birksy

"The black umbrella twists in his hand, before, with one flick of the wrist he closes it like an oyster round it’s pearl. Stooping, he drops his change into the collection, hears it clatter on the oth..."

"Behind me, exasperated, the words, ‘it’s not my day’ spit around my ears. And though a dropped tray is indeed frustrating, it hardly ruins your day, and is soon lost again. But I imagine, elsewhere it..."

"Keep me still, give me a will to stay where I am, though I feel I do not belong. Cradle my heart, wipe away tears as they fall from eyes wide with innocent fear. Love my soul, for it’s lost in twist..."

"Sitting on the steps Watching trains go by, Always on my own. What’s a man to do? Keep sitting on the steps, Listening to the tracks. Now the day is done, I move a little higher, One step less to cl..."

"The nameless people, have names after all, They stare out of windows, or close their eyes. But if given food of speech, they move, react, smile, They are then more themselves, and the trip is ..."

"If the car had stopped, Brakes applied slowly, It would have changed something, for somebody, more than a body lying prone in the road, And when I went back, My conscience pricked, at last, I would ha..."

"Reading the signs, Taking it in, So many fateful arrows, Pointing to one place, It’s not so much to find, As it is to gently guide, Wait for it to happen, Smile, you know it will. Written October 5th,..."

"Rat a tat, tat, Sat a fat cat, Pat a gnat mat, Rat a tat, tat, Slowing… Stop. Written October 5th, 2001 © on Oct 05 2001 12:36 AM PST, Simon Birks   0 • 10"

"There in the perpetual, Thinking of the others, knowing your own self, Dab the tired eyes, Then look in no mirror. It’s time to do the same again, Listen as they sigh, Listen, they may cry. Written Oc..."

"Amber takes me in, Powerless, all the strength is hidden in the glint. What will happen then? Where will we end up? Keep the bright eyes burning, The shoes can disappear, The shoes are now alone, Ambe..."

"I am drawn to the wall opposite. On it sits a glove, so old its colours fading fast. It’s been there at least a week, and still no one has claimed it. Beside it, sits a snail, its shell broken, insid..."

"I met a man, Aye, Meta-man, He knew all about me, Exact in summary, I knew I was beaten, made hasty retreat and shut my open mouth. I should have learned, The info worm has turned, Privacy, pure fanta..."

"Bang on my knee, A bruise will be its evidence, Though, unlike you, the bruise will disappear. You hurt all that you touch, Pain that runs deep, perhaps deeper than you can feel. There’s envy for yo..."

"Hands with the blood stains, wash, but they don’t go, Run through the scars No flesh to stop the muck. Keep your wits about you – Preservation keeps you – Words are filth to you. Now dark, the silhoue..."

"It must be hard to walk six feet, To wash your hands, To say thank you, To shut the bloody door. Yet you walk through us, Who can do it all the day. I do not take your view, I care enough to not be ru..."

"Under the duvet At some small hour, It takes a certain coward, To shake on his own, Instead of facing the terror Which threatens to leave him, Under the duvet, Alone. Written January 9th, 1999 © on O..."

"It’s the people we know, Who can help us decide, Who can help us to stand, Who’ll stand by our side, The people we know, Who’ll help share the pain, Who’ll help us to see, It’s not all in vain. It’s ..."

"Little Tommy wears long sleeve shirts. At the back he sits, alone, and works so hard, every question if not right, answered exquisitely wrong. Little Tommy holds his favourite teachers hand a little ..."

"There’s no need to rush things, You’ve plenty of time, Lie back, tug on heartstrings, Feels like you’re swinging on mine. You’re almost halfway home now, You’re almost bound to know, You’ll always be..."

"Daddy’s coming to collect you, Button your shirt, and comb your hair straight, Show him what a mother you have, What a wife he left. Doesn’t he look good in his nice new car, Here are some sticky swe..."

"Push the boat off, Let’s drift out on the lake, Leave the oars on shore, Throw the keys in our wake, There’s not an arm that can reach us, Not an eye that can see, The winds blow through the golden re..."

"They used a green folder, passing from one to the other, in secret meetings where no-one would know. They’d say very little, the words saying it all, it stood on a shelf right under their nose. Toge..."

"There’s no time to explain, That time has gone, I’m leaving today, Heading God knows where, If I ring, Don’t expect conversation, Just listen, There’s nothing to declare. You left no other choice, Yo..."

"Wiped clean, the silver shone in a chest, in an attic, for so long the winners name forgotten, till she looked. The shroud it was wrapped in had smothered her thoughts, but kept them clean, not tarnis..."

"There’s a mother and a daughter, who sit very close on the bus. I know that they are, mother and daughter, for they don’t speak, just thumb through the magazine, one looking over the others shoulder. ..."

"The news is brief, It’s a sunny day I’d be lost in grief, If I hadn’t lost my way. But whatever you do Is lost on me, This morning’s cappuccino, The afternoon’s tea. Hope the road’s clear, I’m coming..."

"Bright red and full of air, There they sway, They hold all the stares, For today, But it’s time they grew up, let go of their hands, Folded it up, saw foreign lands, In the air for today, But blind in..."

"There’s a space to hide, at the end of the track, nettles on either side and in front, but enough space for one person to sit, pull the petals from a flower. And I cannot lie, it is I who frequents i..."

"They’re just bones, nothing more nothing less, that once structured the flesh, organs, muscles of a body, let it walk, and sit, and breathe… Oh, the breath was so light, I remember it’s shallowness, ..."

"Head on her shoulder, Tired through and through, Not far from home now. Stations look empty, No more lights past the window, And friends all asleep. Nothing to do, Look round the carriage, A man scrib..."

"As the sun sleeps through lazy days are in the minds of others, who stare through cooling eyes, and stoop to keep the fresh day churning. Upon the step, she sits, stares up to catch the first drops o..."

"The time, as if a rhyme, is ten past nine, and we walk through quiet streets, together, but secretly harbour another, who must certainly be on its way. And the quiet streets, stay still, locked up, B..."

"Everything’s patched, The owner’s success only seen through statistics, Come ride with me, Show me the better times; they look only worse from here. The signs aren’t a-changing, So let’s not pretend,..."

"I wonder if you could help me, it’s this photo, you see I wonder if you could reproduce it, on your machines, such clever machines, can you do that? I know it’s a bit old, but it’s the only copy I’ve..."

"Is it wrong that a man from the RSPB, can have crows feet or pigeon toes? Does the fisherman do justice to a red herring, or the kipper tie? How far do we go, to behave how we ought, to stand backs ..."

"I've just had a thought, the man opposite me, could be as dead as a dodo, and I wouldn't know better. I think I'll move seats, let someone else be his finder, I get paid by the hour. Written November ..."

"Sardine pate, won't be too long, can't think of moving. What has that man got to make him look like that? Oh, maybe that's his normal look, I've just never been this close to him. Don't want to be aga..."

"Mum, she won’t stop talking, I know we’re in public, But I rather her verbs Were the slightest bit interesting. Can you tell her to shut up? I want to look at my book, I’ll thumb through the pages, N..."

"Call Julianna – she can tell you anything, that you’re okay in the world, or that you’re missing someone. She’ll ask you some questions, watch your hands, and in less than five minutes, know you bette..."

"One careful driver, quite friendly, as well, Willing to take you where you hoped you might go. Pay him well, he’s quite nice, almost a gent, don’t you know. Almost a gent. Written November 2nd, 2001 ©..."

"All marked up, One gold star, one house point, Put at the end of the pile. When they see them, tomorrow, They even might care, But it’ll soon be their past. Written November 2nd, 2001 © on Nov 07 200..."

"The red haired girl, reaches out with the flowers, They don’t ask her why she’s come here, Don’t care for her motives, But just because you don’t hear them, Doesn’t mean that she has none, Keep both e..."

"A fresh hole in the graveyard, Could fit any one of us, Yet not my turn today. Dug earth in the graveyard, A cat sits at its top, Looks just past my shoulder. New stone in the graveyard, No words on..."

"A bent hinge, twisted, screamed into submission, and what it hid within, now gone, raced into oblivion. Nothing is left for these houses for cars, they now just take up the nervous space, one by one. ..."

"That’s the tides for you, You step off into shallows, But instead your head’s submerged, No signs to tell you, Just how deep it was. That’s the tides for you, Calmness hides a menace, Sometimes it’s ..."

"Mr and Mrs Axe Murderer, Sit and smile opposite, Their teeth just don’t seem real, Their hands move all the time. I doubt that when they look my way, They can see anything of me at all, Just a shell,..."

"Magpie on a stick, Your stare is wise, your poise is thick with pride. How’s the count today, do you recognise the road, the cars, the drivers? I have a hidden urge, to swap our places, let you ruff..."

"I broke the sign, clean in two, Ran for the side street, Trained feet passing pavement three slabs at a time. Then later, I walked past again, slowly from the top of the road, watched the work I’d do..."

"A well rounded man,stands legs akimbo,to the straining groundas, in his hands, hispot is held, and he justsmiles as the passers bypay for the novelty ofthe well rounded man.Tomorrow, too, he will stan..."

"Oh, hello, sir, how do you do? Are you just browsing, would you like me to show you the fashions, we have in the store? You’re looking for something, I thought that you might, Now, what is your pleas..."

"Every morning before I go to work I get dressed, have to wear a suit, shirt and tie, have to look my best, but this morning though I’ve been forced to stop, the victim of a very sad event, today I’ve ..."

"The juggler in the dark, Stands outside my door, The black balls slowly spinning, The grip he has ensures, The black balls slowly spinning, Pass inches from my door, The juggler in the dark is there, ..."

"Sleep soundly, sweet baby, Breathe deep ‘pon my chest, Let dark night grow hazy, You're sweetly at rest. At morning, we’ll wake to, The bright sun outside, You’ll smile and you’ll break through, The ..."

"Make some noise, make it now, Make conversation, make a row, Take a viewpoint, see what’s wrong, Take a stance, and make it strong. Make a friend, make them see, Alone you’re you, but take two or thr..."

"I was once in a forest, the leaves sheltered me, ground supported me, I was happy. Now I can see the sky, and I slip as I try to move. I didn’t see the falling leaves, but now they stick on my shoes. ..."

"Peaceful journey home, why aren’t they all like this? Why are there people I need to be afraid of? I know that I’ve lost something I can never get back, however many peaceful journeys home I have. Wri..."

"The glass remark was never meant to be heard by you. It was whispered, to another, back to where I thought you sat. Now I’m on a bench, cold hands, cold heart, looking out for you. It was all my fa..."

"What a crap day I just had, Never another, Never again, Always another, Always the same, What a crap day I just had, ... Written November 27th, 2001 © on Nov 27 2001 12:05 AM PST, Simon Birks   0 •..."

"Don’t want to stand, Just want to sit, Kick my heels on the wooden floor, Rest with the butts lying there, No place clean enough to sit, But I’ve got to sit, anyway. The music thunders in my ears, An..."

"Little windmill I’d not seen you before Perhaps the days are windy now, Perhaps my eyes are open now. Are you there for a boy to play with , when he’s lonely and scared, when he wakes in the night, an..."