We pack a bag get on a train and eat the sandwich. The flick book style countryside suits all the kissing. We get off in Oxford and in a café with a balustrade make a list,

There's a point I think we're missing, It's in the air we raise our fists in, We caste a shadow on our weakness And stand up to What we hate. Darkness and impurities When one of us falls

Charlie Ben comes in from the kitchen with a carrier bag of booze. He passes one each to me and Mike. They fizz and hiss as we open them. Ben stands in front of us and says ‘Cheer’s lads’ and we all knock tins before lifting them to our mouths. Cool harsh beer courses down our throats. Ben starts talking about the match on Wednesday. ‘Did you see Biggs later? He was battered!’ We all laugh. Biggs had tried to hail a taxi after he had got thrown out but someone pulled his trousers down and he just stood their on the pavement in his boxer shorts. Then he was sick on the roadside and someone took him home. I wonder whether he will be out tonight. He probably will be.

No joking here. This is how it can feel; I know - I am that soldier!

They have put up my pint So I cannot afford To go out of a night And get drunk as a lord They’re saving my liver They’re saving my life They’re saving my girlfriend Becoming my wife

Wrote this years ago about South Africa; when apartheid was still law. Probably not relevant to that country now...but I wonder if one could apply it to Israel/Palestine? What do you think?

I'm walking with chains on my legs hear them bang as I hit the steps They clasp my legs like frozen glass I live bearing the whole world's mass I can head to the north or east

I looked into your charming eyes you smiled lovingly back at me I moved my lips closer to yours & we gently kissed You held me in your arms gently You held my hands between your warm ones

Sometimes, death has a bright side.