Poem as promised ...

I found two poems I wrote while struggling in the pit of despair, but thought I'd show you this one first, to explain that I really am not a poet, and I definitely know it!

Rhyming couplets still evade me
I just can't think in rhyme.
Perhaps the poetry of poetry
Will come to me in time ...

So, here's a couple of poems full of doom and gloom, not at all like my usual attempts:


The Abyss

Beyond the turmoil of overwhelming emotion
A spirit, torn apart, unrecognisable,
Lies within the abyss ...

Which may, for a time, be comforting
A place of no worry, no sorrow and no pain
But is a dangerous place
Where nothing can thrive,
Nothing can live for long ...

Love, smiles, hugs
Cannot enter here,
Cannot dispel the darkness.

Outside the walls, enemies lie in seige
Alongside friends and allies ...
All are held at bay
All are excluded.

Together they hammer on the gates ...
Gates which can only be opened outwards.


Sleepless

In the absolute silence of the hour before dawn
When i've climbed the walls, endlessly paced the floors
And finally wept myself empty,
I lie twisting in the void.

Differing emotions vying for attention
Clamouring for acceptance ...
Optimism is now the stuff of abandoned fairy tales
Pessimism is a shrine
Doubt and doom and gloom the new reality.

Sadness surges along every nerve,
Loneliness scrapes the surface of my skin
Teasing the fine hairs to attention.

The ache within threatens to explode and engulf me,
When Hope enters the fray once more
With battered standard,
Never far from the battlefield, from the never-ending struggle ...

Yet sadly,
A mere fleeting angel
Against such staunch opposition ...


Goodness! I really was in a bad place ... I certainly wouldn't want to go back there again, although the truth is that was the easy part. When I was actually in that dark place, I didn't give a damn!

The hard bit, the bit I really wouldn't want to do again (though it's good to know I can), was the struggle back to health. It took almost a year of hard work.

Here's a few examples of the sort of poetry I write usually (though to be honest am more a prose writer than a poet, so you mightn't call it poetry!):


On Your Journey Through Life ...

May many miles be filled with smiles

May your days be warm,
Your sunsets beautiful, and your dawns full of hope.

May you always have enough
And some left over to share.

May the travellers you meet along the way
Teach you something and learn from you,
May you always part from those who choose another
path, in peace and friendship.

May you never choose the easy way,
Nor the most difficult
But the one your heart leads you to.

Don’t stand too long looking back along the road,
Or forward,
But look around you,
Listen, feel, inhale every moment.

Don’t run!

There’s no hurry, no worry,
No destination,
But much to be enjoyed along the way.



Heaven on Earth

Do you know the way to Heaven?

Have you wondered
And wandered the paths that wind inwards
To the very centre of your existence?

Heaven is here …
All around you.
Within you.

Within your heart when truly loved and in love,
Within your mind when you know you did your best,
Within your soul when you watch a child blossom.

Heaven is a hug.
A smile. A gentle word.

A field of daisies.
A flock of geese heading home at dusk.

Fingers and mouths stained with blackberry juice.

Music which makes your feet dance
And your heart sing.

Mum’s Sunday dinner, a sunny afternoon walking the dog, dinner with an old friend, a lie-in with a lover…

Heaven is where you look for it.



Mistakes

If I’m wrong, I’m wrong!

And tomorrow, or the day after
I’ll say … Ok!

So I made a mistake
I was wrong
But I might’ve been right!

I might be right the next time
And that’s what really counts ...


Dreams Are Always Worth Chasing!

Where does rational thought end
and wishful thinking begin?

What distinguishes a dream from a fantasy
or a wish from a whim?

How far up in the sky
does the pie have to be?

And who says pigs can’t fly?