I have a friend
close to the end
he talks fantastically about all of the places he has been
His body tired
save for those eyes
which burn brighter than sun tracing an arch across the skies
He says 'Of all the things I know
of all the things I’ve learned...
anywhere you go
the good things must be earned.'
Safe and sound
both feet on the ground
he seems impervious to all the ******* going on around
and when he speaks
though often brief
you hear a man who knows the meaning of true happiness and grief
"How is it I work each day
when aching bones demand respite?
What makes me sit composing verse,
when others sleep into the night?"
(From 'The Worms that drive you')
His one life goal
just to share
the words that cause the sleepless nights, the ones that rattle round upstairs
And oh my soul
was bought to bare
by the words which where exactly what I didn’t want to hear...
"Have you wondered how tomorrow looks,
when you've lied about today?
Have you squandered opportunities
when you've refused to play?
Have you sought the possibilities?
or broken through the ruse?
Have you shed your limitations?
tried to fill some bigger shoes?
Does it all really matter…
that your world is locked within,
That the things which hold you back
are simply things you revel in?
That your greatest limitations
are the ones you self impose?
and the key which locks the door
is locked outside the door you close?"
(From 'Limitations')
"To loose the joy of purpose is
to loose the will to try
and when the spirit of endeavour's gone
the soul begins to die"
(Title unknown)
"Then the sun comes up with a glorious show
And the nuclear dust in the air is aglow
The rich and the famous are dead in their beds
and the ***** and the cockroaches nibble their heads"
(Title unknown)
I have a friend
when shuffling with the crowds
as everyone looks down he holds his head up in the clouds
And though dismayed
the time had gone so soon
as he walks amidst the chaos he hums a gentle tune…
"Who am I and what am I
and what have I to show?
And should I be concerned
that very few may care to know?"
(From 'Soliloquy')
"To look upon my megre works
as worthwhile in the scheme of things,
[Is] to nurture somewhere in the soul
the song which satisfaction sings"
"The hourglass
[will] reach the time
when all life’s frantic urgencies evaporate like wine"
(from '8')
though memories fade
words grow like seeds
taking root within the hearts and minds of anyone who heeds
"[I’ve] seen troubled waters pass me by
from torrent flow to pebble dry
From softly spoken words of love
where teardrops fall to pools of blood
So verily I say to you,
take heed my friend or feel the pain,
From one who knows the way of things
from one who sorts the chaff from grain
(From 'Rule of Chance')
Go outside and look around
the simple things in life abound
The wonder of the detail small
enthrals the mind and makes it all
It’s all before you spread about!
you make the choice YOU WORK IT OUT!
It’s all a state of mind you see
and it’s the simple things that set you free"
(From 'The Simple Things in Life')
(C) bazookio 2014
This here is a wee ‘Ode to Marshall Gebbie’, Prolific Ninja Wordsmith; Family member; and friend.
Italicised words are particularly favourite sections of larger poems written by Marshall, which I have surgically removed and grafted amidst a few of my own meanderings.
Listen to the tune here if you like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdWZdy4wdxk
or read more of what rattles round in Marshall's head here:
http://hellopoetry.com/marshal-gebbie/