Frost that stretched your skin
made you gasp
And blew clouds through your hands
Fire that flushed your cheeks
made you sleep
Yet danced wild in the glass
Jazz that gathered words
Made you calm
And breath ever so gently outwards
Nov 28, 2010
Nov 28, 2010 at 2:55 PM UTC
Tumbleweed
Ted Old
John Merchant,
Joan Harling
Edith Smith
David Wilkinson,
Mike Waldron
Marie Ainsworth
Ruth Bell,
Lucy Ritchie
A list undignified by death
In an instant deflated, unwound
Vibrant yet now not a breath
Missing, lost, not found
I mourn every one of their names
And all that each one implied
Merely a lifetime ago
They came, they lived, they died.
The bluntness has ruined my mood
With the arrogant stealing of life
It demanded all my attention
Then cynically wielded the knife
I'm trying but their voices are fading
As my brain's recordings wear out
And the clarity of all their faces
Is blurred with the pallor of doubt
So all I have now are some photos
Flat caricatures of their lives
Each one replacing my memory
With a past that cannot be revived
Relentless my list will grow longer
Crushing for each name a line
And my heart will grow ever more heavy
Till the last name that's added,
is mine.
Nov 22, 2010
Nov 22, 2010 at 2:53 AM UTC
The man in the black trench coat
holds a sign
'The end of the world is near'
It isn't.
Its closer than that.
It sits on our shoulders
Mocking our futility
It's breath on our ears
Like a man playing cards
on the body of another.
The man in the camel-hair coat
Is a sign
'the kingdom of God is near'
It is
Come close he implores
And rest on his shoulder
Give up your futility
And hear if you've ears
For you can have life
On the body of another
Nov 15, 2010
Nov 15, 2010 at 1:57 PM UTC
I want to happen with you
To occupy space
And time
Hand in hand
Arm in arm and
For the bed to be warm
Because there are two
I want to wear your possession
Like a title
An honour
Hand in hand
Arm in arm and
For the days recounting
To light our procession
I want to be your heart's mender
Of the cuts
Of words
Hand in hand
Arm in arm and
To point out the sunset
And cover black with splendour
I want to choose you again
From the crowd
Of the world
Hand in hand
Arm in arm and
To to turn the page
And keep writing your name
Nov 13, 2010
Nov 13, 2010 at 2:51 PM UTC
The tobacco smell of your coffee
Enveloped me into the house
But the lazy gate of the light pull
Was taunting my late awakening
I listened to where your shoes passed
As you wrestled them onto your feet
And the crumbed remains of your lunch
Scattered by milk-tipped spoons
A house not a home set before me
The detritus of morning routine
An uneasy truce had been called
Now activity distilled into peace
Could I hear your echoed instructions
That swept children out to the car?
Or was my mind still wrapped up for transit
Through a night that ended too fast?
Nov 5, 2010
Nov 5, 2010 at 3:35 PM UTC
Oh the faces of the bored
Frozen blankly sleep is fought
Staring vaguely at the front
But dreaming soporific thought
Twenty minutes 'til the coffee
A bourbon or a custard cream
That's if the kids don't grab them first
And so we all daydream
Mavis peers at her watch
She nudges Joan and glances
The twenty minutes now have past
And forty people sit in trances
But suddenly a head is raised
Is this the application?
That 30 second indicator
We all regain sensation.
Sep 5, 2010
Sep 5, 2010 at 1:58 PM UTC
To smile at the unlovely
To duet with undue harmony
To run when a walk would do
To lift the face of the broken
To put aside the important
To concentrate completely
To take interest in the dull
To laugh with the miserable
To see past the tough exterior
To crawl with those that crawl
To walk with the unrighteous
To sprint for those that cannot stop
To stop
To listen
To keep silent
To hold
To do all this
And not ask, or boast, or criticise
Aug 27, 2010
Aug 27, 2010 at 7:34 AM UTC
The carpet was tacky, in more ways than one
As I fed the machine to see if I'd won
I inserted my life in its ravenous slot
Thoughts, motivations, actions, the lot
I pulled the lever and to my surprise
Metallic applause announced a big prize
Under glittering lights I fumbled around
I felt for the riches I had heard abound
But my winnings were not a fortune in gold
Just three long nails. Hard. Rough. Cold
I shuddered and turned to walk away
But a voice behind me bid me to stay
An attendant, dressed fully in brilliant white
Appeared from nowhere and stood to my right
"Can I help" he asked gently as he saw into my eyes
I showed him the nails and exclaimed my surprise
"It happens to everyone" he quietly said
"This is always the prize for those who are dead."
My blood froze and I started to stammer
For as he reached out he was gripping a hammer
And over his shoulder, through the open door
I saw another man crouched and bruised on the floor
The man in white pulled him up to his feet
And I saw that his face was pale as a sheet
I knew then the purpose of my cold metal prize
As a dad killed his son for this lord of the flies
Eternal justice said the ****** was my place
But I was forgiven by astonishing grace.
So what of the dad and the son that was killed?
A spirit raised him in promise fulfilled
Oh the father, the son and the holy ghost planned it
To offer salvation from life's one armed bandit
Aug 17, 2010
Aug 17, 2010 at 12:08 PM UTC
Written in respose to 'The Garden' by John W. **** on hellopoetry.
Paradise is lost
Who can restore it's splendour?
Who is worthy?
In frantic despair he stared
A myriad faces stared back
No muscle flinched
No eyelid flickered
Like the silence before the scream
Eyes fought to make out
Even the tiniest of movements
Despite the massed numbers
Above, below and all around
The stillness was gigantic
And he knew then, the end of hope
The final appeal had been dismissed
And cold horror wrung out the air
Until the grainy finger of an old man
Pointed, resolutely to the right.
To a lion whose muscular frame
bore a victor's wreath of torn briars;
whose eyes spoke judgement and mercy.
'Ecce homo' declared the old man.
Aug 2, 2010
Aug 2, 2010 at 2:44 PM UTC
The reflection of me in your eyes
was of me laughing
But the mirror ran down your face,
I knew in an instant
I was wrong as I was irrelevant
And you,
You were you
And that was enough.
Jul 23, 2010
Jul 23, 2010 at 2:37 PM UTC