will give myself back
When the turning wheel is staid the longest road is walked When gravity is satisfied completely and all my poetry has been written then I will give myself back
I will give myself back to the ground to the soil I’ll lay myself down give myself back to the earth from where I came
When the flower’s head is closing for the night and the worms surface from below When the tune I’ve been humming is done and the daydream of all I’ve known is broken then I will give myself back
When the trivial moments are beyond mundane and the steady hand-hold no longer offered When the night is a bruised black and star-less and every wish is washed clean away then I will give myself back
And in giving back all I’ve ever had I’ll fuel another chance for life I will give myself back to the ground to the soil I’ll lay myself down give myself to the ground from where I came…
[2008]
Thanks for reading.
I’m mostly re-sharing this one because of the beautiful illustration I found to compliment the poem. Check out the artist’s work here: https://www.instagram.com/mememeii0/
Through my life I’ve collected voices maybe twice a decade a new singer comes to me and I can’t let it pass by without holding tight
Through the years certain songs seem magnetic, somehow whole albums written in a style I know too well for it to be coincidence and I have to hold it close
When Joni sings of ‘skating away’ something jumped out of the speakers and Leonard says a ‘highway curls up like smoke’ those lines leap out of my headphones
Georgie’s story and the way Rod tells it grabs me by the lapels Don’s road trip to the levy those lines are etched beneath my skin
My mother, my mother played these songs to me before I even took a breath my mother, my mother played me these songs before I ever took a breath
Songs from the womb songs from before come back and find me again…
Did you heal that humbling heartbreak ringing as a bell through you Did you conquer the stifling loss bitterly coating all your notebooks
Did you find a stranger at your door clutching wine and headphones Did they listen with hungry ears to all the truths you had to share
Did they grab your wrists with passion dance you into the endless night Did they calm your fears with a simple gesture hold you the way you always wanted
Did they lead you astray, in that inspiring way did you laugh together in the face of darkness Did they mute the chill of rain upon your senses push the mundanities of living back into their places
O, how I wanted to be that person how I wanted to be the one standing there on some unexpected evening with that bottle and those tunes
I hope someone answered all the longing that came pouring from your pen I pray that you’re still singing but now the song is sweeter
I hope someone answered you the way I always wished to…
The heat shifts between rooms from the front of the house, to the back on the bed, your curled form is laid I watch the sky as it cries in the street blowing my nose, counting the people they carry bags of food to their cars filled with treats and sweet desserts As I move to the kitchen, you stir for a second this day is turning dark in the light from the loft shadows dance, from the candles you lit
By the stove, I pause to warm my hands not sure what to do, I don’t want to wake you I sit back at the window, take up my book but there are no new words to read and I place it back if only the story would change of it’s own accord O, I think it’s time for some movement a raising of the silence, let the music in just some small tune to warm this room and your sweet progression of chords kissing my ears I lie down beside you, cup your face whisper some sickly greeting as you focus up on me
Come on love, we should make a song you are the music and I am the words you are the music and I am the words we should make a song, my love we should make a song you are the music and I am the words you are the prettiest music and I am the most grateful words…
The Lighthouse 