Author: poetryandliving

I’ve seen the elements of earth and fire

And wind and rain at once combine,

Come crashing down,

Invading tranquil days.

Destroying happy childhood scenes,

Ending future hopes and dreams.

Chaos and turmoil

Arising from the soul of man

As he fights for his life.

Drowning against the swelling tide,

Holding the breaking heart,

Wanting to be whole again.

The look of glacier eyes

That know no depth.

The cry for sanity to reign

In the tormented mind.

Trapped in the mid-night,

The nightmare won’t cut loose.

Wretched reaching, out of control,

Reeling and wheeling and spinning.

He cannot comprehend the happening,

The abandoning of life and love.

Victim of circumstance,

And the reel keeps rolling,

Playback after playback.

Too many “if onlys” and “what ifs”,

Needing to be with,

Wanting to run from,

To hide the face, the shame.

To dull the pain.

Hoping against hope

For the great escape.

Go to the desert

When you need to know your heart.

Not ten or twenty

But a hundred miles apart.

There you’ll feel the sun and wind

And dust against your face

And you may thirst and thirst

And search without a trace.

And as your steps grow weary

And you wander to and fro

And you get a fearful feeling

And tears begin to flow.

Just let them come,

Allow what’s there to be.

The truth abides

And seeks to set you free.

Absolute Paragon Supreme,

Inconceivable in our minds,

Absurd to our reason,

Uncontrolled by our desires,

Inescapable in our lives.

Your definition is undefined,

Your totality unbound.

Ambiguous in nature and form,

Reflected in and absorbed by humanity.

Whole yet particular.

At once allied to yet remote from your creation.

Extra universal yet intimately natural.

Incredible complex of simplicity

Networking eternity.

Your thoughts were not my thoughts

Yet because I was afraid

I shared your view.

Your ways were not my ways

Yet because I wanted to be part

I went and followed you.

Your words were not my words

Yet because I wanted to be liked

I adopted your style.

Your opinion was not my opinion

Yet because I did not trust myself

I went along with you.

Too willing to construct my own defeat.

Too unsure to listen to my own voice.

Yet it always seemed so worthy,

For a good reason,

For a good cause.

And even fellow souls kept me company.

And as we walked we never knew,

That for the best part we had lost our way.

We had lost our day.

Until we saw the light,

Learnt the truth,

Walked a new path

And saw the summit in out sight.

The pane artist

Came in the mid-night.

Portraying his works of

Mischief on the windows.

Isolating me in my dreams,

And I awoke to

Winter’s grappling hand

Fixed firmly on the earth.

White from the tight clutch,

And numbed into stillness

Waiting for the

Light release of sunshine.

Remembrances of days gone by,

Secure within the soft hands

And gentle arms of care.

Being without knowing

Living in the now.

The senses spring to life,

Discovery and confusion

I am me but who are you?

Being and beginning to know,

Living for the future.

Fantasies become reality,

They seemed better then than now,

And we reach for the beyond.

Knowing without fully being,

Wishing for the past.

Grey – brown leaves turn to gold

With the setting of the sun.

Young and old men die

And many leave a heritage untold.

Never were they famous

Or men of great renown

But many is the heart

That holds them dear

For the wisdom shared,

The love they showed,

The hand they gave,

When other men were down.

Lord be with them now,

Each and every one,

As the grey-brown leaves

Turn to gold.  

Seek not your inspiration

Among the dead wood.

The ashes of the past may fuse

To cloud your vision.

Let loose the bonds that tie

To the rhythm and the rhyme,

To the song and story.

Rather look to the living tree

Which holds the power of re-creation.

You can hold the water of life

Within your hands.

Capture and live your dreams

In the day.

Have no fear of the night,

Change the colours that you wear,

Find and walk in a new light. 

Brain triggered by command,

Belly up to war.

Heart-filled invincible hate.

Gut full of fear.

Soldier stand and wait,

Is this what man was made for?

A white horse pleaded with his eyes

For me to trust him.

I took courage and sat upon his back.

As he walked, I could not believe

My fear had disappeared.

Delighted and so at ease

As though with a faithful friend

Who would not harm or let me be harmed.

One who would carry me to the ends of the earth.

Being able to believe in him

So majestic and strong,

The essence of gentleness that was his,

The calmness that surrounded him.

All these brought me joy beyond belief.

And I woke from my dream grateful and blessed,

Ready to take on the world.