Poems for Adults

The Graveyard

Here we shall remain,
In serried rank and file, interred by rows
Beneath the Chapel up on Heysham Head;
Our counterpane the cold, damp moss that grows
To decorate our ancient grassy bed.

Here we shall remain,
So ring no Sunday morning call to prayers
From out the bellcote where the grey doves hide;
No sound can touch us now, our deafened ears
Hear not the peal of holy eventide.

Here we shall remain,
Enwrapped in thick walled arms of Lakeland stone,
To gaze across the treacherous Morecambe Sands.
We beg no cure; our want of breath admits alone
No remedy, no laying on of hands.

So here we shall remain,
As time reduces all to clay, to dust;
And worms consume the uncelestial dead;
Then nothing shall remain of us
Beneath the Chapel up on Heysham Head.


Standing Stones

All knowledge in one song;
Writ so large that none could fail
To see and comprehend;
Not brought, but bringing,
Not to mark, but to hold;
Forgotten.
But not gone.

(Machrie, Arran. May 1989)


Religion

Religion is a cruel deception
Perpetrated upon the weak-minded
And the gullible,
By small groups of evil people who,
Over many centuries
Have discovered and re-discovered
One simple truth:
Great power and wealth can be gained
By trading in other people’s misfortunes
And fear of the unknown.


Riddle

Whats the difference between a Priest, a Mercenary, and a Villain?

The Villain preys on you, cuts your throat, and regards it as his income.
The Mercenary takes his cut, pays the Villain, and regards it as his expenditure.
The Priest hires the Mercenary, prays for you, and regards it as your salvation.


Haiku

Haiku: A concise Japanese poetic form, consisting of exactly seventeen syllables in three lines, 5,7,5. These particular Haiku are written in the style of the Zen Koan – a cryptic puzzle designed to stimulate self-awareness.

One

You do not see this.
You are not reading this page.
Words are illusions.

Two

Possibilities.
Will such be, or something else?
All of them happen.

Three

Where is my pathway?
Your path you already know.
Who is it that speaks?