The forest of reclaimed timbers in the Key Garden is inscribed with the words of the poet Dean Stalham – a stream-of-consciousness description of his time in and out of prison, on and off the streets.
“The poem I have written for The Key is my personal life’s journey,” says Dean. “Every man and woman’s challenge is their own. I hope my poem, if nothing else, inspires people to let it out – to let it go.”
A time and a place for change – by Dean Stalham
Wife died never cried
Sister Did I hid
but now I’ve been found,
gone to ground, unbound
Quiet town promised not to let
You down.
Rat race human race
Nothing slower than sun on your
Face, feel the sun, close your
Eyes, breathe in deep
Wait to die under a massive
Why! Mum smiled, Uncle wild
Nan beguiled, bathroom tiled
Feels cold, eyes old, neck stretched
Feeling wretched, shit sketch
Tear it up, rip it up, rip it up and
Start again.
School plays, great days, kiddie ways, hooray, hooray
Hooray.
Who’s to blame for the
Lion tame, endless search for endless
Fame, shame pantomime dame,
Ugly sis, blistered fist pounded wall
Long fall, don’t worry one day you
Might grow tall, but as for now, wow!
Who knows, maybe you won’t grow?
Got to go!
Tiddly wink, wrap shrink,
Kitchen sink full of tea leaves brown
And dirty, full of ash and doggends
Unworthy.
Make the tea 22 mugs for
22 drinkers, sup, sup, sup, what’s up eh?
Mucky pup. Leave a note for Santa, put it
Behind the fire, situation dire, perhaps he’ll
Come perhaps he won’t, if you do or
You don’t, does it matter, smatter, gangs
Scatter, see you later, late mate garden gate,
No point, no weight.
As a cool west breeze
Blows across my sea, I think of you
Do you think of me and I think of all
That I have done, how I’ve wasted so
Much time on joviality and fun, and I
Think of now what I must do but my
My thoughts keep coming my thoughts
Keeps coming back to you. I will
Never let you down, I will never
Let you down again, I’m not
Leaving town, Dad’s frown
Flowered gown, dressing down.
Sin bin, tin tin, tin tack, poor Uncle Ian
Smack, whack no pushing that brain back jack.
Funny days, funny farms, tattooed arms
My lucky charms. One day I bent
Over plucked myself a four leaf clover,
Endless luck, was it fuck, useless quack
Quack duck!
Out for the count, no doubt
Ear hole clout, back hander round the head,
Early bed, leg red. Brother giggling, toes wiggling
Aunties haggling.
I ran round the block once,
Really fast I did, fastest kid or so I thought
Zero naught, never got caught.
Picked my wart
Upon my hand, I was once a lead singer in
A band. The killer sharks, what a lark!
One gig once stupid dunce thought it
Was the start of something big, just one off
Gig!
Slip shod, brickies hod, big dog unwiped
Big log, hog hog blog, I remember sweet shop
Black jack fruit salad Gary Glitter massive ballad,
Sad lad, gone bad, should have been more than
Happy with what he had, how sad leaky rad,
Quick spurt, taste the dirt Uncle Bert.
My Woman
She hasn’t gone away she lives here in
My heart, the drink, no it never took her
It never tore us apart, for we made love while
The storm it raged and I held her
In my arms, no the drink it never took
Her, she lives here in my heart.
Big gob, desk job Uncle Rob. Uncle Alan
Thinks he’s Callan, just a top cop in a
Strop. Uncle Peter?Now there’s another
Brother, loved a lover or two or three
Tee hee, hee haw, see saw. Swing in the
Park after dark, after eight, I’m sorry sir
That I’m late. ‘At the back you’re disrupting
The class you stupid arse! But I got him back I set
His sail, can’t tell you what I did end up
In jail.
Shoosh bush nice tush mush tickly beard
Something weird feel the fear costs dear.
Can’t hear. For the sake of trying
Crying, Friday night is the night for
Frying, Sunday drying, hanging out
To dry Grand Dads navy tie. Smoked Senior Service
He did 40 a day! He wasn’t gay.
Brain brain speeding train door whore
Go away, co-op man please come back another
Day. Leave us alone! You can’t phone no tone
Dog and bone. Tic tac jack frost.
One day in my
Silver cross a bumble bee invaded me stingzeeee.
In the middle of my big forehead, it must have bled?
No shit, no jargon but what a garden! Hedge
Forge Grand Pop George and nanny Daisy heard
Tell she hell she raisy, many lovers during war, COR!
Loved my piccies a chicken I drew, phew!
She said it was art sent it off to Tony Hart.
Never shown, blown, moan, everyday man,
Sham, sham, lost lamb Batman BLAAM!
My mate Sam opong he did me wrong
Sold me cheaper than a song, busted gong!
Long hair, hipster flare, kiss or dare, postmans knock,
Pretty frock, ankle socks, you run for fun
At the sound of the gun. First kiss bliss lemon
Drops, tip tops, flip flops, guitars made from mops.
Bruised battered shattered chips in paper ice cream wafer
Wafer thin next of kin sin bin.
My son loves fun, when I look into his eyes I see the sun, I
Feel the sun, then I run, beat my retreat, fast feet, no heat.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, blow, hot and cold, soul sold.
My wealth? Health and stealth, life its self,
my heart beat beat’s to keep my feet’s on the streets,
my lungs go in and out catching air,
even I wouldn’t want to catch my breath,
eye twitch, back itch, fingers scratch,
snatch a wink or two or three or four
can’t count no more, layer player
soothsayer tooth slayer, doctor,
doctor call a doctor spock ya?
In need of dentistry, set my gums free,
do one, do two never bothered
sniffing glue, do you, you hoo?
I got lost, no repost, gathered little moss,
life’s a doss but I wish it wasn’t.
One fond memory keeps me safe,
keeps me warm, keeps me strong,
makes me smile as wide as a mile,
only for a while, a short, short while,
the grand mass sat on the grass
under a big blue sky, and you wonder why is it I can fly,
the sun it shined, the wind it blew,
the rain it came and then it went away
and the band, the band, the band just played,
I met a girl, we fell in love, Shelly was her name,
she was so cool but she never came. She never came.
Only myself to blame, lost the game, lost the plot,
did what I did got what I got, running nose snot, snot, snot,
dim sum, some din, big yin lost on train,
lost his brain searching for an obscure vein
end up slain, big ben, japs, yen, click click
camera lens, stale widge under bridge,
not great, irate crate, human freight,
ping pong sing a song.
I’m trying hard so hard in vain to ease my problems
to ease my pain cos I’m missing you, feeling lost,
lost in lifes maze walking around in a constant
daze cos im missing you, missing who?
Missing Mum, hum drum, half eaten yum yum,
full throttle hit the bottle end up running away to Gerry Cottle,
jubilation for the nation, free education,
no knowledge no college, no school, un cool,
less thrills on tall hills no apple pies on window sills,
love that cat, not the one in the hat, love that mouse,
rat rat no chance me getting fat, sound sound gissa pound?
Police charge, Geordie sarge, worst smell urine cell,
wino fight, endless night, tramp rape,
drawn drape, dumb dumb slum come.
Push ya rush ya diss ya Hare bloody Krishna,
ring ring, ding ding dong dong head gone,
beep beep beeps the train door weeps,
mobile phones, constant moans
tube way clones forever drones,
old town, dads a clown, un wound,
last night I dreamt of butter what a nutter….
blow a kiss hit or miss….if nothing else? Read this.
ART SAVES LIVES!
