The Conspiracy
I’ll say it once and only once
I don’t tell this to anyone
Call me nuts if you insist
But first you might consider this
Do you think you’re even halfway free
Could you do a jig on any street
Would you dare defy a sell by date
Could you leave the last bean on a plate
It is, by any other name
A conspiracy to keep me sane
My Twitter feed is stalking me
And not just algorithmically
And my TV knows my shopping cart
Why do you think they call it smart
And the smoke alarms they are watching me
Dare I have a fag dare I even sneeze
My thoughts are under house arrest
I’m a beating heart in a thermal vest
No it isn’t just some kind of game
The conspiracy to keep me sane
Ah but when I dream
Defy all death and gravity
And for a moment I exhale
The conspiracy to keep me sane
I have overcoats in the proper shade
I have matching socks and my bed is made
I am washed and brushed and Colgate fresh
And my underarms pass the whiffer test
All my politics are moderate
I’ve been potty trained in etiquette
All my belfry bats are well-behaved
And my Einstein hair is neatly shaved
And there it is as plain as plain
The conspiracy to keep me sane
Or if it’s me, go on explain
The conspiracy to keep me sane
Lethe
I must have taken too much of the water
Drank it to drown all my grinning mistakes
Curled up to sleep in the womb of a river
Longing to dream and in need of escape
Hospital naked in neon and linen
Council house red and a coal dust at dawn
First day of school and a book to be written
Lined up and waiting and called to the front
Puberty shorts and a lot you don’t mention
Bouncing and brainless and bent to be lost
Learning by way of another detention
What is a voice to a kid in a fog
Eighteen and hooked on a chemical Eden
Trouble in trainers and buckets of youth
Walking on water and king for a season
Lung full of smoke and a head on the moon
Married to life and in need of a pardon
Paying installments and everywhere late
Check your reflection and fill up the larder
Eye on the traffic and one on your age
Then when it came it was less than a whisper
Ethereal silent yet louder than life
Holler injustice at nobody listening
Yes you were warned and yes they were right
Here the a gift and the hindsight of wisdom
Here are your ghosts and your murky debris
Pardon the night it is here for a reason
Now is the moment to surface and breathe
I must have taken too much of the water
Drank it to drown all my grinning mistakes
Curled up to dream in the womb of a river
Longing to sleep and in need of escape
The Tenant
Hollow canyon of a night
Dotted lanterns in the dark
Echo who can see a gift
Whispers to me listen up
Here’s a secret keep it safe
One for you and you alone
Beelzebub is on release
You are Er among the dead
Take a tip from Lucifer
You are not a tribute act
Ignorance is for the blind
You deserve a better cage
Echo would you leave me please
I will miss the midnight bus
I believe in solid ground
Read the sign do not disturb
Interrupted she persists
Casual and sotto voce
Here’s an apple take a bite
There are worlds yet unexplored
Tantalus he knew it well
Palaces of glass and steel
Promise you eternal youth
For which payment is the cure
First you have to know the beast
Every blessing is a curse
We are tenants for a life
Here to mark an interval
Now a riddle make it rhyme
Taken from a thunderstorm
What is best to die in sleep
Or see a light where none exists
Echo knows she has the court
Manifesto unopposed
You are not a hungry ghost
You are just the one-eyed king
Right then fine then burn my ears
Make it strictly need to know
I am made of flesh and blood
Give me something I can taste
Rumble from the midnight bus
Joseph Stalin at the wheel
Hitler waiting patiently
Mullet and the Art of War
Judas with an albatross
Hangs out by the lost and found
Saint Teresa checks her watch
Echo leaves, her work is done
The Calling Wind
Listen up I’ll make it plain
I can hear a calling wind
Geraldine, once in accounts
Takes a bone and paints in blood
Michael hasn’t been the same
Since he heard the angels sing
Says he isn’t coming down
Never mind a parachute
Zarathustra speaks again
Lifts a finger and begins
I declare the world is round
Gods and men are holy fools
Out here on the rooftop
An Anglepoise moon
In a compote of darkness
And a sober mood
The stars implore me
Listen, won’t you listen
Lucifer cannot refrain
Posting all his favourite sins
All unfiltered proper proud
Gleaming in a birthday suit
Al-Rachid and Charlemagne
Both agree they’ll never win
Er who never would be drowned
Holds his nose and speaks the truth
Diderot is playing safe
Winces as he shakes the tin
Swears that he is getting out
One more deal he’s done for good
Out here on the rooftop
A bowl and no spoon
The dead all departed
To another room
The stars implore me
Listen, won’t you listen
Alice tired of eating cake
Puts away her Cheshire grin
Is the party over now
Waking up can be so rude
Abel keeps an eye on Cain
With a patience wearing thin
Noah who can read the clouds
Spits to sanctify the wood
As the night declares the day
I can hear a calling wind
Never mind the why or how
Either way it will be soon
Out here on the rooftop
I can assume
An edge and no harness
I will be excused
The stars implore me
Listen, won’t you listen
Listen, won’t you listen
Won’t you listen
Troubadour
I heard them once and only once
Vespers in the late of spring
Drumming up a town of ghosts
Calling from another world
Morning sermon blown and dried
Alexandrine verses true
Blotted ink on parchment earned
Moment taken to reflect
Penny pipes and kettledrums
Elemental deep and shrill
Answering a tambourine
Decorated by a voice
Up by impulse to the latch
Seal the room and banish all
Then an unexpected glimpse
Stirred a vision buried deep
Dancing women lifted skirts
Caged birds and feathers lost
Juggling men and piping taunts
Conjuring an august song
Seven worlds reside within
Seven worlds reside without
Breathe it out and breathe it in
Dance on consecrated ground
Cast away your books and chains
Sing the day and praise the night
Die and be reborn again
Come and kiss the queen of life
All at once a fiery breath
Came to let a demon in
In a moment I was there
Bellowing and hollering
And then an interrupting thought
More a whisper than a voice
From a leap must come a fall
Every dream is but a dream
So reminded by the bell
Doors on hinges feet on stone
Followed by a compline hum
Shepherd calling to the lost
From that day I had two hearts
One of duty one of love
One eternal one for life
Buried deep as in a well
Seven worlds reside within
Seven worlds reside without
Breathe it out and breathe it in
Dance on consecrated ground
Cast away your books and chains
Sing the day and praise the night
Die and be reborn again
Come and kiss the queen of life
I heard them once and only once
Vespers in the late of spring
And hear them now as I did then
Calling from another world
Monday’s War
Cassandra waits on table three
Patience and a pen in hand
Speaks as if to absent ghosts
I’ve had visions I’ve had dreams
Pontius Pilate can’t decide
Latte or a double-shot
It is Monday after all
Caffeine might be just the thing
Princess Boutique, handbag dog
Occupies the corner seat
Checks the room for married men
Glancing from her perfumed web
The Reverend Morgan scans the Times
Indiscretions all writ large
Croissant and a tea in hand
Table full of telling crumbs
Florence dressed in mourning black
Pops the lid and checks the pot
Older now with paler skin
And yet not without a look
Rosie keeps her tattooed heart
Underneath a uniform
Steady with a stoic smile
Hover finger on the till
The Morning Coffee Club descends
On table four in unison
Resolutions have been made
They will split the bill this time
Pen in hand Cassandra waits
Can I have your order please
No reply so she begins
You will hear the sound of war
Pontius Pilate takes a breath
Throwing her a puzzled look
Can I have a latte please
And perhaps an almond bun
Princess Boutique spots a catch
Pursing lips in cherry red
Shuffles up to make some room
When she hears a rumble sound
The Reverend Morgan lifts his head
Wonders if he heard the same
Shakes away the troubled thought
Time perhaps for one more tea
Florence thinks she heard it too
Either that or drum and bass
Lifts an eyebrow at the thought
Well perhaps her time has come
Rosie who has cleared the queue
Nips outside to have a vape
With the playlist on repeat
One less bod will not be missed
And the Morning Coffee Club
All concur they heard a sound
Judging from the morning rush
It is traffic nothing more
Why Apollo why now here
Why to ever incarnate
In a world where none have ears
Why the gift and why the fate
Cassandra clicks her pen again
Breathes in deep and speaks aloud
This is it the sound of war
Soon it will be all too plain
Pontius Pilate checks his phone
Not a mention on the Beeb
Still though better play it safe
Make that almond bun to go
Princess Boutique disengaged
From pleasantries and politics
Has the thought it might be best
To keep the conversation short
The Reverend Morgan looking up
Folds his paper and decides
Time perhaps to take his leave
If it’s thunder it will rain
Florence with a settled mind
Takes a moment to reflect
All this black will serve me well
When the bodies line the streets
Rosie now returned and flushed
Asks Cassandra did she hear
Thunder or perhaps the sound
Of heavy guns and marching feet
The Morning Coffee Club all agree
Armageddon makes no sense
Cassandra shakes a knowing head
Dare I say what’s coming next