[a country in which doggerel has to be defended has lost its poetic soul - BHD.  Cream Crackered appeared in the collection No EasyPlace. All The Hurt Children appeared in the anthology, Night Balancing (Blinking Eye).]

CREAM CRACKERED

I’m buggered

I’m knackered

Plum tuckered

Cream crackered

 

I’m Lancashire hot potted

I’m freshly juiced

I’m steak and kidney pied

I’m babaganoushed

 

I’m vegetable casseroled

I’m pork chop grilled

I’m red bean saladed

I’m pitta pockets filled

 

Jam sandwiched

Exhausted

I’m jiggered

I’m tired

 

No I’m not

 

I’m wired

I’m full of beans

I’m topped up with coffee

I’m mean

 

I’m exhilarated

Not enervated

I’m full of go

Not slow

 

I’m Irish stewed

I’m egg and chipped

I’m sausage and mashed

I’m guacamole dipped

 

I’m chocolate gateaued

I’m jellied eeled

I’m cole slawed

My eyes are peeled

 

I’m pastaed

I’m pizzaed

I’m wholegrain milled

I’m milk spilled

 

I’m puffed

I’m stuffed

I’m blowed

I’ve slowed.

 

I’m buggered

I’m knackered

Plum tuckered

Cream crackered

 

 

All The Hurt Children

Write on the water       write on the sand

Write on the air              on the back of your hand

What do hurt children grow up to be?

Someone like me.         Someone like me.

 

Whisper to fire              whisper to stone

Whisper to starlight   when you’re alone

What do hurt children grow up to do?

Something like you.    Something like you.

 

Cry for tomorrow        cry for today

Cry for the past            that took you away

When do hurt children shed the last tear?

Never I fear.                 Never I fear.

 

Run from the shadow  Run from the light

Run from the echo      you hear in the night.

Why do hurt children travel so fast?

Fear of the past           Fear of the past.

 

Sleep in the ocean      sleep in the earth

Fall through the sky  from the day of your birth

What do hurt children do with their lives?

Each one survives      each one survives.

 

 

The Race

I also ran                                some of us fell

And then were shot          each for a spell

Had seemed quite safe     and doing well

 

Some dared to win            some broke the rules

Some were wise                 and some were fools

A few were used                 as others tools

 

Some made their art       some liked to fart

Hard at times                     to tell apart

Some were lucky            right from the start

 

Some were cut                some were doped

Some were bridled        some were roped

Some cajoled                  and some soft soaped

 

Some were whipped    to drive them on

Some were tripped       to bring them down

Some were tipped         to take the crown

 

Some went past             the winning post

Some survived              to drink the toast

Some regretted            but not most

 

Some would run it all again

Myself I have to say the pain

Was nicely balanced by the gain

 

 

Exit Strategy

There’s a side door in the prison

So the old lags say

And if only you can find it

You’re sure to get away

 

There’s a clothes chute to the basement

There’s a lift shaft to the floor

There’s a fire escape to climb down

If you can’t take any more

 

There’s a let-out in the contract

There’s an option to restore

The status ante bellum

(that’s the way you were before)

 

Right behind the bookcase

There’s a tunnel to the beach

There’s a secret spiral staircase

To somewhere out of reach

 

There’s a button on the harness

That will bring you quick release

Just thump it when you’re ready

To enjoy eternal peace

 

There’s a twist and there’s a turn

That you can make when things get tight

There’s a lesson you can learn

When the truth begins to bite

 

There’s a form of words to help you

When you’re wriggling off the hook

And a permanent eraser

For your entry in the book

 

But repentance and redemption

Wait whichever way you look

Yes atonement and redemption

Wait whichever way you look

 

Sins of the Parents

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Down at the office today

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Daddy, would you say?

 

No child, I did a good thing

I made bright bullets fly

Into the flesh of living sheep

To see how they might die

 

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Down at the office today

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Daddy, would you say?

 

No child, I did a good thing

I grew a virus there

To bring the deaths of many

When it whispers to the air

 

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Down at the office today

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Daddy, would you say?

 

No child, I did a good thing

I filled young minds with hate

And sent them out in anger

To where the victims wait

 

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Down at the office today

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Daddy, would you say?

 

No child, I did a good thing

I wove a cloth of lies

And wrapped the truth within it

To hide from prying eyes

 

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Daddy tell me true

Did you do a bad thing Daddy?

Oh yes, but just for you.