SOUTHAMPTON DOCK

They disembarked in '45

And no one spoke and no one smiled

There were too many spaces in the line

They gathered at the Cenotaph

And all agreed with hands on heart

To sheath the sacrificial knives

But now she stands upon Southampton Dock

With her handkerchief and her summer frock

Clings to her wet body in the rain

In quiet desperation

Kuckles white against the slippery reins

She bravely waves the boys goodbye again

And still the dark stain spreads between

their shoulder blades

A mute reminder

of the poppy fields and graves

And when the fight was over

we spent what they had made

But in the bottom of our hearts

We felt the final cut

TWO SUNS IN THE SUNSET

In my rear view mirror

The sun is going down

Sinking behind bridges in the road

And I think of all the good things

That we have left undone

And I suffer premonitions

Confirm suspicions

Of the holocaust to come

The rusty wire that holds the cork

That keeps the anger in

Gives way and suddenly

It's day again

The sun is in the east

Even though the day is done

Two suns in the sunset

Could be the human race is run

Like the moment when the brakes lock

And you slide towards the big truck

You stretch the frozen moment with your fear

And you'll never hear their voices

And you'll never see their faces

You have no recourse to the law anymore

And as the windshield melts

My tears evaporate

Leaving only charcoal to defend

Finally I understand

The feelings of the few

Ashes and diamonds

Foe and friend

We were all equal in the end