Poetry and Lyrics

By Simon Mark Smith

Covering over 40 years of poetry and song writing this final volume of Smith's work includes over  65 poems,120 song lyrics and over 60 illustrations. From the thoughts of a fighter pilot to the disdain of pretentious poetry readings, through quiet evening light, Simon Mark Smith's poems and lyrics are both thought-provoking and emotionally resonant. Take a look inside and see for yourself. Simon Mark Smith is an author, singer-songwriter, painter, and digital artist. He has been involved in the music business for over 30 years and has released critically acclaimed music albums, as well as having his poetry published in various magazines and commissions from corporate bodies such as Microsoft.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon Mark Smith
• Release date: Sep 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781738520268

Simon Mark Smith

Simon Mark Smith is a singer-songwriter, painter, digital artist, photographer, writer, teacher, and karate-ka.

Book preview

1

WE WILL MEET ON BRIDGES

Sunrise Across the River

We will meet on bridges

Across the Thames

At 5 am

In smoky bars

You’ll capture my heart

And at dawn

Let it go again

You inspire my children

In laughter

Take my thoughts

And turn them into others

Lay gifts at the root

Of my journeys

Trickle miracles

Through my fingers

Bring words

Of peace

To troubles

Read poetry

In the darkness

Sing silence

Within me

Give to

Receive me

Your love

To teach

Me

Let

Me

Be

24 th November 2002

2

MEET ME - TAKE TWO

Brighton Pier

And action

I open the door

You smile at the camera

The stars that guide you

Guide me too

Fast forward

We climb the stairs

Rewind

Your fingers kiss

Pause

A moment there

Slow-Mo replay

In my arms you rise

I fall

Quiet!

From crying laughter

Play Animation sequence

Our naked love Is born

Lip-Sync

My mouth fills with your taste

My heart is full of night

Fade to white

Your sleepy breathing

Offers me a fall

Make-up!

Then a height

Jenny, is the set ready?

Across the sea

The boat lights shine

The stars that guide them

Guide me too

Zoom, then blur

To the touch of your lips on mine

Can’t wait for the rushes

Roll credits

My darling

For your love I thank you

Jenny! For God’s sake love

Meet me in the water

Come with me upon our bed

Dissolve

Even if the evening wind

Catches our last breath

Lower lights, please

I want to sleep

Beneath your weight

Under the same roof

Is there something

You can’t see

Strobe transitions

Are dreams your truth

End titles commence

What if what you do

Kills the love

Of those who love you

Close up

I look into the sorrow

Of your gaze

Flash fade

In ecstatic fear

You close your eyes

Freeze frame

Jen!

Meet me on the pier

Or in the water

Where it meets the sky

Fade to grey

Meet me

In the shadows of our love

Silence please

We’re almost finished

And greet me in the kisses

Of goodbye

And cut

18 th March 2007

3

POEM FOR A TEXT-TO-SPEECH SYNTHESISER

Plastic Words

 There is something about

The austere reverential trudge

Of a poet reading a poem

That moves me

To a murderous compulsion

Unintended I expect

Rhyming with everything

I regret

Written with the greatest respect

26 th October 2014

4

POEM COMMISSIONED BY MICROSOFT 2002

Connected

Connected

To a timeless place

A world where I am me

A dream where I walk

At my own pace

And see what I can be

25 th November 2002

Someone from Microsoft called me on Wednesday 24th November 2002 and asked if I could prepare a poem for the following Monday. I came up with about 25 ideas during that time. The poem above is the one they chose.

5

I STEP LEFT

Your sword

Rushes air

Upon my face

Slow motion

Moments

Drawn

Quietly

It is not death

That strikes fear

Through me

But your wish

To bring agony

Your eyes search

For weakness

Mine sense

Your yearning

I sway my right side

Away from you

Your imbalance

An opportunity

You start to fall

Your face sleeps

You dream

Of surrendering

Your hands grip

Ever harder

We do not plan

To die

The moment

Slides

Within

28th May 2003

6

THE BIRTH

Mother and Child

The cold air stroked my face

Someone joined the gathering

The warm, damp breath of cattle

Hushed shuffling and mutterings

Upon the straw bed

That was mine

That I had laid fresh this day

Water trickled

Like a miracle

November 2002

7

FAITH AND ALLEGATION

Desert Lands

I am on the side

Of the angels

And the helicopter’s

Flying high

I’m with you

In the lightness

Of the sky

Just look at that

Isn’t it something

Just look at me

Ain’t I somebody

Well, we’re flying

With the angels

Making fun

Of their guiding lights

I am with you

In this blue

Your left side’s

Still in view

Can you hear them

Singing

Or is it the blades

Just spinning

I am chasing angels

Through cerulean skies

Tonight

But it’s a difficult differentiation

Of faith and allegation

And the angels

Ain’t God willing

To sit for interrogation

28 th July 1990

8

A MIRACLE COMES TO LAND

A pinpoint of light across the sky

Like a miracle comes to land

On the outstretched palm

Of your empty hand

The city smells rise

Haunting associations

And though I love the smell

Of wood more

I would miss this man-made

Permeation

It is not the excitement

But the scent of life

What tree laughs so openly?

What man stands so sturdily?

I look at you

Hear words

And convey them

Back to you

Mathematics plus

Improbability

Equals

Laughter

Tonight,

I am saturated

By a feeling of well being

The day has moved well for me

I will stop writing

And you will kiss me

As we lie in bed

And talk gently

And this day taken

For now

Has moved kindly

Around me

But these marks upon the page

Will never be so beautiful

As when in semi-darkness

They become unreadable

12 th April 1991

9

OLD GROUND

To sit and watch the sun

The wind draws lines

Upon the land

To walk and feel you

Close inside

To take away the pain

And sleep soundly

To live life happily

To walk over old ground

Mother puts her head around

The door

And says goodnight

1985

10

THE REVOLUTIONARY

The picture pans

Across the sea

To the place

You held my breath

In your clenched fist

The revolutionary

The tears you cried

Found their way to me

Like crocodiles

Reptiles tied up

Set free

February 1990

11

WHERE THE BIRDS FLEW DOWN

Where the birds flew down

I stood kicking dust

In the shadowed light

Of evening

Two men emptied their pipes

On the veranda

They looked up

Kicking their ashes

Between cracks

In the wood

8 th August 1990

12

THE FEAR

On the landing

I look down the stairs

Tell the incubi to

Turn and go back down

The storm brings death to the front

Takes me back to fear

Where I talked to the heads

On sticks

Walked down roads

On sticks

Kissed the baby

In the arms of a mother

Kissed the maybe

In the arms of a lover

An old man I know

Walks his dog

Looks up

And watches his life go by

In an old wheelbarrow

Have I kissed you lately?

Have I kissed you lately?

Fear is the gift of thieves

Was it a kiss I stole

The door opens

A man walks in

Takes his hat off

And sits looking down

He positions it

Between his knees

Cries

Then handcuffs me

1990

13

THE INSTINCT HINT OF LOVE

Can we collude

Or will we collide

Will we unite

Will we harmonise

With one accord

And hand in glove

Consenting accompaniments

There’ll be a vote of no confidence

For our government of love

The consensus of opinion

And the adequacy

Of a well-written word

Scratched on the back

Of a gloveless hand

Blood comes to the surface

But doesn’t erupt

It’s the tendency

Of the tender-hearted

The vulnerability

Of the submissive martyrs

And the potentiality

Of the deathless departed

Death is in our inability

To communicate

The depths of our learning

Meaning turns to dust

With the mourning light

The irony of dawning

The deadline

Of our learning

I am left alone listening

To the oblivious logic of intuition

(The adequacy of an inner notion)

The instinct hint

The paradox riddle

Of lucid foresight

The false reading

Of mystification

The confusion

Of the simple truths

The sophistry

Of the ignor-ant-ing

I visit the institute of intuition

Illuminated by past life souls

Guided by the shadows of light

30 th July 1990

14

POEM ABOUT DISABILITY - 1989

After a hundred films

On the doings of the disabled

I am bored

Their purpose of education

Swamped by their entertaining

Tears of joy

Not another film

On being bloody marvellous

Either that

Or a grubby black and white advert

Cerebral-palsy thoughts

Close the door

After the collection

And a thousand emotions

Holding apart

Pressures from out

From in

And the door

Held fast in place

Sympathy preceding

Lunch time jokes in the pub

Amazement preceding

Prejudice at the job Interview

We meet

Me in the way

Of your easy day

You look to me

Your shock

Still startles me

We talk

And I know my words

Fall into the background

As every move I make

Disturbs you

But time will eventually

Encompass me

Into your normality

And then

Maybe friendship

I am one in a range

Of a million abnormalities

You come to me

For an easy answer to

How should I be with them?

But there is none

Even the word ‘disabled’

With its worthless meaning

And in-valid categorisations

Of very different people

Causes pain

And all these bloody

Marvellous films

What change did they make

You’d still treat me the same

If I came for your daughter’s love

How would you feel

I am here to let you see

This discomfort

Between us

Revealing

The hidden war

But my first battle

Is to make you want

To understand

So, I show you the pain

But still

You can’t help

But see the funny side

As you degrade me knowingly

Or in ignorance

And tell me

I’ve a chip on my shoulder

But it’s my humanity that leads me

To anger

So, I can’t stop wanting

To disturb you

From a complacency

You’re so ready to excuse

I have realised the impasse

We face

You

Close the door

And choose an easy life

So, we ease the pain

With humour

And simplicity

1989

15

GO NO FURTHER

This is some sacred book

Written in half light

Out of town

Where all-out war was written

In the early months of pregnancy

I never felt safe stepping out of bed

And in bed I looked

Out of sight

She said, "Look between my legs.

What do you see?"

I saw red

A red hole that smelt strange

I don’t like that, I said

And got back into bed

Go on touch me again, she said

Come here and touch me again.

I’ll hide the blame

But that’s the kind of anger

That will leave one standing naked

In crowds of non-attentive strangers

What joy in cruelty

And pain in love