Each one of us is different,
Every one of us unique,
Not one of us should pass judgment,
Ill of our fellow man should speak.
For each one of us has value
that not one of us should begrudge;
To judge others says more of you
than any of those you might judge.
None of us are superior
To think so is pure arrogance,
Thinking others inferior
Highlights only your ignorance.

Day turns to night, crowds on the road,
Bonfires ignite, bangers explode.
Fireworks fly high, burst in the air
Dogs bark and cry, smoke everywhere.
Chinese lanterns float way on high
Flicker and burn, light up the sky.
Candle-lit pumpkins that terrorise
With wicked grins and evil eyes.
Cobwebs, spiders, vampires and bats
Ghosts and monsters, witches black cats,
Skeletons skulls, crosses, tomb stones
Look wonderful haunting most homes.

Children galore take to the street
Knock on each door, play trick or treat
Costumes vary, monsters and such
Some quite scary, some not so much
Bags big and small, buckets or tins,
Carried by all to keep treats in.
Getting goodies at every door,
Bars and lollies and so much more;
Monkey nuts, gum, fruit and sweets too  
Money from some, a coin or two.
Kids excited, loving it all,
Each delighted with their own haul.

Halloween treats like colcannon,
Barmbracks with a ring in each one,
Traditional games for everyone,
Snap apple great Halloween fun.
Scary stories of days gone by,
Horror movies to terrify,
Howls and screams, nervous laughter,
Many bad dreams for weeks after.
There is no other night like Halloween,
People more frightened than they've ever been.
A great occasion for young and old,
Cannot wait for the next one, truth be told.

On this the start of the New Year
Friends and family far and near
Health and happiness I wish you
And good fortune the whole year through.

The deepest wounds leave scars that never go
Perhaps so that we and others may know
That all our pain and suffering is real
And becomes a part of us as we heal.
Tho' often 'tis the deepest wound by far
Which hurts most yet leaves no visible scar.

A broken heart
I would welcome
If truth be told

Over a heart
That would become
Unfeeling... Cold.

Home may be where the heart is tho'
'Tis in the garden where souls grow

There are those with strongly held views
Who can be extremely forthright
When it comes to certain issues,
Believing they alone are right.
To shout and roar is not my style
Though that may come across as meek,
My quiet nature does beguile
For the last thing I am is weak.

Rather than force my opinion
Which alas many seem to do
I prefer at first to listen
To other peoples points of view.
By doing so I learn the facts
While showing others some respect.
Then can respond and not react;
Have a more positive effect.

It shows great insecurity
Or a lack of self confidence,
This seeming inability
To deal with valid arguments.
It is totally arrogant,
Makes absolutely no sense.
It is completely ignorant;
The height of low intelligence.

Understand something
More than anything:
Life owes you nothing;
You earn everything.
If you want something
More than anything
Then stop at nothing;
Give it everything!

Life can exact a heavy toll
Unless you pay heed to your whole;
Your mind, your body and your soul!

For any question you might ask
Who will answer more honestly
Are those who are wearing a mask;
Can answer anonymously.
One has to wonder as to why,
It would seem a contradiction.
For it seems the best time to lie
As there's no fear of detection.

But with no mask, no hiding place
The truth is people often lie
So brazenly, right to your face;
I often have to wonder why!
Though a most peculiar thing,
Perhaps there's no contradiction?
These people may just be lacking
The courage of their convictions.

In clutching at straws,
Not giving up a lost cause...
Hope Springs Eternal.

Where all might look hopeless,
There is still hope no less.

When all goes to hell
I retreat into my shell;
Human Crustacean?

'Tis our nature to be humane
Though we prove time and time again
Just how inhumane we can be,
How we lack in humanity.

Trees cannot always be in bloom
Nor are plants always in flower.
Why then people, do we presume,
Should be at their best every hour?
With their best side always on show,
No matter what, through all seasons;
Worry when they are not just so
And start searching for the reasons?
We need to realise one day
What is just natural I guess...
It's ok not to be ok,
Not to be always at ones best.

If you are having a bad day
Full of problems, trouble and strife
Do not let it in any way
Make you think you have a bad life!

If wishes
Were fishes
That swam in the sea
Where on earth would we be?

Stood onshore
Ever more
Looking ruefully,
Longingly, out to sea?

Would we be
All at sea,
With nothing to do
To make wishes come true?

Or maybe
We could be
All out on the sea
Fishing furiously?

For wishes,
Like fishes,
Are within our reach,
If we work hard for each.

Never could I imagine a friend who
Could be a better friend to me than you.
There's no better friend in reality;
Best friends forever I hope we shall be.

Who thinks they are perfect
Have one major defect;
Assuming one can be,
Themselves especially!

Often we wait, we hesitate,
We contemplate and ruminate,
Deliberate, procrastinate,
'Til it's too late.
'Til whereupon, not acted on,
Our chance has gone. Perhaps our one,
And only one, chance is forgone.
And life goes on....

Though your words may be wonderful,
Welcome indeed..
They are made much more meaningful
When matched in deed.

Though good employees may come to you with problems,
Great employees will bring some solutions with them.

Often I have a dream
That leaves me full of fear,
For in said dream I scream
But nobody can hear.

Athough in my worst dreams,
The stuff of my nightmares,
Others can hear my screams
But not one of them cares.

Have not all of us made mistakes we regret?
Have we all done things we would rather forget?
But do we not all learn through experience?
Do we not grow, evolve as a consequence?

If from past mistakes we have learned a lesson,
If as a result we're a better person
Perhaps the only mistakes we should regret
Are those we have taken no learning from yet?

Without mistakes, problems to solve
Best practice would never evolve;
For mistakes and problems create
A chance to learn, to innovate.

Those who cannot hear the music playin'
Think because I dance, I am quite insane.
While I pray they hear music one day soon,
'Til then I'll keep dancing to my own tune!

All those who look but do not see,
Those who listen but do not hear,
Show such a lack of empathy
That those who truly care should fear.

.

Has instant gratification
Been the ruination
Of an entire generation?
Did meeting this need but foment
A strong sense of entitlement
Much to our children's detriment?
How many have not grown to learn
That what one wants, what one might yearn
One has to work for; has to earn?
When this poison seed we have sown
And nurtured becomes fully grown,
The blame is ours and ours alone!

Eighty five dead today in Iraq
Following three suicide attacks.
But why is there no worldwide outcry?
How many innocents have to die?

As the death toll continues to mount
It seems these deaths somehow do not count.
Is it because they are "over there"
That so many of us do not care?

Have we not learned  from what went before,
When we could and should have done much more?
Each life should be equally precious,
If we think otherwise, shame on us

Your dreams will not come true
Though dream all day you may,
But if work hard you do
They may come true one day.

is it true
That those times
We least want to
Are those same times
We most need to?

Sitting there homeless on the street
Staring at all the passing feet
You gave me time out of your day
While many choose to look away.
As many, heads bowed, rushed on by
You stopped and looked me in the eye
Offering your hand without fear
Where most won't come anywhere near.
We spoke for a while which was nice
Reminding me I had a voice
You wanted to know how I fared
I knew you genuinely cared
You gave me help, a coin or two
For that I will always thank you.
And then alas you had to go
But there is something you should know;
What you did while talking to me
Was help restore my dignity,
Making me feel I have value,
And though homeless I matter too.

Why is it that most of us men baulk
At the idea of having to talk
About issues we find troubling
Even when we know we’re not coping?
Why to men does it make much more sense
To say nothing, suffer in silence?
To shut out all those who might just care?
To refuse all the supports out there?
Why do we find it so hard to speak?
Do we feel reaching out makes us weak?
Do we think men must always be strong?
Maybe that’s where we are going wrong!
What a pity, what an awful shame
That our feelings we fear so to name,
That we can’t discuss our darkest fears,
That we are afraid of our own tears.
Oh when will the penny ever drop,
That this way of thinking has to stop?
For it shows great strength, courage indeed,
To ask for help in your hour of need.

In life the greatest trick
Is to see the magic;
The magic to conceive
In all that we perceive.

If our past we could rearrange
For better or worse would things change?
If our future we could foresee
Would it a curse or blessing be?
If all we have is the present
Should we not savour each moment?

Jack and Will looked at the bill
They got from Irish Water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown;
Husband Will hit the rafters!
Up Jack got, Said **** that lot!
This we've already paid for!!
No he said! It won't be paid!
They used it for toilet paper!!

I know not what you said,
What you did I cannot recall...
'Tis how you made me feel
That I remember most of all.

Who knows all the right answers
Though intelligent may be...
Who knows all the right questions
So much wiser are truly.

After the moment of my death,
When I have taken my last breath,
Will there be those who mourn for me?
Who will grieve my passing sadly?  
Those who cherish my memory?
In whose hearts I will always be?

My dying wish is only that
Beyond words in an epitaph,
I be thought of once in a while
and draw a tear or cause a smile,
That some always remember me
should be my lasting legacy.

For those whom I now leave behind
I pray that life will treat you kind,
That you live your lives to the full
for Life can be so wonderful.
Your guardian angel I shall be
from now for all eternity.

Lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gay
What are they all only labels anyway?
Nowt of individuals do labels say,
Truth be told all they do is get in the way!
What is it with this need to put labels on?
What we really need is to see the person!
To judge others only by labels given
Is stupidity, hard to be forgiven.
So it is with gender, race, colour or creed;
And all other labels we just do not need.

Some leaders thrive on their power,
Great leaders strive to empower.
Some feel power is absolute,
The great ones though... know the real truth.

Sometimes in our hearts we know
Painful as though it may be
The time has come to let go,
that it was not meant to be.
It's not easy to move on,
The truth can be hard to take,
But holding on when it's gone
Is a mistake we all make.
We have to put ourselves first,
Let go of what's negative.
Though the pain can be the worst
We need to move on and live.
Only when we say goodbye
Leave it behind, in the past
Can we spread our wings and fly,
Be true to ourselves at last.

Life may knock me down yet
Keep me down it cannot!
Up I shall always get
For give up I will not!

If the whole world but a stage be
Whose cast of characters are we,
What genre fits your life story,
A thriller, farce or comedy?
A romance or perhaps maybe
Drama, action, or tragedy?

Would you be the stage manager,
The producer or director?
Would you be the lead character,
Or play a supporting role or
Just appear occasionally,
Happy just an extra to be?

And when the final curtain falls
Will you have given it your all?
Will others demand an encore
Or will they have expected more?
But of the most significance....
How will you rate your performance?

Life should be more than a journey
Between the cradle and the grave;
Life could be more an odyssey
Should one choose to live, to be brave!

Life is too short to be miserable.
Do what you love whenever possible.
Whether you live to work or work to live
It is vital you maintain perspective!

Life is not about brevity
Any more than longevity.
It is all about what you do
With the time that is granted you.

Are not all of us human?
Do not each one of us bleed?
Despite race or religion,
gender, colour or creed.
Does ones nationality,
****** orientation,
Or ones disability
Make them less of a person?

Are not all of us children,
Some ones daughter or son?
Does not each one of us mean
So very much to someone?
We are all so different
So unique and wonderful
Who have from the first moment
Lived our lives to the full.  

Can one life be more precious?
Mean less than any other?
What gives any one of us
The right to **** another?
No, nothing can justify
Killing of our fellow man
No matter how hard we try
Not one of us really can

For life is a gift given
Not by either you or I
It is not our decision
Who should live and who should die.
Who are we to pass judgement
On how other people live?
We must be more tolerant,
Must learn to live and let live

Who fails to learn from past mistakes
Hope for future success forsakes

Stop counting the days,
start making the days count,
stop wishing your life away
or regrets will mount.
Remember life is for living,
make the most of every day,
embrace simply everything
that life throws your way.
Each day of life is so precious
a gift so truly wonderful
there is a certain onus on us
to live our lives to the full.
Yesterdays belong in the past
tomorrows are always a day away
Live every day like it’s your last;
Because it will be one day.