Four Old Men

Four old men were working in an office
Still doing the same job five decades on
Working with numbers, profits and losses
But the conclusion is still one foregone

Four men still talk of plans they had coming
As the computers and desks grow dusty
The business continues to keep running
Riding on skills slowly getting rusty

Four men still greet each other come morning
Any hopes, ambitions have all decayed
Where once run is now reduced to crawling
So may as well keep going ‘til they fade

Four old men working for a goal long gone
As the rest of the world keeps moving on


26th August 2013

Reaper Man

Sitting on park bench, watching the people
Watching the world pass behind pitch black shades
His hair grey and his face wracked by decades
He sits so still, not moving a muscle
He twirls the top of a cane in his hand
Says no words – as silent as a dead star
And boots that look like they’ve been travelling far
Seems unconcerned with what time may demand
Dressed entirely in blackest of leathers
Is he waiting for someone to walk by?
Somehow it maybe best not to ask why
Says no words for he’s the one who measures

Watching the people pass, he sits and waits
For its he himself that decides the fates


5th August 2013

God mightn’t love you but Science does

Science is your friend! It loves you so much!
It wants naught but only the best for you!
It don’t care about what you want to do
We’re just the puppets that dance to its touch
Your genes tell you how it’s going to be
They don’t care about what plans you have made
Don’t like the path that’s already been laid?
Well too bad: You’re stuck with it now buddy
You will also need a tribe to call home
You will hang around them and only them
Just don’t mingle – Everyone will condemn
Or you run the risk of being alone

But don’t complain: Science is a friend true
It wants naught but only the best for you


15th July 2013

Its only love

A sunset’s been painted across the sky
Together on the edge of a clear lake
With a picnic basket holding wine, cake
As a summer evening breeze drifts on by

Dressed in a white shirt and a waistcoat red
Whilst she’s wearing a dress of deep blue
Seeing a truth only we know is true
The chink of wine glasses chime with words said

Her hand rests on mine. Warm is the touch
Leaning in, her head resting on my shoulder
Feeling a bond stronger than a boulder
And love for each other that burns so much

Another prefect day ends spent with her
For an evening together I confer


Completed 8th July 2013

Death of a Dream

Today's the day the dream cracked wide open
Just stand there and watch it collapse and burn
The endpoint of years spent fighting, hoping
Trade it for an irrevocable turn
Why did it go wrong? You were doing well
Could say there’ll be next time but it’s not true
Walked like a giant. Devastatingly fell
And the world’s been warped into something new
What do you do when the world has fallen?
What do you do when there’s nothing to clasp?
Has destiny decreed to stop calling?
When the victory slipped and fell from grasp?

There anything left worthy to obtain?
Is it worth starting all over again?


1st July 2013

Sunday Lunch

A sky of clearest blue. No cloud in sight
A house fifty miles from anywhere
A backyard looking deserted and bare
A green garden lit up by the sun’s light

By several cars, a driveway occupied
But there’s no sign of life that can be found
That can be heard. Because the only sound
Comes drifting in from the building’s inside

Chinks of both wine glasses and cutlery
A mixture of voices both young and old
Jokes being cracked and stories being told
Away from the world a good company

All thoughts of tomorrow have gone away
For now is the time to enjoy the day



Completed: 24th June 2013

Thor goes to war

With the thunderbolts still at beck and call
An ancient force advances, proud and strong
Warrior. Guardian. King of his throng
Fought a thousand battles. Never did fall
To the undefeated a challenge comes
War calls: Now’s not the time to turn away
Voices of millennia guide his way
Each step to the sound of a thousand drums
Of fierce of Valkyries at his back; A score
The grip on the hammer strong as ever
The power of thunder ceasing never
Could be the last but it has been before

Having stood tall over the blood and slime
He picks up the hammer for one more time


June 10th 2013

The Old Man and the TV

It’s been one year into retirement
And one year of finding things to be done
The plans he’d made have already been spent
And suddenly there’s no roads left to run
Turn on the TV for nothing to do
What could be on? Does it even matter?
Take a seat. Move? Why bother trying to
Turn off the brain. Submit to the chatter
Enjoying when there’s not much to enjoy
Insisting its enjoyable when it’s not
Turn it off? Too much effort to employ
Relax for the motivation’s been shot

At sixty: Your new best friend: The TV
Naught to do but welcome senility


3rd June 2013