Despair is a tight suit to wear
Even inhaling is restricted
Lungs imploding from the weight
Not of happiness or hate

Void of feeling, I'm reeling, then kneeling
Family and friends offer comfort
I just brush them aside
How can I let anyone inside?

Dare I end this night with slumber
Before this fear can delight
I must will the sun to rise
For there isn't much hope at the end of a rope ...

Pass me the vase, will you dear
I've picked some flowers to place in it
They are purple, yellow, white and red
Don't they just make you smile

I will place them by your bed
So when you retire for the night
You won't miss the beauty
That's painted on their faces

Take a moment, will you
To appreciate their worth
Lean in close and take a sniff
Their fragrance is most genuine

And as you wake, remember
I've placed those flowers there
For you to enjoy and adore
If only for a season

Alas! YOU have arrived
To soak up my words
May you drink them in
Delight in them
For they were penned for YOU
I know not your name
Nor will I see your face
But, you were on my mind when I wrote them

I knew you would come one day

And be touched by these few words
Not yesterday, not tomorrow, instead today
How was I to know the time
The timing I leave to you

I am just glad you came

Its never too late to proceed
For the words in my poems
Are meant for just the right moment
Filling a need
Easing some pain
Perhaps they turn your frown upside down

That is why ...

I continue to write

And ...

YOU continue to read

Strange creatures circle the edges
And their eyes are hungry and haunted
One day their teeth shall glint dangerously
And I know it very well
For I shall be their meat
Though I cannot imagine fear
And I should feel something

Several people are asking me for help
But I shall probably turn away
For uncertainty clings to my head
Like a monkey that cannot be shaken
With claws in my eyes
I try to see my way out
But, of course, there is none
And the demands on my name
Echo where my conscience should be

Passengers come and go
On my endless journey
The landscape is familiar
And occasionally a memory smiles and waves
All too briefly, it seems
I feel I ought to cry more
But nothing seems to hurt as it used to
Only my nakedness makes me cold

                                               By Phil Roberts

Silently sitting
out on my chair
Lilac scent wafting
up thru the air

Forsythia blooms
so yellow and bright
Peony flowers
a pure snowy white

Birds are singing
Songs set me at ease
Trees are growing
pollen makes me sneeze

Winter has loosened
It's icy cold grip
Now it's springs turn
to captain the ship

The man on the moon
Big and bright and full
Smiled at me
And said my dear

I'll keep tides at bay
Light up your way
Keep you safe at night
With my moonlight

I will bring you love
With heavens above
My light will glow
Whilst your love will grow

Make black waters dance
Whilst hand in hand you romance
Beautiful memories will be rife
As you walk through your life

But the penalty you must pay
From now to the end of your days
Is live life without sorrow
As we may never have tomorrow