I have tried at times to live a solitary life, keeping my own counsel and fending off those who came too near my soul. Sometimes it worked, but I always ended up coming down from loner mountain to the verdant grasslands where the beautiful girls grazed awaiting the arrival of some hero.

This is for Sally who danced at Covent Garden while I drank for the two of us down the road in The Marquis


I’m singing in the corner by the window
The words are slowly steaming up the glass
You’re somewhere in the city with a new friend
I always knew this moment would soon pass
The dancers have all left for drinks and supper
Their shoes are scattered on the wooden floor
They said that I could join them in the Marquis
But I stayed to pick the memories off the floor

I’ll walk the streets of this town with a promise
To end the hurt and find somebody new
Someone who can wash away your laughter
And take me back to where my hunger grew
Its easy to be free when your deserted
Easy to be happy when in denial
But nightime can be vicious and resentful
It burns the brand new mornings own survival

If I live to be a hundred I’ll be happy
If the years are good to me I’ll be so proud
If you’ll take me with you as you plan your journey
I will follow like a child who wears a shroud
We are the points upon the fractured compass
That shows the way that leads to total loss
We are no longer true to what we practise
We cannot seem to count what is the cost

In time we will perform with satisfaction
The salutory walk to places new
Where sitting in the dark we can remember
The rooms we filled that always had a view
And you will squeeze your body into small skirts
And I will comb my hair to maximise
The follicles that are now quickly leaving
And the hopes that form the basis of our lives