Elephant Small Vol 1 Read online

Elephant Small

  Vol 1

  Stanski

  Copyright©2013 Stanski

  Crawling Distance

  In Decline

  The Night Jasmine

  The Fourth Millennium

  Hotel 27

  A Fetish For Frustration

  Cover photo © Stanski

  Elephant Small

  Vol 1

  Contents

  1. Fantastic Journey

  2. Love Song

  3. A Pack Of Cigs, A Pack Of Lies, And A Barrel Of Fun

  4. Mirror, Mirror

  5. Dream

  6. The Fat Side Of The Ocean

  7. Because Of Mum

  8. Finding Our Voices

  9. Not Cricket

  10. Manchester (La la la)

  11. Rough Riff Demo From Vapo… Where?

  12. There’s Only One

  13. S O L D O U T – Due To Diminished Responsibility

  14. North/South Divide II

  15 Seven Ages Of Man

  16. Karma Coma

  17. LSD

  18. Fair Weather Friends

  19. More Speed, Less Haste

  20. The Bottom Line

  21. No Future

  22. Denial

  23. Triolet – Time

  24. You’ll Live Forever In My Heart And Mind

  25. A Life Of Convenience

  26. Wheels

  27. Forgiven, Forgotten

  28. Idealists

  29. Operation

  30. Acceptance: First Draft

  31. Diamond Day

  32. From Father To Son

  33. Cultivating Confidence In Shrinking Violets

  34. More To Life

  35. Subjective Subjunctive

  36. TheTime Of Our Life

  37. It’s Up To You

  38. Foreign Currency?

  39. Gratitude

  40. Declaration Of Dependence

  About The Author

  1. Fantastic Journey

  The terminal; workstation

  The writer’s frustration

  Awaiting thought's arrival

  En route to survival

  Deprived of sleep

  Deadlines to keep

  He's one of the toilers

  The midnight oilers

  Twitching and dribbling

  Waking and scribbling

  Fragmented dreams

  Condense, become themes

  Forming the seams

  The robust beams

  That support continuity

  Inspire ingenuity

  Ensuring lucidity

  Correcting stupidity

  Perfecting the presentation

  For the reader's imagination

  To board transportation

  Journey to a destination

  Unlike any other:

  The world of the lover;

  Deceivers outwitted;

  Crimes committed;

  Nations at war;

  An open door

  To welcome the Aliens;

  Clean-bowl the Australians;

  Find ancient pottery;

  Win the national lottery;

  Whatever your fantasy

  Just take a glance and see

  Or read between the lines

  Enter the field of mines

  That when exploded

  You'll find are loaded

  With all the devices

  The virtues, the vices

  That expand the mind

  Allow you to find

  The knowledge you seek

  On your quest for the unique

  2. Love Song

  Is our love just about romance and sex?

  Or is there something else that goes with it?

  Heartbreak, disappointment, for a start

  Hardship, difficulty, things that don’t fit

  Frustration is another obstacle

  Fashion trends, a characteristic

  Other people’s inappropriateness

  And opinions are never realistic

  Hazards, such as taking things too far

  Too fast, will lead to emptiness and doubt

  ‘Wham bam, thank-you ma’am’, that’s not for me

  I’d rather pass it by and go without

  But when I only loved you from afar

  Afraid my love was futile, unrequited

  It must be you who were blind, and not just love

  Reciprocated love got me excited

  If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t care

  I wouldn’t take the time to self-assess.

  The questions that are always on my mind

  Wouldn’t see the light of day, if I cared less

  3. A Pack of Cigs, A Pack of Lies,

  And A Barrel Of Fun

  Was it the same, when you were young?

  You had to be the correct age

  To do the things you wanted to do

  Didn’t it just fill you with rage?

  Like going to the match, you’d think

  You just turn up, support your team

  But even simple things in life

  Are not as easy as they seem

  Queuing up to get in the ground

  The click of the turnstiles beckon

  You only want to see the game

  Not as simple as you reckon

  At seventeen, with baby face

  I only want to pay half fare

  So I queue up with the juniors

  It was cheating, but who’s to care?

  A pack of cigs in my pocket

  Inside the gate, police are perched

  I thought I knew what I should say

  When it was my turn to be searched

  “What’s all this then? How old are you?”

  The copper asked me, to my face

  “I’m just sixteen,” I lied to him

  “I’ve a dilemma, in that case

  Do you want to lose the ciggies?

  Or go next door and pay full price?”

  He had me, bang to rights, of course

  “I’m only fourteen” I rolled the dice

  He tossed the packet on a pile

  It must have been a metre high

  Hundreds of other ‘kids’ caught out

  Not the only one then, was I?

  Going home, we all took the bus

  An inspector got on to check

  All the passengers had tickets

  I was sitting on the top deck

  Armed with a double agenda

  He took my ticket in his hand

  And asked me, “Son, how old are you?”

  “Fifteen,” I lied; he took a stand

  He said “So when’s your birthday, son?”

  I told him “May the fifteenth, sir”

  At least I’d given him the right date

  But he wanted to know “What year?”

  By now, everyone was staring

  But I just looked him in the eye

  And with a grin, told him the truth

  “It’s every year, until I die”

  The sad inspector didn’t smile

  He just continued with his job

  And said; no hint of irony

  “Show me the proof, or shut your gob”

  When we were young, we only wished

  We could be older, more clever

  But the fun we had pretending

  Will live in our minds forever

  Now we’re older, wiser, closer

  To drawing our old age pension

  We wish we weren’t ‘a certain age’

  That number we never mention

  4. Mirror, Mirror

  There is a well-known saying

  You must have heard it

  “If you really wa
nt to know

  Look in the mirror”

  But mirrors are confusing

  Left is on the right

  Is it all the wrong way round?

  Are we to assume

  Opposites do not attract?

  And does ‘yes’ mean ‘no’?

  Is something wrong really right?

  Is bad really good?

  They never make me look slim

  Athletic, handsome

  So they seem to have that right

  Much to my distress

  But something I need to know

  Not just me, I’m sure

  If images are back to front

  Does the same apply

  To everything? What about

  The lies they don’t tell?

  5. Dream

  Recollections of a place

  Open country; open range

  Given to me by God’s grace

  Sleep induced reminders; how strange

  Memory’s pleasant neighbourhood

  Open doors and open hearts

  The safety of my childhood

  The point at which nostalgia starts

  Beautiful environment

  Open minds and open fires

  Security, enchantment

  A fusion of dreams and desires

  Tranquillity all around

  Open eyes and open arms

  Comfortable, soothing sound

  Reverie dismisses all qualms

  Living luxury landscape

  Open fields and open skies

  Such a relaxing escape

  A way of life that never dies

  Everything; thought provoking

  Open reason; open rhyme

  Feel-good factor evoking

  The adventure of a night-time

  6. The Fat Side Of The Ocean

  They tell me that the ocean

  Is not just wet and flat

  In fact, it’s cold and deep as well

  But everyone knows that

  But what about the ocean

  That Mermaids sing about?

  It’s unlike any other one

  Of that, I have no doubt

  I don’t mean the Atlantic

  Pacific, or the rest

  This ocean that I know about

  Is neither East nor West

  This ocean has a FAT side

  And not just ‘near and far’

  But which side do you mean, my son?

  Can we get there by car?

  The FAT side of this ocean

  Accessible by boat

  Is ninety million miles away

  Space travellers take note!

  The sun is slightly further

  If you go the other way

  It takes no time to reach this place

  But you can’t go there by day

  I went there, once, at bedtime

  And swam from shore to shore

  The strangest fish I’d ever seen

  Directed me, and more

  A Mermaid swam before them

  And led them with her song

  She had a soft and gentle voice

  That carried through the throng

  She sang of the ocean’s FAT side

  Explaining to the Earth

  That ocean’s only get this FAT

  In order to give birth

  The FAT side of the ocean

  Came into view at dawn

  With one last heave, one final push

  A brand new DAY was born

  7. Because of Mum

  I was small,

  Having a ball;

  Learning things

  That growing brings

  To all kids,

  Making their bids

  In their lives;

  The over five’s.

  Thanks to Mum

  I could become

  A hero;

  Someone to know.

  I remember

  One September

  In the park,

  Making my mark.

  Not at first,

  I was the worst;

  Small and scared,

  Just not prepared.

  Six years old,

  It felt so cold.

  Mum close by

  Lit up the sky.

  Mother said

  “Don’t be afraid

  Don’t be scared.”

  She always cared.

  Reaching out

  I had to shout

  “Give me hope!”

  I couldn’t cope.

  It was just

  A case of trust,

  Confidence;

  Need of patience

  Instead I

  Began to cry.

  Mum was near,

  Dispelling fear.

  Typical;

  Theatrical;

  That was me;

  A big baby.

  “Try again

  There’ll be no pain,

  Only joy;

  You’re a big boy.”

  Melody;

  A symphony

  In my ears,

  Despite my tears.

  With a smile,

  After a while

  Courage came.

  She called my name.

  “Get through it;

  You can do it.

  Just be brave;

  It’s what you crave.”

  Always right,

  Just like at night,

  In my bed;

  My dreams were fed.

  “Now you know;

  I told you so.

  Now you’ll like

  Riding your bike.”

  Filled with pride,

  I used to ride

  Every day,

  And in my way

  I thanked her;

  Gave her laughter.

  Not a word,

  But she still heard.

  She’d cured me;

  Made me happy.

  Saddle sore,

  I cried no more.

  8. Finding Our Voices

  Public speaking was not my strength

  My vocals refused to carry

  I coaxed my chords until, at length

  Pitch and Tone agreed to marry

  At the top of my voice, I felt

  I sounded like somebody else

  But I shouted out loud to see

  If people would listen to me

  I couldn’t believe the effect

  As the words issued from my lips

  Despite all the rises and dips

  Though I had nothing fresh to say

  A new dimension to my range

  The reaction was rather strange

  Had they felt intimidated,

  Provided the correct response,

  Because they felt obliged to act?

  Or was it imagination?

  Quietly, I dwelt on the fact;

  It’s all in the presentation

  So

  Why do you take sincerity so negatively?

  Is it just insecurity?

  Or

  do you do what you do for your desired reaction?

  If that’s the case, here it is;

  nice!

  Inspired by encouragement, go ahead, give us more.

  Try to make it ‘nice’, like last time,

  please.

  Now we have your attention, try to understand us.

  It’s the things you do that inspire,

  so

  we find we have to state the thoughts they provoke in us,

  but you seem to want only praise.

  Why?

  Praise and platitude, as close as brother and sister;

  pay a visit to their cousin;

  truth.

  If we’re making this concept hard for you to swallow,

  chew it over, then swallow your

  pride.

  Don’t you know, every thought, every word, every action

  you perform, displays a wisdom

  rare?

  You
r actions, especially, speak louder than mere words.

  Please allow the words we use, their

  voice.

  9. Not Cricket

  It knows no boundaries

  The scoreboard’s straight forward

  Concentrated action

  Beginning to end

  It’s like a religion

  All over the country

  Services celebrated

  Every weekend

  It’s never over

  But it’s often wide

  It’s played on a pitch

  Eleven a side

  Fours are quite common

  Sixes are rare

  Singles more often

  Sometimes a pair

  It’s not called ‘Not Cricket’

  It has its own name

  More grave than life or death

  It’s a funny old game

  You guessed it, it’s Football

  Not 'soccer' or 'ball'

  It’s man-made, in England

  Supported by all

  10. Manchester (La La La)

  The only team in Manchester

  Played in the FA Cup

  One year, when I was just a lad

  And bothered turning up

  The third round draw took us away

  To dodgy London Town

  Playing against Watford

  Not exactly the jewel in the crown

  The local boys from ‘MCD’

  Were CITY, through and through

  They hired a dodgy mini-bus

  From Dodgy Dave, a blue

  It took us hours to make the trip

  Through deep, mid-winter snow

  Johnny ‘Nesh’, complained all the way

  Did he really want to go?

  The Beech Road Boys were there in force

  At least a dozen strong

  “You must have come in a taxi!”

  They taunted, with their song

  It was in the days of standing

  The terraces were full

  Of CITY boys, who made more noise

  The ‘home’ fans sounded dull

  The ‘home’ fans were confined to seats

  As CITY took the ground

  Three sides went up as CITY scored

  One never made a sound

  And when the final whistle blew

  One goal had stolen the show

  And those ten thousand CITY fans

  Returned home in the snow

  11. Rough Riff Demo From Vapo…Where?

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