Like night is from day
The moon from the sun
Like oil and water that refuses to blend
Love versus Hate
So is the great divide
From the presence of light
To the absence thereof
A rift throughout the world
It surely can be felt
So is the great divide
Like a robust ocean torn in two
Cross currents can destroy
Like war differs from peace
A knife could cut or ****
So is the great divide

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

I saw a ladder
It was set firmly into the ground
Reaching all the way up into the sky
The bottom steps were broad
But as it continued up
Narrower the steps became
Many people could climb the bottom steps
But the steeper and higher the ladder became
The less people could fit onto the steps
Most fell off the ladder
Back onto the ground
The ones who persisted continued upwards
Walking in singularity
No one to the left, no one to the right of them
Single file they soldiered on
At the top there was a bright light
Into which they were consumed
The ladder was pulled back
Like a carpet rolled up
There was now no connection between those above, and those below
And the wolves and the sheep had been divided

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

In a room full of unknown faces
In a circle we sat  
Familiar was the surrounding
Yet no-one was known to me
And no-one knew one another
Passed around was a mirror
Each took a turn to glance into it
In search of identification
The end of the circle the mirror had reached
There was one more face to go
Into the mirror a woman was hesitant to look
When a stranger's face appeared
Not hers was the face the mirror manifested
A face which was warped came into view
When suddenly from my nightmare I woke
The mirror never lies said that voice
Round and round a lie may roam
But no home will it find
Until it becomes tired of wandering
No choice will it have but to return to the tongue which created it
And the mask and its serpent will come tumbling down

I long to be alone
A modest cabin by the sea
Where the days are quiet
Where no television, radio or phone is permitted
No unnecessary words of explanation
Where the afternoon sun bakes warmly on my cat in the windowsill
A gentle purr of content
By day I will walk along the sandy shore
Cast away my formal shoes
Roll up my pants and place my feet in the crisp waters of the salty ocean
The wind ... The crashing of the waves ... A seagull's cry
A dog and its owner passes by ... An occasional hello
They say people need people ... But I don't know
Natures own form of conversation seems to be a better companion for me
With the competitive world locked outside
Where money is God and the race is fierce
A ray of light catches the colourful bottles in the window
Creating a prism on the floor
I could take a photograph ... Capture the moment
But if I send it to you
Will you feel what I see

I saw an old farmhouse

It reminded me more of a home than just a house

I pictured myself living there

I pictured having the windows shut and the curtains drawn closed

I imagined silence

Behind this house there was a big mountain

Snow white clouds spilling over the peak like pouring milk

There was that silent sound again

Back inside I pictured an old black bakelite telephone in the passage

Only I knew the number

I could phone out

But there would be no incoming calls

I've chosen it this way

The kitchen is cozy and modest

A *** plant in the windowsill

The television and radio have been stacked inside the ceiling

They have become dust collectors

The only sound is the ticking of the clock

It doesn't matter if it runs down

Time is not important here

Not in this space

I eat  

I think

I go for a walk

I return

I drink a cup of tea

It's late afternoon and the sun wants to retire

I read

I think some more

I turn out the light

I go to sleep and forget

A constant emptiness
A need to want
The want to be needed
The need to be wanted
An oasis of nothingness
Grasping into open air
Everyone's on their own mission
Everyone's on their phone
How brilliantly terrible this is
Nobody has anything to say
In a restaurant everybody is looking one way ... down
Consumed by technology
My best friend
My best friend called Phone
To Love might make you complete
To be loved might make you whole
But who needs Love? Who cares?
As long as you have your little god to hold, right?
But in virtual reality the world can be cold
Spending all your time and energy
Like a battery run down you shall grow old
And don't count on anyone to hold!

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

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

When I look back over my life
Many pieces of the puzzle fall into place
I often use the word seasons in my writing
And this is not even a poem for that matter
But I've come to know that darkness accentuates light
A strange sense of destiny
Opposites that work together towards one goal
Something that needs to be achieved or completed
My whole life through this has chased me
When I was a child I enjoyed making soup
Wooden spoon in hand stirring the broth
The sole of my right foot up against my left ankle
I must have looked like a ballerina
My mother seated at the kitchen table
I heard her giggling from behind
I turned to her and asked "why are you laughing"
She replied "the way you're standing and the enjoyment you get from making soup"
I uttered "do you know that I'm going to achieve something great someday"
She asked "where did that come from"
I responded "I don't know"
She said "so be it"

You've played me long enough
Round and round I went
But this record has reached its final groove
The tonearm has lifted and returned to its rest 
Now there is silence
No one is dancing
To the beat of your drum I will never dance again

When the shadows become long and slim
Stretching over the lawn in the park
I know change of season has arrived
It accentuates the loneliness
Sadness has arrived
Like a black dog on my doorstep
Winter is near
This time will be different I think
This time I'll be strong
But am I
Or do I simply surrender to that loneliness
Outside the winter sun is alive and well
Inside my home, the smell of lavender
I guess the housekeeper must have polished the floors
I hear the cry of a bird flying overhead  
Take me with you I scream
Yet my lips have not moved
I've missed the opportunity I think
Part of me angry, part of me doesn't care
But still the shadows are there
Accompanied by a stillness in the air
And how does one hibernate when forced to live

The soul is no colour
The soul is no race
The soul is no gender
The soul simply is ...

There once was a man who entered a pub
He sat down at the bar counter and ordered a drink
Minding his own business
Enjoying a cold beer sliding down his throat like silk
When a stranger approached him and took a seat right next to him
After some small talk the stranger asked the man
May I ask you a personal question?
The man replied, Sure!
He knew what was coming
He had heard this line so many times before
He also knew that the married stranger who had two kids was looking for something that he couldn't find at home
Are you gay asked the stranger blatantly?
Yes, I am, answered the man!
Why do you ask?
Not to worry said the stranger
I have lots of gay friends and they're actually nice people
Actually? responded the man
Yes, said the curious stranger
Then the man said to the stranger
Alright, so you've asked me a personal question
It's only fair that I should ask you a personal question too, right?
Right, said the stranger
Are you straight asked the man
Of course the stranger replied!
Not to worry replied the man
I have lots of straight friends and they're actually nice people

Time makes us forget
However when you revert to a previous space in your life
You are rudely reminded as to why you progressed away from it in the first place

From deep within the light is born
From deep within comes a brand new dawn
Authentic and unpolluted by thought
Far away from the traditions that man has taught
When the whole world breathes in synchronization
To become one breath
Merged with all of creation
Illuminated like the evening star
Shining bright from afar
Darkness causes the light to exist
In balanced contrast are the keys on a piano played with great bliss
The ebony and ivory creates a melody
Your life song of harmony
Where Love is a top priority
Sprung forth from the Falun Gong philosophy

Though this world is full of people
There is no one for you
You are entirely alone
You observe a film and catch a bird's eye view of a giant size city
You see the enormous buildings
Uncountable windows
In every window there is a light
Where there is a light, there is life
So many people you think
How is it possible that I am alone, you say
Every time you reach out to be loved
It crashes on barren ground
Most don't understand you
And those who do
Only understand a small part of you
Forever giving of yourself
Yet never receiving
A soul in anguish
Yet you know that out of darkness and despair creativity comes
You long for those short lived moments
Like a flower that blossoms in season
Only to wither away when the moment is over
Trampled underfoot by the clowns of this world
The ones who know so much, yet actually know so little
The ones who base their cleverness and worth on their fattened bank accounts
They say we are all equal and deserve happiness
Really now???
Or has our life path been carved out before the beginning of time
Some to thrive and others to suffer
Like Judas was chosen to betray Jesus
I'm sure he just fulfilled his role in life, somebody had to do it
Yet it's human nature to question why you are devoid of Love
Have I done something wrong in a previous life, you ask
Afraid to smile in case it gets wiped off by the reception of bad news
For the vulture is forever watching while sitting on the perch
Waiting quietly like a scarecrow in a field
For when you fall he will be ready to devour

Voel jy ook soms asof die wêreld na 'n einde kom
Niks maak meer saak nie
Niks het meer waarde nie
Al wat oorbly is nou
Alles voel so lank gelede
Die jare het verby gevlieg
Hier staan ons aan die einde van 'n reënboog
En na alles wat gedoen en gesê was
Kruis ons paaie weer mekaar
'n Bittersoet versoening
Ons het 'n kronkelpad geloop
Ons het tydelik ontspoor
Maar nou verstaan ons mekaar
Niemand is tog so anders nie
Ons het meer ingemeen as wat ons kon droom
Maar dit was 'n stryd
Net om te vind dat ons tog so eenders is
Tyd gemors, tyd verloor
Hier staan ons nou op die laaste spoor
Die fluit het geblaas
Die treine rol in
Treine wat mekaar gemis het
Treine wat behoort aan mekaar

Tuning into God is like using the correct password
I once overheard a woman praying
She muttered Lord this and Lord that ... It was Lord all over the place
Suddenly I received a vision of someone writing a letter
Then casting it to the wind in hope that it will reach the correct recipient
Then I began to wonder, Lord who? Lord of what?
A title such as Mr. or Mrs. with no specific name attached
Then it dawned on me that so many words have been spoken to the wind
Blown away ... Lost in translation
The incorrect passwords
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Bingo!!! Password accepted and your supplication is submitted
Whether it will be granted or not is not for me to say
However, I have heard someone say "I don't believe in God anymore, because He did not heal my loved one"
Once again I received another revelation
Had God healed your loved one, what then?
Would you have expected them to live forever?
And if they didn't ... What then?
Would you have lost faith?
Do we not know instinctively
That the day you were born, you were one day closer to the the day you are destined to die
Therefore death is part of life ... It's not the end
Simply a transformation
A never ending cycle of beginnings and endings
Life to death
Death to life
And the cycle continues

Turquoise you make my heart go blue
Not in a sad way
But in a deep way
You remind me of lengthy walks on a Spring afternoon
The turquoise gutters on a home
The turquoise eyes of a Siamese cat
You are the colour of wisdom
The voice of reason
The smell of a mother's scent
A glass vase displayed in a windowsill
The sun shines through
My favourite shade of blue

When I was younger I was easily stressed
Now that I'm older I've come to realize that I've wasted a lot of time worrying about things I had no control over
I didn't have control over it then
And I don't have control over it now
Every time I go through a bad time in my life
It makes the previous times seem less bad
It's then that I ask myself, why the hell didn't you just enjoy yourself
What you were stressed about seems so insignificant now
It's like looking at a picture of a past love
You almost always ask yourself ... What was the fuss about ...
And somehow they never appear as pretty as you had remembered them to be
The veil has come off and the ******* truth has been exposed
Like the man who is hungover in the blistering sun
It never goes down well
And no one wants to be twice a fool ...

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

I know that people were created to live together in Love and harmony
Regardless of their skin colour, beliefs or ****** orientation
But do they? Do we?
Somewhere the master plan was interrupted and a lie was born
I believe in a power called Love
Love is light and light is God
Which I believe is the highest source of energy
But people will always have their difference of opinion
I also recognize that there is a lot that we don’t know
And things are not always the way they seem
Don’t believe everything you’ve been told or taught
Even teachers were taught at some point in time
And if the wrong things were taught to the teachers to teach
Then the system is unauthentic
People will try to convince each other of who is right
So they create a war and **** as many innocent people as possible
And they call this a victory
I believe that when we transition from this world to the next level
We will come into full knowledge which will result in Love
The same way that complete Love results in complete knowledge
The transformation of moving from the flesh to the spirit
Means moving from the darkness to the light
Moving from a condition where there was once a lack of knowledge
To a circumstance of full knowledge
Then we will know LOVE

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

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

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

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

Are you depressed
Write it Out
Do you feel lonely
Write it Out
Do you have pain
Write it Out
Devote all emotion to writing
Write Write Write
Don't hold back
Scream with written words
Disclose every feeling and thought
Empty your heart to pen and paper
Rip off thé emotional scab
Allow that wound to erupt like a volcano
Burst into words of flame
Let all the infected lava boil out ... EXPLODE
Write it out ... Shout it out ... Spit it out ... Get it out
Knowing that you will be the only reader of your writing
Say what you think ... What you feel
Not what you think another might want to hear
Write until you are exhausted ... Nothing left to say
Read it several times ... Read until you tire
Take a deep breath and set it to flame
Then let it GO

Give a chef a knife
And he will create a gourmet dish
Give a murderer a knife
And he will do just that ... Commit ******
Place the internet in a well-minded person's hands
And it will be used for all the right purposes
However, if it ends up in the wrong hands
The internet troll appears
A glass of wine can be enjoyed or abused
Depending on which skeleton you choose to hide
Outer actions speak of inner demons

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

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