Ian Gage was a young man of 15 when he contributed these poems for Hobo c 1973/4. As Hobo came out infrequently owing to problems financing it, they were never published in Hobo, although it was intended to chose some for publication. Ian's family moved to Birmingham and, I think, he became a teacher, like his sisters Chris and Jan who were part of the creative scene in Coventry in the early 70's. This early work was in part influenced by Marc Bolan - his fave group at the time.
HONESTY LOVE and YOU
Honesty is a concept,
And we use it to condemn each other.
It is an opinion
Just as right and wrong.
Love is a goal
Which sometimes gives peace.
It is expendable
As everything else.
You are my friend
But it’s only society that’s thrown us together
We could’ve both been
Quite different.
..............
For an oak tree you have
The princely stance of a guardian,
As if in your silence, you
Guard the door to the house
Of light.
Endless pages I see tortured,
By the pen of thoughts.
Unfounded theories, which,
Though kind, cannot break
Through my brain.
Yet in your wooded suit,
Surrounded by friends and visited
By timeless magicians of skies,
No books can lead me through
The storm, as you,
Unto the presence of the holy man.
..................
O God,
so greatly garrisoned
By your guardians the stars.
You live hermitically hidden
So eoen Thomas, one of the
Learned, could not see you
As you are.
You are far
As a mountain,
O God
Who can climb your mind
And look down, lovingly
On it all?
Like a lake is your heart
O but you are an ocean,
How can I drink you all,
To stop my drowning
.................
I planted a root,
Her barren soil arose
And fled.
.....................
I wear a ring, which holds my hand,
Comforting and clasping maternally.
It carries zodiacs and tales of ancient
Myth, attracting faces wherever
It guides me.
It’s a companion, that was lost
For such a time, and now
I can hold it in my arms and love it
Or let it roll.
My ring is a pride, a descendant
From the apple tree
A giver of patience and sight
Into all hearts a guiding light,
It tempts me
And I with bleary eyes pursue.
............................
IN THE SKIES OF YOUR EYES
I never hurt you,
But because I’m like me….
Don’t conceive, it’s sadly blind, an injured mind
Like the wind my heart is here to find
Your friendly soul, O that you would
Give it all you could to reach me.
And I’d teach you how to lay
With the clouds, above our guilty shrouds.
O your worry, I see it all a lie
As we dovelyfly through the woods
Of your stormy past
Now explained away by my dictionary tongue.
I lead yu through a path
Of your long and winding mind
They call it peace to find.
And I found it in the skies
Or your eyes, cavern-hearted.
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