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