The Law of the River

We are swept up and swept along By currents far too strong A barrage of events in the river of life Mindless and bleak, vacant and void For void is the law of the river And emptiness the ultimate goal What hope is there when passion and fire Hope and joy, art and beauty Are…

Torn from a Magazine

I’m dead, said the man And covered his face with his hands In a moment he was ripped from life Like a page torn from a magazine While we turn the pages To something more comfortable Movies, fashion, gossip Forget about double-think, we have non-think We guzzle the soma and blank out the world With…

Two Faces

The child looks up, what does she see Will a face smile down with love and kindness Hands outstretched, warm and welcoming Tenderness and sweetness oozing from every pore Or will it be a snarling grimace, red with fury Fists raised and clenched ready for violence Snapping teeth and rending claws, the air thick with…

A Tribute to Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman had an acting career spanning the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Winner of two Academy awards, over his career he had many other awards and nominations. I consider Hackman’s performances to be grounded and real, so in memory of a great actor, here are some of my favourite…

On a Winter’s Night

Bare-branched trees guard an old cobbled roadStones gleam wetly in the lantern lightDark clouds hang low full of storm and thunderYou breathe moisture in the ice-cold airWalking briskly, bundled in winter clothesThat don’t quite keep out the frigid nightLights from house windows behind their gatesGlow warm, inviting, promising cosy fires, slippers, hot chocolateYou see home…

Scream My Life

Things fall apart, they say And life is crumbling scaffolding Disintegration, dust falls like rain Where is there help when needed What do you do When everyone around you Needs more help than you? Unable to save each other We stare helplessly while foundations shake And collapse into the void So scream, my life There…

Economy is not Society

Governments have a strange tendency to use ‘economy’ as a synonym of ‘society’. They talk about protecting the economy as if it is the only measure of a people. It is not. The governments of small countries line up behind more powerful countries because they want to protect the economy ie the money. Politicians want…

With the Angels

You left on a Wednesday morning You were very sick and couldn’t stay I move around my home, confused I look around and all I can see Are the places you used to fill The absence of you My body is used to you And is constantly surprised When you’re just not there I remember…

Seven Days

Monday already? Where did the weekend go? Tuesday is Monday-light, still the start of the week Wednesday is so-called hump day, now we’re getting somewhere Thursday we start to taste the weekend so near Friday is the last slog to get through Saturday is glorious, fun and relaxation Sunday brings anticipatory stress of a pending…

Review “In Bruges” (2008)

“In Bruges” is a crime thriller with dark comedy elements, and stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. It involves two hitmen arriving in Bruges, after a job that has gone wrong. They have been instructed by their boss to stay in Bruges until he contacts them. Ray (Farrell) is appalled by this, as…