To drink

To drink

I’ll raise a glass to demon drink

Attacker and defender of my spirits

At times it brings a joy and bonhomie

Of kindred lives and shared illusions. 

It numbs the passage of the soul

Along the path to Purgatory 

It tames life’s realities

It rounds the rougher edges

That scrape our skin and scar our soul. 

For oft reality is too much to bear

The glare of unvarnished truth too harsh....

We need escape and drink

Reduces pain and stress

Albeit momentarily. 

Poolside Blues

Poolside Blues

We are the lucky ones

At least we know

And daily thank our lucky stars

To have been born mid century 

In a country far apart

From famine and from war. 

We sit in contented groups

Around the poolside bar 

And drink the local wine

While trying all the while 

Not to ponder or to think 

How life might be

A half a century from now. 

We are a generation 

No better and no worse 

Than those who came before 

Or those who follow us behind;

But find ourselves with matches

To burn the city down. 

At times like Nero we fiddle and we pray

That the fire we once started might go away. 

At times we simply toast some bread

And guiltily eat and drink  

While watching Rome go up in flames. 

Down by the poolside bar they’re calling time

And old grey heads drink up 

Uncertain what the night might bring

Or the legacy we’ve left behind. 

Ave,Imperator, morituri te salutant...

Frequent Flyer

Frequent Flyer

Whenever I fly and the plane leaves the soil,

I know I could die, but I’m reconciled

Helpless as a babe, suspended in air,

I’m not in control, I’m in God’s hands now. 

If not today, then some day, for sure

When the choice is no longer mine, 

When the heavens draw me in as with everyone

To revert to the centre, to cleave to the core. 

At one with the world, along with the stars 

When the time is right, with any luck

To pass to the other side, to sleep with the saints

And the sinners are cleansed, there’s no difference now.