THE GREATEST OF GUYS

The greatest of guys has just left us,
He’s taken his last boat to sea
He’s driven his last fancy vehicle,
He’s taken the life out of me.

My big brother hero just left me,
He’s saved me just so many times,
He’d counsel against rash decisions,
Then sup on the smokes and the vines.

He was all you could want at a party,
The sharpest one lines in the house,
Way too many jokes to remember,
The lion and never the mouse.

His actions defined his commitment,
To his wife and his children and me,
The rule that he taught was to give more,
And to love as the fish loves the sea.

He taught that you can be too serious,
He’s left such a strong legacy
His actions spoke louder than words,
Lived with honesty, integrity.

The strength that he showed was enormous,
When faced with his terminal fate,
He accepted the cards that were dealt him,
Then worried for those in his wake.

He doubled the time they had given,
He told us to live and not grieve,
He cared more for those left behind,
And so tripled the love he would leave.

Farewell from your mother and father,
Farewell from your family and friends,
We are all so much richer for your life,
We will bask in your gifts to the end.

The greatest of guys has just left us,
He’s taken his last boat to sea
He’s driven his last fancy vehicle,
He’s taken the life out of me.

Mick Reid April 2014
© Michael G Reid 2014

REST WELL MY BROTHER

I’ll never be lonely
I’ll always be free
‘Cause you are my brother
You’re right next to me
So sleep well my brother
So rest well my brother
So take heart my brother
You’re always with me

There is a song
There is a sadness
I’ve carried so long
But I know you’re okay
Cause you know I care
There’s people who love you
Although you’re not there

You carry the hearts and the souls and the minds
Of your brothers, your family, your friends, your lovers
You’ll never be lonely
You’ll always be free

Be safe my brother
So long my best friend
But I’ll never leave you
You’re here till the end

When I am travelling
Alone on the road
I know that you’re with me
You know you’re still loved

We’ve journeyed so far together
We’ve journeyed so long
And you’ll be right with me
When I sing this song

So sleep well my brother
Sleep well my best friend
Cause I’ll never leave you
You’re here to the end.

I’ll never be lonely
I’ll always be free
‘Cause you are my brother
You’re right next to me
So sleep well my brother
So rest well my brother
So take heart my brother
You’re always with me

April 2014
© Michael G Reid 2014

ODE TO PETE

Come, bid me farewell as I head out to sea
I’m off to another reunion
The horizon beyond is calling to me
The ocean my perfect seclusion.

Well here we are, it’s the time we all feared
I’m sorry I’m not up to greet you
But I realised there’s somewhere else I need to be.
Yes, it’s fitting we share a few mem’ries and tears
But I swear that my time here was plenty for two
So there’s no need to pine over me.

I built skateboards, caravans, and billy carts
And we’d steer them down Kings Road Vaucluse
We’d cycle to swim down in Alf Vockler’s baths
And we’d sail Manly Juniors there too.

We chased Mr Whippy for Gluggs and ice-cream
Got banned from St Peters and the Cubs
Not much study was done at old Grammar School
Banned from Alf’s as well, had no worries it seemed
Perisher, Palmy, and Vaucluse Yacht Club
Life flourished with very few rules.

Our home in Woollahra, where we became men
And many a party was held there
These years were defined by a new regimen
South West Rocks formed the means to repair.

As a teenager, I took to the surf
Saving lives became my summer sport
Fantastic for picking up girls I might add
So Palm Beach became my default summer turf
I relished these times, such a fabulous rort
Yet much more joy was still to be had.

From that skinny kid at the Vaucluse Yacht Club
To Cavalier and African Queen
We’ve come quite a way from the old Grammar tubs
Please take good care of What Boat? for me.

Bid me farewell as I polish my last car
And I fear for my tools with some dread
The new garage cupboards are well above par
I finally finished the pool shed.

I’ve eaten fine food and I’ve drunk fine wine
And I’ve dined dressed in suits and bow ties
Yet my treasured meals were with family and friends
On a bright sunny day, at their house or mine
With cold sausages, rum & coke, and meat pies
Cheering “here’s to good health” without end.

The greatest days of my life, what double thrill
To have watched the birth of my daughters
And all I ask so that my life is fullfilled
That they be each other’s supporter.

I hope that my actions defined the man
I wasn’t accepting of rumour
More the loving and loyal son, brother, friend,
Loving and devoted husband and Dad
Some say a wicked and sharp sense of humour
And a Billy Thorpe fan to the end.

Come, bid me farewell as I head out to sea
I’m off to another reunion
The horizon beyond is calling to me
The ocean my perfect illusion.

Push me away from the shore one last time
Cheer and laugh with me as I set course
I’m feeling the breeze and I’m trimming the sails
The forecast is clear and the weather sublime
I’m living the dream with no sense of remorse
Just a library of jokes and great tales.

Don’t pity me for the winds I was tossed
Don’t grieve for the pain of my leaving
While I agree the lost battle was tragic
There’s always a lesson to come from a cost
Your life is a tapestry ripe for weaving
And my life is part of your fabric.

So bid me farewell as I head out to sea
My bow points to an unchartered realm
The horizon beyond is calling to me
And I’m back in command of the helm.

April 2014
© Michael G Reid 2014

LEAVE NOTHING ON THE TABLE

Tonight I watched my best man
Writhing in a hospital bed
They couldn’t get the morphine in fast enough
I wish I was here in his stead.

Watching my sweet brother die
Saying goodbye so slowly, so long
All I can say to my friends
Is cherish the time lest it’s gone.

Hold on to this minute my friend
It might be the last one you know
Hold on to this minute my friend
You might be the last one to go.

Make love to your wife while you can
Spend time with your loved ones, and grow
Hold on to this minute my friend
It might be the last one you know.

Leave nothing on the table
Leave nothing more to say
Leave nothing on the table
Leave no more cards to play

March 2014
© Michael G Reid 2014

OH HOW I PITY OTHER MEN

Oh how I pity other men, their hopeless life position,
Their marriages unhappy, wives gathering ammunition,
Lives filled with useless purpose, action without meaning,
Endless options wasted in a cycle most demeaning.

And here I sit infatuated, rightfully content,
One woman giving purpose to this saturated heart,
Our happy chances strong because pure giving is her bent,
Demanding only time and love to ensure we never part.

Oh how I pity other men, and some much more than others,
I pity some who many would consider were above us,
The one I feel most solemn for is Aussie legend Hugh,
He could have had Samantha, but thank God he never knew.

8 January 2012
© Michael G Reid 2012

THIS INNOCENT

If God has seen all that has gone in me
And felt the mortal pain that I now feel,
With heart or conscience he must soothe my state,
Or else drive his deathly sword
Of liberty.

If I am now alone, and by such doubt
It seems it be, let Nature’s force
Reside as weighty judge
And lend the final verdict
Now upon me.

Piece together my mind, oh Lord
If this be called to you or me,
Unbind this rack of loss from all my thoughts
And leave a dullness as my cross
To shield this innocent.

October 1979 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1979-2011

NEXT TIME ROUND

You rose from a nightmare
You say I was the star
Then you stabbed the life into me
To see the sunrise
And all I was thinking
Was where I had been
And all I was loving
Was the lady before.

You saw my dilemma
You knew where Iʼd gone
So you punched my lies
Back into the pillow
And you opened my eyes
And I knew I might love you
The next time around.

Then you slipped into your boots
And you buttered my toast
Then you said you were leaving
And you left me a ghost
So we sit, he and I, drinking lonely white gin
With the bottle tucked patiently under our chin
And my mind wonʼt say where to begin.

Take me back lady
Take me tonight
You know that Iʼm sad
Canʼt you see Iʼm alone
And Iʼm dying
But here Iʼm okay
And when Iʼm with you
I promise Iʼll love you
The next time around.

I sat on a rainbow
I fell to the ground
Then I cried for the pay man
To sell me the sun
Till the words brought the darkness
And my dream was alone
And I heard a voice crying
Thereʼs nobody home.

I fell from a bottle
I knew I was alone
So I stumbled onto a dream
To see the sunrise
And all I was thinking
Was where I had been
And all I could see
Was the night and the nightmare
But now I was lonely
And I knew I would love
The next time round.

Then you slipped into your boots
And you buttered my toast
Then you said you were leaving
And you threw me a ghost
So we sit, he and I, drinking lonely white gin
With the bottle tucked silently under our chin
And my mind wonʼt say where to begin.

Excepting
Take me back lady
Oh hold me tonight
ʻcause you see Iʼm a ghost now
Canʼt you see Iʼm a clown
And Iʼm dying
But here Iʼm alright
And when Iʼm with you
I swear that Iʼll love you
The next time around.

June 1979 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1979-2011

MY LADY

My lady, suffer not this fool who present holds your favour,
For he is but a pleasant toy and everwhile the knaver;
You see this love as one which, given time, shall fairly blossom,
Yet you are but the apple tree and I am but your possum.

By nature’s course we have been met, and mated by our wishes,
And here at heaven’s inn we cull our grapes from golden dishes;
However words once left must now be flourished in the open,
For parted dreams in joinéd hearts need not see both hearts broken.

I have no quarrel now betimes but that which you beseech me,
Indeed I search as children might so you would further teach me –
Forgive me, mistress, such duress as I have wrought upon you,
It is my heart and not my mind which you do e’er belong to.

We have a movement to the day not common ‘twixt the people,
And this is harnessed with an arméd line taught by the steeple;
We are withal, as one may say, one nut and bolt together,
(Though such a coupling publicized would paint us in the heather).

So thus we have a space for selves kept secret from the masses,
While meantime you ignore the boys and I shall miss the lasses;
And if such miracle occurs as we retain this union,
The world will see the gods and we have plotted in collusion.

May 1979 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1979-2011

OF REALITY

Time on morbid hour I dwell alone,
Captured in my self-denying cell;
I could see now but for an instant,
I could hold you still and call you mine –
But moment soon would flee to minute,
And you would ring the chastened bell
And send me sweetly back to hell.

OF LOGIC

If words on wishes held smooth repartee
We soon would be entwined in loving ease,
And never leave but for a brief refrain
To reimburse our love of love’s disease –
But close we sit and dwell a league apart,
I with you in heaven, you with separate part;
And still with distant rules we sigh and kiss
Our hearts as two, our hands in patterned bliss.
This manner shall not hold my reckless tone,
I cannot breathe within these walls alone:
My cell of one heart spread for two
And not replaced – I will not die for you.

April 1979 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1979-2011

HONEST ECSTACY

Softly, silent words of caring pass between
As golden dust upon a pauper’s brow,
Or seasons’ wealth on Gaea’s nurtured green;
We suffer not from speech, our needs are filled
By peace of presence, never more than touching
On a hope, a fading dream, a new reality –
Moist words too light for distance, feather-bent
Yet pressing heart to heart as flame to flame,
And drifting each as one to ‘plenished need
Unframed and unapproved; we shall love
Wholly, ‘fixed with longing children’s eyes,
Never falsely, naked past the flesh and burning
Only for the day, and never ruled, never lost to pledge,
But floating free, and sharing worlds in honest ecstacy.

April 1979 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1979-2011

THIS LEAF OF DUST

The falling leaves cry to the wind,
One final plea for reason,
A tree of life now parting
For a time to memory,
And this our early Autumn
Dries a supple Spring romance,
As old Hephaestus forges new
Tomorrowʼs sunlit dance.

It bled for us, this leaf of dust
As will to broken dreams,
For life must draw from death
And love from amity –
In time, we shall rejoin as one
Then with the falling rain,
Till earth and heaven meet to die
We shall deflower again.

1979 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1979-2011

SEPARATION

An intense mortality creeps inward
Biting as a teething child,
Drawing, sucking, forcing out the breath
And into fear, or solitude, or both
But even in embalméd troth
A grasping web beneath.

I hide, cushioning myself around
With fortress borne in green’s grey mist
Deprived, depriving, crying out
For love or hate to penetrate
Or both, but mute in dreams,
And white from yesterday.

November 1978 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1978-2011

SALTED LIPS OF TIME

Reaching from a wind-swept dream,
A silent pleasure-ground of smiling sun
And dancing seas, eternity above,
A fire within.

Sailing, gliding, sifting promises
Of love-dried sand through answered cries;
A seagull diving, I above, unclothed
And free, licking salted lips of time –
And life, a fresh-blown memory
On morningʼs eyes.

Alive, enchanted, feeling with the sky
And for a world apart, a past denied
A dream embraced, my wind-swept dream,
My sailing, silent carousel of love,
This freshness draining tears to sighs,
And pleasure to our Motherʼs mastery.

Moruya Heads, November 1978 (as amended)
© Michael G Reid 1978-2011