round the dover cliffs
back 50 and my warring grandfather saw this
but round the dover cliffs and onto green
the clash on the radio, the disaffected east,
it gives me heart ache.
further on to a bed in York,
oh glorious bed of filth,
and a mad jewish german
reads Shelley in her hellish lilt,
"put that shit down,
take off your shirt"
I want you now

and further to the Norwegian girl
who lived in Amsterdam but spoke Australian
whose body was a perfect mix
of fragile flesh and
running milk
which moved against me
willingly
for love

but all I had was fuck.

and then we come to something else,
a french slip with a heart of gold
and I, the civil warrior
whose battles were a laughing stock
fell upon my sword
"see how I bleed?"
but she could not pull the blade
from this heart of stone.

oh grow up, you are only flesh and blood,
just like us.

and the german girl came back
with her bad songs and self-harm hopes
"you could marry me" she says in faith
"you're a stupid fucking nutter" I explained
and we fell together
on to a bed
less comfortable,
though her breasts were quite the marvel,
the talk of all the town,
I'd have rather played guitar.

and then stoned,
lying by the kitchen sink,
trousers around ankles
are you alright love she says?
i'll be fine, i'm just going back to hell,
and don't fucking love me because I'm weak,
it's just a dirty joke,
I will break you in due time.

so goes life.