AS ONE CENTURY BECOMES ANOTHER

I take the spiral staircase
one steep step at a time
from the 20th to the 21st

century at the top
as the clock chimes
and a star falls

all over town
puddles hold stars prisoners
wear them as jewellery

unable to escape
the ice that holds
them earthbound

the Milky Way
frozen
in a tree

and so time moves on
the music fading away
moment by moment

rowdy revellers
reel in this
the newest of years

like a fish gasping
on a river bank wondering
just what they have caught

Don't judge my steps, don't call my name,
Before your point, look at your own flame.
Advice can guide, it helps me grow,
But hate and hurt? They make me bow.

I've known the silence, the heavy night,
The lonely battles I'd never write. I tried to shrink, I tried to defy, Yet still, the world cut deep inside.

But shadows fade when light appears,
I'll turn my pain to strength, not tears.
Yes, the world may mock, may blame-
Still I rise, I chase my aim.

So let them talk, let them despise, A wounded heart can still uprise.
I've walked through dark, I've faced the flame,
Yet, still I rise-
and still I aim...

Even when surrounded by crocodiles
they are not afraid or frightened
they do not waver
because they do not attack
because they wait
their appearance is shabby
and they have no weapons to attack
they are extremely gentle
for whom is peace shared?
is it strength that makes them so powerful?
Their excrement
is rich in protein and nutrients
they throw away good things
that is why they are invincible in the world
The Welcomed stronger
they feed them well
but they demand nothing in return
they do not threaten
they have no weapons to threaten
Even hungry crocodiles helplessness
Coexist, and befriend all animals
The true servant of this era
Capybara.

language seen not heard
heard not seen

a single gesture
a wave goodbye

the distance stretching
a motionless tide

sea in a seashell
all in the mind

A tide imperceptibly rises,
a sun dies just a little more.
New lamppost starlight
blooms but fails to hide
a carpaccio of night
pounded thin and fried;
autumn thoughts of all sizes
clot in the gut, a bezoar
that might be a bitter cure
for tomorrow's sweeter troubles
which double and then redouble.
Yet even a heart-worn raconteur
reveres leaf-fallen days;
wind rips a brittle baize.

you told me you didn't understand
my poems
you didn't get them

but you watched me go on stage
take a deep breath
and breathe life to them through a mic

you smiled and said you're there
for me
and me only

you forgot to take a picture
till the last minute
because your eyes were on me

when did you stop looking?

was it the moment I looked back?
was it the moment I held you?
was it the moment I started to love you?
or was it the moment I chose you.

I think
I can remember
when you stopped looking

because I felt it
and
now you're just another person I've written a poem about.

rolling sunshine
a blue tide

the invisible moon
hiding in plain sight

a whispered poem
only the wind hears

washing on the line
the dripping wet

thirst of an ant
shoreline sand

Excuse me?
Are you a mouse?
Why are you squeaking
You should be sleeping

My little mouse
What worries you so
Is it the monster under your bed?
Or the thoughts that cloud your head