A Radial To The Sea

The Moon-Gazing Hare

On a silent starlit evening
A fire burns for Beltane
The bright one shines the beacon
Over the amber plain

A shape-shift on the horizon
A change of form tonight
Yet whilst the dance is turning
A flickering in the light

The Moon-Gazing Hare
Scan the Skies
The Moon-Gazing Hare
Suffer the Cries

A convocation of the creatures
A silent meeting of the mind
Sitting many in a circle
Thoughts between are thought to bind

Avalon is seeking solace
The levels give a falcon’s dale
A twitch beneath a waxing gibbous
And a symbiotic tale

The Moon-Gazing Hare
Scan the Skies
The Moon-Gazing Hare
Suffer the Cries

Animals of field and forest
Look upon the one Widdershin
Whilst the heathens form a target
A pagan time to begin

The druid with an egg to worship
Is cosmic in his ways
But to outsmart the winter time
Upon a silver moon he must gaze

Here…
In the shadow
Of the stars
The Moon-Gazing Hare

In the cold
Of the frost
The Moon-Gazing Hare

In the fields
Of the wilds
The Moon-Gazing Hare

In the night
Cold moonlight
The Moon-Gazing Hare

The Nemean Lion

The Nemean Lion

Son of Typhon
Son of Echidna
Brother of Sphinx and Cerberus
Hydra, Chimera

Twice the size
Of normal beast
Impervious of hide
Never can defeat

The Nemean Lion

Lion of the land
Hercules must fight
Cornered in a cave
Face the primal might

Son of Typhon
Son of Echidna
Brother of Sphinx and Cerberus

Twice the size
Of normal beast
Impervious of hide
Never can defeat

Killed in mighty battle
Devoid of all scars
Legacy of Leo now
Written in the stars

The Nemean Lion

A Radial To The Sea

As I look around me
With an urge to be free
Upon all I gaze
A grimy filthy haze

But there was a time
Not so long ago
Where red met green
In the Mendip Hills

Down onto the Axe
To where a radial met the sea

Hatred, intolerance, claustrophobia
Manic, madness closing all around
Solemn, red brick, modernity
Soulless concrete expanse

And once more I dream of these historic pleasant lands
Where the rolling hills my haven
Tides caresses the sands

A slow sojourn with my escape
By taking tracks a winding shape
Beyond the vast grey wall
To these fabled pleasant lands

Midford, Radstock, Chilcompton, Masbury
Evercreech, Wincanton, Blandford, Templecombe

A once proud lady takes herself to her death
‘Cause soulless beings obsessed with progress
And Betjeman warned you
Yet you didn’t pay heed
You ruined the landscape
With your underhand deeds

And once more I dream
Of where I want to be
Past the Somerset levels
To where a radial once met the sea

Novichok

Organophosphate, the killer chem
Started as insecticide
A concoction by the Third Reich
Tabun, and next Sarin

Debriefings by allied forces
To isolate the source
Vaporised upon the field
Then formulating VX

A change in faith
Defectors from the realm

From the East, the silent weapon
A construct from a foreign land
Pavlodar Chemical Plant
Develop decontaminate

A232, a binary agent
Bypassing all detection
Classified, toxicity
Disguised discretely as pesticide

Novichok

A change in faith
Defectors from the realm

A hellish compound of terror
Inhibit A.C.H.E.
Interpol reconnaissance
Investigated by Bellingcat

Double agent in the city
A cathedral in sight
Collapsed in a public place
A secret deep within Porton Down

Novichok

What’s the point? War is the point
Novichok

The Cauldron

The gods of Asgard held a feast
They called on Aegir to get them mead
He could not find a mighty cauldron
A job for Tyr

His father Hymir had a vessel
Over three miles in its depth
Not begat to Tyr nor Thor
A trick they had to play

First, they saw the grandmother of Tyr
She of nine times a hundred heads
Thor was hungry at the meal
Devoured two oxen

Next day the gods went fishing
Hymir managed to catch two whales
Thor used an ox head as his bait
To catch a bigger beast

They tried to prove their strength to the old man
As Thor caught two whales on his own
Then he smashed Hymir’s goblet
By throwing it at his head

Jormungandr, Midgard Serpent
Ouroboros, Thor’s Hammer
Raised up high, the line is cut
Not yet twilight, Nor yet Ragnarök
Not yet twilight, Nor yet Ragnarök

The Cauldron

Who did they fight and what did they want
When did they fight and what did they want
Why did they fight and what did they want – Hymer’s Cauldron

Who did they battle and what did they want – When did they battle, what did they want
Why did they battle and what did they want – Hymer’s Cauldron

Nine Herbs Charm

Pagans calling mantra
Mugwort, oldest herb
Avail ‘gainst the three
Plantain is the purge

Open to the East
Poison and contagion
Quiet herb on stone
Quelling worldly pain

Malignant receiver
Barbed and discharging
Battle with the serpent
Betony, cleansing

Greater, lesser, Chamomile
Ended at Alorford
Right across the sea spine
Immunity is forged

Nine Herbs Charm
Heathen’s Calm
Nine Herbs Charm
Woden’s Balm

Hail ! – Against the toxic
Fight ! – Three and thirty
Seal ! – Worm and water,
Strength is fed from glory

Poison ! – Cleansed without
Pain ! – Put to the sword
Venom ! – Of the serpent,
Blow evil away

Nine the herbs ‘gainst poisons
Nine the herbs have strength
‘Gainst foe’s hand and scheming
And creature enchantment

Woden took the glory twigs
Struck against Adder
Apple and the poison
Chervil, Fennel, might

Nine Herbs Charm
Heathen’s Calm
Nine Herbs Charm
Woden’s Balm

The Book of Lambspring

The warning of the ocean
Two fishes in the sea
No flesh nor bone possessed
The vast eternity

Body, spirit and soul combine
Sulphur cooked with Sulphur…
Subliming! Burn!

Enter the Beast!
With skin of blackest dye
Beheaded, sages rejoice
Smoke fumigates the sky

Hear without terror
The deer and unicorn…
Golden! Forest!

Here you behold the greatest marvel
Two lions are co-joined into but one
Lurking in a ragged valley
Fierce; yet they be snared

A venomous dragon
Is the elixir
Mercury precipitated
The basilisk doth fear

Snake tail, consuming,
The eternal balm…
Circle! Rebirth!

Nest in the forest
Phoenix in the trees
Fledglings of the eagles
Brood of Hermes

The king is rising
The dragon underfoot…
Panacea! Life!

Leading them into the forest
Wisdom transforms worldly wise
Holding tight the Philosopher’s Stone
Of Hermeticum

Sleeping father is changed…
Into limpid water…
Virtue of this liquid…
Good work is…
…Accomplished

Now beautiful father…
Father in the son…
Untold precious fruit…
Perish…
…Never more

From the fearsome fighting…
Restoration follows…
Turning of the tables…
Alchemy…
…Deciphered

No more death they ponder…
Splendour of the kingdom…
Face of ancient master…
He in…
…Crimson robe

Behold!
The Book of Lambspring!
Behold!

Island of Ghosts

Uranverein in ’39
The start of the Fission Age
Heavy Water and Isotopes
Quantum half-life decays
M.A.U.D. and Uranium
The fall of the Arizona
353 in Operation Z
Submarines and sonar

Oppenheimer the destroyer of worlds
Bhagavad Gita is born
Teller rises to another plane
The third idea is formed
Manhattan is forging on
Tightening the ratchet
20K on Jornada
Detonate “The Gadget”

How did we end up with Hydrogen war?
Why did we upscale even more terror?
Why did we capture the face of the sun?
Must we have fired the unholy gun?

Trinity – Island of Ghosts

How did we end up with Hydrogen war?
Why did we upscale even more terror?
Why did we capture the face of the sun?
Must we have fired the unholy gun?

Drybones Wood

Once was the day when all this was yours,
Leafy green bows, smooth stones on the shore

Your garden domain, where you could be free
To roam through woods and own every tree

The sun on your back, the wind in your hair,
Just close your eyes and you would be there

How were you to know of the gathering cloud,
The dark breath of progress, a sinister shroud

The world span around you at breakneck pace,
as you sat in your own shell, ignoring the race

The trees fell more silent with each passing day,
And you never noticed their song fade away

They tried hard to warn you of what lay ahead,
But ignorance and denial staved off the dread

When the merciless flames they came to your door,
You understood then that your world was no more

Today in your footsteps, these bones are dry
Cold, empty echoes where memories lie

The last laugh is yours though, many years on
The song has returned, now everything’s gone

The Earth has reclaimed what always was hers,
A vivid green swathe, to blunt the ploughshares

I wish you could know; you were right all along
As I bask in the sunshine, the sweet scent, the song

My escape from the real world I hope it will stay,
Long after I’m gone, and my soul’s passed away.

Today in your footsteps, these bones are alive
A long-lasting garden for memories to thrive