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Thank You Present

I bought you some flowers today,
the idea just popped into my head
I had just passed by my old house
and was glad I lived here instead.

I was lonely in that old place
and the vomit rose in my chest
as I relived the despair for an instant
but soon the pain came to rest.

For now I live in happy chaos
within a surprising peace
for surrounded by love and affection
I bask in blessed relief.

So there you have the reasons
why the idea came into play
to stop at the very first florist
and bring you flowers today.

Then and Now

You have enjoyed your years so far
and sit in quiet reflection
but changes happening to your mind
promotes panic for resurrection.

You want to tie your shoes and wash the car
run up the stairs and then
without thought carry a pile of stuff
and run down those stairs again.

Viewing other towns and countries
on TV within your home
gives a yearning to revisit places
you were once so free to roam.

Now all the fuss at airports and the long
trek to the plane
precludes a once world traveller
from ever going abroad again.

Pathos and unfairness brings on tears
you try to hard to hide
confused emotions spar with anger
and you suppress the pain inside.

There was a day when a beer fixed it all
and conscience was something rare
when all that mattered were results 
and thoughts of others weren't there.

But treat yourself kindly old man
you are entirely free to choose
to forgive the way you lived before 
and stop hitting on the bruise.

Featured

Fight Aging

I will not just sit and wait
For my old age to arrive
But will duck, evade and hustle
And keep the will to strive.

I want to live and to discover
Life's wonders that remain
Feel and taste new experiences
Even those involving pain.

For what possible reason should I 
Embrace the end that is coming
When I can fight and fight again
To keep all my senses humming?

Sooty

We collected her from a puppy farm
Where she had really earned her keep
Giving the owner many Labs to sell
She now needed to rest and sleep.

We collected her, all of us together
Then took her for her very first roam
Her given name was Sooty and
She gladly embraced her new home.

Her first day and night with us
Had her shaking within her fur
She needed the reassuring touch
Of someone sitting close to her.

But once she knew she was staying
She fitted into family life
She built much loving loyalty
Steadfast through our joys and strife.

She watched over us always
Checking our way was clear
Putting herself between us
And any stranger who came near.

Came the day when she had to leave
When her fourteen years began to tell
We were there when the needle entered 
And swaying slightly she gently fell.

These animal friends are just on loan
And we owners know it well
But the pain is deep when they go
And for a while - we are in hell.

Impotence

I have a daughter who is ill
and she is also very sad.
She looks to me to help her
because I am her dad.

Dad's fix everything don't they?
Isn't that why they are there?
To stand and fight and win
like a powerful great Brown Bear.

I would like to fix things for her
to shield her from this storm.
Take all the blows and pain away
and return life to her norm.

But her adversary is mighty
it stalks her day and night,
won't let her eat to live her life
and her big dad mourns in fright.

This caring parent looks on helplessly
so wishing he could do more,
she is drowning in a deep sea while
Counsellors' advise her from the shore.

Michael Has Gone

Oh how we miss our friends
who have gone.
We miss them now, we always will
but the memories still live on.

Sometimes it's right for the suffering
to leave
And we who are left here alone in confusion 
can only grieve.

My pal was forced into oblivion by mean gods
but is with me still
he laughs, listens, advises but never complains
about his being ill.

No engine he could not fix, nothing
he couldn't drive
sometimes his driving left me feeling quite
lucky to be alive!

Goodbye my friend, now at last
without pain,
I won't have a fifty year friendship quite
like ours again.

Oh how we miss those friends
who have gone.
We miss them now, we always shall but
the memories will live on.

Funeral - September 2010

I’ve Seen LOVE

The fickle butterfly called love
Can settle or fly away
As we go on with our daily lives
We generally hope it will stay.

Sometimes love goes wrong
And the goodwill bank runs low
In the passion of all the anger
Lovers can watch the butterfly go.

But I have seen true love
I have seen it bold and plain
Born from generous dependency 
Nurtured by the lovers' pain.

I've seen my friend Mike stunned
By the filthy erosion of his brain
He ceases to walk far unaided
And won't pee standing again.

He and I were sharing some tea
When his wife entered his space
His fetid gaze suddenly sharpened
And a beam simply split his face.

She kissed him and sat with him
And looked into the eyes of the smile
She softened and flushed pinkly
And they were lost together for a while.

So I've seen love true and undiluted
A privilege witnessed by very few
Blossoming in the ashes of adversity
What a lesson for me and you.