Aneld Erlyper Son

She's oh so unpredictable,
With her mind in her carrier bag.
But, isn't she sensible.
Oh! What a life she had.
Her bus pass in safe.
In a pools coupon envelope.
I wonder what became of that?
And my: That hat!
It's something else.
Mind you. She is getting on.
Getting on the bus.



Capability Red    1980

Let Me Write About The Places I Know

Let me write about the places I know,
the plants that grow and flowers in the garden.
Allow me to sit on a bench by a tree
from where I can see: Life's to's and fro's, beggin' your pardon.

And after wandering a meandering mile,
I'll shelter for a while in faraway sleepy Shaldon.
Reflecting upon; things that float, like fishing boats
My ancestors once built in Maldon.

With borrowed words that'll never return
Or, let me earn a living from my writing.
I'll fritter away this boring routine,
recording what I've seen: Nothing particularly exciting.

If I ride on board a bus or a train.
Pausing yet again at bustling Waterloo Station.
Sitting alone, I'll memorize and eulogize
each time framed observation.

I'll try to describe in verse or rhyme, how
Time after time, people hurry around me.
So. Let me write about these places I know.
Before I go: Beyond this world that surrounds me.



Capability Red   June 2014

From Where I'm Sitting

It's One o'clock, the typists are free,
the clerks are out, it's first degree.
Solicitors, Barristers, suburban mums,
a public schoolboy with a group of his chums.
They moan about Yasser, sink halves of lager,
 men eye the barmaid
and mutter 'they'd rather'.
Then:
It's back to the office.
Home to; 'the wife'
doing the garden, watching That's Life.
And once again, Monday morning.
There, there, there, surely it isn't that bad:
You can disguise yourself in a collar and tie
and a 'ready to wear' from Burtons.
But.
Please, Mr Suburban man
On Saturday night, pull the curtains



Capability Red           aprox'   1976

TINA

Memories fade like a newspaper cutting in a frame from yesteryear.
The dream approaching platform ten, does not stop here. Not stop here.
Bargain hunter-gatherers compare discounts below half price,
the simple boy is deeply immersed in the world of his hand held device.
Between Corinthian columns the role of Monkey Harris is rehearsed,
audition over, into the night urbanian hordes disperse.
The restlessness of myth is traded in dealing rooms,
besuited, consciousless zombies feast on tomorrows gloom..
We are all customers now, there is no such thing as society.
Quality, value, rewards, emptiness in every shade and variety.
But the lifestyle that you ordered is currently out of stock.
Thank you for using TINA, the heartbleat of the flock.
And ideas left unattended will be removed and may be destroyed,
have you swiped your self  checkout card? Resistance is null and void.
Was this template for tomorrow ever the voters choice?
consumer charters, opinion polls. Profits that have no voice.
Read our price guarantee, enter our loyalty maze.
There is no alternative. There are no reported delays.


Capability Red          2014

Little Men

Look at the little men.
They're all walking slowly away,
climbing the stairs of wisdom.
Oh, look, they've all opened doors.
Except that one. He's coming back,
he's asking for a pair of shoes.
Why? He can't run.
A millennium says he'll never learn.
Any offers?



Capability Red           aprox' 1974

Three Years

Three years, fulfilling the third carriage fantasies.
Never knowing if she's coming or going.
Becoming a star in a middle age dream,
a voice on the 'phone,
or a face in the stream.

She's Marilyn Monroe
to the business man from Tring,
and every Tuesday evening
a schoolgirl on a swing.

She's only twenty two
going on fifty one.
Her face keeps coming undone.

These three years have been hell.
She can't tell her Mum or Dad,
they'd be sad.

And where
will it end?

Another three years?



Capability Red            aprox 1974

A Day in Her Death

Morning comes as well it might,
and hours surrender, hail the night.
Oh. She's out again!
Wandering.
Feline.
Beeline for the door.
We've seen it all before.
A day in her death.

Single bars and clubs you know.
She may come
and she may go.
She'll never settle down.
But bet your life she'll be around.
It's just a day in her death.
A day in her death.



Capability Red             1976