Summer

We roll up our sleeves
Summer is coming
We lay back in our bed
Blood swimming in our head
We should be pleased but we are all out of cans
They are our poison
Hair all a mess
Clothes dirty
We don't know what to do
Take a walk
Feel the sun on our back
Summer is here
We should be happy.

Mind

It's all in the mind she says
I roll over in the empty bed
Morning comes and tricks us with its stare
The birds hoot
We laugh inside
Put on our clothes
Leave the house
Come back and all will be the same
It's all a game
The stolen man set us up
Holds a present in the air
Tricks our mind
I hold her tight
Nobody can steal our thoughts.

Skin

Her tongue licks the salt off my skin
Our mouths are scorched
Stitch our lips
Let no one in
We eagerly await the little brown boxes of freedom
Constantly tracking
Anything to numb our sense
She wears blue
Her features are small
Like dolly's hands
I hold onto her so tight I can feel her breath on my shoulder
Real
Innocent
True
Her tongue licks the salt off my skin
I will always let her in.

Invention

We breathe in the air
It is a new game
Try not to breathe
Hide the carrier bag
Tuck the laces in our shoes
We are our own invention
Wishing for tomorrow
Hating the day
Longing for night
Rest
Blisters aching
Nothing is right
We can't feel
Numb
Mute
Distanced
The stolen man walks on broken glass
I wait to see him
He hides in the shadows
I wish he would cast a light on me
It's all about growing and becoming
Words are not enough
We would re-invent our thinking to see him
Please state your name and number
I will breathe in the air and stop the clock.

Troubled

We are troubled
Everything is thick and gelatinous
We glide down the canvas like paint
All swirled up in a mess of hair and dreams
What we want is simple
What we need we have to chase
Just like Rabbit down the hole
Clock stuck at 3am
Eyes shut
Bags of clothes
People on the periphery
Faces lost in the brushstrokes
We can't look you in the eye
We can't say love
Everything a mess
Caught up in the swirl of paint
Dripping thick down the canvas skies.

Play

It is all a game
Tests and numbers
We all fall down
Lies and truths
We don't know which is which
They turn the lights off
We look at our body in the dark
Better that way
Endless hours spent in the waiting room
Who dares make the next move
Check mate
I understand
But it doesn't take away the longing
Home
Red Bed
Alice
It's all a game
I have been out manoeuvred
I hate that
Check mate
I understand.

Inject

We wash our face
Nothing calms the unswayed spite
We must confess
Undress
Check
Inject
It is a torrid tale
We traverse the channel with sand in our shoes
Spend so much time in the sect of our head
People can be calm and gracious
Or scare the shit out of us
We are both
Like husband and wife
Separated
Alone
Unaligned
Nothing makes things better
We dream of home
We want to be treated gently
But rough arms grab us
Pull us under
It hardly seems fair
They say it is for our health
We disagree
Cry silent tears and wait.

Sheets

We disappear in the folding of sheets
They whisper sweet melodies
Death and dying muttering under their breath
We are here to rediscover something
Drag ink over paper
Pin over skin
It comforts us
Like the whir of helicopter wings
We hear voices
They comfort us with their magic
It would be a miracle if they appear
Instead we have to sit and wait
Sit and wait
Listen for clues
Pick up crumbs
Line up sticks
It's all a game
But we no longer want to play.

Words

The birds sweep and sway in the breeze
The colours burn the back of our eyes
We stare at the sun
It airs our clothes
The smell is morning dew
We remember everything
We remember nothing
Shh don't say a word
Smile
Wave
Parrot fashion
We stand on the top of the hill
Look down
Wonder what it would be like to fly
We don't have wings silly
She chuckles
Never leaves me
We are stranded in the rain forest
All alone
Falling down together.

Vision

We keep our eyes cast down
Swallow stars and unicorns
Time tick tocks stuck and sticky
We sleep in our clothes
Feel the body next to us in the bed
Breathing
Pulse taking
No sleep
No dreams
Windows black
Flowers scorched
All we have is our head
The visions inside
The messages come thick and fast
All a game
A test
We always fail
Body smells bad
Mind all afloat
We lie still
Close our eyes
Imagine what could be
Know what is.

Down

We sit in the dying room
Blisters on our toes
Strange smell upon our clothes
Plastic cups
Clock stuck at noon
Always waiting
Always waiting
Alice hides in a plastic bag
I brush her hair when the lights go out
All we want is the red bed
A few cans and a little oxygen
Our home
Constant talking in our head
So loud
Such fear that it will stop
That silence will take over our hands
What can we do but sit and wait
The dying room has windows
We can look out but instead choose to keep our head down.

Light

A stranger walks into the room

Switches the light on and off

Like doubts and wishes plugged in and out
I feel my pulse
It is racing
Toast the bread
Keep the devil at bay
Snatch a shy sleep
Growling stomach
Shivering feet
We dream of lakes and swimming
Carrying our burdens like Sisyphus
Our skin has stripes
If you touch it
It would feel like tree rings

Counting time

A stranger walks into the room

Switches the light on and off. 

Voice

She stirs the tea cup with her silver spoon
It has been so many years the bottom of the china is worn and frayed
Her hair falls in curls upon her face
She waits for morning
She longs for sleep
They stole the red bed and emptied the cans
She cried
She always cries but the tears are dry
Crusts of remembrance
Time falls down the rabbit hole
She lost the pocket watch on the fall down
She hears the voices
Time for tea
She knows the game
Plays the rules
Stirs the tea
Combs her hair
Waits for morning.