Forget the alphabet of facts.
Savour sensual sound,
roll it round and round,
feel it on your tongue,
let it be your guide.
Use the harshness of the axe,
use the gentle kiss,
whisper, sigh and shout.
Cast ideas out,
dream and quest,
forget yourself,
follow words where they lead,
open wide your mind
and let the image in.
Turn beauty upside down.
Make the ugly beautiful.
Make beauty out of darkness.
When summer comes, rejoice,
jump up and down and sing.
In savage waves be sure to drown,
lose your breath and meaning,
experience every feeling.
Ask what life’s about,
seek the truth,
accept no less,
make an honest, brief beginning.
dream
No Brakes
I saw you turn off the engine
but the car is gathering speed.
You took your hands off the wheel
and calmly rolled out the door.
I press my foot to the floor,
trying to steer from the back seat.
The tarmac is black.
Raindrops are filling the screen.
The baby is crying.
We begin to hurtle downhill
in a wandering, dangerous, freewheel, scream.
Through tunnels,
round bends,
I lean,
gritting my teeth and praying.
The inevitable crash never comes,
regardless of having no brakes.
That’s the power I still have
in this darkly recurring dream.
touch
drifting in the light
of a tender touch
letting tension go
feeling so alive
taking it so slow
let the loving flow
following the curve
she’s my violin
i sense her body sing
la la la –
her skin
that’s where it begins
rolling through the arc
sliding to the bridge
touching ev’ry nerve
reaching to the edge
coming down again
swooping on her sound
flying
falling in
How to Capture a Mermaid
These instructions come with a warning.
Beware! She might capture you.
The first thing to do is convince yourself
That mermaid tales are true,
Then take a trip to the ocean,
But some inland lakes will do,
And go alone.
Mermaids are very shy.
Never go unprepared.
You will need to take a supply
Of gifts and music and stories.
Some that the sailors knew.
You can’t deceive a mermaid
A mermaid looks right though you
Mermaids love flowers and spices
But go with a heart that’s true
Scatter the beach with spices
Cover the water with flowers
Play to her on a lute
And wait for hours and hours
She will seduce you if she can
She has powers to hypnotise
She sees your soul in an instant
Never look into her eyes
To capture a mermaid don’t use a net
Never use bindings or ropes
You must sing to her very sweetly
Sing of your dreams and your hopes
Trail your hand in the water
Sing yourself to sleep
As you drift between worlds she will come to you
Rising up from the deep
She will want to hold and touch you
She will love you, if you are wise
Never be overbearing
Just take the mermaids hand
When you walk in your sleep, still dreaming,
She will follow you to the land.
Deja Vu
In a dream of another time,
In a life so completely still mine,
The world had a soft glowing shine.
As I walked in the country lanes
My mind was rested in peace.
Beside the pathway, a seat,
Hidden by foxglove and meadowsweet,
Piled rocks from a fallen tower
Close by a bend, that in turning, I knew,
Would reveal a view of the sea.
I recall lifting you, to sit like a queen,
Wild flowers entwined in your hair.
In some scented hour long ago,
It must have been déjà vu
Fantasy
fantasy can rip you apart
and take you into the dark
or it can be lovely
and brighten your heart
the dark is behind us
may happiness bind us
when the dream is of love
and sweetens the night
it can lead us into the light
The Battlefield
half of the world is locked in a nightmare
half of the world is a glorious dream
half of the world is walking in darkness
spreading their misery wherever they go
half of the world follows the light
seeing the mystery, seeing the glow
storm clouds and thunder, fire and strong bars
a vision of wonder, sunlight and stars
horror and cruelty, vicious dissent
honour and loyalty, loving ascent
hell on earth if that is your choice
heaven on earth too has its own voice
it so often seems that the dark side will win
but the balance is held between giving and sin
the clever ones know how to give all the answers
the wise ones are known by the questions they ask
all that we see will be over, the past,
nightmare or dream we awaken at last
the night will end and all will be light
Too Wise
What do you say
to the one who’s a true hearted friend?
the one you met last, close to the end.
Forget about passion,
forget about pain.
We’ll talk about other things.
Music and books,
Mad Hatter and Alice.
Will Arthur return again?
If we shout loud enough
do you think we can wake him ?
Too old for illusions,
too wise for that now,
no love poems here
never-never, they’re banned.
Keeping your feet on the ground
is the hardest part,
romance is easy,
i feel myself floating,
the challenge is avoiding a fall.
We can be children and play.
It’s an adventure, that’s all.
I don’t need to say anything,
you know all i mean.
You know, as i do,
things are not as they seem.
There are monsters out there.
They wait in the dark.
Hold tight,
they wont catch us my darling
we’ll live in the light.
So Sudden
all night long i dreamed a dream
a dream i dreamed before
and now all day its sadness
comes to hold me in its thrall
vague scenes of loss so long ago
fires lit in the snow
the burning trees, the mountains tall
harsh voices down below
the slaughtered sheep
the children, mothers,
lovers intertwined
unwitting in the night
one hour that turned the world about
brothers, fathers, wives, are gone
red seeps into white
my life was overlooked
i alone, must journey on
there is no solace for this loss
but silence in the hills
filled with sadness still
imagine this, look about,
family, friends, gathered round,
in each breath and passing moment
treasure all the love you found
Faded
when you wake from a dream
into which you had drifted
if you sleep again quickly
you can dream it again
but it’s never the same
the scenery’s shifted, it’s not as it seemed
where there were roses, there’s only a shadow
the windows are dimmed, the doors won’t open
the music that played changed key long ago
the dream that you dreamed
has floated away
The Dreaming Path 