Stranded without a line
to pull me back in time
Blinking through snowblind
to try and see a sign

As I stumble through the snow
Where loose footings follow
With my panic held in tow
I cry out my tears of woe

I survived the fall down
Tumbling along the ground
I don't know if I'll be found
This far away from town

Taking shelter in the trees
Away from the piercing breeze
Fashioning my broken skis
To take the weight off my knees

I'm scared that I'll hear a howl
Of a creature most foul
Hiding teeth atop its jowl
As it seeks me on its prowl

Or does something else await?
A slow and more frozen fate
Now that the day turns late
The cold night does not wait

I push the thoughts from existence
For I must be persistent
Or else be gone in an instance
Oh, what is that in the distance?

I was at the end of my tether
As I breathed the brutal aether
But I was found in the weather
And now we're back together

A man was standing at the pier's edge
No intention of stepping forward but he wasn't going to step back
His gaze transfixed on the water, his feet hovering their border
He wasn't looking to swim, not with that long coat in black

I approached him cautiously
As I didn't wish to alarm him or startle him into falling down
I knew that he must have a story, one willing to be heard
And I was willing to be an audience, to be someone around

He turned and spoke to me
Please, step no further, this must be my decision to make
I appreciate your concern but if there is one thing I've learnt
is that good intentions of others make promises easy to break

I stopped and he then continued
Thank you, I appreciate it and I suppose an explanation is due
I may not have had the worst of lives but nor have I had the best
But I did have a long life, which is more than others will get

He turned to face me
His coat was flailing in the wind and underneath he wore a suit
It was well worn but not shabby and his shoes needed a shine
But he was ordinary as if this walk was part of his commute

Smiling he told me
I know, I know, it's not what you expected when you saw me
I haven't just lost my job, it's not that kind of simple story
I just woke up and wondered if this was all there is to reality

I've had my highs and I've had my lows
Nothing different to what everyone knows, but that led me here
If nothing new is to come, am I happy to stop with all I've had
Or shall I keep going and just see what will appear

He asked me to leave after that
I protested but I understood it was his choice to make alone
I reluctantly turned and slowly walked further and further away
I wondered if I would even hear if his soul would part the waves

Music brought me into this world
It only grew during childhood
To be something important to me
To hear voices who understood

The words they reach me
The words they teach me
The beats they fill me
The beats they thrill me

I think of all the people I've met
Only to be never seen again
We had bonded over talks of music
Getting excited by the hits of then

The rhythm it takes us
The rhythm it makes us
The melody it soothes us
The melody it moves us

I have the discs I have the tapes
I have the audio escapes
I have the files I have the streams
I have the digitalised dreams
I have the music
The music has me

I find that it's never enough now
Always trying to find the hidden gem
Finding the old hearing the new
Living my life by the rpm

The chants I will speak
The chants I will repeat
The encores we demand
Encore we want the band

I have the discs I have the tapes
I have the audio escapes
I have the files I have the streams
I have the digitalised dreams
I have the music
The music has me

Once again I must assess options
Put my workings up for auction
For despite my attempts of caution
I'm losing it all again

This working life keeps changing
This working life keeps breaking
This working life is unchanging
In the way that it keeps degrading

I feel guilty about the stealth
But really, I can do else
Brush my shoes and shine my belt
It's time to hunt again

This hunting life is relentless
This hunting life is offensive
This hunting life is intensive
It's enough to leave you senseless

I wonder maybe this is the one?
Now all my analysis is done
Do I get to stay with everyone?
Or will it start all again?

This working life is tiring
This working life is hiring
This working is inspiring
me to begin my retiring

This stagnant pond refuses to change
It won't even acknowledge the rain
Painting itself as full of lush life
Whilst ignoring the constant strife

"I am my own system" it cries
"I won't care when the river dries"
Forgetting, of course, it's own role
In making the water continually flow

In this age of inflated identity
It's lost the collective amenity
Standing alone amongst the crowd
Singular voices don't ring so loud

This stagnant pond refuses to accept
That the way it acts is incorrect
"It's not me it's them" it blames
Losing the help that it shames

One day this pond will dry up
Leaving little left in the muck
Whereas other ponds form a lake
Giving for the collective's sake

Today we said farewell to the AstroCat
Who came from the stars
to leave us her memoirs
For she won't be coming back

Today the AstroCat put us in our place
In a universe that was farther
than the journeys we'd departure
There is more life than the human race

Today we announced the AstroCat's statue
With two-toned eyes always staring
at a world forever repairing
As we were taught to build anew

Today we remember the AstroCat
She left us with no return
but announced there was no concern
For we had learnt to save our habitat

My scars my relief
My alternative belief
Are not meant to
paint me as weak.
I struggle with words,
struggle to be heard
But talking about it
is never absurd.

My scars my relief
My alternative belief
Have made me consider
if life should be brief.
But I felt selfish
for making that wish,
So instead I continue
to try to exist.

My scars my relief
My alternative belief
Are reminders of a time
when I couldn't release.
I may have outgrown it
May never have shown it
But this is my lief
and I promise to own it.