When half a century of my life has gone
I'd like to live in the countryside
Or maybe a cabin next to the sea
I would like a dog and cat of no special breed
Windy days to dangle the wind chimes
A Capil heater in a modestly furnished lounge
Curtains shut for instant midnight and candlelight for thought
No loud noise, and no glare from an insensitive TV screen
Bombarding the beautiful silence with negativity
A little art studio on the side where I can explore
Bottles with stained water and paintbrushes
No exhibition for condescending tongues and haughty eyes
Maybe all the above is just a dream
It may never become a reality
But it is still a dream
And maybe ... Just Maybe ... I can dream it into reality

This morning I picked up a card
It was a seven of hearts
I wondered what it could mean
Lately I've been praying for Love
While others pray for rain
Maybe I'm just a fool for believing true Love exists
I know that fony Love exists
We've all been there
Back to the card
What could it have meant
Why did I pick it up
Is Love on its way
Or am I just a sucker
Who can't resist picking up someone else's trash

Don't procrastinate
For the sand is running swiftly through the hourglass
For every idle word
For every idle thought
Is time that will never be resumed
The sand is chasing
Running speedily, Slipping hastefully  
And there is more sand at the bottom of the hourglass than at the top
Make haste
Do what you have to do, and do it well
No second chances
Until all the sand has run through
And the value of your sand of life shall be weighed up
Don't be slow at doing good
Don't say tomorrow
For we only have today

In the past I used to say
God, take my headaches away
Now, I say thank you for tribulation
Because you've proven to me that I can overcome them
I used to ask
Remove the impossible people from my life path
The ones I don't want to deal with
Now I say thank you for those idiots
For they have sharpened my senses
I now recognise a foolish person by their shadow
And though we sometimes wish to be young again
We'd never want to be foolish again
And the greatest gift one can obtain is wisdom

Red telephone
Next to my bed
How I wish you would ring
A voice on the other side
Smiling with sweet surprise
Red telephone
There were days you were my lifeline
I could dial and speak for hours
Though nobody was there
Just to speak without interruption
Red telephone
Why are you so silent
I'm waiting for that signal
To make-believe that someone is listening ... somebody cares
Red telephone
You ring no more
You've closed the door
The line has been cut
And I pretend no more ...

Oh beloved country
Why do I cry for you
I have been told this is not my home
But how can this be
When I was born on your very soil
Country of division
The cry of the wild
Can we not sing one song
Sing in unison
Like a dry, barren and cracked piece of earth
We long for rain
Hungry for peace
And a reign without prejudice
Where all men are equal
And we **** no more
The ground has seeped up all the spilt blood
It has kept record of every innocent life lost
Until one day it will offer up the dead
And every sword shall be held accountable

Oh the politician of our day
We practice equality is what they say
But their works don't match their words
To pose as little gods
But to hold no real power
Spin tactics is their game
To win your vote is their aim
While a desperate nation's voice is silenced
Millions of promises are forsaken
Like accumulated rubble on the streets
Working to live ... Living to work
Until one day a line shall be drawn across the sky
And all the demigods shall assuredly die
They shall be planted like trees ... But not to grow
Remembered no more
Tombstones covered in bird droppings
As a new horizon awaits
Where all the little gods of our time will be washed away
And the real God shall arise
There shall be no need for substitute little gods
For the true God, the real God shall be with us

Cracked
I thought you were perfect
Thought you were the final ingredient to making my life complete ... perfect!
Only to find that you were cracked
Yes, flawed!
At first I wanted to cast you away
Then came a rude awakening
I discovered something about myself
I found that I was cracked too
That the perfection I was seeking was driven by the imperfection in me  
I was seeking my own wholeness in you
Yet I am flawed
Yet I am cracked
Perfection now holds a different meaning
The right imperfection makes perfect
And we all need some of that imperfect perfectness

S. Achilleos
June 20th, 2020

This is not just a tangible cold
But a chill in the heart
To say goodbye and love from afar
For the very one you held so dear
Became the root cause of many a fear
One never knows you're in the eye of the storm
Until you escape and look back
From the other side of the mirror
Things have now become clear
Uproot and cast away
The naysayers who sowed pitfalls in your way
Yet bid such not a bitter farewell
For hiding underneath that glossy shell
Unveiled a serpent you thought you knew so well

Sean Achilleos
April 4th, 2020

Sometimes the one closest to you is your biggest enemy...

The Owls are Watching

In memory of Helen Martins
'The Owl House'
Nieu Bethesda, South Africa

In sculpture and rock rested your art
Cement faces that speak volumes
Of emotions and tales untold
As mysterious as your life itself
Glittering walls of crushed glass
That shone by candlelight
Outside of art you were branded
Though remembered as unique and ahead of your time
With big glass eyes the owls watch the world
What was once your sanctuary
Now a showcase to the world
Recognized at last
Unspeakable loneliness of a soul misunderstood
Now your handwritten letters are framed and displayed for all to read
But you don't mind the curiosity of mankind
With cement hands raised to the heavens facing the east
You drank your chosen cup
Your Mecca now complete

Written by Sean Achilleos
28 March 2016©

How this poem came about:

I was a visitor to the Owl House Nieu-Bethesda South Africa in 2015. Approximately, one year later I was inspired to write a poem about the late great Helen Martins. I was intrigued by the eccentricity of this woman.

One evening while in my living room and enjoying a glass of wine, my eye caught the cement owl in my windowsill which I had purchased outside the Owl House from a vendor. I saw its big blue glass eyes glaring at me. At the time I was listening to a Jennifer Ferguson record, and decided to write while the music was playing. Once I had completed the poem I felt exhausted. Then a very strange phenomena occurred, the lights went off for a few seconds and came back on, unlike a power surge. It reoccurred a second time that same evening, and never since. It felt like a supernatural intervention. As far fetched as it may sound, it seemed like Mrs. Martins had personally given her approval of the poem. I then decided to email it to the official Owl House website. I didn't think much would come of it. However, they embraced the poem and were generous enough to display it on their official Website for a number of years under a section titled "A Visitor's Perspective".

https://g.co/kgs/BPyx1U

We met in our minds
One enchanted evening
Blue black hair
Dark eyes that pierce the soul ... MY soul
We embraced for a fleeting moment
Glassy eyed ... dream believers
Fools like us keep the world entertained
Like human dartboards
We dodge poisonous arrows
We play the games that others don't dare to play
From the pages of a book
The story comes alive
We are able to make believe
Then like a bat in the night
You mysteriously disappeared out of sight
At the first glimpse of the morning sun
Headache ... empty glass
The stench of wine combined with silence
Tangible silence ...
Suddenly it doesn't matter where we are
We're somewhere on the planet ... You and I
The face of the earth they call it
Under the same blanket of stars
And I think I have learned to love you from afar
A necessary evil to survive

Something lies beyond
The power of Love is unity
Fear thrives on division
Life online ... A virtual existence
An implementation of fear
Something unseen is at work
Is the beast on his way
Or perhaps already here
A blanket of darkness has covered the earth
An awkward silence hangs in the air
And fear has become tangible
The earth seems sad and tired
Then a division line shall be drawn
Across earth and sea
The time to separate sheep from goat has come
And what is hidden shall be exposed
Like an overripe fruit that has fallen from a tree
Burst open for all to see what was lurking inside

You are the world you live in
Every time you crush a cigarette on the ground
You're burning yourself
Every time you cast a piece of plastic to the wind
You're littering in your own garden
When you dispose of waste in the waters
You're poisoning your very own well  
When you pollute the air
You're defiling your lungs with menacing toxins

I am the world I live in
You are the world you live in
We are the world we live in

I love walking in the wind
clutching my jacket
I love eating ice cream in the cold
I love the way your eyes change colour when you're mad ... It turns me on
I love it when you say no
but you really mean to say yes
I love you not because you asked me to
but out of free will
and your tattoo reads ... I love you

To read people like books
I've read many books in my time
Some good ... Some bad
Some deep ... Some sad
Some books don't relate to their covers whatsoever
Some consist of a simplistic cover
Yet relay a deeper story
Others have an immaculate cover
But with no substance inside ... Blank pages
And yes everybody can write a book
But not every book is a Best Seller

I once said that I don't want to be like my father
He was too harsh a man
I once said that I don't want to be like my mother
She was too passive a woman
To make do with what I've got
Paste together the pieces of a broken puzzle
In the past I believed that God judged me;
according to how people had judged me
I believed I was loved only conditionally;
according to how those around me chose to love me
A degree, percentage or not at all
But I was missing in this picture
Where was the unconditional part of love I now ask
What happened to having a moral compass
However morals seem to have gone out the window
And the compass is broken
When my mother died
I was deeply saddened
When my father died
I felt alone
Who is left I shouted
I am now truly alone
My mind emerged to a deeper understanding
A new revelation
If God were to be my parents
Blemish free
An unconditional love
My earthly parents were then just vehicles
There's no need to model myself on either of them
I could just simply be
For in reality they too had no mother or father
Perhaps they never knew this
Their parents also just vehicles
Stepping stones to life
Then truly no-one is an orphan
Do I feel lonely ...
Why would I
Why should I
How could I
When I am never alone
Though I don't always feel that this world is my home
I shall continue to sing a song
Write a poem
Whistle a tune
Thus I have thrown caution to the wind
People passing through my life
Like ships slowly disappearing in the horizon
Sailing away
I observe them come and go
Should I wish them back
I'd rather wish them well
Who has sailed has sailed
Continuity man's key to survival

life is but a fragile thing
years may seem as if they were one day
wanting to relive it all again
as if it never really happened
the want to feel or touch
afraid to forget
time has covered our memories in dust
thus I accept that no man is immortal
including I
a flower is picked from the garden
while one's time is withering away
the other is in full bloom
the peace of acceptance
not knowing how long the journey will last
bloom while in season
this life
merely a temporary ride to the next



You are to me like a Ruby set in my most precious gold ring ...

Does love need a reason
Is love a gender
Is love a colour
I think not
Does love need to be explained
Why and to whom
To thirst for water in a blazing hot desert
In this place we call the world
Love is to the soul
Like soothing cool water to a dry throat
A sanctuary of the heart
Where hope endures forever
Like a volatile substance
Once love ignites it will burn for eternity
Burning like twin flames in an unyielding grasp
Nothing can divide them
When both hearts burn equally
Does love need permission
Does love need approval
Is love apologetic
Is love predictable
I think not

Winter sun you amaze me
Lush fields of green
The smell of a freshly cut lawn
Winter sun soothingly kissing my skin
An unusual stillness in the air
A world on mute
Winter sun you appear
Like a beaming smile
When my flesh is in need
Cover me in your wholeness
Enfold me in a leafy glade
Melt the cold away
And stay with me throughout this forlorn day
Winter sun bathe me in your golden ray
Winter sun never go away

The man who never was
Among a myriad of people
A shadow cast over water
Continually changing shape
Seen yet absent in presence
Opaque ... Yet a void
The man who never was
Translucent illusion
I could swear I heard him speak
Or was it simply the return of an echo from long ago
Again he didn't stand on the pier last night
Where he had never stood before
Therefore I ceased from looking for him
In places I knew he never was
The man who never was

Get to the Market

Some people take the back road
Others use the highway
Some arrive early
Some arrive late

Get the market

We all follow our own way
No persuasion
No need to jump a red light
A river will flow where it flows
Carve its own way

Get to the market

Some exhilarate
Others doddle along the way
Walk or run
You will arrive when you get there

Get to the market

To forgive the unforgivable
To carry on as if nothing's wrong
Though you have too much on your mind
And a mountain on each shoulder
To push through the storm
Because you know the calm is waiting
Like a creature of nature who hibernates during the long and cold winter months
Until the warmth of the sun is felt
The ice slowly decays
Invisibly cocoon yourself from all that is around you
And know that better is to come
Better is on its way
Pay no attention to the shadows
For that is what they are ... Mere shadows
The more you look at them ... The taller they grow
Cast luminosity and it shall terminate their existence
For the dark can not exist in the light
But the light of Love will banish all darkness

When someone curses at you
Be silent
For their own words shall become their pitfall
When falsely accused
Be silent
By the time the truth prevails
Your silence would've caused them more shame and embarrassment
When dealing with one who has a hot temper
Be silent
And he shall have no option but to flee from you
When an arrogant man always assumes to be right
Be silent
For fate shall expose his darkest secret in public
Never enter into an argument with a fool
Be silent
Because he will retaliate to everything you say ... even if he knows he's wrong
And you shall be reeled into stooping to his level
For every word holds power
Therefore it's better to be silent
Than to utter words of regret
Lies are like boomerangs
They depart from their sender's lips
And never find a place to nest
They roam like restless spirits
Only to return at the most inopportune time

The Aftermath of Injustice

In Memory of Neil Aggett
1953 - 1982

You crossed the border to offer your expertise
To render a service to a people without a voice
A people in hell
To a nation stripped naked by gross injustice
Like a tree with no leaves
Stripped bare in autumn
Left with no shade from the scorching sun
The fruits had all been stolen by wicked men
Devoured by the debauched in khaki attire
Swollen and puffed with pride like pastry in an oven
They took you captive like Jesus once was
Punished for doing good
Until your heart cried out with an inner voice
Why the whips and chains
Wet and cold electrified feet
You knew then ... You wouldn't get out alive
Your passing cruelly induced
To end your life ... Your only relief
Like a whisper in a crowd
Who would hear your cry
Of course the papers had to say
He did it himself ... He did it his way
Oh how I wish I was invisible
There in your cell of hell
To name and shame the faces
Who unjustly got saved by the bell

Written by Sean Achilleos 25 January 2019©

Additional:
In this life it may seem that there are people who get away with almost anything and everything.
And perhaps they do.
However, only in this lifetime.
But sadly not in the life thereafter.
Like an alarm bell that breaks the deathly silence early in the morning.
It's not what you want to hear, but a necessary truth.

There may be those who have more than you
However only in material value
They might possess a bigger bank balance
Drive a better car
Live in a luxury mansion adorned in splendour
Wear attire bearing famous names
But they will never be as free as you
Even if you were a bird in a cage
You'd still be freer than they are
Because you hold freedom of mind

Every judgemental word of stone that you cast
Shall ricochet and slap you in the face
When you gossip
Be careful
For a bird might hear you
And tell others what you had said
Don't fire arrows of jealousy
For you shall be put to shame
Don't try to mould someone into what you'd like them to be
Unless you're willing to do something against your own will
Don't accuse others of wrong action
If you are guilty of more
For your skeleton in hiding
Will almost always fall out of the cupboard at the most inopportune time
Be who you are
And people shall respect you more
It's better to deal with a criminal
Than to speak to one who wears a mask

He found himself living in apartment 3
Then he moved to apartment 33
From there he travelled abroad
Only to return
Now he lives in room 7
He thought it would've been a house
Though the smallest of all
From this room 7 ... Magic flows
Up into the heavens
It reaches so far
Beyond the stars
The real stars
Not mortal beings who claim to be so
At night if you look closely
You shall observe an electric blue streak
Reaching upwards towards the sky
See to whence it leads
This line requires no phone
And shall remain uninterrupted
Until one day
He shall go to where this blue streak leadeth

There once was a man
Who lived a long long time ago
He went by the name of Jesus
Sadly He committed horrendous crimes
He healed the sick
Caused the blind to see
Walked on the water
And dispelled any form of iniquity
And for ALL the above He received the death penalty
Today there are those who steal, ****** and ****
Their sentence ...
You shall go to a place we call prison and reside there for free
There you shall receive three meals a day ... On time
You shall have a roof over your head and a warm bed to sleep in
You shall stay there for a period of time
While you're there you can watch TV and have full use of the gym
Once your stay has expired
You shall be released back into society
Where you most-likely will commit the same offence
But not to worry
You will always have a place to call home
Where the cycle shall repeat itself
And as for the rest of society
Who cares about the people who were affected by your heinous crimes
As long as you weren't injured while committing them
Sleep peacefully

Don't answer someone's question
When you suspect that he won't like your answer
It only causes discord
Therefore it's better to change the subject
Or to pretend you didn't hear the question
Eventually he will forget that he had asked you anything
Beware of a man who asks for your opinion
He might know in his heart that he's not truly worthy of flattery
He might be testing you
And knows that you're telling lies
Singing him praises will lead you into a trap
Everybody knows that a corpse is not a beautiful sight
So why fabricate words
It's better to keep quiet than to say something you don't mean
Thus choosing your words carefully shall lead to abundance
The less words you use
The more you're actually saying
And by saying nothing
You're actually saying everything
Never take for granted that everyone is as honest as you are
There's always a vulture in the surrounding
Waiting for you to stumble
And when you do
He will make it his mission to ensure that everybody gets to know about it
A fool will reveal his innermost secrets while intoxicated
Then hang his head in shame the following day
Every man was born with intuition
But in a modern world full of noise pollution
That inner voice could easily be drowned out
Too many distractions
Too many choices
And if you're not strong in who you are
You will most likely always end up making the wrong choice
Therefore seek for inner silence
Like a man diligently digging for gold
He never gives up until he strikes it lucky
Give your inner voice time to speak
And you shall find the answers you've been looking for

When people judge you harshly
Never judge them back
For the degree and measurement they have used to judge you by
Shall be the degree and measurement
Which shall be used when their judgement time arrives
Therefore don't worry about what people think or say
Why tire yourself about something you have no control over
Their words are likened to leaves blowing in the wind
Such people shall be trapped by their own words
And they have determined their own fate
The more stones such people throw
The more stones they shall reap
A harvest of stones
You reap what you throw

For years I turned right
For years I turned left
Believing it would bring me some form of happiness
Perhaps the lack of Love in my life caused me to do so
However I soon discovered that turning only in one direction
Left me moving in a circle
Thus was my cycle ... Thus was my life
Going round and round like a Ferris wheel
In ways I guess it kept me sane
In practice it wasted a lot of time ... Precious time
And so my soul had to be dragged through the dark woods
Lost in a maze
A whirlpool called life
A gloomy forest filled with hungry wolves
The only way out was to try all exits ... Break the pattern
To turn in all directions
From afar I could see a light
This light reflected ... As light usually does
But this light also attracted
I focused on it ... Progressed to where it was coming from
I was not afraid
I ignored the growling sounds of wolves trying to close in on me
Gnashing their teeth as if they could already ******* blood
I soldiered on towards the light
Finally I had reached the open door
I stepped into the light as if it had been waiting for me
Then I turned to see from whence I had come
But the ocean water had washed my footprints away
I was standing on a sandy shore
Children playing in the golden sand ... Building sandcastles
People sunbathing ... Sapphire blue waters
In the air the distinct smell of coconut
A mirror in the sky reflecting my life story
I was able to edit it ... pause and delete
Cut out the bad parts
But then I realised that without them my journey would've been incomplete

When I was a child  
I thought I'd live forever  
Now that I'm an adult  
I tell myself that I simply won't die  
But that someday I'll be raptured into a cosmic sphere of ecstasy
To read the engraved words on a tombstone  
I once was where you are now ... And someday you'll be where I am now  
But where are you  
You never returned to tell the end of the story  
Left me hanging in the air ... Waiting ... Guessing  
Thus I accept  
Darkness to light  
Flesh to spirit  
And while in the midst of an incomplete journey
A story unwritten    
I have no choice  
But to enjoy the ride

They're here
They're upon us
Arrived while the world was sleeping
While in a coma
Scheming eyes behind rubbery masks
Painted smiles with veneered teeth
Keeping us still
Keeping us on mute
Dosed up on pills
Chemically induced
Stolen our minds
Stolen our thoughts
While looking in our eyes
The scent of our fear energises them
Who are they you ask
Opposition to man
In every profession
Positions of power
To practice control
To take control
Sending terror through the airwaves
Mankind their guinea pig
Experiments performed without your knowledge
While watching your favourite movie
Portholes everywhere
Who can you trust
No-one
Who can you tell
No-one
For the person next to you
Might be more than just ... Someone

A mind that has taken too many beatings
Too much hurt
Too much loss
Too much rejection
Too much pain
Enough sorrow to last several lifetimes
A brain with a band aid on it
A band aid called antidepressants
But once the sticky band aid is carefully removed
Like a broken arm removed from a sling
It requires time to function as before
Exposed and fragile
Like an infant taking baby steps
One step at a time
Slowly moving forward
Slowly
Yet moving
Just moving
Keep moving
Slowly but surely
While identifying the pain
Moving closer
Moving forward
Closer and closer
To the winning line
You are home FREE

The liberation that comes
When learning to say NO
One of the least used words
Yet one of thé most powerful

What will they say you think
Afraid to disappoint
What will they think you wonder

A heavy black cloud to be lifted from your shoulders
When suddenly to utter the word NO

Don't give up on Love
Just because a rogue crossed your life's path

Don't give up on Love
Because a snake came a sailing your way

Don't give up on Love
Just because you confused lust for Love

Don't give up on Love
Because you mistook thorny weeds for flowers

For there is a season for a tree to be pruned
As every boomerang cast at you
Has no other choice but to return to its sender

Don't give up on Love

Like shells
Beautiful to look at but hollow inside
To be crushed and transformed to sand
For you to walk on

Don't give up on Love
For your season to reap might be closer than you know

Never give up on Love

Beautiful heart
A heart not to be worn on your sleeve
In search of Love in a pit of snakes
White rose among the scarlet
Only to be found once in a lifetime
Disappeared it has
Like a cat sleeping in a windowsill
A common site overlooked
It was always there
The vase in the window now is missing
The one with the golden heart
Locked away far from sight
Never again to grant the opportunity to be shattered
A beautiful heart
The holy grail
Shall be difficult to find

Windows ***** or clean
Each tell a unique story
Depending which side you're looking from
Are you looking from the outside in
Or from the inside out
Every soul has two eyes
Two windows
Together they talk about a journey
A journey that started a long time ago
Like the glare of the sun on a glossy window
Some try to hide their transparency behind tinted glasses
I've been there
Prevent the world from seeing inside
Kindness mistaken as weakness
Silence as a lack of confidence
When in essence silence speaks louder than words themselves
What shall we do with all the cracked windows
Broken and smashed
Lying on the ground
Stripped bare of value
However an oasis of splintered pieces
Could configure a formidable mosaic of Love

Hard shall be your days
Gloom shall be your nights
To bring you to that point
The point of creation
A love hate situation
One can't exist without the other
No sorrow
No creativity
Depression more than a companion
Pain is your gain
Salty tears you shall cry
Carry your burden and blessing
To obtain your title
The title of ARTIST
While others admire or criticise
Often misunderstood
Always evolving
Always saying
This is my finest work
Until your next creation
Only free for moments short lived
For a fleeting moment in the spotlight
A brief moment on the stage

can you see me
do you recognise me
did you acknowledge me in the womb
or did you pay me no heed
a lovechild i was born
it was not i who rejected you
but you who rejected me
why should i carry your burden
your guilt
joined by an umbilical cord
your pain became my hurt
your anxiety became my fear
your rejection my way of life
my demon to fight
a void of baby photos
sparked an avalanche of photos in adult life
always posing in search of finding my face in a crowd
a mother harbouring a secret
an absent father
see me
see me
see me please
cries a silent voice inside
i seek your approval
day in night out
a closer look in the mirror
reveals a story untold
though a thousand people around me
i am always alone

written by sean achilleos 09 september 2018©