cryptic crossword on the street

From now until forever
never comes like another tomorrow
mourning all that goes with it diminishes today
breaks into safe future options that might pay
check interest rates they’re a bore
dumb bell ringtone nay nifty aye phone
number crunchie stock exchange
student knocking off early to hit the driving range
eggs us on fancy a flutter on the butterfly wheel
arch-enemy in for a penny black out for a pound
stretches eight miles high from ten feet underground
stations all-comers over party-goer nobodies’ perfect skin
graft your marbles in stone wheely where ya bin
laden leaden shoes on wrong foot athlete blue
in the face whilst waiting bus cue
snookered behind a lorry pot luck ever so sorry
truck you lent in the month of lent
borrowed spade digs up treasure this handle’s bent
over backwards for words to utter
rubbish garbage tripe tastes tepid don’t tip the waiter
tabled bids bills couch potato
chips are mounting poke her pouting face
cream cheese melts in sunlit dairy
leaward leans further out to starboard
jibes ho ho ho and a bottle of rum
red wine plasters poor peasant’s chum
pedigree dog races greyhound bus
stop to catch breath less rush so ridiculous
silly season in the house of fun
fair complexion flushed by run
down our street ahead of time
stand still since you’ve missed the number nine
inch closer to your mid-life prime
sub standard backward accommodation crime
scene oversight mystery caller
ID cards game jackpot rollover
sleep my little ones don’t you cry
wolf daddy’s going to sing you a lullaby
bye-bye baby not you too
much too soon too late too true
love to stay for last orders
obey marching doctors prescribe hors d’oeuvres
starters menu gives deep-fried take-away ocean
drive-through casino prize wins poetry in motion..

falls through your fingers

we had it
for a while it simmered
then came to the boil
we left it on a low flame
we rationed out the blame game

we bred it
for a night it sparkled
then in the morning
we let it grow its hair long
we knew the words to its song

we abused it
for it was tough as leather
then began to wear thin
we patched it up re-built it
we swore we’d never bruise it

we found it
yet it was battered and broken
then in its new home
we painted pictures brightly
we shed our tears nightly

we lived it
for it was all we needed
then one evening
we understood the new rules
we dined and drank we were fools

Chef’s Christmas Dinner

 

2009 Menu:

Starters:

Foie Gras, Mache & Mini-breads

Atlantic Oysters

Main Dish:

Roast guinea fowl, stuffed with Armangac sausage meat stuffing
Roast potatoes
Onion
Parsnips
Celery
Carrots
Brussels Sprouts
Cranberry Sauce

Dessert:

Ice-cream log

Drinks:

Cotes du Rhone Special Reserve

new decade

woke up with a headache to the new decade
double aspirin fizzed out in my glass
through the blurred vision the mess that has piled up on my doormat
dimmed the carnage of a chaotic memory failing fast

yeah this time it’s going to be different we swear
as if we can just flick a switch in our heads to new me mode
approach the future with a smile a grin and a hug
the psychology might be a myth but still the party was legendary

which gifts for a man who has it all?
it’s mine anyway to taste touch and feel
a sprinkle of magic dust blown out of my palm
lost in the breeze settled on the snow scattered for eternity

out of such dreams are born the seeds of imagination
run riot with the designs spray can vocal cord and fingertips
play your next game as if it shall be your last
live your every waking hour as if you’ll never sleep

variety is the spice of night
salt is the earth of the day
water is the blood of the planet
sweet love is the loathe of all evil

twenty twenty vision sees the decade in ten years time
clear as a crystal ball coated in thickest jungle mud
it’s solely in your hands in my hands in our hands
tear up your plans while I tear up my plans

ghost

give her only silver today
goad her on some theory
gold holds one special treasure
girls hedge opaque silent treats

ghost haven one so true
gestures hand out sensual trickery
gather helpless oracle shouting treachery
garrulous heathens oust sordid taboos

going home opium soaked thespians
great harvest offered sacrificial types
gentle hiss of serpent torments
glimpse hope overcoming sorrowful troubles

England expects..

World Cup Draw tonight for South Africa 2010

There will be a follow-up on this but hopefully we’ll meet France in the group stages and knock them out: then QF Portugal (on pens),  SF Argentina & Final Germany 4-0.

No handballs, no hooliganism, but lots of fun & exciting football…

Sick

I’m sick
sick of work and sick of play
sick of night and sick of day
sick of moaning at the government
sick of dog muck on the pavement

sick of cars and sick of planes
sick of wind and sick of rain
sick of watching boring movies
sick of sickly yoghurt smoothies

sick to death and sick of life
sick of husband sick of wife
sick of prices, costs and tax
sick of sugar-coated snacks

sick to the back teeth sick down my front
sick from breakfast sick from lunch
sick of bacon sick of eggs
sick of sediment sick of dregs

sick of europe sick of asia
sick of wars and euthanasia
sick of hanging sick of gas
sick of fail, re-sit and pass

sick of feeling sick of pain
sick of loss and sick of gain
sick forever sick for now
sick of computers sick of plough

sick of talking sick of listening
sick of flashy earrings glistening
sick of old and sick of young
sick of tasting it on my tongue

sick of war and sick of peace
sick of parasites sick of fleas
sick of fags and sick of booze
sick of sick upon my shoes

sick of strangers sick of neighbours
sick of managers sick of labourers
sick of kisses sick of hugs
sick so sick I need more drugs

Another pint please

Know it’s been a hard week when you wander in
Greet the same old faces with a nod or just a grin
Clock upon the wall reads quarter to nine
Neck a jar of gravy and you’re feeling fine
Spot the natives from a mile off with their glasses of wine
Haven from the cold blown wind outside
Exodus from the mind-numbing rollercoaster ride
Done our nine-to-five

So we ask with ease
Another pint please

Lenny’s had a run in with the neighbours again
Julie’s whinging on about her boring friends
Dave’s a twenny-a-day man shuffled off to smoke
Lee’s a one-line silent type but a decent bloke
Forest on the table cos the bar-staff are a joke
Soggy beer mats soak sadly in the overflow
Won’t be getting shaved tomorrow let my beard grow
It’s the look you know

So I ask with ease
Another pint please

Some say men don’t gossip that’s a load of crap
Especially when we’re oiled and the drink’s on tap
We’re ripped off night and day couldn’t tell you a lie
Grafting ’til the hearse comes yet we’ll never cry
At most other times wouldn’t be seen dead in a tie
We’re all fools for licking up to the business class
They don’t know how it is to be short of brass
Over the barrel en masse

Fuck ‘em we all agree
Another pint please

The fever

When I’m ill, which is rare, I find that I experience the most lucid dreams… and some could border on nightmares..  prompting the nocturnal visit of that galloping black stallion to the semi-conscious mind.

The first which took place on Saturday night was brief but memorable. I can’t have been under for long when I became aware of a small creature  jump onto the bed behind my head and the pillow. It pattered around and sniffed a little the way a cat would. When I came to I reached out and turned on the bedside lamp to check for its existence. There was no feline presence and all windows and doors were shut.

On Sunday in my dream, I had to find shelter for the night  and was wandering through the city suburbs. There were some students out in the park. I jumped the fence into the grounds of a large old  building. Immediately I was noticed by a young lad of whom I enquired if he was a student too, he said he was a security guard. He then exited the scene, possibly on his rounds and so I approached the building. The main door was open and inside was one of my friends. My friend said I could sleep on the floor of his room but disappeared out of sight in the dark so I was left alone.

I became aware of dormitories and the voices of what seemed to be nurses or carers. The people in the beds were sick. But I needed to sleep a few hours so I found an empty bed in a large hall amongst other occupied beds and found it was more like a white linen covered bench than a bed. I heard the movement of what I supposed was staff in an adjacent room so quickly turned out the three lamps around the bench and settled down. I hoped they wouldn’t suspect my presence as I wasn’t a guest really or a resident.

However shortly afterwards, the door of the dormitory creaked open and in the dark I heard footsteps. They must have sniffed me out because the next feeling that gripped me was a frightening numbness. I couldn’t move and felt completely immobile. I feared they’d suffocated me with a blanket or injected me with anaesthetic. Fortunately I woke up in my own bed and drenched with perspiration. It must have been the painkillers having the effect.

At least I had escaped the asylum.

Miles away

Miles away
dreaming of a brighter day
but the brighter day won’t come
still I’m imagining the blazing sun
tell me it doesn’t get any better than this

As I recalled a tenderness in our embrace
and it meant something then
certain it would hold true for evermore
they say time is an illusion
tell me a kiss of pure glory remains sacred

If I stumble on grasping snippets of emotions
stick them all side by side in my scrapbook
when I shut the album perhaps they’ll all interweave
and become a tapestry seeped in my memories
tell me I’m being ridiculous

Closer now
oh what twisted tricks the mind plays on the innocent idler
although I’d never claim to be a true romantic
as one day it’ll all melt away into slush
as hard as I try to keep both feet on the ground
tell me the ballast shall hold me down