The Tube - Off We Go Again


Tap a card and go down endless escalators 
deep into vast holes dug into the earth
hot and stuffy
be prepared to be squashed into trains
like sardines in a tin.
sweaty Turkish baths meet mass transit
electric motors provide startling excelloration 
powering us along 
inside hollowed out tubes
deep under the streets of London 
too full to get a seat
too noisy to chat
too hot to be enjoyed!
but getting you to where you need to be!

"Doors closing!"

"Ready, Steady - GO!"

Lurch backwards 
hang on tight!
heads down
no-one talks
faces buried in mobile screens
thumbs tapping 
no eye to eye contact
swaying side to side
left right up and down 
announcements made - no- hears 
wheels on tracks
flanges squealing 
biting screeching breaks - throw you forward!
"STOOOOOOOOOOP!"

Part essential mode of transportation 
part fairground ride

"Mind the gap!"

crowds of people trying to get out
crowds of people trying to get in - squashing us further

"mind the doors!"

...off we go again!

(Untitled)

Moving whilst standing still
free to travel - but only where I go!

no changing your mind

no stopping half way 

no going back!

(Escalators)

Highgate Cemetery - The Famous Dead

We who pay to wander - the curious
to gaze at the graves of the famous dead 
sleep well famous dead people 
rest in your forever sleep
don't mind us - us who pay to come and nose at your final resting places
you once famous in your chosen fields
you who's names live on
amidst the grand - and the humble plots
where your bones
entombed in time worn stonework lay
where the foxes scavenge
squirrels play
door mice nest
and the weeds grow 
choking your memories 
ivy covered sentiments
caring verses carved
dates
names
you - famous dead people 
all that time has taken from us

Who were you - famous dead people
and who are you now?
For all the grandeur of your tombs
who are you now - if not dead?


(Haiku)

Paying ten pounds to
see the grave of Karl Marx. He
wouldn't be happy

The Yesterday's of Tomorrow

tomorrow has yet to come
but
today 
you find yourself reminising on all the 'yesterdays' you once had 
those 'yesterdays' that brought you happiness and joy

only...
don't over-look the happiness and joy that 


today will bring 
they will be there 
and then...
then these become the memories
the happiness and joy
that will make 
the 'yesterdays' of tomorrow 

Made a Home

We didn't the plot 
find
foundations dig
concrete pour
we didn't
the mortar mix
the bricks to bind
a wall to make
the wood that 
on its back
carried the tiles
stayed strong 
us 
dry inside
we didn't
the glass 
place
in a frame
a window makes
the cold and the wind stay away
us 
kept warm and dry

We grew
flowers
planted - grass
lawn mown 
plot - our plot
tended
security made - safe
we loved
we grew love - warmth of heart
foundations 
emotional - foundations 
grow - a nest built
a place
to return
to
call home
where our flock 
grew
here 
then fledged
to the world - discovered
we 
made a home