An axiom I heard once states:
If you always do
What you've always done,
Then you'll always get
What you always got.
To paraphrase and reiterate:
What's worse,
Waking up one morning
And realizing you're not
What you hoped you'd be,
Or realizing you still are
What you always were?
Tack on this wisdom to round out the plot:
You can only do the best you can,
So remember as you start each day,
Tomorrow hasn't happened yet,
And yesterday is best forgot.
THE HACK
Out of the yard,my daughter and me,on a hot
summer day of Eighty-three.Hastoe to Cadsden,
there and back,eight hours in the saddle,for our
first all-day hack.Onto the canter path,down to
Paines End,through Fox Lane the route did wend.
Into a copse ,keeping the pace to an even flow.
Up to Dunsmore,past the Black Horse, we followed
the course.Chequers, Pondswood,down hill to the pub.
Horses tethered for a rest,we ate our ploughmans with
a pint of the landlord's best.Back in the into the saddle,
at the canter to retrace our steps and in Hastoe as the
clock struck four,to stack the tack on the stable door
Give me an a.
Add an N and a G.
Put on a B
Take off the G
Tack on a D.
Toss off the B.
Now you can add whatever letter
you want to the engine.
Sand, stand, gland, rand
Wonder why reading is so complicated?
But why are we not teaching phonics?
I am lying in my veins today looking at this
with concern…
Darkness is the only light
I seek, silence the only sound
I take heed, such is my plight
Scent of death come the bloodhound,
Take me down into the depths of
The cloudy skies drifting above,
I've spun out of your orbit
And I'm off into the nearest sun,
The last bullet I must have bit
Hollowed out the chambers of your gun,
Burning in and burning up
The oxygen in my lungs
I got too close
And singed my nose,
Ladder from the moon
I've broken all the rungs
No way back
Unless I tack on another tack,
Runneth over my cup
Spilled from thy lips and soon,
The stars will fall
Drops of light into my dark, call
Off the ravens and bring
The vultures that sing,
Over my melancholy
No crime or folly,
I've still got a smile
Because an alligator ate a crocodile...
Tick tack on the wall,
Knocking all the wall,
Scaring us all,
Muscling the muscles,
Muscling the morsels in us,
Quickening the finest deep,
The hidden gold of gold,
A dignity of labour,
How loyal and diligent you are,
Precious and precarious,
Dangerous and conspicuous.
TIME !!TIME!!TICK TACK!
Running without waiting for anybody,
How impatient could man be,
In your sound you keep man,
In haste at everydawn,
Thou hath in the haste of full dawn,
Desperately desperate,
Anxiously anxious,
Wisely wise are we and you
Preciously precious,
Nothing can be done without you that's obivously obvious.
TIME !!TIME!!TICK TACK!
We chose to choose you,
Working to work with you,
Falling to fall with you,
No time no food,
No time no suite,
No time no cheat,
No time no shift,
No time no me,
there is set time for everything,
Mama use to say,
Patience is virtue of time,
that's the way whichever way.
TIME !!TIME!!TICK TACK!
Tick tack on the wall,
Knocking all the wall,
Scaring us all,
Muscling the muscles,
Muscling the morsels in us,
Quickening the finest deep,
The hidden gold of gold,
A dignity of labour,
How loyal and diligent you are,
Precious and precarious,
Dangerous and conspicuous.
TIME !!TIME!!TICK TACK!
Running without waiting for anybody,
How impatient could man be,
In your sound you keep man,
In haste at everydawn,
Thou hath in the haste of full dawn,
Desperately desperate,
Anxiously anxious,
Wisely wise are we and you
Preciously precious,
Nothing can be done without you that's obivously obvious.
TIME !!TIME!!TICK TACK!
We chose to choose you,
Working to work with you,
Falling to fall with you,
No time no food,
No time no suite,
No time no cheat,
No time no shift,
No time no me,
there is set time for everything,
Mama use to say,
Patience is virtue of time,
that's the way whichever way.
TIME !!TIME!!TICK TACK!
The light bounces off the walls as i awake in a room that constantly changes. It shifts
and changes colors and shapes, while i remain the same. While years tack on age and length
and weight. I remain unchanged, like a statue, frozen with my memories. Waiting to be
undone; here just waiting for what?
A Man with Children
The way I walk these days the tips
of my soles and the edge of my heels
wear out too fast for a man with children.
So I tell Rocco, cobbler nonpareil,
"Tack on four cleats,
two in front, two in back"
so I can walk home between
two shopping bags
and whatever pride I can summon.
All four blocks of concrete,
I'll keep those cleats from clicking.
Ten years ago I wore cleats
as big as doubloons;
I struck them so hard sparks
flew from the sidewalk.
You bet all the girls
in my school knew
a man was walking behind them.
Donal Mahoney
Cleats
The way I walk these days the tips
of my soles and the edge of my heels
wear out too fast for a man with children.
So I tell Rocco, cobbler nonpareil,
"Tack on four cleats,
two in front, two in back"
so I can walk home between
two shopping bags
and whatever pride I can summon.
All four blocks of concrete,
I'll keep those cleats from clicking.
Ten years ago I wore cleats
as big as doubloons;
I struck them so hard sparks
flew from the sidewalk.
You bet all the girls
in my school knew
a man was walking behind them.
Donal Mahoney
Out of the yard,daughter Bev and me,on a hot summer day of Eighty-three.Hastoe
to Cadsden,there and back,eight hours in the saddle..for our first all-day
hack.Onto the canter path,down to Paines End,through Fox Lane our route did
wend.Into a copse ,missing branches low,keeping the pace to an even flow.Up to
Dunsmore,past the Black Horse,via Little Hampden we followed the course.Past
Chequers and into Pondswood,down the hill to reach the pub.
Tethered the horses to the garden trees,ordered a ploughmans,with pickle and
cheese.Feet up awhile for a long rest,enjoying a pint of the landlord's best.
Into the saddle,no time to laze,off at a canter in the heat haze.Back in Hastoe as
the clock struck four,to stack the tack on the stable door.