My words went wandering
Tiny paces over stony rugged hills
Scrambling up and down grassy banks
By still lakes and lonely mills
That groan like an old man pondering
I'm sure one day that they'll return
Grey bearded, sallow toned
And sit upon the powdery flour
With rigid arms and timber bones
Telling tales of all they've learned
August 2024
Mar 19
Mar 19, 2026 at 4:01 PM UTC
I look for you in every woman I meet
Your heart's design in the words they speak
But no retreat, no retreat!
Let the cloths of fate weave over me
And when the fires of night are fading dim
Let softness fall on weary limbs
And brightness gather among the whins
July 2024
Mar 16
Mar 16, 2026 at 7:23 PM UTC
And so I stand by the Fairy Tree
Frosted grass beneath my feet
Crunching crisp between my toes
That curl and curl as the hours grow
Afraid to pluck red berries bright
Or snap a twig should the Sídhe arise
So I make a wish and in return
A dab of butter, soft and warm
I'll come again tomorrow morning
O'er frostbit hills, mid shepherd's warning
And with foggy breath, I'll ask a favour
If only they'd listen and send a saviour
Uplifted roots; bark all broken
The berries gone; the door unopened
They lay down to sleep; no intervention
And my heart grew strong of its own intention
Curl and curl as the hours grow
Crunching crisp between your toes
The frosted grass beneath your feet
If you await a wish from the Fairy Tree
April 2024
Mar 15
Mar 15, 2026 at 3:27 PM UTC
I'll fold your memory like a cherished letter
Gilded with words of soft golden ink
That sink from the page in a moment untethered
And flutter with the beat of a butterfly's wings
Though crumpled, creased, and frayed at the edge
I'll place that letter in the pocket of my soul
Where the ceaseless seasons cannot bend
The thought of you I'll forever hold
December 2023
Mar 14
Mar 14, 2026 at 3:30 PM UTC
I captured a sparrow
Gentle and small
Who chirped over the noise of the world
And held it so tight
In a belief that I might
Hear what it is to be loved
But I broke its little wing
And now it won't sing
Only sits with dull feathers fluttering
No secrets it speaks
Nor the chorus I seek
In the palms of my hands I hold nothing
August 2023
Mar 13
Mar 13, 2026 at 2:07 PM UTC
It's been many years since we strolled through Ayutthaya
Across the dust-swept plains and vast barren halls
Kept alive by the trampling of great wise beasts
Around crumbling old walls, cracked and dry.
Shoulders apart, yet souls still dancing
Over the tumbling ruins and rich dark clay
Our eyes averted lest your parents caught us
Sharing glances in the heat of day.
Kings and queens once walked here, I'm told
Gold and silver, slate and shale
Memories bound in the most delicate of silk
Now tattered, torn, decayed.
Time, dismayed, stretched out his arms wide
Like the rickety hands on a groaning old clock
'A few moments more, I'll give them', he cried
'There are not enough seconds in the day'.
I wonder if I made the most of it?
Or played the fool with what was in hand?
Bright blades of grass clasp the silent pagodas
In the shadow of the beasts rumbling past.
July 2023
Mar 12
Mar 12, 2026 at 3:16 PM UTC
We were teenagers then, or so it seemed
Full of the burning passion of youth
And warm like a woollen blanket by the fire
Ticking clocks mattered not
When the only truth we knew was
The prickling of the hay from the horse’s byre
Tangled and knotted in your ruffled hair
I plucked it out, strand by strand
And buttoned your tattered shirt once more
It wouldn’t do if they discovered our love
Not yet at least, until hand-in-hand
We could face the deafening roar
But we were teenagers then, or so they say
Now our paper compliments, tossed on the
Embers of a dying fire, they smoulder away.
April 2022
Mar 11
Mar 11, 2026 at 3:23 PM UTC
Across one thousand waves we rode
To the gates of Tír na nÓg
Where foregone days of loss and blame
Were washed upon the shore
Among the ferns we lay at night
And gazed upon the flames
Of a fire which danced and dazed in ways
That never could be tamed
Now though we've taken separate paths
On nights the dark does fill
Can be seen the distant glow
Of a light that flickers still
Not riches from a foreign land
Nor treasures from the deep
Could tempt me part with your fair heart
Of which I seek to keep
So I'll tell the winds to carry you
The tales of all my dreams
And when all seems lost, forget you not
But whisper in your ear
~ 2016
Mar 10
Mar 10, 2026 at 4:20 PM UTC
If a flower should grow through the virtue of the earth
I ask only it be drawn from your beauty and grace
Hidden in the wooded glen, below the shadow of the oak
Where time does pace with weary soul in search of memories old
The lifting air from valleys deep, carries melting sounds
Of crickets' songs and honey bees but none compare at all
To your voice that in the night, meanders through the trees
And weaves the seams of broken dreams on whom it does befall
Looking down from a height, bow bent and branches broke
Lets fall a sombre sigh and then the Oak he softly spoke:
"Why should my arms, so withered and bare, cast shadow upon a beauty so rare?"
Now the delicate folds of winter, drape all but those in shade
And the falling leaves surround you like empty promises made
But soon such things shall crumble, for a storm it does approach
To free you from the shadow, the shadow of a ghost.
January, 2014
Mar 9
Mar 9, 2026 at 1:46 PM UTC
Caves are a dangerous place, my dear
All creatures you may find
In the home of those from yesteryear
Or a crevice of the mind
High above the crashing waves
On cliffs so sharp and shear
Which humble men refuse to scale
But face the stormy seas
A voice within does call me in
Yet never can be found
And taunts me, haunts me, forever draws me
Deeper underground
Down these narrow pathways
From where there's no retreat
Or shades of light to guide my flight
From the darkness of deceit
~ 2013
Mar 8
Mar 8, 2026 at 3:18 PM UTC