James Garratt – A life lived and recorded in ink since 1992
My name is James and this personal website is an attempt to archive my writing which predominately is (under a loose banner) poetry
I started writing things down at the age of 17 in 1992, initially with no other idea of plan then to keep a record of my thoughts and feelings. Given my growing up experiences it felt like the perfect way to apply some self help therapy
i dream of people
that never
saw that house
and it is twenty two years
since,
i last closed the front door
it is a mantra,
chanted with absolute belief
religion,
teaches us to externalise blame
political parties,
well, it’s just the same
but i am held up –
by the strength of your arms
which are scaffold
to accompany your charms
we think –
aspiration and achievement
makes our lives so grand
but it is in fact,
experiences,
that teaches us to understand
it is the schooling
it is the parents
it is our lives
it is our experiences
our misadventure and play
we are not cleaning up your milk
you split every drop
if we all keep cleaning it up
then it will never stop
you never stop –
taking a wrecking ball –
to my skyscrapers
desperate to be the headline –
in all my personal papers
feel lucky
you dazzling star
Taking Chances taking chances is the folly of youth it is the right of passage it is how we found…
but now something looms into view
headlights fully on,
and she unravels the news
she dries up memories
the ones made of stale booze
