I have shaken

the hand

of a man

who went on

to become a President,

and told a former

Prime Minister to sail away.

I have been certain of where I am

half way round the world

yet still felt lost

as I looked into the eyes of love, never sure

how I managed to lose

my bearings and my heart

in such a small leap.

I have witnessed death

and blood congealing in my lap,

I have helped a cow give birth

on a field just outside of Biddulph Moor

and wondered why I wept more

at the sound of the echoing whispered moo.

I have been stone cold drunk

as the world ended, I have been unhappily

happy and sober

when my world fell apart.

I have lied to protect those

that didn’t deserve my faith,

I have been let down and abandoned

for refusing to take a side

when both were in the wrong.

I have loved the mistake,

I have hated the right move.

I have blown all the money in the land

on a single wish to see you solvent.

I have made the unsuitable

wear clothes lined with gold threads and silks

and the right and proper talk

like gutter trash;

I have been a fool, I have been misled,

but as I stare into your innocent eyes tonight

and wish you sweet dreams,

know that world has been deceived

by others worse than I, and whose

smiles linger just a little too long.

 

Ian D. Hall 2018