Bryan Sefton

Elizabeth papers the walls of her mind
With cartoon characters of various kinds
Believe me, I tell you, there isn't much space
There's colour and laughter all over the place
...

'Oh! ' Said Diana 'how frightening
That the bee should have such a sting'
'Not really said one buzzing by her
They're handy for many a thing
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The rabbits wouldn't thank me if I told you all their secrets
So if I tell you and they find out just say the swallows leaked it
They'll believe you for you see them always rushing here and there
Tittle tattling, calling someone, speaking rumours on the air
...

There's a little cobbled back street runs behind our terraced house
Full of overflowing dust bins and a mouse that has a louse
He will sit and scratch for hours when he thinks no one is there
Behind his ears he scratches till his whiskers are a blur
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Time is dripping off the clock
The luminous finger glares
A mouse sits cleaning on a sock
The shoes sit on the stairs
...

I believe in Santa
That he loves little boys
For as long as I believe in him
My parents being me toys
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Mister Singleton died today
I prayed to God in heaven above to save him
I wonder how rough a time we gave him
I never thought in terms of tears or pain
...

The spider on the ceiling sits
Views my Granddaughters hysterical fits
With a seeming bemused dismay
As terrified she runs away
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He rides with one, Goyathlay
The one they call Geronimo
They roam the High Sierra's
Searching for the white man
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She rides the bus to market
Gazing out upon the same old scene
Ever changing, never new.
Giving out the same old view
...

It's all gone now
Now there are houses as far as the eye can see
And a forest of T-V ariels instead of the tall majestic trees
That were oh, so welcoming on hot summer days
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Trivial words, none heard
No matter how we scream
Seagull souls cry then fly
To escape this crazy scene
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The light good for seeing by
Though the meaning's lost to me
It will die then rage, is bright then vague
As silver fishes in the sea
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The sky was dark and grey and heavy
The snow came thick as night-time fell
'Why it's enough' an old man murmured
'To make the devil stoke up well
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The boat is still. The world turns
The distant island comes forward
Happens and is gone
Sinks below the horizon to memory
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Let me die in water
Let my death be a water passing
I fancy an eternal ebb and flow
A forever rock and roll
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The sparrow heralds the waking day
The sun stretches golden arms across the sky
And she, the daughter of the night
Rubs a sleepy eye and slips away
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What does the lonely watcher see?
Standing like some forgotten tree
Upon the distant hill
He's forever standing there
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Once there was a little boy happy and bright
And someone to cancel the fears of the night
Back when the laughter rang all round the home
Then there were three hearts (now there is one)
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Progressive curtains of darkness drop onto coppice and fields
Deepening shades of gloom increase into stillness of night
Feelings acquire an edge not there in day
Acrobatic senses wing their way as if on a breeze
...