Salt of the Earth

When I meet you on the seashore,
Sometimes I’m the sand and you the sea.
My shoes weigh full of stones and grit,
You bob lightly on your teasing beta wave.
Then, the sun disappears.
The wind drops, stills and bows.
A guilty sky hangs motionless,
Trying to listen through the clouds.
You say I look like I’ve been rained on.
I say I feel quite dry.
When you offer me some water,
Your salt gets in my eyes, in my eyes.

'We are the salt of the earth,
On the seashore of time.
And I need you, my friend.
But if the salt loses savour,
And only stings what it defines,
where can it be salted, again?’

When I meet you on the seashore,
Sometimes I’m the sea and you the sand.
You build your castles and your moats,
While the moon pulls me far out into the surge.
Then I come back rushing in.
Your head shakes, then your head bows.
My swelling tide of passion’s,
Washed your castles to the ground.
I say you look like you’ve been rained on.
You say that you’ll soon dry.
When I offer you some water,
My salt gets in your eyes, in your eyes.

'We are the salt of the earth,
On the seashore of time.
And I need you, my friend.
But if the salt loses savour,
And only stings what it defines,
where can it be salted, again?’

Rocky Mountain Jay

The early morning mist
will be the keeper of my tears,
I won’t return to sleep this day.
Tonight the moonless sky
can blanket me with clouds.
Today, I’m like a Rocky Mountain Jay.

Yes, my songs are blue.
But, see how beautifully I fly,
with plumage like a Lapis Lazuli.
If you let me heal your pain,
I’ll protect and bring you peace.
I’m a wild bird but I love you dearly.

Wake up, my friend!
Carpe diem. Catch the wind.
Its time to pray to find out who we are.
Don’t go back to sleep.
Leave your tears upon the dew.
As mountain jays we’ll find the morning stars.

The Passing of Equality

When it spoke I felt no fear
Equality felt safe and dear
It always listened, never judged
All it gave it never grudged

It tried to understand my views
And valued walking in my shoes
Support was always close to hand
I never had to make demands

Truthful as the day was long
And first to say if it was wrong
It took responsibility
For itself and for me

I felt secure to change my mind
Negotiate and still feel kind
The only change that brought me pain
Was never seeing its face again

(For My Lovely Friend)

In the Here and Now

Many places I’ve travelled.
Many people I have loved.
I can’t deny, the best of them was you.
I remember lying close.
First studying your face.
Eager for you to love me, too.

Alone we’d walk the town at night.
And, I’d always lead the way.
I was keen to please, but also I was proud,
Because you were my friend,
Because I thought that wouldn’t end,
Because all I know is in the here and now.

Today, in my new here and now
I wonder where you are.
I don’t know near from far.
I hear her cry and I’m lost in a fog.
Today, in my here and now
I’ve got all this love to give.
I’ve only got one life to live.
She misses you,
And I’m her dog.

Dogs are faithful to the end;
Your ending came too soon.
Tell me, was it something that I did?
I can fetch a stick or two,
But, I can’t re-light this fire.
It’s up to you and her to rid the hurt.

Today, in the here and now,
Will you tell me where you are?
I don’t know near from far;
I only hear her cry and see the fog.
Today, in her here and now
She’s got all this love to give.
She’s only got one life to live.
She misses you
And, I'm your dog, too.

(A country song, written by Woodworm Willie's Dog, Tripod.)

To the Vales of Green

Fertile valleys
Cushion soft
Beyond coarse heather
And tumbled crofts
Fields of vision
Blurred by dew
Bending prisms
Of light to blue

I close my eyes
And its so real
When I look within
To where I feel
I’m driftwood floating
On a stream
Traveling to
The vales of green

My pack is heavy
Feet are sore
But I don’t feel pain
Anymore
When I can take
Your hand in mine
And feel the warmth
Of your sun shine

We close our eyes
And its so real
When we look within
To where we feel
We’re driftwood floating
On a stream
Traveling to
the vales of green

Fly Like the Owl

Fly like the owl
Pursue me with passion
Hunt like the hawk
And strike to succeed
Be not like the crow
Or strut as a peacock
For one is all talk
The other flaunts pride

Run like the wind
The squall at your back
Sit amongst lovers
To warm for a while
Sift through the sand
To find your footprints
For you are the cure
To your own path of pain

If you ask for one kiss
I’ll give you nine
Once you can find me
With both eyes closed
I’ve planted inside me
A seed from your heart
Fear not the darkness
Fly like the owl

Love Song of an Old Buzzard

It’s not that you keep me well hidden,
or, things that I do are forbidden,
its each time you label me, I shrink,
like a thought once it’s written down in ink.
Why limit my life’s possibility,
telling me now just how I ought to be?
I yearn the full spectrum of chance;
bright rainbows around which to dance.
Each time you tag me you darken my day.
I lose my pink and my green fades away.
When multiples switch to divisible
only light can make colours visible.
My one piece of proof that the sun still shines
are little brown freckles that float through my mind.
Like the love song of an old buzzard
you sing to the sunset of time.

It's not that I scorn the cave sleeper;
and I fall down hard but I’m no cliff leaper.
It’s each time you shade me with doubt
I feel cold exclusion; I’m all blackened out.
Why limit the heat of my flame
when I’m trying to make this burning my aim?
I’d carry my candles up to your alter;
I’d burn for you and I’d never falter
but each time you blow out my day,
everything white turns to everything grey.
I could move mountains or sit stare at stones
but I won’t live here in shadows alone.
My one piece of proof that the sun still shines
are little brown freckles that float through my mind.
Like the love song of an old buzzard
you sing to the sunset of time.