Twelve Steps

I go for a walk, early.

It is a sunny, crisp, morning.

I can see him coming from across the road,

the wide eyes of the deluded

are easy to recognise.

Then on queue, twitchin’

talkin’ at me, rat-a-tat

“I saw you in church brother.”

“No, you didn’t,” I say.

“I saw you in church, brother.”

“No, you didn’t,” I say.

“Do you pray in church, brother?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“Do you pray in church, brother?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“Don’t you go to church, brother?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“You don’t go to church, brother?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“Do you believe in Jesus, brother.”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“Do you want Jesus in your life, brother?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“Do you believe in God, brother?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“Do you believe in God, brother?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“You don’t believe in God, brother?”

“No,” I say.

“I’ll pray for you, brother.”

“Don’t waste your time,” I say.

“I’ll pray for you, brother.”

“Please don’t,” I say.

“You don’t want me to pray for you?”

“No, I don’t,” I say.

“You don’t want me to pray for you?”

“No,” I say.

“I’ll pray for you, brother.”

“Please don’t.”

“I’ll pray for you, brother?”

“It means nothing to me,” I say.

“I’ll pray for you, brother.”

“Suit yourself,” I say.

There, I say it

He gets what he wants

And is gone.

It Is All Frightening

We’re all terrified by life,

some of us are lifted up by it,

some of us are squashed down by it,

and some of us are just better

at pretending.

But it is all frightening,

for all of us.

Time Machine

Take me there

The coordinates are burnt on my heart,

Take me back

Let me dream of that,

Take the time machine

To let us love again

Let the emptiness wane

Death isn’t sane

Its hold your breath

Feel the pain,

But nothing else.

I picture your face

As you fade

The sound of your voice

Disappears from my brain,

But if I try to think anything else

It is a vacuum,

The air sucked out

And I’m left with nothing

Empty hands,

And an ache

That nothing will erase.

A time machine

For space

If only we could talk 

Just once more.

One more time.

I’ll tell you everything 

I’ve thought of,

I’ve got many questions, 

I’ll write them down.

Live Your Life

While you live,

Laugh.

While you sing,

Smile.

While you dance,

Be free.

While you love,

Be true.

Someone Who Knows You

Life is always better when you’ve got someone to sing to,

someone looking back at you who knows you,

because if you don’t have those friendly eyes,

what would be the point of life?

Virus

21st Century Blues

Every year 

We drift further away

From Aladin Sane

Who was topped

By something as prosaic

As infinitely repeating cells

And now we face down

A virus that is going 

to take us to hell,

The end of the world as we know it

Check your circuits, 

there's something wrong

Wash your hands

And don’t touch your face

We’ve come this far

There’s no going back.