Moving Darkly

Poetry "&"images from "Moving Darkly"
An album from the Visitors.

moving darkly

And I
Get nothing from the news
Get nothing from the blues
Get nothing but the truth
Now baby
And you've
Got something in your teeth
Some skin you cannot reach
Some bubble underneath
You baby

And I
Get nothing from the past
Get nothing that will last
Get nothing but the dark now baby
And you've
Been hiding in your sleep
Been living underneath
Been talking in the deep now baby

And we've
Been moving darkly through
These tunnels over ground now
Like that they were always here
Like we always wanted to
Like we never chose to
Like that it was destiny
Like that it was good
Like when I met you
Soaking up the starlight
Baby

And I
Had all that weight on my spine
And all those ideas in my mind
Didn't see the sign then
Baby

And I
Didn't know the crime
Still don't know the fine
Didn't have the time then
Baby

And I'd
Been digging in the mine
For all those jewels I couldn't find
Didn't know what was mine then
Baby

And now
I'm following that line
That leads to the outside
Looking for the sunshine
Baby

bohemian sekt

What of the world
Of blue green and pearl
What of the watery eye?

What in the blink
Of what does she think
And what is this that moves by?

The touch of the skin
Over spaces within
Where lies what is waiting to grow

And Bohemian Sekt
On lips that connect
Over whispering fires below

And the November sun
Rides over London
And winds up the spring behind eyes

And the feet of the mind
Cross country and time
To that which waits over the rise.....................

And I want you here by my side
And I want you here for all time

between beams

And I look up, up to the vaulted roof
Between beams, from where the angels flew
And I see faith, staring from the eves
Her face is bruised, her belly fat with drink

And I look down, down to the floor
And onto stone, where the people stood
And I see love, buried under Earth
Her bones are dry, and broken under foot

And the chain that lies between us now
Must be shattered, shattered into dust
And the lie, the lie that lies between us now
must be severed, it must be cut

And I look straight, straight to the East
Between rows where the people knelt
And I see lust, lying on the altar stone
Her legs awide, waiting for the crows

And I look out, out through leaded glass
And into dusk, that hangs between the trees
And I see hope, white against the dark
Her body slack, and swinging in the breeze

And I look in, into the past
And into mist, that shifts before the wind
And I see sin, tripping through the days
Her fingers deft, and brushing over all that's been

And I need calm, her fingers in my hair
And I need rest, her lips upon my brow
And I need time, her patience in my bed
And I need sleep, her song in my head		 And I need faith, her presence in my mind
And I need love, her lamp held up high
And I need lust, her eyes upon my skin
And I need hope, her body touching everything

rites of passage

This ship is adrift
Somewhere close to the skyline
Listing now in the doldrums
Waiting for passage back to the shoreline
We cast off for sunnier climes
Taking a bearing for luckier times
The Trade winds chattered in the rope and the sail
As we cut a course through the clamouring swell

This ship is in harbour
We slipped in on the morning tide
Once again we lowered our anchor
Once again we swallowed our pride
They picked us up as we came on to land
They guided us to into our separate camps
They briefed us of the decisions we'd made
They took us to the capital in cavalcade

I'll make you a pact
Just like one between armies
I'll draw up the papers
We will carve up the country
We'll sign our names to the dotted line
Double hand shake on television prime time
Smile for the cameras with prickly eyes
Return to the provinces hole up for a while

 And I don't mind if I don't come up smiling
Cos I feel sunlight filtering through
It's just rites of passage that go with the landscape
And though I'm caught in the shallows, I'll navigate through

something to hang on

positively Vanston Place
____________

Everyone knows what you're thinking
Everyone here can see through your lies
Don't say that now you feel sorry
And don't change the subject, don't apologise
Cos everyone knows what your wanting
It's not as if anyone will be surprised
So why don't you go out and take it
You shouldn't have trouble hiding your smile

And if when we pass on the stairwell
Don't say you remember the things that we said
And don't ever say that you miss me
Don't for one second feel any regret
And don't you pretend that you know me
Don't think of me more than just someone you met
And don't ever try to tell me
That you don't find it easy to forget

And don't ever look in the mirror
You just might feel a flicker of shame
And don't even ask yourself questions
You just might not remember your name
Why don't you go back to the country
And dream up a way to pass over the blame
Why don't you hire some schemers
Some hacks to justify all of your games

They could go digging much deeper
They could go studying all the files
They could come up with some copy
That fitted the facts and fitted your style
And you could narrate the story
And buy up the rights and be rich for a while
But I would be faring much better
Now that I've nothing to reconcile


But just for once come out and say it
Open your mouth and spit out the words
Then that would be something to hang on
If for just one time they could be heard

letting go through Quiet Time

I went out in the spring time
Shaved my head and touched the earth
I touched stone
And felt the undertow

I went out in the summer time
Looking for a way to go
I went low
All along the minor roads

I went out in the autumn time
Held the pen that draws the outline
I drew cold
And long shadows

I went out in the winter time
Took a brush to wash the sky
I washed grey
And I washed in rain

I met you in Quiet Time
Pulled your fingers down my spine
Pulled them low
All along the joining line

I could feel the cool moon
Looking down and pushing down
From behind
Lighting up the road


Sometimes, I like to stand, on top of tall buildings
And lean out.-------------------------over empty space
Sometimes, I ask myself, if that's where all the answers lie,
What if I let go.-----------------------over empty space
I know, that I have walked through quiet times, many times before,
And always found the door.-----------out of empty space, but
Sometimes, I want to sleep, sleep where all the people meet,
When they go.------------------------into empty space

the inbetween
I've been through every data base and cut my name from every list
I've broken into every file so no one knows that I exist
I burnt my passport long ago to safeguard my identity
And disappeared without a trace now no one will remember me		 I'm going under cover, I'm going under cloak of night
I'm going like an eagle owl through forest trees in silent flight
I'm going under NATO bombs and over land where blood has been
I'm going for the anguish, I'm going for the inbetween

Hey where you going
Where you going now		   Hey where you going
Where you going now

I'm going to the eastern front where I have seen the summer time
I'm going where the Balkan moon looms across a shattered sky
I'm going for the chance to take a step across a frontier line
I'm going with my eyes awide, I'm going to see what I can find.		 I'm going for the mountain I'm going for the field
To see the way that people live when they have run into the hills
I'm going for the empty gaze of faces that have seen too much
With eyes that speak of loss and mouths that will not open up

Because I've lived quiet times,Buffered by the undertow
Of foreign correspondents in far flung towns across the globe
I think that I can really feel the fear of living in a war
I think that can understand the reasons from what's gone before
But then it hits me in the chest that I'm just an English man
Who couldn't even aim a gun if one was placed in my hand
And then it hits me once again that no one really ever knows
The anger and the sorrow until it's happening at home.

Hey where you going
Where you going now

city life

Well, I see it in sunshine
Well, I see it in rain
I step out the door in the evening
And don't come back till the day
I'm living on danger and muscle
I've taken something for the pain
And you know that they know that I know
And there's only one person to blame

I walk through the city at twilight
And adjust my mind to my pace
I breath to the pulse of my heart beat
And sense the air on my face
I focus my eyes on the skyline
And square my shoulders up straight
The rhythm of motion becalms me
And helps me to put things in place

I know that this city betrays me
And the roads tend to lead me astray
But I can see through the deception
And follow along my own way
Those people come out in the night time
Trickling down from the lanes
And you know that they know that I know
But that's the risk that I take


And I'm calling in all of those favours
The ones that I never made
I've little to loose from the sunshine
And nothing to gain from the rain

the heat of summertime

So do you feel
That you can trust the government
So do you feel
That what they said was what they meant
So do you feel
That they will tell you what to do
So do you feel
That they're the ones to lead us through

So do you feel
The sonic boom of Allied jet
So do you feel
The summer storm that's coming next
So do you feel
The burn of shell and rush of wind
So do you feel
The splintered beam and shattered brick

So do you feel
That you will never feel the heat
So do you feel
Safe between your western sheets
So do you feel
The will slip in between your hands
So do you feel
Or do you only understand

As you look across the lake
The sun burns off the morning mist
And can you see the farther shore
Standing out in high relief
That's the time to catch a sight
Of the way things really stand
Before the heat distorts the view
And starts to sterilise the land

 

And do you feel the heat of summertime, boy,
Do you feel the ground shifting from beneath your feet

down to the sea
A February evening
Falls once again as the
20th Century
Draws its inexorable
End and rain drips down
Wires that are tied from the
Clouds to every last
Point on the ground and each
Innocent drop
Trips over branch and
Tile and skips on the
Road for a while
Then slips along gutter and
Drips into drain and
runs through brick tunnels
That pass to the river

Then just for a moment I
Imagine I'm stone and the
Water that falls
Starts to erode me
And carry me down
Down through the sewer out
Under the town and
Into the river and
There in the twist and
Spiral of flow
Sped under bramble and
Curved over stone
I'm cool in the water that
Carries me on
On carries on from
Where I come from		 And I don't have the image because I can't see
And I don't hear the sounds that matter to me
And I don't even know what the word question means
But the rushing of water is washing me clean
Someone's untied those
Wires from the clouds and the
Rain from the skies has
Stopped falling down
The cool of the water has
Now turned to cold and the
Skin on my fingers is
Crinkled in folds
I turn to the house and that
Yellow square
Of the back door and
You're standing there
And I can't seem to tell from the
Way that you look if it's
One of pity or if
You've understood		 Me. And I'm standing here in my T shirt
Rain from my hair squinting my eyes
And the skin of my body clinging to cotton
And the tear drops that leave me just couldn't be mine

But, oh, if I could see you at sundown
Among the shadows that walk
in from the streets
Oh if I could drown you
Wrap both arms around you
And carry you with me
Down
Down the sea

lying low

I catch myself lying low
My knees drawn in and my eyes closed
Pulling through on my own
Just like it's always been known

And, I know that I can feel sometimes
Cos just every once in a while
The corners of my mouth turn to smile

I catch myself in the dark
Shifting my head to and fro
Feeling through on my own
Just like it's always been known

And, I know that I can feel sometimes
Cos just every once in a while
The corners of my mouth turn to cry

 
And, I know that I'll keep on moving
I know that, here in my time,
I know I'll keep on following the line
Down.
And as the night turns to day time
And the day turns to night
I know that I'll never leave the way.
But then......

I catch myself moving slow
Stepping through between stones
Wondering which way to go
Just like it's always been known

And, no more night time marching,
That's what I'll say when I go
As the Earth turns to meet the dawn glow

another watercolour picture

I start with a blank, a clean sheet of paper
A page that is waiting to reflect your light
Roll up my sleeves, and outline a garden
A suitable scene to be occupied

And draw dark serried hedges that blur in the evening
And mingle with heat from the earth
And classical arches that stride along pathways
And march towards fountains high on the rise
Along lines of perspective, off in the distance
Over the grass and under the sky

Then here in the foreground, a terrace of virtue
I focus on hands, gloved upon cups
And the muted clatter of china on china
And the curling of vapour that rises above
And the hems of long dresses brushing on paving
Gracefully gliding on delicate air
And the clack of shoe leather stepping on stone
With knuckles entwined in the small of the back
And you looking in over my easel
Caught in a step and lit from behind

And now to the face, those curves of construction
That lift up the page and open the eyes
I pick up my pencil and sketch in an oval
Outline the features and shade in the time

Line upon line of line on white paper
Which draw up the lips and draw down the chin
And plunge down the neck and out over shoulder
Which more than one time my head has lain in

Then fill in the spaces with brushes of colour
A skill worn of water and paint
Paint from a pallet of quiet emotion
And water that springs from the rocks of devotion
And fills up those eyes that look into mine
And pours into pools that fill up around us

And floods over the garden and up to the hills
And lifts up our feet, clean off the ground

If you read down this far, well done, mail me and I'll send you a free gift!!!

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