Art Gallery

This is where most of my Art is hidden
https://artavita.com/artists/8074-arbemo

now where is that tenner I hid?

The Invisible Hero

I am the invisible hero, the one they cannot beat

Donning breeches and doublet we join forces

to stand as the kings cavaliers, we will drive

Bonnie Prince back to the Scots after just three hours

I am the invisible hero, the one kids avoid

skulking into mischief around the pool

they sink to the depths till they run out of breath

Then I dive in and bring them back from danger

I am the invisible hero, the one they did not need

they changed the rules, tried to make us look fools

Said they did not need me any longer, no pay

That cut like a knife, no for them reason for strife

I am the invisible hero, who helps others to draw

With charcoal and brown paper, feathers and leather

I show others how easy it is to create a scene

It's so peaceful to scribe and bring memories back to life

I am the invisible hero, who got dealt a bitter stroke

A surprise I'll tell you, slowed me down, made me weak

Took me on a journey, I did not want to complete

But I battled that devil, I wont accept his defeat

I am the invisible hero, I don't make much noise

Sat in the corner, talking to friends, sketching away

But when you need a friend to fight alongside

I'll spring straight into action and help save the day

For my hero and very dear friend Dave Morley

On The Street

See that guy sitting there on the edge of street

begging for spare change, something to eat

People shying away too embarrassed to look

Pretending that they really don't give a – damn

Its easy to judge, why would he let himself end up like that,

not looking shabby, maybe needing a bath, a change, a meal

He's more embarrassed than you are, remembers it well

He knows the reason that he sent himself to hell

The shouts and accusations, the things you can't take back

the months of anguish and silent moments you wish you knew

how it would end, before it was too late, no help offered

No advice given, till its too late, pack your bags mate

Situation untenable, home no longer yours, take off

where to go, how to cope, oh look it's snowing!

November not kind, will anyone care, how do I do this

Live the next minute or hour, let alone a day

Not short of money, that's not the big issue, what you looking at

Too smartly dressed to sit in a doorway, nursing a holdall

Is he drunk or on drugs, been stealing or dealing

Now who's ashamed to look me in the eye comrade?

You can shelter tonight, have hot food sleep till morning

be out by eight, we can't be reponsible for you here

Don't come back till eleven and don't be drunk or drugged

You're in the corner on the floor try not to get mugged

Hug myself to sleep in a daze, dream of warmth and comforts

so far away now, a woman to cuddle and share the thought

Need a shower, not today, you have to be booked in

Maybe Wednesday, or Thursday, if we can fit you in

Despair becomes normal, a state of mind frozen in

just like my bones, am I getting that old already

Think of others in far places, always one worse off than me

They cope with horrors while we fight about bills

Don't know about God or a guardian angel

my phone rings, got you a place, better than the street

Share with some others, a hostel, warm and safe

Get your head together, it all happens so fast

Many more steps, I had to take. Watched over somehow

People work to help me sort out my life, I'm helpless

Trust these strangers, mind your valuables, clean your plate

Dont get too cosy, its just for a while, always changing

Don't worry mate, it does get better, despite what you think

How would you know? Well that was me for a while

Have some change get some food and smile, because

There is a light at the end of the tunnel cos I found it....

Who am I ?

Don't care for hate or envy, they take my energy away,

Can't abide intolerance, I am sure that we are all equal.

Try not to hurt people or animals, I'll help when I can,

Ache to see you smile and succeed, so that I can smile too.

Listen to what you have to say, even when you scream or shout,

I am not immune to not being heard, and often misunderstood.

Don't care how you dress, how much money you have,

What music you listen to, or food you eat, how you express your faith.

A woman, a man, makes no odds both just as impressive,

They are equally capable of winning a hard challenge.

Whether I see you once a year or everyday you're still my friend,

Won't talk behind your back, or take your reputation for my own.

Learn from your mistakes, don't bring them along for the ride,

treat others well no matter what they've said and done.

Spread no nasty rumours, or talk behind others backs,

Protect each other or be prepared to pay a big price

Pray to stop wars, cure diseases, feed the world, stop poverty,

Home those on the streets, don't judge till you have tried that.

Lets all work together, give each one of us a chance to shine,

And teach and encourage them to be the best that they can be.

We are all one family, fragile and mortal at the end of the day,

Don't waste mother earth and the things that she gave away.

There is a thing we all need today, not an instant cure, but a hope,

If you can be who I am too, there's plenty for all, for I am love.

What a life

Mums with six kids fighting for attention,

people drinking lager on the street for breakfast

what you looking at, can you spare some change

I wish I could afford to drink, maybe next time

A girl on a bike, tweeting, drinking coffee as she rides

got a kid on the crossbar, last time she looked anyway.

Heroine addicts queuing up for their Methodone,

kill or cure, that's what the man said, both numb the pain

Got no food, too expensive, with mobile and Sky,

Want a holiday soon, is it too much to expect to fly?

Drive too fast not enough time, too much traffic for me

Have to work for the man, pay the mortgage you see

Don't want reality, I'll watch some TV instead,

try to get on X-Factor make a fortune from mugs

I'll be a big star, famous for nothing but being glossy

Be a Kardashian, marry some rapper, get a big house

Buy more cars, more jewellery, get my boobs done,

sell out to the press, get my fifteen minutes extended

End up in rehab, maybe write my biography while there

Who know I might live long enough, to make a change

See the values I must have missed the first time around

make some real friends, give something 'stead of asking

I could help someone when they hold out a hand

believe in something more solid than the pound

Not judge so fast, make less comparison, to imagine

that perfection is something you can order on Harley St

The best thing about myself is that I can change

what I believe in, see the world differently, I hope

It's all clearer now, without going to Specsavers

that the things I should value are called friends

Who cared even when I didn't listen to them speak

and welcome me back with smiles and hugs

What a life!

Sitting here

Sitting in a pub chewing Wi-Fi

Talking to a friend I'll never meet

Discussing local politics

Full of despair and deceit

Looking at a lady smiling at me

not the sort of smile I wanted

I crawl back into my head

it's safer in here I think

Have another drink my friend?

Might lessen the pain a little

Incessant football chanting

It's only a game my friend

The game isn't football really

It's life and all that's in it

A human factor, a tribe

why are we so afraid?

Doom and gloom for breakfast

warm and dry and cosy but still lonely

Another day blooms pink and blue

think I'll go for a walk, I smile

People shopping in a rush

kids screaming, I want that Mum

Too expensive, maybe later

Get in the car son, or we'll be late

I cross a road, is that symbolic?

out into fields, tall trees, flowers blooming

River runs relentless looking for the sea

birds call out, look at that guy down there...

Poetry Reflected

Poetry does not have to rhyme

In fact mine doesn't most of the time

It's just some words that come out

Hope you don't scream and shout

It's not important if you agree or not

I'm not offended if you don't give attention

It's good for the soul to scrawl my thoughts

Puts life into perspective, takes care of it all

A smile a giggle, all the same to me

Passes some minutes, tells you about me

So what's the point of this spewing of mine

Not so much really, could you scribe such lines?

Enjoy the words, phrases, pace and inflection

Take part in my introspective, poetry-reflection

I'm not singing about Roses or romance

I don't want to break hearts or leap into dance

I want to share that prose is not dead yet

So long as there is passion and ideas in my head

I'm painting a picture just using words and letters

It's abstract and impressionist, but its not a best seller

It's simple, to the point, concise in it's mission

So please forgive me if you think there's an omission

It should stand by itself, no need to contribute more

Not very political, or controversial, that's for sure

Just harmless fun, maybe even an irritation

Bathe in my words, take some inspiration

Try to write something down, not try to make sense

Show it too friends, they won't take offence

Construct a sentence, or two or four, then hit return

Soon you'll be flying to the end of the verse

Take random thoughts and ideas, mash them all together

The recipe for success is only to give it your best

Then you will see how much it fun can be

to share this moment and set yourself free

I could go on forever, now that I have started

but the chances are you will all have departed

Thanks for listening to my incessant ramblings

It's given me pleasure to make these happenings...

Time someone else, took over this mission

Enjoy your day and thank you for listening!

Painting for you

I'm painting for you, I'm painting for me

I want to show you the things I can see

It's not about still life or nice scenery

these things I paint are descriptions of me

They're emotions and ideas, moods put in colour

could be music, concern, despair and love

Representations of things I can't find words for

cast in strokes and lines, their speed important

But they come from a place below the surface

a hidden language of things so personal

the past, my pain so many things I want to share

my visions of people, places, ideals, just because

I am testing myself with each brush stroke, each pen

the lines of form, the texture of feeling, emotional colour

I'm exposing a little of my soul for you to share

the beauty of nature of creation and people

Some of it is real but much is a dream, or a hope

I would like to come true, the images hang up

and take on their own life, beyond the strokes

to become more than the sum of their parts

You my friend become part of it too, for when

you say what you like, or could change or suggest

It moulds what I do, leads me down new avenues

I have not travelled before, discovering adventures

I paint for the past and to create a future bold and new

the colours I choose pivotal to the trip

I want you to join me and paint with me too

we'll change the world and make people smile!

Just listen - message for families of mental health sufferers

Where did it start this nightmare of mine

It seems to have crept in uninvited for sure

First in the pit of the stomach a pain so tight

Depressions not about feelin' sad, it's a disease

I walk through the trees and birds to lift my mood

But upon my return the gloomy monster's still there

Follows me like a storm cloud I just cannot shake

Determined to eat me one piece at a time, why me?

How do you ask for help when you don't understand

Well I don't know the reply comes back, take some pills

They wont cure you but you'll feel better, happier

I don't want to feel happier, I want to feel well

Family think I'm awkward my moods unpredictable

The strain of working and taking care of them

New clothes new car, new problem same complaint

Money won't fix my situation, can't you simply listen

Need you to look at this, make more money, more profit

Take more work on, why haven't you done that yet

Can't think any more, can it hurt any less

Won't you leave me alone to decrease my stress

Something about to break, I think it'll be me

sliding down a slope, nothing to grab hold of

That's it now, I've had enough, no more to give

Hearts pumping strong, breathing shallow, gone dizzy

No work today just a doctor to call, worried face staring at me

Possible heart attack, he needs rest, and release from the stress

You are one step from Hospital, funny I thought it was 10 miles

He must know how to travel by thought, I wish that I could do that

Two weeks later bright eyes and bouncing along

Could it be be that my heart is so strong

Keep going to the place that made my heart race

Making the money in the hope of some honey

But my moods they still swing, got no patience

Shout and scream, it's not helping I know

DON'T TALK BACK Just let me vent steam!

Not sure I can cope, I thought I was past this

Now I am alone and walking the streets

But no home to go to, no place by the fire

It's all changed now, we'll take care of you now

Work through your problems one step at a time

We think it's mental illness, depression and stress

Keep you here for now, you know, for the best

How can I be mentally ill? now I'm not so sure

Wouldn't I notice, I thought I was ok?

Roll time backwards, where did I go wrong

What's the symptoms, the name of this trap

Don't want drugs to dull the pain, I need control

Where did I go wrong, was it me all along?

Paint some pictures, sit with the others, just like you

I'm not so sure that I fit in with this crew

My art so plain, displayed quite in shame

Who is that guy, won't you tell me your name

I like what you've done, so bright and talented

Hey yours is good, you sure got some promise

Me are you kidding? Are you being so honest?

His work is so cool, her's a dream come to life

Then I made a new friend, and then another

One by one, new faces, new pictures hanging there

Fantasies come to life, on canvas and paper

Charcoal smears swooping so full of beauty

There's a light in my life now, some passion and hope

Some people who have been there in the dark tunnel

Who know how hard it has been to explain

To loved ones that you needed a hand to recover

A person to talk and understand, mostly listen

How hard mental illness is to carry and to beat

Who knows that under the cloak a good heart can beat

A spirit can rise again, be creative and shine

Now I see others who make the hard journey

Who start to figure how to put the pieces together

With such helpful staff, many new friends, fun times

We start to realise that we have worth and esteem

A new life, bright new spirit, new hope and a chance

To be part of society and rebuild broken bridges

Regroup now, always getting stronger, like an army

Doing things we never thought we could do again

The people who help us, so impassioned and strong

Always giving, never judging, what is right, who is wrong

Each one now a friend so dear and so loving

They should get medals, what they do for so little

My rhyme hurts to write the words all so new

for memories of things that used to be true

now in the past, I have moved on down

the journey of life so amazing, thanks everyone

For paid staff, volunteers and friends at Rethink

Who help to give us back our lives and new choices

Without whom the path would be impassable

Please talk about Mental Health, but mainly JUST LISTEN!

I am an Eagle

I am an Eagle, soaring high in the clouds,

looking down on fields of crops, people like ants.

The sun beats down making my wings throb,

I can feel it warming my blood, doing me good,

Nothing can hurt me here, not feeling the pain.

A black spot grows in front of me,

I swerve to avoid it, over and over,

the blackness grows engulfing me, I'm falling!

Plummeting down to earth out of control,

I shout in fear, I don't want to go there again.

I sit up in bed gasping, shaking, what the heck?

Back to reality, not safe, cosseted by dreams.

Dread sets in, cold darkness of eternal winter.

My heart thumps with worry and stress,

what does the day hold, do I have to get up?

The door eases open, a cup of tea love?

I heard you shout, were you dreaming again?

She takes my hand and holds me to her body.

We'll get through this together, one step at a time,

Why don't you put your words, into song or a rhyme.

Paint a picture, talk to others, express yourself

Don't feel so guilty, you're allowed a good time!

We're all family here no one better or worse.

All stepping forwards, so slowly at first.

Now I'm an Eagle, soaring high in the clouds –

best of all I'm not dreaming any longer!