Thus I Wrote

Later that night
I remember it well
You came to my room
In the St James Hotel

And so began my quest
To make you mine
With flowers and jewels
With laughter and wine

We were sky and earth
We were wind and sea
But we fitted each other
Like a lock and key

I gave you protection
I gave you children and a home
And enough love to fill
The space in your soul

So we agreed to join
As we surfed our wave
And we both felt valued
For the love we both gave

Red Riding Hood
You are so good
I’m the big bad wolf
Baying for your blood

The world today
Does not understand
That political correctness
Has got out of hand

Red Riding Hood
Drink sweet from your cup
Sweeten your flavour
For when I eat you all up

I have to be careful
And watch what I say
Red Riding Hood is changing
The world to her way

Oh Red Riding Hood
Surely you can understand
That a world without the wolf
Would be boring and bland

I wake in the morning
My gut tense with fear
Going nowhere fast, revving hard
I’m stuck in first gear

I have a coffee
Trying to clear my head
Before my thoughts spill out
Into something I said

I then think of him
And have done since he died
His gaze unwavering
I never knew him to hide

He never seemed worried
About being left behind
And his ignorance never
Seemed to clutter his mind

Behind his kindness
And out of view
He was on praying terms
With a God I once knew

And was it by accident?
Or was it by design?
That he had a pure heart
And a calm, simple mind

When I was with him
I forgot panic and fear
And basked in the warmth
Of having love near

I finished my song
To little applause
It was long past midnight
And it felt a lost cause

I packed my Martin guitar
With a Baggs pickup
She gave them to me
Long after the breakup

She took one of my names
But she spelt it wrong
But she only ever wanted
To sing her song

She seduced with sacrifice
With talent and brand
Until the world chose her
With an invisible hand

She’s famous now
And it hurts still, the calculation
And all the steps she buried
Under her infatuation

It feels lonely sometimes
This choice to be free
This fire isn’t as bright
But it belongs to me

Sweat runs its journey
Slowly down my back
As I sit in a bar
Way off the beaten track

Music hangs in the air
And the sea crashes nearby
“Have another whisky…
Now tell me…why?”

“Her vulnerable beauty
Was her siren song
To pull me in
From the ship I was on

We went in fast
On a ride, wild and strong
She forgot her demons
But it was not for long

It had felt like love
Until things began to break
I thought she had enough to give
But that was a mistake

She hides her strong will
Deep in her vulnerability
I was broken on the rocks
Hidden in her stormy sea…”

She finds me again somehow
After going missing for a while
With a bottle of whisky
And her “kiss-me” smile

I drink my whisky
It burns all the way down
I see the dawn is breaking
Over this forgotten town

She takes off her red dress
She has new tattoos
And I was falling
And losing myself anew

I said “I loved you
But its all over now…”
She said “I tried leaving you
But I don’t know how…”

Its a stormy night
But the balcony is dry
I can hear the rain falling
I can see the clouds fly

I drink my whisky
I feel it warm my gut
Her red dress is wet
And her eyes are shut

We hear music float
From the streets below
She smiles and sways
And dances real slow

I drink and I watch
I feel my blood rise
She smiles and sways
And opens her eyes

I must be crazy
She has a troubled past
But she’s so beautiful
I forget it can’t last

“Dance with me”, she whispers
“This is our night”
She holds out her arms
In the pale moonlight

It breaks my heart
To see you in so much pain
You have so much to give
You have so much to gain

You are free, they say
To choose your life’s purpose true
But they forget to say
Your purpose is built by you

I would embrace you
Let your beating heart be still
I would stroke your hair
I would let you have your fill
I would rock you softly
I would kiss you gently
Until you felt my love’s shade
Until you felt your anxiety fade

You are special to me
I am with you everyday
You are never alone
Please believe what I say

We are swimmers
Out on an ocean swell
Sometimes up in heaven
Sometimes down in hell
But your time will come
Just believe in yourself
The world will give to you
When you have given to yourself

My thoughts and
My love are with you
I just wish there was more
That I could do for you
But I know deep within
You will find the love anew
That you must give
To somebody wonderful…you.

x

We want to feel we matter
To connect and serve with feeling
As we run up that hill
Looking for a meaning

How do we know we exist?
How do we know we’re alive?
How many people do we need to tell us
Before we accept we have arrived?

We’re together in this room
But only some can see the elephant
In the truth of everyday experience
We compete to be relevant

There are 14 Billion years before us
And we get 80 years or so
We stutter briefly on the stage
We flicker briefly and then we go

Wise men have worked to show us
We are leaves in the forest green
On our own we have little significance
In the playing of life’s great scene

We’re together in this room
But only some can see the elephant
In the truth of everyday experience
We compete to be relevant

Some ignorance may be a virtue
That many find unexpected
The truth is in life’s experience
And not in its meaning dissected

In the end our focus shifts
To those we love and what we’re giving
And while we’ve something to share
There’s still a relevance to our living

We’re together in this room
But only some can see the elephant
In the truth of everyday experience
While we share, we are relevant

Inspired by the Birdman film

I hear the rain fall
I see the cloudy moon
Will I ever love again?

I see you call
Across a crowded room
Will i ever love again?

But who am I?
And what can I give?
Will I ever love again?

Who will hear my cry
“I need your love to live”?
Will I ever love again?

Will I ever love again,
Oh no, not I
Will I ever love again?
Oh no, not I
I’m on my own
From the seeds I’ve sown
Will I ever love again?

I see a dark ocean swell
Below a raging nimbus sky
Will I ever love again?

Will I ever love again,
Oh no, not I
Will I ever love again?
Oh no, not I
I’m on my own
From the seeds I’ve sown
Will I ever love again?