Comedians are Tragic Figures

I see them on TV almost every day

see the fear in their faces

compelled to be witty

spontaneously hilarious

all the time

except when showcasing human misery

for fundraising charity fun nights.

Those desperate fake laughs

to try to ignite a similar response

in the audience

or from the co-presenter

or interviewer.

Hahaha they plead

It's not a rare condition

the longing to be noticed

recognised

the centre of attention

but it is a hard act

to do so

by making people laugh all the time.

Poets don't have to speak in haiku

or soliloquies all the time

nor singers voice their thoughts

in vibrant tune.

So spare a thought

and a wan smile at least

for the comedians

who only want to be loved

but think they can't unless

they please everyone all the time.

Lifespan

Let's say I live till I'm 100

but not beyond.

I'll see the celebrations

of the 100th anniversary of Paul McCartney's birth

but not the 100th anniversary of England winning the World Cup

Will I see the complete domination of driverless cars?

The mass unemployment of people replaced by Artifical Intelligence?

Will I live to witness mass extinction

or human greatness in preventing it?

Will climate changes render present ways of living impossible

before I am lowered into my grave?

Let's say I die in two days' time

that's 1st October 2020.

I won't see my children's journeys through life

Won't be there to help them if they need me.

On the other hand I won't face the pain

of their inevitable upsets and disappointments.

I won't even learn the full consequences

of Covid-19 or Brexit.

Does any of it matter?

Not for the dead, 

but even, ultimately for the living,

is it all just a soap opera

invented in our heads

scriptwritten by Fate

and directed by the Genes

Fate placed into our embroyonic self?

We all die

We all die...

that's just in case

you didn't realise it

Homer doesn't know

that over two thousand years

after he created his epic poems

that people still know the stories

Robert the Bruce

never got to see Scotland

join with England to make the United Kingdom

in 1707

My grandfather never got to know

that his children survived the Gulag

nor that they'd make a life in far-off Britain

and live till their nineties.

What will you not live to see?

And what do you not see even now

while you're still alive?

Champions League Final

So there we have it.

United have won the Champions League

defeating Atletico

by 3.5bn pounds to 3.1bn Euros

pipping them at the post

with a stoppage-time injection

of money-laundered 100m pounds

despite a similar-sized bribe to the match officials

from the opposition.

The President of the Federation of Football Club Owners

said it was a truly thrilling final

with both sides giving their all

with money from dictatorships

and the exploitation of local fan loyalties.

Our thanks go to Sleaze TV for their vast sums

obtained through viewer subscriptions

and we look forward to seeing all the fans

pay outrageous sums for next year's season tickets.

It truly is The Beautiful Game.

News Update

good evening

here is today's news

it's the same as yesterday

and the day before

and the day before that

and so on

back in time to when Cain killed Abel

and before that, Adam blamed Eve

and Eve blamed Adam

for taking forbidden fruit.

The names have changed

but the stories are the same

so do yourself a favour

and go and read a good book instead.

Another Purchase

minimalist me

the anti-consumer crusader

except not crusader

because they were not the heroes

we were once told they were

bought another thing

necessary?

maybe

maybe not

but maybe

so I did

and each time I buy

guilt trips me

and I fall

killing my world

purchase by purchase

or maybe not

maybe not I hope

maybe not I lie to myself

Used Green Tea Leaves

there they are

splodged

stuck in the infuser

washed out

these once magical

sticks and strands

offered the promise

- always delivered -

of a moment's grace

and serenity

like a cliche where compassion

meets clarity and calmness

now sodden and ready

for the compost heap

their manmade purpose served

impermanence exemplified

in the joy of a few sips

Green Tea Leaves

green tea leaves

dried, ready for use,

sit there like Buddha

contemplating

whatever Buddha contemplated

sit there

not knowing their fate

is to be rehydrated

in not-quite boiling water

releasing their scent

like a gift

to the drinker

and up to that point

of leaves meeting water

they are dessicated potential

the not-yet given delight

Party Pooper

give me silence

ah that's good

nothing quite like nothing

to improve my mood

don't give me parties

all those things to say

like hi

how are you

how are the kids

and

what do you do?

give me infinite solitude

like after the end of the world

just me and apocalypse

and no parties

in my burned out diary

No more

"come on, just one"

when you've declined a beer

no more mega-reluctant dances

because it's impolite to say no

just me

the ruins of Glasgow in the distance

and the next barrage of comets

coming down

in time for me to say

a fond farewell to no one

but life itself

and this beautiful

once and future

Earth

Shadows are Real

shadows are real

solid

things of the flesh

it's us that aren't real

we are the shadows

of the shadows

the mirage of the oasis

the nothing there

of the optical illusion

but the shadows

they're real

Working from Home

interruption

disruption

corruption

distortion

frustration

digression

distraction

retraction

extraction

subtraction

where was I?

where am I?

who am I?

Sit

sit

let it all come out

in its own time

don't fret

don't fight

don't push

sit

it'll come

like the outbreath

follows the in

sit

and all will be well

yes, all will be well

promised land

promised land

can't you see it?

over the hill

milk and honey

awaits us there

there will be jam tomorrow

an end to sorrow

in the promised land

what about today?

today we strive

to make ourselves fit

for the promised land

but today I'm hungry

just wait

sacrifice yourself now

and tomorrow

there will be bread and roses

in the promised land

but I can't even see the hill.

trust me it's there

and over it lies

the promised land.

Empty Cup

 the cup is empty

"fill it up then

fill it up!"

the cup will remain empty

even if I pour the green tea into it

look

I pour it in

it goes in

but doesn't fill

how can that be?

because there is no cup

can't you see it

the presence of no cup

the absence of cup?

After Enlightenment

what did the Buddha do

after enlightenment

went to the toilet

wrinkled his nose at the smell

wiped his backside

and went on with the show

what did the Zen priest do

after zazen

went to the supermarket

was tempted by a packet of crisps

what do the enlightened

really get up to

same as us

same as us

that's what the enlightened do

same as us

Green Tea (a haiku in five syllables)

green tea

bliss

then gone

Future Past

in the future

everything will have passed

when we're gone

no one will know we ever were

when it all evaporates

it will have just been

nothing at all really

nothing at all

make rich your moments

make still your day

everything is precious

and then blows away

Rain Falls

rain falls on a sunny day

nothin doin, no games to play

the sun shines but the heart is cold

the morning's young but the body's old

when shall we walk free again?

when shall we walk free?

Lost Forever

I had it

right here in my hand

it slipped off

and fell

it could only have fallen a foot or two

but I looked and couldn't see it

searched for it everywhere

felt for it with my fingers

in case the poor light

hid it from sight

to no avail

for days and days I searched

looked

felt

I asked everyone I knew

if they had seen it

or if they could comb the area

to find it

as it is small in size

but gigantic in importance to me

it's lost

so am I

Eyes don't lie

 Beelzebub on the throne

glinting eyes beckon

welcome he says, welcome all

but eyes don't lie

and a shiver like Fate

trembles in every pore.

Welcome, he says, you are most welcome

but the eyes cry murder

and we shall die

Bad Situation

There is junk in all corners

mistrust on the high seas

where we sail I don't know

and if I knew wouldn't tell

There is sickness at sea

moondrunk at night

the sharks await us

as we cling to the wreck and hope

Sitting Still

I am a man at the ready

I see the grave

before birth

I am still and I am stable

Nothing

disturbs the silence I am made of

I am the thing and the being

ready for nothing

alive to a twitch

ready for birth and grave

Evening Reflection on the Day

I'm dead to the world by evening

dead to the world my dear

My energy fades, my focus degrades

and nothing in life now seems clear

This morning was full to the brim

Morning was full my love

I smiled at the sun, I had so much fun

Even thanked the good lord above

But my day ebbs away with the hours

My day ebbs away it's true

By the afternoon, I'm a burst balloon

and no use to me or to you

Autumn Warns

Autumn begs the question,

What have you still to do

before the leaves fall

and you are stripped bare

to lie under winter's frozen soil?

Imperfection for me please

Please, no.

Not perfection.

I can't stand

the absence of glitches

too smooth a path

things polished so finely

that they lack grit

Trying too hard

trying too hard

to be original

they slip into the cliche

of the new

Out the back

there is another world

just out the back

no cities there

nor art

or music

or books

just the sound of the wind

the soft rains

and the clouds

Dreaming

the unreality of dreams

the pointlessness of listening to dreams

the absurdity of what we call reality

Elsewhere

his mind is elsewhere

it used to be here

where it best served life

now it is somewhere else

where, I don't know

serving a lesser cause

we are all elsewhere

we all need to be here

doing what needs to be done

here

now

Writing poems

writing my poems is a process

through which I try to understand life

how to live it

how not to live it

what is real

and what is not

Ignore

another interesting thing

ignore

another funny story

ignore

another cut video

ignore

all the news

ignore

we know the news

we need to know

it says extinction of species

loss of biodiversity

through man's greed and frivolity

and climate hange

driven by the same things

focus

on what needs to be focussed on

changing human minds

while others hopefully

change human laws and activities

Dangers

there are dangers to be had

and dangers to be held

and dangers to be kept downstairs

deep in the dungeons

there are dangers to be loved

dangers to be mistrusted

dangers who appear to be your friends

but want to suffocate you

in the darkness of the eternal night

Be Part

we are asked to be part of something

we don't understand

told it'll be good for us

but we don't know what it is

reassured it'll all be fine

you'll enjoy it

and be worth your time

still, I look back to previous things

when similar was promised

and turned out worse than bad

much much worse than just bad 

Finding Truth

looking here

looking there

everywhere is nowhere

searching high

searching low

No place to search any more

thinking this

thinking that

no response to all these thoughts

playing hide and seek

with truth

it always hides

I always seek

the game never ends

and there's only one winner

The Brown Burn

down by the brown burn

the sparkle of sunlight

the gurgle of water

the rocks are alive

World on Fire

World on fire

put it out?

World on fire

Let it burn?

Put it out

repair the damage

Let it burn

a new world emerges

Dada 3

DADA

Doesn't it make sense?

DADA

Doesn't it make no sense?

DADA

Doesn't it make nonsense?

Dada 2

Zen DADA

Zen anarchism

DADA anarchism

DADA Zen

Anarchism Zen

Anarchism DADA 

Dada 1

DADA

Isn't it art?

DADA

Isn't it not art?

DADA

Isn't it anti-art

ANTI-ART

Isn't it art?

DADA

DADA

DADA

Not about Cleaning

the hoovering's done

the room is cleaner than it's been for years

because the carpet cleaners are coming tomorrow

the birds are fed

the rabbits too

and Christine has done the weeding

though she hates it

and hates that I hardly ever do it

even though I was working

- and properly working

not writing poems

cos that's not really work

and you don't get paid for it

or not any amount that matters

anyway it's now late for tea

and I have to make my dinner

the pretend hunger

is gnawing away at my stomach

and there's more moving of furniture to be done

after dinner

because the carpet cleaners are coming toomorrow.

Slogging and Flogging

You see them all work so hard

slogging

and flogging their wares

well, that's the phrase

but it's not their wares

someone's else's wares

a big global corporation

whom nobody knows

made by who knows

how many people

probably women and children

in crowded noisy blocks

in the middle of city streets

slogging and flogging

till the day is done

Ach

ach they say

ach

in irritation

and frustration

ach

and yet the sun is shining

the autumn leaves are gold and peach

where does your

ach

come from?

ach

you don't know

and yet the rocks outside

are still and silent

they know they'll be worn by the rain

till all that's left is dust

ach

but they don't complain

only we complain

ach

After

don't worry about now

there's always after

and after that, after

after is always preceded by before

but not really

as before doesn't exist

but neither does after

so even though after

seems to be after before

and before is before after

there's really neither

before nor after

and if we could only

get that clear in our heads

life would be so much simpler

and better

There's Time

time to complete a mundane task

time to have a cup of green tea

time to eat an oatcake

time before the deadline

time before the dead line

You call it real

you call it real,

this thing called life

look again

it's changed already

so how can it be real

if

by the time you perceive it

it's already gone

you call it real

try to call it flow

a flow with no river

a life without a liver

existence inside never

ignorance as clever

a moment is forever

Tomorrow Always Knows

If you have doubts

fears

woes

ask tomorrow

it always knows

if you have yearnings

wishes

dreams

ask tomorrow

it's not what it seems

tomorrow is always

with you today

tomorrow always knows

It's alright

it's alright

not perfect

but it'll do

perfect is too polished

to be perfect

the only perfection

is impefection

the real gem

unpolished

rough

Waiting

I wait impatiently

not realising

it's always here

waiting for me

to notice it

I wait impatiently

for something special

not knowing

everything is special

and always here

I wait impatiently

for success, adventure, excitement

not knowing

these are mirages

and that life

is living

and living is always here

It's Over

I put everything back in its place

switch off the lights

close down the lid

ensure I am calm and stable

look around to check that everything is as it should be

remember to take out all I need

the very little that I need

and leave this place

as if forever

Listening to Ghosts of the Past

There was a time

time there was

when I knew those people well

That time has passed

and they have passed

to that other place

that no one knows

but everyone goes

where there are no words

only memories

regrets, remorse

and impotence

I listen to them

in their sleep

moaning sounds

wails and tears

it's hard to hear

but I have no choice

their lives are in my heart and soul

and time does not soften

the empty space

that once they filled

A History of Statues

 Put a statue up

Pull those statues down

Put new statues up

Tear old statues down

Create a new statue please

Destroy those old statues

The statue-makers rub their hands

Their work is never done.

News

nothing happened much today

usual stuff, usual names

leaders, sports folk

murders, war

nothing much beyond the realms

of normal human interaction

happened today

Interruption

conversation

when you don't want it

interesting, funny

but not now thanks

now is for silence

thank you and goodbye

Lost in Space

the final frontier

the human mind

cluttered and soiled

with skill and attention

rekindled direction

empty and found

lost in space

nowhere to go

everything fine

Disappointment

 I went to the new castle

to see what's to be seen

there was nothing there

but fresh clean air

not even a dancing queen

Breakfast

breakfast is the great sacrament

holy communion

with nature

after the fast of sleep

the feel of nuts and sultanas

crunching and bursting

in the just-awakened mouth

a world renewed

an agreement reached

a day formally acknowledged

and now to be revered

Evening is morning

evening is morning

wearing a different face

as sadness is joy

in disguise

as love is hate

in the mirror

as war is peace

by another name

as certain is unsure

in the world's plans

as noise is quiet

in the mother's arms

as endings are beginnings

in every moment

as now is then

in the eyes' blinking gaze

I think to myself

I think to myself

most days

the world turns

what does that even mean?

the world turns

of course it does

but I don't turn with it

some times

and nor do you

sitting there static

like a dead planet

like a world without a sun to warm it

turn your world

make it spin

make your life spin

and the world will turn forever

No Junk Mail

no junk mail?

what are they up to

lazy gits.

where's my spam

my million pound free gift?

no junk mail today

I am bereft

We Speak

we speak as if we understand existence

but it's just a word

there is no existence

only experience

existence is non-existent

learn that

and you'll live

Songs like no tomorrow

rhythm of heaven

a voice like grit

melody-driven

playing hit and hit

what a joy to dance

to feel alive

to accept chance

then jump, and dive

words and music synch

absorb into my bones

every note a link

to lives of joy and groans 

Mystery Morning

Mists on the mountain

mystery world

I can see forever

through the fog

across the fields of dense dew

mystery morning

a world of mountains

I see inside my heart

devoid of mist

a purity like dawn dew

mist across the world

mystery mountains

I can feel eternity

amidst the fog of human woes

in fields of dreich dew drops

News Instinct

my instinct

or rather, my mind's instinct

when there's a pause in the proceedings of life

is to check the news

on TV, BBC or CNN or Euronews or Al Jazeera

of HNK the Japanese channel

or maybe all of them

if I get caught up

in the whole

I want to know everything

even though none of it is relevant to me or my life

kind of addiction

or online

the Herald and Scotsman

even though

because I don't pay a subscription

or register where it says Please Register

I usually can't read the articles I am interested in

and online sometimes too the BBC

It used to be the World News, then the UK, then the Scottish

but to be honest

the UK news section is becoming too irrelevant to my life

even by my own standards that all news is irrelevant to my life

for me to bother scanning

but best of all

is when

like now

my mindful mind kicks in

dumps the idea of reading the news

as it won't be any different from last time I checked three hours ago

and go and write this instead

even though when I first decided to do so

I had no idea that this would be what I'd write

nor that this would be the way the writing ends. 

Woodpigeon

I see a woodpigeon in the garden

not thinking of death

just plodding amongst the stones

looking for seeds to eat

but he'll die too

and all his friends

who gather every morning

for the ritual of watching me

throw sunflower hearts onto the lawn

for them to eat

eat while you can guys

though you're not thinking of death

it's thinking of you

Do the Dead Die?

do the dead die

after they're dead?

a second death

even though they're already dead?

can you become more dead than usual?

are the steps actually as follows

dying

dead

decaying

decayed

dust?

The Big Issues of our Times

you live

then you don't

that's it

the big issues of our times

look big when you're alive

but are nothing once you go

there are a million big issues you never experienced

or lived through

and there will be millions more

long after you are a forgotten name

maybe still engraved somewhere in a cemetery

for descendants to search for and find

as part of a genealogical outing

but Brexit

Trump

Putin

Scottish independence

these things are but distractions

that prevent a person living

look, it's autumn

the vines are turning from rich green

to soft yellow

and delicate shades of peach

Right, Write

I once rememering reading

that someone said

given a choice between living

and reading

if that was possible

they'd choose reading

I don't quite agree

but am pretty close to that view

if the word was writing

instead of reading

Realistic romantic poetry

Tread softly

for you tread

on my newly-cleaned

kitchen floor

to mop or not to mop?

that is the question

I wandered lonely as a

crowd of Rangers and Celtic fans

passed by

singing insulting songs

of Irish heritage and religious preferences

I came upon a fork in the road

and being indifferent to life

and not really being the adventurous sort

turned round and went back home

and it has made no bit of difference at all

and that is just fine with me.

Consider This

when I consider my life

compared to my father's

well, I can't

so don't

Baking

I hear the whirr

of the blender

scones a-coming

good times

Moaning

he complains relentlessy

about this and that

what this or that is

I really can't recall

as I wasn't listening

most of the time

after the first twenty complaints

still it's one way to live a life

explaining why life is so miserable

and sharing it with others

so that they can enjoy the misery too

Putin Trump Belarus Xi

I washed the dishes earlier than normal today

There's an endless conversation going on

I have a yellow booklet beside me

it's about yoga

I'm not interested in the subject

but rather the design

of the book

Philip K Dick's

Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep

is also beside me

I've read two pages

not sure if I can read novels any more

but am giving it a go.

Brexit

I need to get ready to go out

the young badger

came again last night

and enjoyed the peanut butter sandwich pieces

I'd like to go see Gliwice

next year

if covid allows

it's where my paternal great-grandparents

came from

the sun is coming out

The UK Government

the TV is on pause

they're talking about Strictly

we plan our day

perhaps going to see our daughter

and enjoy a walk

at Kelvingrove Park

the flowers in the vase

are dead

and need throwing out

The Scottish Independence Debate

I try to plan my day

consider magazines to subscribe to

whether anarchism is realistic or not

listen to my wife

explaining her aches and pains

am aware of the desire

to go upstairs

to clean my teeth

Politics

I feed the birds

and the rabbits,

do the dishes

go upstairs to clean my teeth

Homecoming

think Van Gogh of course

but closer to home

the still-born loss

of a baby boy

- our neighours' woe

they sit

too big

in our biggest vase

on the window sill

a gift from those same neighbours

in remembrance

of our cat

who died last week

in due course

they'll drop their petals

and be taken to the compost bin

just as Toto

now lies buried

in the soil we will all call home

Most poems

most poems

are too long

this one included

most poems

are not worth existing

maybe this one too

but the few poems

that are

worth reading

only come into being

as a result

of the poet creating

all the poems

that were not worth reading

Flow

getting it done is not the point

the point is to flow

being praised is beside the point

the point is to flow

being criticised is neither here nor there

the point is to flow here

not there

Not perfection

Please, no

not perfection

I can't stand

the absence of glitches

the sickening, too smooth path

polished so finely

it lacks grit

Trying too hard

trying too hard

to be original

they slip into the cliche

of the new

The Puritan

The puritan speaks with a forked tongue

stabbing at joy till the day's done

nothing is good, everything evil

don't listen to music, voice of the devil

poisonous words, philosophy sick

don't listen to him, beat him with a stick

puritan slips secretly into your head

tells you to pray, tells you you're dead

stabbing at joy till the joyful day's done

Puritan speaks with a cruel man's tongue

The Jay

 The jay is what it should be

old and worried

about mortality

coolest bird on the block

knows harshness

knows love better

I have seen many winds

and rainy days

but the jay's wind blows

a fresh, pure breeze

death will come for sure

but my jay deserve an immortality of sorts

it's how it should be,

surely?

Fly jay, fly

to your final nest

Unfinished

 Listening to Exile on Main Street

on the record player

nostalgia meets boogie

I love the deliberate

unpolished production

a bit like you and me

like reality seen close up

unfinished

the better for it

yet when you see it all

from a distance

it's perfect

everything in its place

the tumbling dice

part of a greater album

driving ourselves crazy

if watching TV is so bad

what are we to do?

the internet has long been scorned

for its wasteful useless content

the old scriptures say

be in the present moment

but to do what?

stare at the wall?

come on zazen

give us some entertainment

for God's sake

or we'll drive ourselves crazy

with nothing to do but...

see that we're driving ourselves crazy

and then we know we're sane

and then we're free

filled with joy

and then tomorrow

we'll have to do it all over again.

Don't go

don't go

watch the snow

see it slow

don't go

do stay

on the hay

then we'll play

do stay

in the rain

use your brain

ease the strain

in the rain

don't go

laid down low

we'll all grow

don't go

Heartbeat

the beat starts

it never stops

the sun shines

the moon rises

the beat never stops

the sun shines

the world turns

no one yet lives

it's the beginning of time

the sun sets

the world stops spinning

no one is alive

it's the end of time

but the beat continues

Discussion

 are these real she asked

well kind of I said

but I don't know for sure

what's in a name, eh?

well you should know

it's yours after all

and I said, is anything?

mine?

yours?

anyone's?

and she said

ocht enough wi' your endless chatter

and I said OK.