Michael John: Poems

Apr 1 · 69

such is life lily

Michael John Apr 1

such is life lily

such is life lily
i only meant to stay
a week-

now old and grey..
blue skies and carcassi
for an old freak..

Apr 1 · 202

post card from spain

Michael John Apr 1

post card from spain

post card from spain
i originally came
to study flamenco

25 years ago..still here then..
with the grace of the gods
and friends

some call sparrows
graceful and loving
faith and love to them..

but settled on cats
rats and carcassi..
some old old

melody..
wrote poetry
a canadian..

Mar 31 · 73

dear lily

Michael John Mar 31

dear lily

i

with a merry whistle
she opens an epistle
with a kiss

from the crow (which
is a stalking avis-if
you did n´t know)

from hades-she *****
marmalade
from a dissolute thumb..

i love you til times end
come
i love you until

no flower effloresce
-bloom
i love you

til the seas run
to ruin
i love you

to a deserts silence
(and to a lou reed
tune..)

i love you from the
first time and the last
hue

my eyes perceive..
what to do?
say lily, oh say,

you love me too!?
down here a lost soul
drop me a line-

your little bird
perhapsabsurd
but always yourn..

Mar 30 · 61

i

Michael John Mar 30

i

i

there is inate flaw in words
but black and white apart
awesome hotdog..man

why bother writing?
and time, when we loose
and gain at a whim..

her eggs have stuck
to the pan..
sunday morning..

ii

postcard from berlin
i met a man who saved
his *****-easily done..

he worked on the stock exchange
his brother a murderer
close to pneumonia

i returned to the slaughter
house
we had run out of co-co and cream..

the keys to three houses
a cat and an egg
i said au revoir..

Mar 29 · 94

i

Michael John Mar 29

i

i spent a christmas in berlin
once-it was very nice..
but i have never been so cold and

stayed in some very strange places
and saw some interesting peoples
heard some stories

drank hot co-co and cream!
looked after cats and
had a nice time..

Mar 29 · 66

we have to dream or

Michael John Mar 29

we have to dream or

we have to dream or
else we go insane both
literally and whats-it..

says lily take a ******
revolution-to throw of the yoke
of the oppressor

the country is *****
to imperialistic power
kidnap and torture

rampant there..
90 percent poor
the literate fewer..higher

infant mortality or
life expectancy 50 or
bananna..

ii

no wonder we are all
banannas and you talk of
betrayal..

well i am only a few degrees
from backward
unable to talk.. etc..

Mar 28 · 137

so,

Michael John Mar 28

so,

so, like the ostrich you stuck
your head in the proverbial sand
(lily the merciless)-yes,

but in my defence-the position hopeless,
as thatcher defined the times,
there was no alternative..or is..

Mar 28 · 59

when young and idealistic i

Michael John Mar 28

when young and idealistic i

when young and idealistict i
joined the communists
(and forgot all about it)
then,i come to believe all revolution
betrayed..

now,i refuse to think about it
and read and play music, instead
what might have been as tears
trickle from the eyes and
drip from the innocent chin..

Mar 27 · 48

still must n´t whine..

Michael John Mar 27

still must n´t whine..

still must n´t whine-
there was a time!
we had cities of tent
card board boxes..!

champagne
and sports car
our growth industries-
we went to war

for some distant shepards..
we became america-
somehow,
i did not know..

hard to know what history
would say..but i went away..
to blue skies and very
small rooms..

Mar 27 · 53

i

Michael John Mar 27

i

i see our glorious socialist party
are cutting benefits, lily?
perhaps like the dear days of thatcher
they will make the rich,richer..

Mar 21 · 72

Untitled

Michael John Mar 21

Untitled

i

some are motivated by love
and some by hate
for some,now, is enough
while some just wait..

some,fly like doves
and some plummet..
some dance in the buff
and some don´t..

some are off the cuff
some just can´t..
some cut it off
while others arn´t

really bothered..bluff..
some never start
some are duff or naff
some will eat your heart

and complain-tough!?
some never part-
some eternal of
the poisonous dart..

and some say stuff
a lot
here and gone oof..
too hot..

like a liitle bit of fluff
in your pocket
alien life-
hurry it..

Mar 20 · 41

motivate

Michael John Mar 20

motivate

motivate

motivate-
a perspective pit
stand to attention!

what is worth doing
what has to be done
reverse it-

no,too cryptic-she taps
a pencil against teeth
that barely shown-motivate-

write it down-what we
want..wrong and right
why write..

ii

because the earth is flat
and i have something to say
i have to have direction

some kind of internal compass
if up turns out to be down
and round and round..

i will be ******..

Mar 19 · 33

to motivate-

Michael John Mar 19

to motivate-

to motivate-
to just do the washing up
with joy in my heart..!

a tate a tate,
with the love of god,
(etheral as sparrow-****..)

instead, i hear nina and
she is wild as the wind
(for clevor trevor..)

sparrow **** is a euphemism for dawn in case any one wondered..nina is a reference to nina simones rendition of that great song and clevor trevor is another song by ian dury rip..

Mar 18 · 65

i

Michael John Mar 18

i

i

i sat in a field outside ******
and watched the scandanavians
while they doused themselves in
the ice cold stream..

and then about four or five deer
came by and drank from the
afore mentioned..
it was fun one eye on the sky

where the the sun hid shyly..
a steep climb up to the road
before the farmer came..
there was a dolphin..

ii

i sat by a cannon
and examining the surf
in another town
i think a siren was near-

for from the little waves
appeared a dolphin
it did nt stay..
before troy it was gone..

Mar 17 · 72

old and young

Michael John Mar 17

old and young

old and young
that was a killer combination
you meet them
hopless with wisdom

they had to work
they had to drink
they had to do so many things
doing nothing..

Mar 15 · 61

Untitled

Michael John Mar 15

Untitled

i

hello!-i´m back!
hey,where is the riding
crop..?

i don´t know..
beneath the stairs
by the jig-saws i think..

we put the pieces back
together..
retribution is fun..

god,save us from silence
and understanding
love is forgivness..

Mar 15 · 57

i

Michael John Mar 15

i

i

hello-are you there?
you look
you find-

like gold in
the red desert
or love-

phrenology
ontology-
in your mind

or a butterfly minding
it´s own
do we choose..

ii

what is mineis
mine and whatis
yours..

civilization has been
in place for 2000 years
but as tennyson said

let ten thousand years pass
and then we wil talk of progress..!
possession will not last..

iii

shall we share
some universal tune
a magical aire

like the air
or will we have to
say we are through-

die away-
greed wins
live on the moon..

Mar 13 · 70

Untitled

Michael John Mar 13

Untitled

no,relationships are as numerous
as the numbers-take michael and john
for example..

endlessly fascinating as all
or just in passing-primal
for the intelectual..

Mar 13 · 46

i

Michael John Mar 13

i

i

writing has become such a pleasure
i never imagined
a passage to reality or the end
of a dream

it can be anything spontaneous
or a thought lost-like that-
carefully structured
to the stars

it can be bad or even good
love or war
an air guitar
a telephone calls-

ii

hello,are you mad at
me?
(i am always mad at her..

tension is our meat and
potatoes-
what could it be...

relationships are difficult
redemption and guilt
guilt and redemption..

will we ever be free..)
i smoked the last of the grass
you were saving-i found it

in your pocket..
i am sorry-in crime and punishment
r. slaughters two old ladies

but his punishment is not a few years
in siberia but his base transgression of morality..
his guilt the depths of hell..

through the love of sonja and confession
there is redemption-not to mention
god..

iii

in love there is forgivness-
but what of the dead..
where is justice?

we are all sorry
in the end
found it..?

Mar 12 · 67

and for fun..

Michael John Mar 12

and for fun..

relationships are difficult
we stand on one leg in the desert
and worship the sun

for good reason..
we stay 20 years behind bars
for burning toast

for the first kiss..
for an illusive hand
and for fun..

Mar 12 · 60

stan the diceman

Michael John Mar 12

stan the diceman

relationships are difficult
baggage being an operative
word

time, is another for you young
-it is only a question of
time-before you see them

and say mother father brother
distant cousin-
stan the diceman..

Mar 12 · 57

what happened..

Michael John Mar 12

what happened..

relationships are difficult
they begin ok
but some skip that
and become trade

wars and memory-
****** comparisons
psychological spat
quite quickly..

and then for you
young ones-twenty years on
you get to wondering-
what happened..

Mar 11 · 49

silence is bewitching

Michael John Mar 11

silence is bewitching

silence is bewitching
in the right hands
lily grins

it predates rain
and the tears that run
higgledy-piggledy

down her chin
how to say sorry
when it is all your fault?

Mar 8 · 59

identity

Michael John Mar 8

identity

identity

look into
your mind
what will you find
something mean
something kind

some concrete
symbolic sign
some chattering teeth
an endless line
stretching to
infinity..

doobie hubris scroll
spider webs..me..
o i was wondering where that
got too..
vinegar or wine
some ancient hyroglyphic
for time..

look into your mind
a melody
that will not go away..
some fine sentiment-
a crutch a touch
the sun sets
plop!

have a look
some books
the odd cluck and
i mean odd
something too laugh
about-success
and failure..

what they told you as a child
i say blimey..
ambition..tradition to
**** a wren-
aliens and divers monster
uncle stan the dice man..

ii

that was then this is now
fear like some exotic twine
tie them together
what is in my mind-
(a ten per center..)
a little voice that i sometime hear
and sometimes ignore-

and sometimes say o dear
like a lazy lion-
looking out of my bars
upon the stifling plain
in the lonesome jungle
it says in a falsetto-
do  you remember..

and what if it all accrue
sigh-what if momento gathers
like a  runaway ooo
what if the variables go poo!
hey,we are out of here
and the inevitable is so-two
and two equals four..

run out of spine
a single line-
ah,the emperors new clothes
more and more the draught
has become  storm and room 101
is the generation game-
nice to see you..

what if i run out of stars
and fear the reaper or worse
a poet´s curse-
getting what they wants
there is little left
but that is the known universe
love is bereft
to a purse..

Mar 8 · 65

Untitled

Michael John Mar 8

Untitled

identity
well,that is not me
cosmopolitan effegies-

multiple choiced-
your uncle stan
he is the dice man..

Mar 8 · 64

Untitled

Michael John Mar 8

Untitled

read identity,doctor,
by the mighty x ray specs
and have a dance..

Mar 7 · 150

Untitled

Michael John Mar 7

Untitled

you hate me says lily
because-peering into her
navel-because, i know you..

but all the air
the trees and the birds
the whole universe

know her..clever
with her fluff
and iffy commas..

Mar 7 · 77

Untitled

Michael John Mar 7

Untitled

has their ever been
a more vain generation?
they paint themselves
and hole extremeties..

laughing at nothing..
but is that not the nature of youth?
loud and uncouth
as we once were..

Mar 7 · 44

Untitled

Michael John Mar 7

Untitled

upon conception
i understood deception
(and have not been dissapointed)
to the annointed:

there is love and trust and
faith-for all the children
for every lost star
to all the shining wraith..

Mar 5 · 66

Untitled

Michael John Mar 5

Untitled

but even that was
orchestrated-i was a bit
character

in a shabby drama..
karma with-in karma
trying to remember..

Mar 5 · 61

Untitled

Michael John Mar 5

Untitled

it was a criticism
so i drank instead
kind of lost the thread

i only understood
my pain
when i was drinking

Mar 5 · 52

Untitled

Michael John Mar 5

Untitled

i

do you sometimes think
the world is nuts
(where the monkey puts m..)

there is milk and honey
but it takes guts
you think too much..

Mar 4 · 66

that is where i will be..

Michael John Mar 4

that is where i will be..

am i contrast my friend
doubt can send you around
the bend..

if you want me-
where two parallel lines
collide

Mar 4 · 70

Untitled

Michael John Mar 4

Untitled

i am not contrast my
friend-my up is up and
my down is down and the bit
in the middle-fiddley-******..

am i the last panda
am i flanders
am i on drugs-
probably should be..

while washing up..

Mar 4 · 63

i am not contrast my

Michael John Mar 4

i am not contrast my

i am not contrast my
metaphor friends
am i a dilly simile
nein..

do i dream, a polar bear
in the wild flower?-nix..
reality IS poetry
yes..!

Mar 3 · 93

don´t think me luddite

Michael John Mar 3

don´t think me luddite

don´t think me luddite
but if a machine throws me
into the street

throws my family into poverty
what am i to say
what am i to think..?

Mar 3 · 457

don´t think me luddite

Michael John Mar 3

don´t think me luddite

don´t think me luddite
but if it was up to our kind
we would still live in caves
watching the sun rise

in the quiet of the light
o gentle mind..
the old gods sway
the birth of man cry..

Mar 2 · 84

don´t think me luddite

Michael John Mar 2

don´t think me luddite

don´t think me luddite
if the world were poet
then it would have pht
a dilly..

a long time previously,lily,
we would be a wheel
without an axel or something
in the tate..

Mar 1 · 273

why,

Michael John Mar 1

why,

why, because a door opened
is sometimes always-
who knows what may be
science and technology will
be the death us..

Feb 28 · 80

i

Michael John Feb 28

i

i

lily, they are going to send a rocket
into space with only women
who will drive and who the map
and who will sit in the back and
russle sweet wrappers and make
innate comment-look at that..

has that always been there..
alpha centauri?kuk big innit..
do tou want a sweet..
yello is my favourie colour..
does this seat go back any
further-i´ll be glad
when we get there-
where´s my hand bag..

ii

my mother and i would
spend hours in our back yard
watching the stars-

greater than silver and gold
but i feel we should leave them
where they are..

Feb 27 · 89

or some sweeties

Michael John Feb 27

or some sweeties

or some sweeties
probably..spanish treasure!
anyone remember..?

dessicated coco-nut..yummy..
wrapped like a pirate´s
lost gold and silver

trunk buried and found
by me ..on some remote
desert island..

Feb 27 · 101

i

Michael John Feb 27

i

i

i woke this morning from a
lovely dream-i was young again
and kissing my woman and
we were laughing

and behind us was stacked
shoe boxes full of money..
someone said something and
i awoken..

ii

lily, i have tried to remember,
such a charm,
standing in front of the golden
mask

of tutankhamun..silence
like a sundown desert
reigned but what did i
ask..

i asked,or wished
the beauty and wisdom
for vision and calm
the love of the pyramid..

Feb 26 · 149

down under

Michael John Feb 26

down under

down under
they dig gold from the
ground and put beer in
their belly

thay don´t care about
the flies or if they are
smelly or the telly..
say-

they have a dream!
a golden seam
as long as your arm,mate..
and no dingo

croc,snake,spider
mechanical doo-daa
bureaucratic laws
will stop them..

Feb 26 · 70

i

Michael John Feb 26

i

i

when you purloin a gold toilet
(that passes for art)
and break a lump off
for a night on the town-
it is the perfect crime!-
and the absolute pinnacle of
good taste..

ii

lily says she would like
a bit of that-i do not like gold
myself..

though once i stood as a child
before the mask of tutenkhamun
and made a wish..

Feb 25 · 60

times are hard when they

Michael John Feb 25

times are hard when they

times are hard when they
nick your toilet, lily..
if you expect people to be kind

then go live on mars..exodus..
where there once was rivers..
they will be happy when

we eat grass-(not smoke it)-
like clare..as he walked home..
wipe away transgression..

ii

time for dance
time is dance
too many laws

for instance-
none suffer hunger
in four four..

iii

i said to the councillor
instead of build roudabout
we open a cafe for hungry
(espec. children..)

i may have been speaking
martian..silence pervaded
like red canal..i thought of
mathmatics-

i can make a bowl of soup
for a dollar..or less-vegetarian..
do you know what that would cost?
no,no, we like building roundabouts..

you can go round and round
we do have some nice ones
true that..
there is this sweet little one..

iii

food is getting harder
and harder-famine shimmers
on the horizon

and not where it has traditionally
been but closer
year by year..

Feb 24 · 54

when suddenly from out

Michael John Feb 24

when suddenly from out

when suddenly from out
of the sky comes another
and they proceed to love one

another-alien lovers sweet and
tender hover..touching and
caressing over me and

the water..i would close my eyes but
can´t..cause i can´t..
look away..

he gently licks her swiveling eyes
and there is love and prehistoric
cries..

there is the way of the gods
blue and green
there is

time to come
the reeds sway and dance
nidits on their separate way..nidit day..

Feb 24 · 160

a

Michael John Feb 24

***

a new dance in-it!?
called the nitid
do the..

nitid-the nitid wings of
the dragonfly shimmered
as it hovered over the pond!

(nature is great inspiration!)
look now, i am a fish
looking up-an alien

or a god..o the colours..
what´s with the hands?
gills..

look i wave my tail!
very nice-like green
and blues..

early to be smoking
best time
the breeze blows..

Feb 23 · 53

Untitled

Michael John Feb 23

Untitled

nostalgia ain´t what it
used to be,lily..?!
one of our glorious leaders

suggested we should get on our bycicles
and look for work..(like his father) but did we feel
disenfranchised and cheated..?

yes,we did..did we resort to substance
abuse and was there an epidemic
of depression?..

yes..and yes..and were the prisons full
to overflowing and were prisoners dying
on remand like flies..you bet..

were there tent cities and the youth
cutting the grass with scissors as
part of work creation..

did they flaunt their wealth..
champaigne and sports cars
our boom industries..

and did our glorious leader
care more about some sheep farmers
10 thousand miles away..

(they had rights but we did not..)
who were the enemy?
were travellers beaten..

did they close care homes
for care in the community
(to save money)

and they found their way
down into the subways
in their pyjamas..

were the lloyds investors
bailed out by the tax payer
did we turn away at their greed

and love each other..did
they begrudge us 29 pounds a week
were parties illegal..

but great fun..i don´t know
i lived in greece in a tent
far away..

Feb 23 · 46

i

Michael John Feb 23

i

i have been working on dance
says lil in the present tense
what is this?

in the uk we had a hundred years
of workers struggle for decent wage
and conditions

to be thrown away for
tax breaks
and delivering hamburgers

in the eighties..skilled men
no more-service industries and
door to door

no more steel works or mines
no more ship building
towns decimated by unemploment

never to recover and
one pound an hour..
i would never have guessed lily

yes,it is a waltz
three four
and spaced travel..

Feb 21 · 75

shastakovitch had an itch

Michael John Feb 21

shastakovitch had an itch

shostakovitch had an itch
a sliver of shrapnel in his brain
left over from world war one

it was his wish
that it should remain
it was his inspiration

we are all exiles of our past
said he and his waltz no.2?!
what a lovely refrain..!