Recently I was told that I need to sell my best aspects
My personal growth, what I can do and that I'm really worth it
Put it on a plate, feed them your brilliance that you’re the right cog for their kit
But I am not that way inclined, I’d rather watch the world go by, as sitting on the wall is where I fit

I don’t mean to be quiet, I have a lot to say but sometimes can be a little shy
Do my words make sense, I’ll just sit on the fence and dream of my bigger fish to fry
But I am told I can make it, don’t just try and fake it, step into this world and be seen
Don’t bottle it up, you have words to be said, all tied down since you was a teen

So where do I start, with these words of mine, in talk or best left written
Do I turn to poetry, or comedy on stage, is this more to chew than I have bitten
What if I’m a failure, looked down upon as a man without a cause
I think this is what has stopped me for years, my life always stuck on pause

There is a word for us that has crept into modern speech, that word being procrastination
I’ll do it tomorrow, never boarding that train, always left wondering at the station
Okay, so maybe that’s too strong a word, I’m a bolder man than an introvert
Just do as you say, step into that pit and stop scratching around in the dirt

For you have ideas, some larger than life
And that one that you always ponder
Roll it out on show, it’s a dead cert
And the world will gasp in wonder

The Introvert

JJB

Think outside the box
What box?
The box with six trapped walls
Where the thoughts bounce back
Where you're thinking its a trap
But these walls are made to be climbed and jumped
Take a step back
Focus
Breathe
Get your head down and seize
Those wonderous dreams you know can prevail
The brain is a tale
From what can make come true
Pirates and bandits
That big fish you can land it
It is all inside and down to you
Imagination is key
For without where'd we be
All chasing tails and running in blind circles
So just think again
Putting paper to pen
Your mind can change the world once unleashed from its cage

JJB

14 years under Tories rule
Cameron to Sunak with Johnson the bumbling fool
But now ruled by the Labour lot,
with waters promised much calmer
Raynor now craps the whip,
With her puppy dog, Sir Kier Starmer
A visit to King Charlie now head of the throne
His head now adorning stamps,
Soon on cash and any bank loan
But his real reason for this trip is to prepare for the King's speech
As we now have a fruitcake in charge with more faces than most,
Gentlemen and Squires, Lords and Ladies,
I give you,
The King's Peach 🍑

JJB

It tells a story, the grip of such men
You can give it a mark from one up to ten
The flaccid none particular of whom you might as well forget
From the strong and sturdy and pleased to meet you, much more of a safe bet
For a hand with five fingers that has no strength will hold up no life long wills
It will crumble and fail at the first sign on danger, never willing to foot the bills
But a rigorous grasp with a smile and heartily clasp is a better hand to follow
Not a weak and wet lettuce, whose hand felt like a cretins, mostly hiding in the shadows
As life can often take us on a path led by utter dimwits
But choose a journey not laid out by those who you just don't seem fit.

JJB

Come on, you’ve had that thought, that where do I fit in life
I have these crazy dreams, I’m not me but watching through somebody else’s eye
You’re on a bridge in Bristol looking over yonder at a place of make believe
It could be anywhere in your mind and then pops up your mate Steve (hi dream Steve, what you are doing here?)

Yes, you dream all sorts of mad cap ideas which even you don’t understand
But somewhere, in that messed up head of yours, is an idea, so impulsive, so magnificent, so world changing and yet so grand
Dig it out, you know you can, its hiding around a corner just waiting to be unleashed
If it escapes, capture it, feed it, calm it and this my friend will help you on your own two feet

You think I’m crazy? Yeah, probably
But you’re only here once, don’t put it off, this is that lost cog
McCartney dreamt up Let it Be and look what happened to him
Multi-millionaire, annoying as hell, married a one-legged ex *******, no sorry, don’t be like him

But they come, flittering and fluttering whilst disappearing in a jiffy
Those thoughts of ideas, you could change the world, just one of them a gimme
The wheel, the thread, the wind-up radio
Pull it out of that deep dark hole in your brain and there you have it, sold

Now don’t read the rest of this, you’ve got ideas to ignite
Hand that notice in, bye-bye awful boss, its time for me to take flight

As I am that lost cog

JJB

Bless me Lord for I have sinned
As I once grew a haircut that I shortly binned
But I knew at the time it was thoroughly wrong
Because these things happen when you grow it that long
A look in the mirror and you think it looks alright
Seriously man, that really isn't right
Laughed at behind closed doors and always behind your back
Yeah, it's true, you do look a complete ****
If haircuts were numbered you'd be looking at a one
As the village idiot would even shave it off
That bundle
That irresponsible
That monstrosity to the back of the human head
The Man Bun

#youknowwhoyouare

JJB

Classes
Segregation between the masses
I'm above you but only when it matters
Looking down my judgemental nose
Friends with those I must and those who I chose
A regular guy from my head to my toes
But we can be picky sometimes I suppose
So who are we to pick our circle of friends
The ones we ignore and the ones who we would lend
Those conversation to have and an ear to friendly bend
But some are translucent and to hell you silently send
As they disapear into nowhere and try to amend
We read our daily papers and some journos we agree
Some are spot on and have life down to a tee
Others are so WOKE we have to seethe
But that doesn't mean we are chosen on race
For those we love and who hits first base
It's an individual choice on who is chosen and down to taste
As we are surely past the colour of our skin and who sits on the bus
We judge on who we are, who we know, and who we trust
It will always fall down to a certain choice I'm afraid,
Them and us.

JJB

Sorry. Did I say man?

I meant men.

Men never grow up.

#plural

JJB

Staring
Not caring
Of the words that are being said
Pondering
Just wondering
Of how he woke from his bed
Induced coma
That'll show ya
They all thought that you were dead
But nothing can stop me
Even that graceful old oak tree
That still stands and watches me in dread
As I now drive past her
This time slower, not faster
As we silently share that moment not said

JJB

There is me
The Copper/The Nurse/The Firefighter/The man in black who drives that humble hurse
There is also me
The Mother/The Father/The Sister/The Brother/The off the clock non-decision maker
I'm paid to care
I'm afraid to even dare
You love me when I'm working
You see me hiding if not lurking
Always up the craic when on the beat
Always hiding away and crossing the street
For I am as two faced as you can get
So don't put your life in my hands or its something you might regret.

JJB

That poor man, look at him sat there
On his own, shopping for one, no friends or love, bound for life in that hideous wheelchair
Do I talk for him or would that be a sin
It's the modern world, he does as he wants, his decision to be here, I'll leave it down to him
He looks up, can he reach that product, think I'd better go over and help
Can I assist you sir, shall I pass it to you or can you easily get it for yourself

Was this wrong as he sits now in silence, overstepping a mark of just plain goodwill
He looks up at me, a smirk of delight, and relief drains from me like the bitterest pill
Thank you young lady, as I hate to sometimes ask
As to you of course, it seems the simplest of tasks
Because this is not as it's always been, the paraplegic position of that poor individual
Fancy a chat, a coffee in the cafe, and I will tell you the story of how I became so crippled

A state of empowerment now downtrodden, as the view becomes less clear
It’s hard to tell in the blink of an eye, of a life we all so fear
Explanations, requirements, everyday necessities and drugs on a weekly prescription
I could bore you for hours of this tedious droll, but those things become an addiction
So as you can see, I’m not that wee poor man just looking lost in the supermarket
I have a life, I have a heart, I just can’t find a way to prove it

For I am a regular man, now operating in turmoil
As I have already put into the title
This para, really is normal

JJB

Don't touch me
Don't feel me
All these things I'd do for a fee
The red lights are down low
Those scenes I'd do with my so called step-bro
But China knows nothing of this pandemic, oh-no
Our moneys stopped flowing
Our flesh has stopped showing
It makes a nice change as its just balloons were now blowing
I could explain a bit more but I don't want to get rude
As it's a life where the majority is solely crude
And I won't name any names as I really don't want to be sued
But I'm afraid to say it will pick up again sometime soon
Where we don our fake smiles and ******* our boots
Because thats the life we live as,
The Pornstars and the Prostitutes

JJB

What is judged on those who live days so pure
Who lay awake wondering on life
If doing good now leads to a heavenly door
I might stop swearing
I might take more care
I might imagine a life not bearing
I might
I won't
I wouldn't dare
For those who abstain from the rough
The cautious
The caring
The rare
Are an animal of which there are few
And a life I couldn't bare

The Pure

JJB

Every village, town and city of mass proportion is bound to have some
The ‘didn’t make the grade at school’ so who else will now take them
The parents repugnant, ******, and living off the dole
Breed with each other to produce their spawn, the taxpayer taking this toll

Infesting our lives with their spit and their spat, just turn on Jeremy Kyle
You’ll see what I mean, like a bad daydream, their being is utmost vile
Its entertainment to some who revere in this mess, only glad that its not them
Sulking the streets and just on the scrounge and oh look, their face on the News at Ten

****** is harsh as it’s not what I mean, but it fits the slot so well
So why are they here and what is their use, doesn’t the devil need a hand in hell?
But they exist, and you see them every day, hanging on the corner of the street
Even the village idiot had his job, backwards in kind but still rather sweet

So what do we do in trying to combat this evolution, going backwards in the blink of an eye
Education is wasted and the armed forces is a no, it almost makes me want to stop and cry

So this is the way that the human may go, just look back at the millennia’s past
The dinosaurs failed and the mammoth is gone, just how long are we going to last?

The Retards

JJB

There is a world renowned secret that no-one told you about
It’s a notion never muttered under forty that it holds such clout
But its being has held for over a thousand years
Don’t let this secret ******* you with fear

Its patriotism to the highest ever order
That death was no mistake, a secret held by those who will find you
Don’t even write a line of similar proportions
Its life or death, you don’t live with one caution

Scratch your head and wonder what I talk of
Should this be written if death near threatens its author
Well I’m not yet of that age of secret discretion
I just heard off of a man who may now need God’s blessing

For he spoke of that sentence which should never have been uttered
Which now lives in my mind and is all of a clutter
For I should never have heard

The secret

JJB

He’s a man, the cause of all trouble
Night on the town, Brut for men, that cut of designer stubble
The cheek and the posture, any girl to talk too
A dance, a chat, a kiss on the cheek
He knows how to see the night through

The rules don’t matter when he’s on a mission
Gets stuck in, past the finish line, yeah, that’s his vision
Dressed like a Britpop icon but still thinks he’s a Beatle
The cords, Ben Sherman jacket, shoes that blow your mind
45 on the player, grooving to the sound from the needle

Music rattles around from the depths of Carnaby Street
The Kinks, Lennon to McCartney and even onto The Sweet
Can be crazy like us all, we all have that switch, that one that hides the truth
Hidden, its depths, sometimes need to be unleashed
For that my friend is called character, hiding those forgotten blues
That person is closer than you can see
For that really is,
The taming of the Stu

JJB

They say you should always wear sun cream
They say you should always follow your dreams
They say you shouldn't drive to fast
They say you shouldn't swear but then I cannot be arsed

They reckon that times goes faster the older you get
They reckon that No.1 is always a safe bet
They reckon that we landed on the moon
They reckon that he didn't meet Mr Spoon

They are 'the they' but who the devil are they
They are the guiding light in whatever they ever say
They are the ones who told us there was some kind of God
They are the ones with wisdom but I would rather believe my dog

They say wise things but not always right
They say we cant live forever but I will always shine like a light
They say so much within the rules that we all live by
But I'm sick of what they always say as I walk on with a sigh,

Believe your own truth

JJB

Time is a movement that we cannot escape
It surrounds the Universe in its vastness day by day
And with time its particulars are all attached
DNA to a drop of rain, it all comes as one big batch

Everything changes on a second by second basis
From the dinosaur to the bird in the sky,
Music from minstrels then onto blur and Oasis

Our skin becomes decrepit as we live within our souls
We build, we knock down, we start again to help out those in need
Builders help build, a life now easy, just ask Nick Knowles

But lets think of the future and how we guide Earths ship
We live, we learn, already ruined our surrounding layer of ozone
Ditch the aerosols, drain the diesel's as one Ice-Age was just a little tip

The same as all relationships, hiccups happen as is life
A stumble, a small trip, pick yourself up as this is it
Another chance ain't gonna happen, believe what you will

A sweep up, a quick clean, start again so it is all gone
The Gods of time sometimes get bored, lets stir things up
There is only so much you can watch until,

Things Move On

JJB

Who turned the life off here
Nowhere to stop for some food or a beer
Camden Town now silent from life
You look back now, was weirdly quite nice
Big Ben stood silent, no ring of its bell
Has London lost soul, its heart now fell
It needs a poke to wake from this blip
A capital fallen quiet, its just having a kip
Its clouds gather clearly, the skies now replenished
This Earth needed a rest, for its time could soon finish
Let's look after what we have killed, as we all need that break
Our surroundings have just one life, for reality cannot be faked

JJB

Remember those days we'd all dress for a flight
Now all hoodies and trackie bottoms,
an almost ghastly sight
Remember those days your mum would call you in for tea
Sat down with just four channels,
with only one ITV
Remember those days when you only had one best friend
Not over a thousand nobody's, who just want to be on trend
Remember those days,
checking scores on Teletext
And looking for flights, that little bit cheaper, flick over onto Ceefax
Thoughts of better times,
when Freddie sang that,
these were the days of our lives
Well those day's will always ring true,
and hold hope,
in our nostalgic side

JJB

We'd rock up ready for the night
Whatever came our way
A beer
A bird
A fight

Not a care to what happened the next day
Hangovers were for the others
See me
See you
Lets see away the next few

Now I can't be bothered to even give you a call
3 pints to the wind and over I now fall
A lightweight
A has been
A seen the seens of my lifes movies scenes

Sat in my home just watching the setting sun
You don't know what youve got until it's gone
A little sigh
A smile of goodbye
A thought on life and how it just passed me by

Those Days

JJB

Sprawling, this planet's skin
Dotted on the view, clouds, never ending sky
Birds don't reach these limits, a land of pilots flying high
It's a massive wonder to God's and the like
The aeroplanes engine, a miracle in itself 
I don't think an all powerful being ever imagined us taking this crazy hike
Yet here we fly above any bird in the sky
Wondrous, even plain mad, what we can put our minds too
As we do have the power, the incredulous nerve to even question some of God's will
Bring us the minds, the ticking over of this might work and we will foot this bill
Flight is not just for the now dead dinosaurs of a million years ago
It's for the now, it's time in motion, adapt and overcome 
Just give us the those dice, hey presto, what next in this unforseen century's throw 
Other planets still await our touch
Lets draw up a plan, we'll talk and comprise, we could do it over lunch
As nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it
There will be time travel next
Once the Delorean is kitted out
Don't tell me that the odds are low as we conjure these numbers and wipe our brow
For we must move onto the future of even the past once this machine is ready to roll
We will meet the kings, the queens, and even ourselves then God I'm afraid will finish this perilous, unwanted travelling soul

JJB

I've been hit
All of us have but in different ways
Depends on how you recover
Waking up and that feeling of utter dread
Where do I look, are the answers in some book
The wife may know or do I ask my lover
A turning point where all is seen in a brand new way
The justice, the injustice, the must have must haves
I'm only here once
A front bigger than Brighton, always on the blag

Maybe I deserved that thump of unfair life
As been a naughty boy and relished in the past
God has his ways, I'll catch you one day you *******

But the hill has a summit as for which I now climb
I toppled, I lent to far, I took my eyes from the prize and crashed that ******* car
But these matters are just a hiccup, a step in the wrong direction
Strive on young man,
Having eliminated those who now do not care
Throw at you what they want, spread your tales online,
For social media is there for us all to bear

But no,
Hold that light of what really still can come
As you ignore those mutters from the downtrodden and those on the everyday rat-run
The horizon has a future yet to be discovered now feeling almost new born
Hold your head up high, banish the clutter that really doesn't matter as you carry on,

Through the Storm

JJB

Tick Tock Tick Tock 

The unstoppable noise from the wall and the clock
Battery malfunction is its only means of stop

From day one our clocks started setting
And an end date still has us betting

For it guides us in our everyday forms of life
From being late to work onto a barney with the trouble and strife

Even the dog knows what time he's to be fed
Until the day is done and upstairs to bed

As time is the invisible line we cannot hurry or cross
The world spins in motion to the suns gravity who is the real boss

It keeps us rectified onto a sole purpose and a meaning
Or is God just watching us on his box, his own Netflix he is just streaming.

Time

Tick Tock Tick Tock


JJB

I saw a tiredness in her face
Years of gossip
Some snide remarks
But a laugh I could not replace
What goes on
What went on
Is a tale she'll always know
If not subject to social smear
Just ask her (for) blow by blow
But don't get me wrong as she is a light not to diminish
She'd buy you a drink
Shot by shot
Under the table til the craic is all but finished
Not to leave a story unaccounted and two ends left unturned
She'd make something up on the spot
Even if future scorns and leaves her slightly burnt
For the word on the street is her everlong racing beat
What happened and where was her everyday scare
And for bones that unwrapped and to be laid bare
Had taken its toll on her face that now shows its tears

Tired

JJB

Connection......twitching
Perfection........glitching
Direction..........drifting
Momentum......pushing
Reality...............drowning

If it's over, it's over,
there is nothing left to do
Just count your blessings,
say your prayers
Go your separate ways
And know, for the grace of God
It's best,
that you just be you

JJB

What to wear on that specific day;
Smart
Skinny
Super Skinny
Bootleg
Oh what the heck
Should they be trousers, jeans, combats or chinos
What if the crowd are all smart come casual
My Converse boots or my polished Italian Tino's
I don't want to stand out like a sore thumb
A shirt and blazer is how I think I should come
The tail end of a wedding can be a confusing matter
As you don't want to be seen as the talking point of their chatter
These tartan cotton threads can be worn on any occasion
Dark yet understated, I'm not one for too brazen

JJB

So you want to look like a celeb?
Your teeth so bright but not into debt?
Well scrape back the enamal and watch what they can do
For a round trip to Turkey is the quick fix for you,
Waltzing the streets looking like the next Rylan
Still wearing the cheap snides and the push-bike you ride on,
As they scrape back your natural front covers
Stuck on caps to look like the perfect lover
But pre-warned by your annoying sensible brother,
And now it's starting to show its disorder.
No dentist will touch you with what you have left
That money you blew to just look like the best
Now rotton and hanging by a thread,
From that modern shiny smile that could hail down a cab
To looking like you've never had it so bad,
Be careful what you wish for and to mix with rest
Just don't consider anymore, from your eyes down to your breast.
You're beautiful just the way you are
Just get the dentist to scrape that bit off,
I think its a bit of rotton tar!

Turkey Teeth

JJB

Bowels of every life are made in this department
Think about it
The movement, the progression, the here after
From humans to dogs, trains on a track then the newt to the frog
This region is overlooked, so much can happen here
Its what makes us move, thrive on and even shed the odd tear
A ******, from some you don't trust, a night of lust
Needed by some, just a bit of fun, a kid hits you like a ton
For it is not just us who move on from this region
The engine, the hair pin, every corner a story
Keep the vehicle on track, life's journey does not lack
Those moments of grandeur that sometimes bore me
We rally on, just keep on moving, this machine always accelerating
Legs are running, if still not working, the brain always thinking
The depths of mortality, the human psyche, keeps on breeding
Even our mode of transport, the way we move, all has its engine
A beast that roars, if between our legs to a plane that can soar
Pipes that can fuel, carry this source to the brain that controls
Stephenson's the Rocket to the phone in our pocket
Machines that roll paper for the game that end up as our ticket
All have a base, a frame, what is known as the building blocks of life,
As we all stem from what is our essentially known as,

Undercarriage

JJB

There once was a time when the time was now
Make this your plan, your goal, your forever be
But it lapsed
It'll come round again you say
Thinking of that smile and joy
Laughing because they actually liked you
But know its on relapse and that time is gone forever
Seize the minute, the hour, the non forgotten past
Embrace what it was and never let it go
You may meet again in a time when now is no good
Or hear a song reminding you of how they did sing
For there will always be,

Unfinished Everything's

JJB

The power within,
Embroiling my sins,
Holding back what can't be released,

A scream with no sound,
Digging for what can't be found,
All I need is a realm of my inner peace

To take over my world,
A power that can tame when unfurled,
On you that I need to unleash

JJB