ALL YOU CAN DO

Why are you so hard on yourself?
When in your life did you decide
You had to be so tough
And nothing else was good enough for you

You have your weak points and you’re strong
And sometimes you’re right and sometimes wrong
But life has seemed so rough
Now you’ve really had enough of you

But there’s nowhere else to go
For the only one to know, is you

Maybe what you’re hiding
You feel you don’t deserve
maybe you’re avoiding
That feeling deep inside – Of You
And all you can do

There’s no need for this pain
For there’s no one to blame, on you

What are you trying to avoid
Is there something you are trying to hide
So you can talk up a storm
And drink your way to dawn – it’s true

But what do you want for yourself
Why is it everybody else
You got things you wanna do
Things, just for you – you know it’s true

But what gets in the way
New distractions every day - from you

Maybe what you’re hiding
You feel you don’t deserve
Maybe you’re avoiding
That feeling deep inside – Of You
And WHAT you can do

Take your life in your hands
do the best that you can – for you!

A Bard of the Setting Sun

THE POWER OF WORDS (new version)

Did you know that words have power
Every minute of every hour
In all that you say

Did you know your words have power
Every word, a delicate flower
If you take care what you say

Careless words said again and again
Those thoughtless comments that keep you the same
Did you not know what you say

Heartfelt words said with love and care
Those crystal dewdrops that never tear
Helps us all on our way

For words have power….

Did you not know your words have power
Have you not noticed things go sour
From something you’ve said

If you don’t know your words have power
Have you never been a liar
And seen what you did (with your words)

Speak true – with care
Everything you dare
Make Trust – don’t break trust
With everyone you meet

For words have power….

But you can fill your words with power
Build a sentence like a tower
And speak of your truth

If you fill your words with power
Every minute, every hour
Your world will change

Speak true – with care
Everything you dare
Make Trust – don’t break trust
Be the power that you seek

Most people say ‘I love you’ with hardly a thought
Of what they have bought, with their words
But now is the time to wake up, and see what we’ve got
Without having fought – for most anything at all

Speak true – with care
Everything you dare
Make Trust – don’t break trust
With everyone you can

For words have power…

Did you know that words have power
Every minute of every hour
In all that you say

Did you know your words have power
Every word, a delicate flower
If you take care what you say………

A Bard of the Setting Sun

DELIVER

Don’t shout, so loud, Be at peace, my friend!
The whole World has gone Crazy, yes I know, my friend!
Don’t cry, so bad, be STILL my friend,
Everything seems wrong, yes I know, my friend

But don’t worry so much, it’s meant to be
We’re all busy learning, it’s TRUE, you’ll see!

Don’t KICK, so hard, hold back, my friend
Yes, I know that it hurts, it hurts me too, my friend

But don’t worry your head, it’s meant to be
We all have to learn, look closely, you’ll see
And why worry, so much, what will be will be
So hold them in your hearts, and try to see, our humanity

For the world is not what it appears to be
We’re now just beginning to grow up
It’s the truth, don’t you see
And it hurts to grow older
And to learn how to be
Not any angry child anymore
But an adult that is free

And you know it, you can’t deny it
You FEEL it, yes you see
So let’s hold hands now, walk together
And DELIVER, you and me

But don’t worry so much, this is meant to be
We all have to learn sometime, this is it, you and me
And why worry so much, when what will be will be,
Let’s hold them in our hearts, and fight to be free

So let’s hold hands now, walk together
And DELIVER, you and me

Bard of the Setting Sun

THE TIN WHISTLE

The Tin Whistle

Before I came here I was given some names
Some to nurture and some to blame
They also gave me some numbers, just then
Some to have fun with, and some to claim

I chose me some people
To live with and learn
I chose a big country
For it seemed like my turn

But lastly they turned to me
Just as I was about to come
And they layed on my left shoulder
A heavy old urn

Carry this well my son
Said the last
And when you think your done with all them names and numbers
It may come to pass

You may put down that vessel
That you carry on your left
And you may find much relief
But that feeling won’t last

For the urge to look inside
The burden you have long carried
Will be like a pain in your heart
Of the love you have just lost
The love of your life
And the one you had married

Such is the ache
Many times you may try to replace the urn atop your broad shoulder
But you will not succeed
For you will understand that you must have carried that vessel well
And what’s inside must be freed

Listen well my son
For while all must carry
When the time comes to put down that life long burden
You must not much ail or to tarry

For what lies inside -is you
And you are IT, you see
And you cannot long be parted
Else you die in reality

But a treasure awaits you
If you could but see now
This I do promise
But I can’t tell you how

Go well now my son
And carry that urn well
And if that day comes to pass
Know that you were not the first
And you cannot be the last……….

So I came this way
To begin again right
And so I fought by the day
And I died night by night

Eventually, all was forgotten
In the heat and the noise
And I lived like a donkey
Swaying under the load I could never see
But always felt was somehow mine
And mine alone

And sometimes late at night between the tears and the rage
Once in a while a calm voice would whisper…
Keep going, my son
Keep going… you’ll become wise

So I crouched bent double for many a year like a bull
Years more I was disjointed
And a crafty old fool

Keep looking down I said
It’s the only way to be
But then one day dawned different
And I finally realised my life was me

So I stopped in my tracks
And I looked in the mirror
I aspied on my shoulder
A rusty old glimmer

My fingers went for the thing
I felt substance in my hands
And with a wrench it was clear now
And resting on the ground

I sat there for days it seems
That thing between my knees
My throat did not know now how to cough
And my nose wouldn’t sneeze

But I cried and I cried
And I wouldn’t open my eyes
And I hugged the damn thing
As I sobbed my good byes

My old life was over
I could see that right then
And though I tried to replace it
The back wouldn’t bend

I saw myself then as I had been just before
Walking straight then with little burden
And knocking on the door

My call had been answered
And the vessel was mine
The burden I’d long carried
And now it was time

I opened my eyes then
And my gaze fell upon this mould
And though my tears had now cleansed it
It was still crumbled and old

It simply fell apart in my fingers
As I tried to turn it around
Then the grains slipped through my hands
And returned to the ground

In place in the rubble
Atop of the mound
Was an old metal object
Of rusty and round

I reached right into the dust
And I picked it on up
And I held it up high
As I inspected my cup

At first I could not quite believe my eyes
So I rubbed them hard and blew my nose
I passed it from right hand to left
And gazed into it more close

It was made of met-erial
I had yet never seen
No matter how clever
Or travelled I’d been

But that was not what got me
As I sniffed at my hand
For I was holding an old tin whistle
And it really didn’t - right then - look too grand

But then something caught me right then
Something tickled deep inside
And I doubled up in stitches
And laughed until I nearly died

And when all the laughing and crying was done
I polished me whistle on me sleeve
And tore a strip from my gown

I bent my head low
And I placed on my breast
The fruits of my labours
Laced loosely -my crest

For all of my life
But a symbol I’ve been
No more, no less
Until now, never seen

It may not seem
but much of a thing
But to me it’s a sign
That the heart always wins

And if you’re feeling downhearted
And not facing your fear
Take care, my friend,
For I’m as like to blow my wee whistle
In your big stupid ear

How loud or how soft
Will depend all on you
For you see, I already have my tin whistle
What symbol is yours?

And think not that my whistle
Is but all that it seems
For to me this wee treasure
Is the stuff of my dreams

We learn as we go don’t we
My wee whistle and me
And as the note becomes purer
The clearer it be

For as a symbol of me
It’s anything it needs me to be
So I can play Trombone, Maracas
With Tuba -and drink Tea

But I’ll ne’er forget the bull-donkey
The treads and the urn
For how else did I learn to stand straight
And to have fun

And for sure I’m not laughing
Every day to the grave
For I’ve started just again
On yet another bloody page

And as the tears they still come
And as the battles they get crazy
Me thinks to blow a wild tune
For the terminally lazy

With love and laughter from a Bard of the Setting Sun

GETTING FRUITY

Apples, she said
And behind ME I HEAR the sound of someone dropping
an apple to the floor
Bananas, she said
And behind HER I SEE a Bus going by with a banana on the side
Pears, she said
And the movement she is doing with her hands
reminds me of holding two pears, one in each hand
Peaches, she says, and that certainly is a nice bum
in those jeans walking by
Strawberries, she says
And I notice a freckle on her nose
Grapefruit, she says
And the guys in support are talking cricket
Melons, she says,
And it isn’t always what you’d think
Mango, she says
And it’s written on her top
Oranges, she says
And it’s the colour of her shoes
Lemons and mandarins, she says
And I wonder why it’s those two together again
I keep missing that one
Anyway, I’ve seen enough
And I now know that today my life
Is a tropical fruit salad with citrus
Who knows, tomorrow it may be vegetables
Yesterday it was horses.
The ice-cube day escaped me for some reason.

With much love from a Bard of the Setting Sun
In need of more fruit in his diet

PAINTING THE HOUSE

My friend and I are painting the house
In between all the other Bag-a-tale that makes up this thing I call my life
It is alternately frustrating and rewarding
I want the FRUITS but not the LABOUR

I know enough (which is not much) to know that if I can just keep going
I will get it done.
But life has OTHER ideas.
Busy-ness exploits, late nights, and tiredness
All contribute to a three week over-run

Meanwhile, what chaos and mayhem

I am reminded constantly just how EVERY-THING affects another
So, take three rooms ALL needing painting.
ONE room is lagging behind.
Meanwhile, one cannot move THIS to THERE
One has to squeeze past, step over, bend down, make do.
Temporary sleeping arrangements which after a while
Feel NOT so temporary.
Clothes are like a Chinese laundry

Meanwhile, ONE mess begets AN-OTHER
Why bother tidying THIS, when a thin layer of dust permeates everything?
How many MORE banged shins and stubbed TOES before we GET to the NEW?
How many evenings WISHING I had just ONE more HOUR in me?

TRYING too hard!

I’ve been putting off that Window.

Once INTO it my mind starts to wander off.
Good riddance!
NOW I am ENJOYING the WORK
It is EASY to do a good job in such a state

Every now and then my mind wanders back in from its travels
And says things like…..

Hurry UP!
Who are you doing this for
You don’t even own this house!
LEAVE that bit.
Won’t it be lovely WHEN it’s finished?
If you get THIS done, then you can do that, and then THIS is possible, and
then……….
But you CAN’T do this yet, and maybe THIS won’t work, and , and…..

Fuck off!

Oops, me apologies, Ma’am.

Meanwhile, the painting’s gone to shit!

Maybe it’s the fumes from the painting
Don’t look now but methinks me monkey’s gone for a kip

Ain’t it funny how certain FILMS re-appear when you’re painting?

Anyway, I begin to muse over GRAND designs and BEING creative.

Hoo-HA, WOULDN’T it be Gggrr-REAT?
Tony the TIGER, that’s me!
Great MATE, Woof!

Meanwhile, I have learned enough to know (which is not much) that to ME,
it’s MY life, MY plans, MY dreams, MY trials and tribulations, my problems,
my OBSTACLES, in short, MY GRAND IDEAS. Whereas to LIFE, it is just Innocent
Twaddle! (well not ALWAYS innocent!)

For some reason this has me laughing my head off at my predicament and the
“hu-man condition”! .

After ALL is said and done, is not LIFE just ONE big WIND-UP?
What arrogance to THINK I can even change a THING, OUT there!?
I can only change me, self. And be content with THAT!

Ha! Just ONCE , though, I’d like to get my OWN back! I’d SHOW life!
I’d WIND, UP, life!

What’s IN this stuff!? Hee hee….

Now THAT would be CREATIVE!

Meanwhile, that WINDOW’s come up a TREAT!

With love from a Bard of the Setting Sun
Falling off his laadder

ON SEX

-
Chico Marx

I wasn't kissing her, I was whispering in her mouth.

Albert Einstein

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit
with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S
relativity.

Dorothy Parker

That woman speaks eighteen languages, and can't say No in any of them.

George Burns

It's hard for me to get used to these changing times. I can remember when
the air was clean and sex was dirty.

Groucho Marx

I wish you'd keep my hands to yourself.

Henry Miller

Sex is one of the nine reasons for reincarnation. The other eight are
unimportant.

What holds the world together, as I have learned from bitter experience,
is sexual intercourse.

Mae West

A hard man... is good to find

He who hesitates is last.

I don't like myself, I'm crazy about myself.

I go for two kinds of men. The kind with muscles, and the kind without.

I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.

Is that a gun in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

It's not the men in my life that counts -- it's the life in my men.

So many men... so little time

She's the kind of girl who climbed the ladder of success... wrong by wrong

To err is human -- but it feels divine

Too much of a good thing... can be wonderful

When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never
tried before.

When I'm good I'm very good, but when I'm bad I'm better.

Rita Mae Brown

Lead me not into temptation; I can find the way myself.

My lesbianism is an act of Christian charity. All those women out there
praying for a man, and I'm giving them my share.

Rita Rudner

All men think that they're nice guys. Some of them are not. Contact me for
a list of names.

The closest I ever came to a menage-a-trois was when I dated a
schizophrenic.

They're trying to put warning labels on liquor saying, 'Caution, alcohol
can be dangerous to pregnant women.' That's ironic. If it weren't for
alcohol, most women wouldn't even be that way.

Rodney Dangerfield

It's been a rough day. I got up this morning ... put a shirt on and a button
fell off. I picked up my briefcase, and the handle came off. I'm afraid to
go to the bathroom.

Spike Milligan

Contraceptives should be used on all conceivable occasions.

Is there anything worn under the kilt? No, it's all in perfect working
order.

Victor Hugo

God created the flirt as soon as he made the fool.

Woody Allen

Sex alleviates tension. Love causes it.

THE HIDDEN GIRAFFE

If you stare hard enough you should see a Hidden Giraffe in this picture. You may have to squint a bit. Enjoy!

OBSERVATIONS ON LIFE

Coming soon..

Step 1. When you wake up in the morning and you open your eyes, what do you see? :)

I AM A JAGGED ROCK

-
I am a Jagged Rock
And I have fallen from the Mountain
Slowly but surely I have found my way
Into a small but swiftly flowing fountain

I jumble as I turn against others
We crash again and again
Sometimes I cry out in my despair against the mountain
And I experience real pain

Gradually over time my roughness becomes me
And I forget from whence I came
My journey a river
My torments the same

Sometimes I lie deep in the water
Scarcely moving for many a year
But always, eventually, I begin to move again
Surmounting the fear

Other time I splash happily in the shallows
Scarcely aware of the process of it all
But always sooner or later I drop into the depths
Returning an answer to nature’s call

I am blind in the river
For I really cannot see
I make up my own history
And decide who to be

Sometimes I am an outcast
Lonely and tired
Sometimes I am an awesome rock
Loved and admired

But there are waterfalls and branches
Whirlpools and storms
Hot springs and freezing trenches
Within all I have been torn

The deep and the shallows
Each has its perils
And each has its light side
If I can find my way through the narrows

The other rocks beside me
There are so many kinds to see
And I judge them by colour
And by shape and degree

There are some that I look at
And I consider them wise
While others in their tumbling
I avoid and despise

Over and over I forget who I am
The journeys, the madness…

And each time I got closer to something inside
The spark burned at first brighter
Before it flickered and died

But new hope is born at the end of each day
As the old world is ending
I rest for a moment
And silently pray

For a fresh golden vision
And a glittering prize
My heart leaps out again boldly
As the mountain in me flies

One day, I believe
I will return to the mountain
From whence I came
One day, I trust,
I will find my way home

A Bard of the Setting Sun

WHEN YOU ARE STRONG

When you are strong I will support you
When you are weak I will tell you to be strong
But in all these things please remember
There is no right and no wrong

If you ask me I will help you
If you help me I’ll be glad
But really you must remember
That it’s not about good or bad

For life lies right in the moment
And if we forget who we are
We miss so much
And soon its gone
And those moments pass like tears in the rain
And really, after everything
We’re never quite the same again

For how can we learn if we are not paying attention
How can we move forward
If we are not even aware of our own potential

I have heard that a Male's greatest strength
lies in his vulnerability

A Bard of the Setting Sun