I close my eyes
And what do I see
The beauty that is within you.
I hear your voice in my heart and head
And your joys elevate me.
I feel your touch on my arm
Slowly traveling from wrist to elbow
Shivers of anticipation cascade over my body.
Whispers in my ear
Turn my memory to times together.
There is a yearning in my body and soul
To hold you in my arms,
And to be held by you
Nightly.

Dan Gray

I sit here and contemplate the future.
Infinite possibilities pass my minds eye.
Each second pondered on each reality
Gives me time to think of what to do.
I feel the emotions of these realities.
They cause me to open my mind.
And experience the good with the bad.
Heightening the senses of my inner self.
Sometimes, the worry lasts a while;
But when shaken off, reality returns.
Sometimes, the joy lasts a while;
But once taken in, reality returns.
We are the total sum of all.
All we have imagined,
All we have felt,
All that we have done,
And all that we have been denied.
I conclude therefore,
That contemplation will not direct the future.
But will temper mind and soul
Preparing body and mind
For when we stand on the cross roads of change.

D. Gray
2004

The season matters not
When you are out under a beautiful nights sky;
No moonlight to take away the darkness
The stars shining sharp and bright.
Seek my presence upon the lightest breeze.
For I am standing out under the same sky
Gazing upon the same beautiful stars.
I reach out with all the love in my heart
Hoping you will know I am here.
Wanting you to feel me close to your being.
Imagine the breeze touching your cheek
Is me, my fingers ever so lightly,
Sensuously, caressing you as it goes by.
The faintest aroma to softly spark memory.
A whisper in your ear so quiet,
None but you may hear.
For you are as out of reach to me as are the stars.
I stand under the sky and stretch out my arms
To those lights I cannot touch
And to you whom I cannot wrap them around.
So if a mist dampens your hair
It is from the tears I shed in my loneliness;
The longing I have carrying them to you.
For it seems that no matter my true feelings.
Nor the strength of my love.
I will be forced to walk a shadowless night
Of heart breaking sadness.

Dan Gray
2006

I am but a vessel.
The basic clay from my parents.
Moulded by the genes of countless ancestors
Giving me basic shape and colour.
The glaze; the teachings of my parents,
The impurities coming from society.
Fired by the love and hope of them
Who wished to see me walk this world
With little or no prejudice.
Accepting people for who they are
Not the colour of their vessel,
Nor the decoration of their religion,
Nor the fanciness of wealth.
Nor what level they were placed.
I have traveled.
Seen wonders.
Stood with tears
Seeing the awe and beauty of the world
Sat with tears
Seeing the hate, anger and destruction;
Of the same world.
Life has filled and emptied the void within
Many times tho some of the contents stuck.
Age has chipped and cracked this vessel.
The network of fine crackling envelope
Showing age and time and learning.
The chips from the close calls,
Show the many ways,
Of breaking into many pieces.
This vessel is still strong however.
Searching for that one love that will fill it.
Making it whole as it should be.
Giving meanings to all that it has done.
Slowly view all those imperfect vessels that you see.
They show a strength of survival.
Chipped and crackled glaze the armour of belief.
There is character there if you seek to look.
A void that only you may be able to fill.
For each is made for that one they may never meet.
So don’t just pass these vessels by ...
They may be the one to fill the void....
You wish to have filled.

Dan Gray
2009

Loneliness is the winter of ones soul.
You feel the cold and isolation from all.
As a deep white blanket of snow,
Reflects back the feelings and warmth of others.
Movement without sound,
Like white shadows circling.
The blending of what you feel close
And what is in the distance
Impressions of those that travel near,
Resembling footsteps in snow.
But no contact.
You do your best to clear your way,
But loneliness seems to drift in as quickly.
You cry and shout into the wind,
But every sound is covered in frost,
And is carried away to nowhere.

Dan Gray
2004