SALES TALES

This annual event
A cold evening spent
Outside, standing in a Que.
It's the rule
For many a fool
Though not for me or you.

Waiting for a coat or hat
Or other such unwanted tat
A late present for the wife.
Left the house on Christmas night
To miss out on festive delight
These idiots need to get a life.

Burst through the door
Knocking others to the floor
To get your hands onto the prize,
Last year you didn't want it
In fact, you even called it shit
But you're now crawling over it like flies.

Every Christmas there's sales
With the same sorry tales
TV news reporting on the rush.
There's plenty of sadness
As with broken bones in the madness
Some innocent pensioner is trampled in the crush.

Half price Jimmy Choo shoes
With six inch heels in various hues
A bargain too good to be missed.
No cash... It's getting drastic
So she melts the plastic
A sale item she couldn't resist.

So take a look at the stats
And stop acting like prats
Because every year you're losing sleep.
What you think is a bargain
The shops tried selling again and again
But, they'll get rid as they know you're a sheep.

Phil Hall December 2013

JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DAY

JUST LIKE ANY OTHER DAY

When the festive lights are fading,

And the tinsel’s in despair.

When all good cheer has dissipated,

Resolutions lie broken everywhere.

The headache’s just receding,

After toasting in the New Year.

The cost of all this merrymaking,

Crippling debt is now the fear.

After all the hearty back slapping,

And the renditions of ‘Auld Lang Syne’,

It’s a return to children murdered in Syria

And the world in fiscal decline.

I look with disdain at this revelry

The supposed friendship and joy,

As, just like any other day,

The brutal killing of a student boy.

A family wiped out by a madman

An innocent man stabbed in the head,

Don’t talk to me of a happy new year

Let’s be realistic instead.

Just as the tree is discarded

The turkey carcass rotting away,

All the false camaraderie and peace

Is forgotten for many a day.

Phil Hall   January 2012

CHRISTMAS... GIVE IT BACK

CHRISTMAS… GIVE IT BACK!

So now you’re bored with Christmas,

The decorations all pulled down.

No more merrymaking

Or late night shopping,

 Staggering whilst drunk around the town.

No more hopeful dangling of mistletoe,

In pursuit of that stolen kiss.

No more carol singing

Or yawning at midnight mass,

From now you’ll give church a miss.

No more pulling crackers 

And the giving of expensive gifts,

There’s no more festive cheer.

You’re empty of the joyful spirit,

The hearty raising of a glass of beer.

I say this to you,

 You have no right no right,

To celebrate this day of days.

Because, this is a Christian festival,

The birth of Christ, as in nativity plays.

The tree is symbolic

To our everlasting life,

Did the Magi give gifts in vain?

Many don’t wait for Epiphany,

For their Christmas to begin to wane.

So, give back the true meaning,

Let’s stop this commercial drain.

Please, go and stick 

That ridiculous light covered house,

Where it will cause you most pain!!

Phil Hall     January 2012

THE GRAVEYARD

Come take a walk
Through the graveyard
Of my head.
Where the ages of self
Lie buried deep
Dormant.... Dead.
Stop and look
At the inscriptions etched
Upon the stones.
Hear my voice calling
Soft on the wind
And rattling my bones.
My childhood distant,
Laughter and learning
In mists of the past.
Only returning on dying bed
When I'll cry for my mum
That breath my last.
The marbled teeth
Rise from manicured grass
Though not in ordered row.
Haphazard, the jutting fangs
Between bleeding, sensitive gums
Of living earth they grow.
Sit in the shade of my memories
Under a tree filled with fruit
On flaking wooden seat.
Where you can pick
And taste the the ripened flesh
My knowledge you can eat.
So visit this walking graveyard
Say hello before
Its too late,
The memory is fading
With neglect and age
Forcing closure of the gate.
Phil Hall  December 2013

SEAGULL IN FLIGHT

SEAGULL IN FLIGHT

Look out over the ocean

What a beautiful sight,

Effortless, inspiring and magical

The majestic seagull in flight.

Wings caressing the wind

Sailing the oceans blue,

Plumage of powdery white.

A memory for me and you.

Her call is the oceans song

She glides over sea and sand,

And as Neptunes' messenger

She eyes those clinging to the land.

A reminder of distant summer fun

And children's delight,

The beautiful memories

When you see a seagull in flight.

The sand beneath your feet

A taste of ice cream on the tongue,

These are nothing but events 

Without her haunting song.

Photographs of family holidays

Would leave the mind in plight,

Without the crash of the waves

And the beautiful seagull in flight.

Phil Hall  October 2013

LOST LOVE SUICIDE

LOST LOVE SUICIDE

Hold a gun to your head
Pull the trigger
Dead.
Many things left unsaid
Yesterdays news
Read.
Lost love suicide
Anguished tears
Cried.
Should've talked
Hopeful prayer
Tried.
Walking, so alone
Could've called
Phone.
Love now flown
Angry words
Thrown.
Desperate appeal spent
Flowery epithets
Sent.
Friends shoulder lent
Their ears
Bent.
Lost love suicide
Far away
Denied.
Physical rollercoaster ride
Romance over
Died.
Phil Hall  December 2013

FAILLEAN

(Press to play)

FAILLEAN

She stares from cold battlements

Wind and salt spray her only friend,

Her lover afar, far from home

The banner snaps in agitation 

It's lord marched to war alone.

Hair as red as a dragons breath

Faillean feels so alone

Standing in her velvet gown,

Her maids in waiting back away

From their lady with darkened frown.

His kiss a distant memory

Though imprinted upon her heart,

Does he lie dead on a battlefield?

Forever their souls apart.

She placed her lips to 'widowmaker'

His sword to keep him safe,

His wolfhounds bay to the moon

She shivers, a queen no more....a waif.

All gleaming armour and plumes

Her warrior lover gone to fight,

A dread enemy of spear and axe

Of iron and muscled might.

The bards, they sing of glory

Scribes scratch heroic deeds on mottled parchment,

Faillean only sees her man afar

The crash of waves her lonely lament.

Her eyes strain toward the sea

As green as the depths set in skin of milky pale,

The song of death washes ashore

And she sees the feathery sail.

The longships beach in ungainly rush

Faillean with heart pounding runs toward the sand,

Men stand with banners low, broken shields all

Though they've tasted victory, she can't understand.

Then she sees her man, her warrior, her love

No man smiles, grim and grizzled tears fall from embattled cheek,

For he is slain, his blood still pulsing from wounds

Faillean cannot find words to speak.

Her lovers champion steps forward and bows low

'Widowmaker' lies in his hands, enemies blood enstained,

Legend will tell of his epic deeds

And the victory her warrior gained.

His men carry his broken body

To the Cairn for his funeral pyre,

Faillean dressed in her wedding gown

Then steps quietly into the fire.

They loved in life 

Now they love in death,

When the sea wind blows

It's a lovers breath.

Faillean still stands on the battlements

Looking out to sea,

But her warriors by her side

And forever he will be.

Phil Hall  December 2013

COMPOUND EYE

We can view the world
Through a compound eye,
Multi faceted questions
Always asking why?
No food on the planet
But, rockets in the sky,
No drugs for the sick
The wealthy getting high.
My head spins around
My glass is empty and dry,
Lethargy is inbuilt in me
Can't be arsed to try.
I'll make circles around the light
Just like a maligned housefly,
Because just like them
We walk through shit
Until it's time to die.

Phil Hall  December 2013

A WARRIOR'S LAMENT

A WARRIOR'S LAMENT


As the sun sets slowly
On the blood quenched earth,
The warrior stands alone
A dead youth at his feet.
His spirit flown on ravens wing
To fly above the battleground,
Lifeblood drained without pity
Encrusted on the killer blade.
Spirits soar amidst the carnage
And the warrior touches iron,
The rush of battle rage fades
And he looks to the sky.
Stars glisten on the velvet tableau
Visions appear to his battle weary eyes,
Iron birds scream through the air
Darts of flame racing from arched wing.
Strange fire breathing beasts do battle
Monstrous metal sea creatures in bellowing rage,
They thrash in the sea in a deadly  embrace
And the warrior stares in wonderment.
He walks slowly toward his victorious men
Iron clad killers of leather and fur,
Of sword and shield and spear
Or the wicked edge of a battleaxe.
Where they sit, with ale and mead in flow
Another army appears in silent march,
Lines of helmets and short sword
Arrayed all, the same dress of brown.
Somewhere a solitary horn calls
And the ghosts step out in line,
Rat a tat tat, they fall, one by one they fall
Yet still they march, to die for their cause.
The warrior feels their impotence and pain
He slashes his sword at the faceless enemy,
And sees the future, a world of pain awaits
Where wives and mothers live in abject fear.
He feels the stars quake as the heavens gout fog
An enormous sulfurous cloud billows endless in the night,
The wind, acrid and scorched holds a million screams
As children cry, their lives torn from their throats in terror.
A door opens, a portal into the night
He sees many people in strange striped attire standing,
A sweet smell drifts silently past his nose and they are gone
Naked and burned in heaps, countless dead, the warrior weeps.
He sees the future
A world of war and battle,
Of warriors dying and false glory
Never ending pain and suffering.
No winners
No losers,
Just death and misery.
Widows and orphans,
Disfigurement and displacement.
The warrior sees it all
The glory of slaughter rises like bile,
He shivers and looks at his sword
Its edge has sent many to the otherworld.
He wants no more....
No more death, no more destruction
He lays his sword and shield on the ground.
He walks past his men
A warrior no more,
He is man.
He disappears into the darkness
The warrior leaves forever.


Phil Hall  December 2013

DANCING LIGHTS

DANCING LIGHTS



I remember
Dancing lights,
Glowing warm
On frosted nights.
They twinkled bright
With sparkling green,
Excited child
And Santa seen.
Chocolate coins
Hidden in the tree,
The dancing lights
A joy to me.
Gifts wrapped and tied
By Mom and Dad,
I'd get my new bike
I hadn't been bad.
Sitting by the tree
Rehearsing the lines I'd say,
I was to be King Herod
In the nativity play.
The dancing lights
Like the stars up high,
Shone down on our crib
A pin held up our Angel to fly.
The empty manger
In the barn with cardboard door,
With baby Jesus soon to appear
He waited, hidden in the kitchen drawer.
The smell of spirits and fruit
For the cake and pud,
Licking the spoon and bowl
A taste of Christmas, so so good.
Tongue on the coloured strips
To make garlands and paper chains,
We looked everyday for the snow
But, it only ever rains.
The curtains drawn
Dad lets the lights down low,
So we can sit round the tree
And enjoy its magical glow.
I'm older now
My youth far in the past,
I still love the dancing lights
Long may it last.
The spirit of Christmas
Our saviour represented by lights and tree,
Celebrate the world over
And I wish you all a merry Christmas
From me.

Phil Hall  December 2013.

WATCH WHAT YOU SAY.... IN THE UK

Our cousins across the pond
In the good old US of A,
When they cross the Atlantic
Need to watch what they say...
Because words here differ
In what they actually mean,
At least they're ok at breakfast
As we eat the same baked bean.
Now they had Theo Kojak
Whilst we had our own Sweeney,
We like a vegetable, the courgette
So don't ask for any zucchini.
US cars they have a hood
And the back end is a trunk,
We've the bonnet and a boot
And so many words for being drunk.
Our jam is their jelly
Our jelly, that's their jello,
A fag is a cigarette
And certainly not a gay fellow.
They walk upon the sidewalk
We stroll down a footpath,
Our students study mathematics
American kids do math.
Their babies wear diapers
To keep them dry and happy,
Whilst our little ones
Poo and wee a nappy.
Our clothes go in a wardrobe
They hang theirs in a closet,
We turn on a tap to wash our hands
Yet they turn on the faucet.
Our rubber is their eraser
Their rubber is something different,
If they wore a rubber in England
She'd surely end up pregnant.
Come to England on vacation
We go to the states on holiday,
But there's an important difference
In words, about which I have to say.
It's the American word for bottom
The difference is rather uncanny,
Lets just say, be prepared to be slapped
If you mention a ladies nice fanny.

Phil Hall  November 2013

DIVI DIVI

DIVI DIVI

She's one so beautiful

Silent paramour,

With outstretched arms

Beckoning a lost love

On a faraway

Distant shore.

She tries to step

From bondage root,

To sail the sea

And scatter her joy

A love full of

Bountiful fruit.

Divi divi 

Looking south,

Under a blazing Arubian sky

Pleading, beseeching

Yearning evermore

From gnarled and gaping mouth.

She knows not

Her lover breathes no more,

Her entreaties

Carried on warm breeze

Gently waving fronds

Tap on bolted door.

Natures ballet dancer

Swaying on powdered sand,

This lonely Queen of Aruba

Waits patiently

For a love long lost 

On a faraway, distant land.

Phil Hall  November 2013

LEAST EXPECTATIONS

LEAST EXPECTATIONS

That time of year is here, all are full of expectation,

With gifts and merrymaking, the excitement of a nation.

To bring her temporary joy, Dad hunts a doll for his daughter,

Whilst thousands of miles away, a child only wants clean water.

In shops, trolleys are obscenely crammed so we can eat our fill,

At the same time in war zones, innocent blood will spill.

The tears of joy at the expensive gifts we all lovingly share,

Tempered by cries of fear, as bullets scream through the air.

Gifts of gold to the baby, lay in the nativity stable,

Yet, still half the world can’t put any decent food on the table.

Children will throw tantrums and adults will moan and groan

If they don’t receive computer games, or the latest mobile phone.

Elsewhere, people just hope the violence and killing stops,

And the rains arrive soon, so they can grow their crops.

We should endorse quiet reflection, to think about one another,

The starving child in Africa or his AIDS infected mother.

To parents, whose children are serving on far off, hostile shores,

Where they risk their lives daily in futile, forgotten wars.

Please try to temper expectation in this time of excess,

Think of all others in their hardship and duress.

A kind word, gesture of faith or even a simple prayer,

So those with least expectation may enjoy a share.

Christmas, the time for giving and family and of fun,

Not of starvation, the sword, bullet or the gun.

We are all of one God, born of his flesh and his blood,

So let’s help all others, at Christmas we really should.

Phil Hall    December 2012

  

SOCKS

SOCKS

Christmas is coming, hark! 

The invasion of novelty socks,

Filling the shelves 

Alongside 

Reindeer shaped choc’s.

Men live in fear 

 Of this Thoughtless annual present,

From Mom, Auntie and Sister,

 It’s all very unpleasant.

 Homer Simpsons picture, 

To the days of the week,

Luminous or tartan,  

It’s what our betters seek.

***

When the day our lord was born 

Comes joyously along,

With Roy Wood and Wizard

 Singing their Christmas song,

The kids are excited,

 New bikes and X-box,

The man feigns a smile

 When he opens up his socks.

“I love my diamond necklace" 

She says

"Thank you so much dear.”

“I love my socks darling"

He says through gritted teeth

 "Same again next year?”

Phil Hall   November 2012

WINTER WALK

Nature is battened down
The thinning harvest
Laid on leafy platter.
Birds in social flight
Flit through hedgerow
And ploughed field.
The warming glow
Of watery sunshine
Filters through
Delicate rice paper sky.
The meadow is soft underfoot
Gently sucking at sturdy boot.
Mist swirls over glistening grass

As it rises in frosted breath
From the glassy stream,
Whose twisting path roams
In haphazard abandon.
She curls an arm near to oak
Who guides her from rooted bank.
Bough bends to stroke his friend
She kisses his ageing fronds
To carry twisted leaves to heaven.
A buzzard circles with regal disdain
A single cry of lofty freedom,
He views the world below
Eying my walk amidst his realm.
Summers bustle and noisy clamour
Replaced by natures monastic calm,
A scene where God smiles on us all
Blessing me during a winter walk.
His grace, his majesty painted
Upon my heart, nature in all her splendour
Loyal and stolid, my England.
Phil Hall  November 2013

ROAD TO NOWHERE

I now forget
What I could never remember,
See what my eyes
Pretend is there.
Life is now just
A wasted breath,
Shoulders sagging
On the road to nowhere.
Fading memories
Drift from decaying mind,
It's all I can do
To blindly stare.
Love touched briefly
A feather stroke,
Now it's melted away
On the road to nowhere.
I'll always see her,
Those black diamond eyes
Warm skin of satin
And silken long hair,
Whilst I stumble
Toward my place
Reserved in the ground
At the end of the road to nowhere.
I write in tears
On loves tattered shroud,
Will she see the words
That I'm willing to share?
The darkness is falling
Thorns rip at my bare flesh,
I'm naked and cold without her
On the road to nowhere.

Phil Hall  November 2013
Copyright: Philthepoet61.blogspot.com

CORNER OF ONESELF

The gate creaks on rusty hinge
A mournful song carried on the wind,
The little boy sits lost in the corner of oneself
Tears for the unknown love, lost amidst a heavy, clouded mind.
The imprint of her beautiful smile
Etched deep, scored and scorched to ones soul,
The boy runs without steps through unknown streets
A faraway land, never visited yet so familiar.
Heavy heart, heavier mind eat into the hours
Every minute one waits, one travels to seek her,
A little boy again, sat under blackened sky
Desperately needing his love to return.
Please climb inside my mind
You'll find me hiding from myself,
This little boy is lost amidst shattered dreams
The snow scene stands waiting for us on the shelf.
Your memory is just a shadow
One becomes I, we becomes me,
Where thoughts drift through the miserable catacombs
And One is he, she has flown free.
The corner of oneself frosts over
The wind drops, the gate creaks no more,
The little boy sleeps a tormented sleep
Running blindly in Cebu, please open your door........

Phil Hall  November 2013

SILENTIUM

Without you
Where do I go
Without you?
My mind has emptied
Drained of thought
Nothing without you.
I am but a statue
Flaking with worry
And doubt,
Your smile fades
On weathered screen
I can't be without.
Silentium
The darkness has begun,
A shadow floats alone
Your presence
Has run..... Silentium.
A tortured mind shattered
In a lake of glass
Bloodied fingers grope,
I swim with leaden wings
You've not even cast
A rope.
Acidic tears drop
From shredded eyes
Burning misery,
I miss you so
My soul is dying
Please return to me.
Silentium
This pain persists
Ad nauseum,
My love I'm so alone
I feel I've died
Before We've begun......
Phil Hall  November 2013

NO COLOURS

We're not a colour
But if we were
It'd be red.
For that be our blood
Without it
We're dead.
We're not of creed
But if we had to
Above's the way.
For that's the almighty
Without it
We'd stay.
Roaming the earth
Forever
And a day,
Thinking about colours,
Religion and of course
The right thing to say.
You breathe, I sneeze
We talk
We can all sing,
Paupers and royalty
One and all
Everyone's a king.
No one is higher
Or greater
Than the one that is you,
We're sometimes blind
We only see wrong
In anothers differing hue.
One can smile
All can laugh
We've all a face,
No colour
No religion here
This is the human race.
Look under the skin
Look deep within
See what you can find,
Living, vital beings
Free from restraints
We're all one mankind.

Phil Hall  November 2013

THOUGHTS

Its time I bought my thoughts

to book,

Racing torrent, like babbling brook.

They plunge over precipice and craggy rill,

Through pastures of mind and questioning hill.

Let them meander, a river of dreams,

Reflection of the sun on my youthful stream.

The depth of memories in darkened lake,

With ripples full of remorse, the surface in gentle quake.

With bend and curl my thoughts just mud and silt,

Deposits of knowledge what my life had built.

At last I can find the real purity of age in me,

As my flowing mind reaches the terminal sea.

Phil Hall  November 2013

SEE WHAT I SEE.

Just look in the mirror

And see what I see,

You are the beauty

That has captivated me.

My feelings for you

Grow stronger each day,

My words are just mere containers

Of the things I want to say.

You have brought me joy

A hope for endless love,

I see you in the stars

And the heavens up above.

Our kisses float on the breeze

Each scented like a rose,

Which grows more beautiful

With a love that flows.

I am yours

You are mine,

Forever entwined

A dance in time.

So please look in the mirror

And see what I see,

The angel in my heart

Forever we will be.

Phil Hall November 2013

FRUSTRATION

Sometimes
I'm full of lethargy,
Has a needle
Stabbed my effigy?
What once felt elation
Now only feels
Frustration... See
It is age
That starts the rage,
Has my pen
Blotted the page?
My lifes station
Closed due to
Frustration...Wage
War inside my head
Jumbled and unsaid,
Do I lie
On nailed bed?
Raining on vacation
Causes such misery and
Frustration... So
I can clear my throat
Don an armoured coat,
Do I sink
Or do I float?
Make life an occupation
Sweep away the self pity
And Frustration......
We only get one shot at life
Hone your skills
Sharpen the knife,
Stab frustration
End its strife
And let your mind
Be a loving wife.
Phil Hall  November 2013

THE LEAF

Why did you have to die?
When you drifted down to lie,
Your companions all
Joined you in the fall
From your home in the sky.

You burst forth in spring
Stood atop like a king,
Sun sprinkled light
Birds in their delight
From loves bough they did sing.

You gave the world air
We all had our share,
Bountiful fruits
And new born shoots
Your canopy an autumn fair.

We will share your fate
So little love so much hate,
Unlike the leaf
Mankind's a thief
Let's hope we're not too late.

You give protection and cover
Shade me and my lover,
Ash, beech and oak
Without you we'd choke
You're unlike any other.

The lungs of the world
Being raped, unfurled,
It's breath gone
Destroyed Amazon
Its leaves burnt and curled.

Fewer leaves, more men
Autumn or fall again and again,
No respite or relief
Just more falling leaf
It's now not if, its when.......?

Phil Hall  November 2013

HALCYON DAYS

Oh those days
Those halcyon days,
Under the sun
Such fun
Summer haze.
Sweet summer breeze
Scented frieze,
How we run
Roundabout spun
We grazed our knees.
Neapolitan ice cream
Living a real dream,
Doing as we please
Climbing tall trees
Smile like a sunbeam.
Catching rainbow butterflies
Nets waving in blue skies,
Flying kites
Playground delights
A kiss being the prize.
Doing as our dad says
A donkey in nativity plays,
So much thinner
Wonderful Christmas dinner
Oh, such halcyon days.
The point of this rhyme?
Youth should be a joyous time,
Reaching the rubicon
Forming the halcyon
A memory for when in decline.
Phil Hall  November 2013

IT'S NOT CRICKET

Oh what a sad game
Is football nowadays,
Full of cheats and conmen
And not much fairplay.
It's certainly not cricket
The way some players perform,
With diving and feigning injury
Treated like it is the norm.
The obscene amounts of money
These tricksters regularly earn,
Would make Sir Stanley Matthews
In his grave turn.
The latest dreadful act of cheating
Featured Ramires of Chelsea FC,
Diving cynically and theatrically
To gain a undeserved penalty.
How can he look in the mirror
And hold his head up high?
After cheating fellow professionals
And glorying in the lie.
It seems cheats can now prosper
It happens in games every week,
He claimed he didn't dive or fall
A conman even when he speaks.
The game I love is ruined
Cheating's now the winning ticket,
Football's now awash with frauds
And it certainly isn't cricket.

Phil Hall  November 2013.

ONLY HALLS AND WALSHS

This is a tale
Of fishermen three,
A bigger bunch of idiots
You'll never likely see.
The Halls specialise
In breaking fishing chairs,
Whilst Walsh keeps catching
His tackle in a tree.
There are two
Who cause most mayhem,
The other one
(That's me)
Who always catches
The first fish,
But then needs the lavatory.

We seem to do ok
But, we haven't got a clue
We get in so many tangles
And turn the air quite blue.
Big Mike's known as 'Foggy'
He's the sensible one,
All his fish make quick bites
When he strikes
They're gone!!
He takes so long to set up
The days nearly over
Before he can begin,
He sometimes does
Something really daft
By going and falling in.

Big Dick loves his gadgets
To try and catch his fish,
He uses NASA type technology
Like using a satellite dish.
It doesn't improve his catching
In fact it blackens his joyous mood,
But, he always wins the plaudits
With his selection of gourmet food.
Foggy and me sit drooling
At Dicks consumable collection,
Moules mouliniere and cracked crab
Foie gras and venison on his grocery tab
All washed down with Bollinger
Delivered to him direct from Fortnum and Mason.

Now I try to concentrate on fishing
With this madness all around,
Like Big Dick breaking another seat
And casting out lying on the ground.
Foggy catching yet another tree
And losing his favourite float,
Or hooking a mans trousers
Whilst sailing past in his little boat.
It's impossible to remain focused
With these madman sat with me,
So I give up trying to catch fish
And settle down with a cup of tea.
Big Dick bores easily and he likes to play up,
So he fires a catapult full of maggots
That all land in my cup.
+++++++++++++
We're all known to catch fish though
Some being of specimen weight,
And it's always great fun with my brother
And big Irish Foggy, our best mate.
We've had so many great adventures
Far too numerous to mention here,
But, the only constant thing on any fishing trip is
We always end up having a beer.

Cast
Mike Walsh as Foggy or Big Mike
Richard Hall as Big Dick
Phil Hall as Me.

Phil Hall  November 2013.

TORN FLAG

The sentry stands
Alone, alabaster eyed
Staring toward tomorrow.
The driven tears shine,
Wind moans with anguish unseen
A fear unknown.
Torn flags drape the forgotten
The blanket of misery,
Duty calls from marbled halls
And when they fell
Replaced by a poppy.
The sentry with shoulder firm
Defender of the dead,
Rigid when the pursed lips meet
The last post, the last word said.
The sadness of a nation shows
When a young soldier dies,
A volley of rippled fire
As the torn flag flies.

Phil Hall  November 2013

UNSAID, BUT IN MY HEAD

It's so often that I say
The wrong things,
Like a runaway train,
A waterfall of tumbling words
Cascading merrily, issuing forth
To vanish down the drain.
Its like I see myself
In a broken mirror,
I stumble barefoot
On the shattered glass
Then I'm teetering on the brink
Above a deep mountain pass.
The insecurity arises
And I cling on to my thoughts,
My voice fades, it's left unsaid
I know I have to talk
I bleed from the wounds
Made by the words in my head.
I express myself
With words written in coal
On a blackboard,
Stumbling about in the dark
My armour is pierced
As I fall on my sword.
I try, oh how I try
To paint you the scene
My brush strokes heavy in glove,
The picture isn't how I see it
I can't capture the masterpiece
The art of simple love.
My voice now in writing
To live forever in verse
Long after I'm gone and dead,
The love I find so hard to tell
Still unsaid, though read
And released from my aching head.
Phil Hall  November 2013

INSIDE ON THE OUTSIDE

Shall we all become one?
Where trivialities are gone,
Hatred and bigotry
Jealousy and poverty
Reduced to none.
Pierce the membrane
Release the hurricane,
Happiness and togetherness
Godliness and cleanliness
All on the same plane.
Surreptitious becomes delicious
Thoughts and deeds nutritious,
Dip a toe
Create a ripple,
Suckle the world
Offer a nipple.
Inside on the outside
It can be a free ride,
Stand tall, share it all
Halt the fall, make the call
Make the world a new bride.
A place to discover
Lost sisters and a brother,
Over any land, lend a hand
Unplanned, understand
Make all your friend or lover.
Inside on the outside
It cannot be denied,
Open your mind to mankind
Put the world in rewind
At least then, you would have tried.

Phil Hall  October 2013

FIRE IN THE SKY

Sunrise
There's a fire in the sky
Burning horizon,
I see you, your eyes
Molten thoughts
And you rise proud.
The flaming cloud
Hides a nakedness,
As your delicate feet
Tiptoe on silken water.
I see you, your form
The thunder, the storm,
Shattering illusions
Caressing the heavens
With a promise.
Kissed,
Blessed,
The day belongs to you.
Colours abound,
Natures Michael Angelo
The world his easel.
The sky his chapel,
One sky,
A glint in the eye.
Sunset,
Its last hurrah
Stretching forth
Clinging, sinking into the abyss.
Streamers of a blazing dream
Pull at your heart,
Forget me not it pleads
The seed of the sun is planted
In all of us.
The light goes out
The colours die.
Just the faded memory
Of the sky.

Phil Hall  October 2013

Photographer: Steve Hiner. 2013.

JACK O' THE GREEN

Only in England
Can he be seen,
The shaking tree
The Jack O' the green.
Not in a pot
Not in a tub,
He's usually found
Outside a pub.
With morris men
And dancing girls,
Clashing sticks
Bells and twirls.
The Jack O' the green
Comes the 1st of May,
But, it's October
I hear you say.
Well like I said
This is an English trait,
He'll pop up
At any country fair or fete.
From pagan times
He's had his place,
In English folklore
The green smiling face.

Phil Hall October 2013

PEACE AND QUIET

Shh!
Take a moment,
Listen.......

Nice isn't it?
Peace and quiet,
Time to reflect.

Phil Hall October 2013

IDIOTS

The world is full of idiots
Wankers, arseholes and twats,
Also, dickheads and fuckwits
And countless stupid prats.
Let me put meat on the bones
And substantiate what I've to say,
It's about when I get in my car
All the above come out to play.
Foglights when it's clear
Full beams dazzling my eyes
And the boy racer who cut me up
Well, I hope that bastard dies.
The ones who pull out of junctions
And make you swerve or brake,
To them who never indicate
And bikers who undertake.
The ones who sit in the outside lane
The tossers who use their phone,
The ones who're too close behind
They really make me moan.
Queue jumpers on motorways
Off roaders with bull nose bars
Why do so many people become an idiot
The moment they get in their cars?.
Phil Hall  October 2013

WAR BIRD

As I travel through my city
I'm reminded of a beautiful bird,
A living creature of grace and power
And christened with just one word...
Spitfire.
She spread her wings
An age ago in an English sky,
To dance with death
The 'Battle of Britain' up on high...
Spitfire.
Poles, Canadians, Czech and more
With her bravely flew,
The might of the luftwaffe defeated
By the Spitfire
And the glorious few.
I see the war bird everyday
Queen of the Royal Air Force,
Proudly flying where she was born
In Castle Bromwich, Birmingham
Of course.
A reminder of the heroes who flew
And saved our nation at wars start,
The beautiful Spitfire and her sister the Hurricane
Forever in Birmingham's heart.

Phil Hall  October 2013.

HARVEST

Tears of joy
Anguish and pain,
The renewal of life
With life ebbing
Down the drain.
Alone the wife
With heavy heart,
Gods will gives
A family's start.
The harvest festival
In a sterile scene,
A blessing to one
About end to what's been.
Organs prized and packed
With tender love and care,
Relatives grief is tempered
By lifes gift to share.
Soon the light
Rekindled and reborn,
The darkness only temporary
New life sworn.
Our gift to the world
Ours is the right,
The harvest gives us
A chance to delight.
Ones sacrifice
For what he holds dear,
Breathing hope for others
Our reason to be here,
He gave the harvest
It's the reason we are here.

Phil Hall  October 2013

THE WORLD ON MY DOORSTEP

Hills and valleys for ever here
Firs, spruce and pine reaching tall,
Sky of arctic blue, chilled winds breath on ones face
Is this Tunguska?
When the beams of light appear
Piercing the darkness,
Followed by the shadowy sedan
Is it a James Bond villain?
Some sultry, femme fatale?
Is this the hills of Monte Carlo?
Deer flit mysteriously in shadowy groves
And ferns grow tall,
An owl hoots in the pine scented labyrinth.
Is this a Scandinavian forest?
Where snow bends the trees into submission?
A place where water flows
Where fish are caught in sparkling jewels of ponds,
Where youngsters run barefoot with nets.
Is this the Amazon?
Do monsters lurk in the depths?
One can sit on top of the world
A castle proudly surveying the kingdom,
Is this Camelot?
Do dragons fight with knights of lore?
I sit atop the pine forested hills
Below me a manicured expanse of green,
Golfers in their garish attire
Walk and swing away.
Is this Aspen, Gleneagles or Carnoustie?

This is 'The Lickeys'
The world on my doorstep,
A magical place where I grew up
An adventure playground of nature and wonder.
Where love was discovered,
Friendships forged and a love of nature blessed.
The hills 'Beacon', 'Rose' and 'Bilberry' surround the valley of my childhood.
This heaven sent wonder is on the edge of Birmingham, England.
When we were small and money was tight,
The Lickey hills was our escape
The whole world from the Amazon to the forests of Norway
Here on our doorstep.
I now travel the world,
But, I'll always have a special place in my heart
For the Lickeys
The world on my doorstep.

Phil Hall  October 2013

AGNES

When I was a little boy
And wore short trousers
To my school,
We poked fun at others
Less fortunate
So now I feel a fool.
One boy at church
We called humpty dumpty,
Because he had enormous head
He suffered with hydrocephalus
And now, he's no doubt dead.
One boy wore callipers
To improve his awkward gait,
Another suffered sleep apnoea
And always got to school late.
Then there was little Agnes
A sister to a boy in my year,
She was a downs syndrome child
And all of our class loved her.
She wore ribbons in her hair
Waved and smiled to all of us,
When we were in the playground
And she was on the special bus.
At the Christmas party
She was allowed to come and dance,
I remember the tune was 'Telstar'
Her little feet did prance.
She left a mark on all of us
With her funny little face,
Her indelible smile imprinted deep
Her aura stayed in place.
I hope she had a full life
As we left to go our separate ways,
It wasn't easy for downs syndrome kids
In those far off days.
She had the love of her family,
Church congregation and the school
I grew up fast after meeting Agnes,
Treat all the same became the rule.
That beautiful little girl was an angel
Who showered love everywhere.
I just hope she led a full, happy life
In a world that isn't always fair.

Phil Hall October 2013

MORE ALTERNATIVE NURSERY RHYMES

Jack Spratt
Was so fat
And his wife
Was so obscene,
They both needed emergency ops
Thank god for the bariatric team.

Wee Eddie Miliband
Canvassing the town,
Trying to clear up the mess
Made by Gordon Brown.
Promises and pledges
In a speech full of fight,
But he'll never beat the Tories
Because his policies are shite.

Three pubic lice
Three pubic lice
See how they itch,
When you caught them
You did scream
You were put on a course
Of a genital cream,
It looked like your nuts
Were turning green
Just to get rid of
Three pubic lice.

Scary Mary
Away with the fairy
How does your cannabis grow?
With water
And at night
Artificial light
And marijuana plants
All in a row.

Phil Hall  October 2013

THE OP'

White
Bright light,
Swimming thoughts
Nerves taut.
Smiles sported
Voices distorted,
Minutes pass
Inhaling gas,
Echoing talk
Floating walk.
Blurring shapes
Needles and tapes,
Brilliant white pavilion
Sliding into oblivion.
"Philip! Philllippp, lip lip ip ip ip!"
I hear my name
But, it's not the same,
My voice unheard
Silent word.
Blue sky drapes
Blurred moving shapes.
This is absurd
I'm now a bird,
Hovering over me
This is what I see,
Bleeps and bellows heard.
Awake, yet asleep
In coma deep,
Knives and clips
Drugs and drips
My body they safely keep.
I'm atop the tower
Over a field of flowers,
Jump? I've no choice
From the darkness a voice
Where seconds were hours.
My mind turns around
The constant beeping sound,
Friendly eyes in a mask
Completed their task
My body returns to the ground.
Replete from strife
Surviving the knife,
The bleeps and bellows
Masked angels and fine fellows
Everyday..... Help save a life.

Phil Hall October 2013

ALL OR NOTHING

We are here
Then we are gone,
All or nothing
Everything to none,
It happens to you
To everyone.
All or nothing
In an instant
You're gone.

Kings and Queens
Beggars and thieves
Drop like flies
Or falling leaves,
All or nothing
One believes
Sweet salvation
To one who grieves
You shone.

All or nothing
Nothing or all
Do you rise
Or do you fall?
The Lord or Satan
Who gives the call?
Is it heaven
Or fireball?
Choose one.

Phil Hall  October 2013

MY SHOWER MEETS THE NANNY STATE

Just when I thought the world
Was mad enough
No! It had to get worse,
The meddling and interfering
Nanny state
Has issued another curse.
Not content with stopping
The rolling of cheese
Down a hill,
Or dancing morris men
Outside a pub
Dipping for apples
Will make you ill.
They've now decided
What's best for me
I can't believe their power,
They've regulated the heat
With which I can take a shower!
It's true
When the thermostat
Reaches a certain temp,
It bloody switches itself off.
So now I'm stood here
Covered in soap and shivering
I'm sure to develop a cough.
Now I love a hot shower
The hottest that it can get,
I don't need a stupid regulation
Saying how high it should be set.
I yearn for the days of freedom
And the individual rights
Of our proud nation,
But now
I get soap stinging my eyes
And freeze to death
All because of the nanny states
Fear of litigation.

(So thanks to all the idiots who claim compensation for getting;
Scalded for drinking a hot coffee,
Cutting yourself on a sharp knife,
Falling down a hole that was infront of you,
Slipping over on ice etc etc)

Phil Hall  October 2013

THE MEADOW

Behold the view of England fair
Of meadowsweet and grass swept along,
Where skylark raises her brood
And above, her love sprinkles his song.
From crooked bough of weathered oak
Proud robin voices his challenge from hearty breast,
Whilst cows in scattered abandon
Under ripening sun
Gaze through childlike eyes at a scene so blessed.
The rolling fields dotted with snow and golden coin
With buttercup and daisy flowers in starlike acclaim,
The meadow swells with the fullness of life
Fruitful hedgerows ring the carpet of Englands plain.
Peace now reigns where blood did flow
When Roundheads fought the Cavaliers,
Cannon thunder and the battles roar
Replaced by insects contented hum to soothe our tired ears.
The English meadow, a freedom from lifes rigours
In deep thought, or holding hands with a lover,
The sights, the smells and sounds of utter serenity
Step over the stile, it's there for you to discover.

Phil Hall  October 2013

THE SUN SETS ON THE WORLD

As day turns to darkest night
And birds return from random flight,
Children lie in comfy beds curled
Above all this the sun sets on the world.

An horizon of flame shimmering bright
Melting away to leave night,
The sky draws a veil on the day,
The orb with its life giving fire
Slips gently away to retire
To rise the other side of the world.

The harvest moon grants its gift
Giving darkness and evil short thrift,
All around lifes stresses are hurled
All the agonies of humanity unfurled
As the sun sets once more
On the world.

Phil Hall  October 2013

DEATH OF AN ISLAND

Look at their hand
They wear a wristband,
Unwittingly contributing
To the death of an island.

Don't you see what you're doing?
One day you'll be ruing
The beauty of choice, having no voice,
With the death of an island.

Can't you see?
All inclusive
To the locals exclusive,
Taking their living
To Multinationals giving
This is out of hand
The death of an island.

The locals
They suffer
As they try to give succour,
With food and drink
You should pause to think
About the death of an island.

The restaurants
And the bars
To the taxi drivers cars,
Custom denied
As in the hotel you hide
You are killing the livelihood
Of an island.

Why Barbados?
When you don't see the land
You stay close at hand
To mass produced food,
The culture subdued
You're assisting in the death of an island.

Sprawling hotels
And manicured golf courses
Are stripping the resources,
Crops are no more
Local business closing their door
This is the death knell of an island.

It's all take and no give
The all inclusive,
With your grab all wristband
You could be on any island
Though the local economy
Drains like a sieve.

In my favourite island Barbados
Did the Brazilians give a toss,
When 'The Ship' closed for the last time?
No! They sat round the pool not spending a dime
Only the locals and people like me felt the loss.

Phil Hall  October 2013

THE LADY OF THE SEA

"The boat that picked her up was the 'Belleisles' her sex was no sooner made known to the men, whose hearts were made of the right stuff, that she was quickly attired with articles of clothing"
                         A British Lieutenant
                         Hms Revenge
                         21/10/1805
                         Cape Trafalgar.

                  JEANETTE

She was pulled naked from the sea
After the destruction of L'Achille,
Her ship was sent to a watery grave
British sailors to a man so brave
Plucked many to safety.

Jeanette, her only known name
She's now legend of Trafalgar fame,
She fed the guns in valiant fervour
But lady luck would desert her
L'Achille would soon be aflame.

The proud ship fought hard and long
Revenge and Swiftsure proved too strong,
Broadsides took many to hell that day
Then Prince joined in the fray
And L'Achille sang her last song.

The Prince fired with savage ire
Slaughter reigned, then came the fire,
Jeanette cowering amidst the gore
Fearing a grave on the sea floor
All hope gone, heaven her only desire.

Through an open port salvation came
As molten lead burnt her naked frame,
She fell to the waiting ocean
Amongst the drowning and commotion.
The lady of the sea, Jeanette thy name.

In a plume of furnace heat
L'Achille exploded in fiery sheet,
Jeanette clung to life, she cried
For her countrymen who'd died
And her saviours she'd soon meet.

The English came to save the foe
Their tenderness was on full show,
The feared Tars showed a new face
Humility and compassion set in place,
Never faltering when the winds came a blow.

The Revenge took her to its heart
In her fashioned dress she looked so smart,
To a man the English sailors cheered
When her thought dead husband suddenly appeared
He'd survived the battle also, after playing a gallant part.

At Gibraltar the battered ships were arrayed
Scars of battle and death displayed,
The prisoners of war awaited their fate
But, Jeanette was freed with her soulmate
With gifts of money the English sailors made.

The lady of the sea is now in history set
We still  only know her first name and yet,
Saved from the waves in a battles rage
She is remembered now on historic page
Wherever you lay, rest in peace brave Jeanette.

Phil Hall  October 2013

Authors note.

Reference:

Trafalgar; The biography of a battle.
By Roy Adkins
Publisher: Abacus
Picture from the book.
"Jeanette rescued from the sea"
Artist unknown. Possibly Thomas Whitcombe.

Ships mentioned in poem.

Combined fleet French/Spanish Navies

L'Achille  74 guns. (Destroyed)
Captain Gabriel Denieport.

English Royal Navy.

HMS Revenge  74 guns.
Captain Robert Moorsom.

HMS Prince  98 guns.
Captain Richard Grindall.

HMS Swiftsure  74 guns.
Captain William George Rutherford.

Mentioned in quote;

HMS Belleisle 74 guns.
Captain William Hargood.

     "Palmam qui meruit ferat"