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I - The Reaper
Cousins The reaper stood before him in the room His melancholy smile matched the gloom He tried to rise but fell back where he lay Tried to speak but stumbled as the sentence slipped away. The room grew far away and strangely still He caught the reaper's eye and felt a chill He thought he saw his mother's smiling face As sunlight filtered warmly through the yellowed curtain lace. He thought back to the days when he was young He heard the children's choir in which he'd sung His letter floated softly to the floor The reaper took his hand and led him gently through the door. Aaaah … II - We Must Cross The River Cousins Take my hand and I will lead you safely There's no need to be dismayed Though it's dark, there will be no danger There's no need to be afraid. If you wear the cross your wife once gave you You will find that it is blessed Should you find that you are growing weary You may lean on me and rest. We must cross the river We must cross the river We must cross the river together. Old familiar friends have long been waiting To welcome you when you arrive Time is on your side now, do not hurry You are one who will survive. God is kind to those who seek salvation Those who know no sense of hate You will find him on the day of judgment The God of love, the God of hate. We must cross the river We must cross the river We must cross the river together. We must cross the river We must cross the river We must cross the river together. III - Antiques And Curios Cousins On the mantlepiece a china dog waits patiently The faded velvet curtains are still drawn The well worn tray of medal ribbons slowly gathers dust The armchair's chintzy covers have been torn. The photograph of Nancy on the honeymoon in France The nearly finished letter underneath The wheelchair that he never used, he always was too proud Is folded in the corner by the wreath. The choirboy's cassock hanging on the hook behind the door The wooden box in which he kept his cross The Coronation teapot that his mother always used Helps to bring about a sense of loss. Just a collection of antiques and curios. IV - Hey, It's Been A Long Time Cousins Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again. We met quite by chance, I thought she'd moved away We never made love but were very good friends. We were married secretly, her parents disapproved For some reason or other they never made clear. Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again. We were in France when war broke out, we caught the first boat home She gave me her cross when I went to the front. I was hurt in Normandy, she didn't wait at all I lived with my mother till she passed away. Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again. Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again … |
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Cousins
Her hair the weeping willow at the water's edge And from my windy crag above the moorland sedge I see the willow fronds caress the ripples I feel her nipples at my fingertips. Her breasts are gentle snowdrifts in an open field The supple fingered winter wind the grass concealed And though the winter wind may be deceiving I feel her breathing at my fingertips. Her legs the spreading branches of the tree of life The willow wand will bend before the woodman's knife The tangle thicket parts before the forest fire Her warm desire is at my fingertips. |
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Cousins
She looks so frail beside you as she wears her sick disguise You say she'll soon be better as you dry her tearful eyes You tell her fairy stories, she tries to understand She looks to you for comfort and holds out her little hand. But early in the morning when the sun shines into her tiny room She wakes up like a bird and she's fine again. You gently kiss her forehead and from the room you creep But you linger in the doorway as she whimpers in her sleep Her cheeks are flushed like sunset and her head's an open fire All night she turns and tosses as her temperature gets higher. But early in the morning when the sun shines into her tiny room She wakes up like a bird and she's fine again. The night light in the corner casts a soft and peaceful glow Her face becomes much cooler and her breathing much more slow She dreams of clowns and princes sailing boats and trains The fairies come by moonlight to take away her pain. And early in the morning when the sun shines into her tiny room She wakes up like a bird and she's fine again She wakes up like a bird and she feels fine She wakes up like a bird and she feels fine She wakes up like a bird and she feels fine. |
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The boatman rose to the sound of his heartbeat
Loud in the silent approach of the dawn He glanced through the window at mist on the lake Which hung like a shroud in the still of the morn The silver cobwebs spun with the dew Hung from the bushes in filigree splendour And water lilies asleep on the lake Were reflected so delicate, tranquil and tender. The boat man sighed as he strode through the woods To the place where his boat lay moored to a stake The hollow sound as his footsteps echoed Until the sound was lost on the lake He cast off, poling the boat from the shore Peering a head through damp clinging haze He thought that he saw strange swirling shapes A trick on the eyes that the mist often plays. So intent was the boatman on crossing the lake That he failed to notice the current that flowed Leading his boat from familiar parts He was firmly, yet somehow unknowingly, towed All at once the mist seemed to lift Sufficient to show the boatman a pool That he'd never seen in the whole of his life Unnaturally deep, black and silent, and cool. The boatman's shirt clung to his back He was sweating both from exertion and fear He had the sensation that someone was watching He felt the presence of somebody near An invisible force prevented him moving The strength of his arms was utterly sapped The twisted bushes converged round the lake Like a fish in a net he was trapped. Suddenly out of the water before him The wraith-like form of a maiden appeared Clad in shimmering radiant robes The maiden materialised as she neared The hair which finely crowned her head Was a halo of golden reflecting the sun All of the beautiful women of time Were formed all at once into one. She handed the boatman the sword she was holding Which flashed irridescent before his eyes Excalibur surely was hardly a match For a sword that simple description defies The boatman stood transfixed by her gaze Which reached to the depths of his very soul To he who could conquer the evils of life She offered herself as a whole. The maiden vanished before his gaze Leaving him clutching the sword in his fist The hairs on the nape of his neck seemed to stiffen A creature approached him from out of the mist It was powerful, huge and yet stupid indeed For it held right back and failed to attack The boatman struck at its small stupid eyes And it crashed to the ground and lay on its back. Without a warning the sky seemed to blacken As though the sun were in total eclipse The boatman crouched low as a vast eagle swooped And a horrified cry escaped from his lips It strutted before him with pride in its bearing Admiring its talons both vicious and cruel Taking advantage the boatman struck fast And the eagle slid to the depths of the pool. The terrified boatman tried moving his boat But his pole had grown roots in the watery deep The bank grew alive with the coils of a snake And all you could hear was its slither and creep It cast an envious stare at the boatman Slid into the water and swam to the boat He stood hypnotised by its green jealous eyes As it came from the water and coiled round his throat. As its coils tightened slowly his breath came in gasps As he choked so he lifted the sword in despair As the snake was still gloating he severed its head And in death the snake's coils thrashed wild in the air The boatman wiped the sweat from his brow His heart was pounding as never before His eyes like a lizard's tongue darted around Not daring to rest for a minute or more. An involuntary shiver went up his spine As he heard the sound of eerie howls A wolf appeared on the banks of the pool Saliva dripped from its loathsome jowls Hatred smouldered deep in his eyes Which glowed like coals from Hades fire It seemed to grow as it crouched and snarled And watched as the boatman began to tire. It was almost as though the wolf had learned For it did not attack as the others had done But bided its time until the moment was right And sprang as the boatman stared into the sun But the boatman too had learned to hold back And holding his sword as though a knife He plunged it deep into the wolf's heart Then fell to his knees and prayed for his life. As he felt a hand on his shoulder he whirled To find the maiden by his side She smiled and the world seemed to open before him He tried to speak but his tongue was tied You must plunge the sword deep into my heart Lest I should crumble into dust She offered the boatman the meaning of life And love, if he could but conquer lust. She bared her breasts before his eyes The boatman still was stricken dumb He flung the sword back into the water Back to the depths from which it had come The water around him began to boil The maiden began to wither away His boat was swamped as the creatures arose And evil lived for another day. |
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Cousins-Hooper
Blue skies above me I've someone to love me To take good care of me forever. Through all that time can send We'll make it to the end Just you and me, my friend, forever. Oh weeping willow Please share my pillow So that the clouds will billow forever. And I don't have to bend We'll make it to the end Just you and me, my friend, forever. The gypsy woman who sold me her heather She told me its good luck would last me forever (Forever, forever). We've got our lives to spend We'll make it to the end Just you and me, my friend, forever. And I don't have to bend We'll make it to the end Just you and me, my friend, forever. Through all that time can send We'll make it to the end Just you and me, my friend, forever. |
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