Someone is tapping my empathy.
They reach out, not to pat my shoulder,
But to reach within to hug my heart, soul and mind.
Wanting to stimulate all three.
It is not a warning of danger, pain or hurt,
For I always note and take heed of such.
This is trying to massage away the stiffness of stretching time,
That isolates the feelings that are carried inside
As treasures of what once was.
What have I forgotten, misplaced from memory?
Is this one from this times past or another?
Odd things happen.
Music not heard in ages keeps popping up to my ears.
Feelings of walking someplace else sends shivers within.
Flashes of not clear images in the corner of my eyes,
All feed the feeling of something just beyond my reach.
Is someone worried they are being forgotten?
Not wanting to disappear into the nothing?
Or are they standing there with a great smile?
Knowing how they cause me to delve deeper within,
Working to answer feelings radiating to the surface.
As they once did while looking deep into my eyes.
I have ideas of who may be the cause.
My frustration is; I know that all of it is just
Out past the fringes of my mind.
The answer will come,
That spirit placated and made peaceful again.
Inner calm will return.
The need to once again express the feelings brought out,
As words selected and placed upon paper,
Settle my heart, soul and mind.
I will once again be able,
To be enveloped into a quieter space and time.

July 4, 2021

Walk your life’s path, softly.
Always notice the minute beauty,
Those small things that so many miss.
When a youngster, you were close to the path,
Spotting everything along it.
As you grew older your outlook began to stretch
Farther and farther up the path yet to travel.
With your gaze being so distant,
Who and what was beside you went unseen.
You tread the path so hard as to make it everything.
Always expecting the better that is yet to come,
Sounds and tastes of life are not noticed.
Thereby missing the flavour of what is being lived.
As you beat down the path so hard, it became a road.
Walk the path softly yet again.
Soon the road will once more be as it was.
Becoming the welcoming path that you seek.
Its way will soften back to what you once knew.
Transforming to a journey that leaves
No notice of your travel except to those who care.
So step ever so lightly that those who follow
Will be able to find what you have discovered
About yourself and the joy you have found
While taking your journey along the path.

When one travels through out time
Whether in reading or research
You are learning from peoples past actions
Adding it to our present knowledge
While forming it for others future reaction.
The past is not dead;
It is the seed to what comes next

                                               Dan Gray
                                                January 4, 2021

When at that point in my life
I came disconnected to the dream of it, my life
It feels as if I became a leaf falling off of a tree
Picked up by the wind before being grounded
Carried to a myriad of places with no control
Stopping but briefly
When in contact with a point to cling to
I know not where I go next
Never seemingly with who it will be
As time makes it seem that it will last
The fates blow hard
I am loosed
To drift alone until I am next caught.

Dan Gray  
December 23, 2020  11:30 PM

How many words are there for love?
How many languages are there in this world?
Each language has how many subtle dialects?
We have words we find in our heart
Our feelings try to incorporate all our passion into one word
The way a person breathes when we are with that “one”
The hyper sensitivity when we are with the one we love
We take much thought and analysis to encapture the word
How our gaze is locked onto nowhere thinking of that one
The taste on ones tongue when we are with them
A word a playwright uses to emphasize the longing
I have traveled to a few places on this globe
Listened to their music of love
Seen the art that they use as a description of love
Studied the look on the faces of those in love.
So every word for love is multiplied how many times?
For me, I have found the word.
The name of who I cannot be without to survive,
This is my word for love.

Feeling empty and lost
Adrift in the void
The not knowing
The not caring
Lack of feeling
Lack of everything
It is truly amazing
How heavy nothing is
Only the strong strings
Of good friends
Keeps me in place.

We look upon their faces,
To see ourselves.
We look upon their faces,
To see our past.
We look upon their faces,
To see who has gone before.
But, how often do we look upon their faces,
To try to see the future?

I hear you whisper.
Staring into a star lit sky,
I hear you whisper.
All is quiet this spring night
Infused only with sounds of peepers.
I hear you whisper.
My heart reaches out
Wanting to grab those words.
Pull them within,
To warm my soul.
I hear you whisper.
Memories stir
Expand in my mind
Enriching my very existence.
I hear you whisper.
Distance may taunt,
Time, it may hinder.
The fire within
The flame of my passion,
Burns steadily bright
Fed by love for you.
All this explains why,
I hear you whisper.

Dan Gray
April 30, 2018

Come and join me.
For a walk.
Through the quiet
Foggy night.
The only sound,
That of water drops
As they grow larger
Slowly dropping,
Leaf to leaf to leaf.
Take my hand.
Walk beside me.
Through the mists
Slowly swirling
With each breath of air.
Shades of shifting light,
Timelessly reminding one,
Of a black and white movie.

Dan Gray
April 2018

What is with the inverse feeling of living?
I can remember, in my youth, when my body didn’t hurt
I could take on the world
Adrenalin flowed and I could do anything
But my mind was ******* with hormones.
With what I felt, smelt, tasted and saw.

Now my body is *******
In hurt, pain and struggle.
But my mind can take on the world;
I want to create, impress and fly.

Oh the gods.
Oh my muses.
Why can we not balance,
The power of our youth,
With the wisdom of our age?

Dan Gray
July 11, 2017

I lay here awake unable to sleep
I am worried for my Lady Love
I want nothing more than to hold her, at this time
I want nothing more than to kiss her, at this time
I want nothing more than to hug her, at this time
I want nothing more than to make love to her, at this time
I want nothing more than time with her
My heart and my soul I have laid open and exposed for her
I feel her pain and I hurt
I hear her problems and I worry
One soul mate feels the heavy load carried by the other
I want to help her
I want to comfort her
I want to understand her
She and I as one
Forging ahead into the world with nothing but our love for each other



December 5, 2002, 1:30 AM

I sit and feel the wheel of time; slip.
Luck has been with me over time.
I have worn green, played silly ******
Jumped off tanks for weeks on end.
Wearing my body till the future tells.
Blue worn next
Chasing those that didn’t want to be caught
Weighed down with kit
Wearing out my form.
Worn black and ****** hose
Stressing limb and muscle to save homes.
Ran to wrecks
Pulled out the living to survive
Gas pouring down my leg.
I don’t complain.
I ran to the guns,
I rushed to burning buildings.
Protect my village and those within.
I never complained.
It was what I did.
But now the wheel slips.
I have worn me out.
I have lost my youth.
What I have done is natural
All was done without thought.
I never expected to reach this age.
So if I am a little slower.
Rub my joints and muscles.
Seems like I am an old man.
Don’t feel bad.
I’ve lived my life doing what I want

April 2017                      Dan Gray

Sitting in the shade under the trees.
Seeing how nature changes the stage for her seasons.
Colours in leaves painted from a different pallet
As to enrich the world for our eyes
Their texture stiffened to alter their tone
So to change the tune received by our ears.
Different birds rest in their travels
Leaving exotic overtones that perk up ones day.  
Bright warm sunshine envelopes and comforts,
While the cool fall breezes tell of coming change.
The lack of most insects, comforting.
Enabling one to sit outside and enjoy words
Others have put to paper.
A *** of tea,
Or cup of coffee,
Perhaps a glass good wine.
Feeling good to relax and enjoy.
Expectations of harvest and plenty.
A time to review the past seasons of growth
And to contemplate the coming season of cold.
The sun is setting earlier and darkness falls sooner.
The skies are clear and open,
The stars should be shining in their glory tonight.
Perhaps a good evening to put on a sweater,
Light a small fire,
Pull up a chair,
Sip on a good drink
Extending such a beautiful day into the lengthening night.
Capturing more of this day
To store in ones soul for later remembrance.

Dan Gray
Sept. 23, 2006

Distance is such a terrible thing.
I hear pain in a loved ones voice.
Fear of the unknown
Their spouse suffers dementia.
The history of ones mind
Disappearing slowly,
As a sweet disappears in your mouth.
Bit by bit, dissolving.
As history leaves,
Character leaves.
All dated in time.
Slowly becoming a stranger
To spouse, family, friends.
Random thoughts speaking pain.
A different person inhabits the mind
Slowly, so very slowly
The past leaving.
Like pixels failing on a screen
Darkness slowly overcoming
The light that was there fading
Making death slow,
Trickling to oblivion
Then slowly to nothing.


Dan Gray
2016

I sit here at night
Feeling a little lonely.
I know my twin flame.
We have spent a lifetime
Finding each other.
She needs my love
She needs my hugs
As I need hers.
All the support I can give her.
She has been hurt
Unable to function to her peak
All I wish is to be there for her
To hold, love and encourage.
I feel so ineffective.
Having been a protector
All my life.
Trained to run towards the guns.
One of those fools who;
Run into burning buildings.
But in this case I'm helpless.
All I can do is send out my love.
Tell her my pride in how she does.
Enforce I will always be there.
But with all that,
At times I feel alone.

D. Gray
2017

Between my head and my heart
Thoughts fight to escape from my mind
I find a disconnect to my hands.

Dan Gray

As a writer, you have sat with words bouncing in your mind
Thoughts and ideas ricocheting around
Words colliding with words
Splitting off pieces of the alphabet
Letters attracting and coagulating into new words
A collective style of thinking
That places you somewhere else
Multi thoughts workings that correlates
To new ideas on a page
Always observing
Truly collecting
Feelings, emotions, life
Forming, the coalescence of all
Trickling in your mind
Until, through your fingers and computer
Your thoughts take life
Pictures  you present
Coloured by others thinking
Images started by your thoughts
Expanding and rippling through readers
They reaching within to acknowledge the words
All seeing different
But all triggered by your ricocheting words.
                      
                                  Dan Gray
                                     2014

On one very still night.
In the midst of midwinter,
At the ending of one of those thaws.
It seemed as if all the wee people
Crept throughout the land,
Artistically spreading a white flocking
Inches deep on everything.
As dawn displayed this magic to the world,
Even those that hated winter,
Could see the beauty spread upon the land.
But beauty, being ever so fleeting
Should be enjoyed while one can.
For upon the first breath of wind
Moving an upper branch of a tree.
Shifting the ever so light snow
Till it slipped onto the next branch,
Collecting more of itself as it tumbled,
Growing into a micro avalanche,
Enough hitting the snow covered ground
With a muffled thump
Loud enough to startle a small dog by the trunk.
Leaving the tree standing naked against the sky
And winter shivering in ones sight.
                                                         Dan Gray
                                                      Januar­y 19, 2014

Oh, her earthy eyes.
Soft gentle mouth
Framed by hair;
The same as
A light coloured fawn.
Entice me,
To slowly reach my hand
Lift her chin;
Look deep into her soul.
To slowly.
Ever so lightly.
Express how I feel.
With a kiss.

Dan Gray

I lay here in the dim morning light,
Watching your ******* rise and fall.
In the air,
A tangled aroma of love.
As I run my fingers through your hair
You smile in your sleep.
My senses seek you out,
With my eyes I see your beauty.
With my heart I see your love.
A treasure to shape our life with.
My soul reaches out and sees its match;
Love radiating like a phosphorescent diatom
In the deep dark ocean depths.
I kiss your ear,
Slowly put my arm around you,
I cup a breast.
Snuggle up to you like a spoon
Enclosed in a silver service chest.
I soon fall back to sleep
Dreaming of what can be.  

                                        Dan Gray

My arms, they long to hold you
And to hug you close
My fingers to touch you
And to be run through your hair
My lips long to whisper in your ear
And to kiss your neck
My words to arouse you
And to make your heart beat
My breath to touch your *******
And feel your body react
I need to love you
And feel your love for me
These are but a few of my passions
And just the beginning of my love for you

Dan Gray

I sit and look over the Basin of Minas
Still waters reflect as fine as an optical mirror
The Cape juts out as the prow of some ancient ship
Eternally pushing its way through the long, slow tides
Acting as a wall separating Fundy from the Valley
It stands silhouetted against dark clouds that may hold rain
A white blanket of fog wraps itself slowly over the Cape
Standing out as bright as clean, white cotton
Molding itself over the land
As a blanket molds itself over a reclining person
Emotions are relaxed by the sight
Calm enters the soul with this view
Eternal beauty for all to see
Overlooked by the many
A sense of belonging envelopes me
Just as the fog envelopes the Cape.

Dan Gray

The shock arrives one day.
A parent is gone.
After a time,
You will find, for no reason
Emotions will overflow
No rhyme, no reason.
It may be a smell,
It may be a sound,
It may be someone on the street.
Memories carried in heart and soul
Trigger tears.
For a time you will cry,
From deep within.
Slowly they will moderate.
Special days, a picture
Some things will always bring tears.
This is natures way.
Always remember,
They are a part of you.
If you are still and listen deep
They are there.
Memories help you along.
You are the total collection
Of the genes of those from before.
As long as you remember,
They are never gone.

Dan Gray

I’m back in my dark, safe place.
Familiar after so many years.
When I next leave it,
I will be clothed in my armour of a fool.
The best defense is to make it appear you have no offense.
Be the fool - you are not a threat.
Be the fool - who can take you seriously.
Be the fool - people don’t notice if you’re around.
Be the fool - make them laugh; you’ll not belong anyway.
At the end of the day I go to my safe place and remove my armour.
I am alone, it’s safe.
I pour a drink and read, escape with my mind.
I am alone, it’s safe.
I watch TV, I’m board but,
I am alone, it’s safe.
I go outside amongst the trees, I stare longingly at the stars above,
I am alone, it’s safe, I cry;
I am all alone.

Dan Gray
-years ago

Those long, thin, intertwining threads of loneliness
Twisting, turning, expanding
Slowly enveloping the free spaces in ones heart
From where joy and happiness spring.
Floods of feelings stopped and dammed
By that wall causing separation of self
From those you want to embrace, feel, love
Hold, spend time with, grow with
Be one with.
You are trapped into thinking
That darkness is a safe place to be
So you sit there and watch the world go by.
Missed chances, missed people, missed life.
This is the product of loneliness.
As you come to realize this,
Some can cast off the dark cloak.
For many this is as casting bread upon the water
Their loneliness grows seven fold
Taking them deeper in the trap.
It is one thing that expands, thrives
Feeds on the dark.
For that is where you sit in loneliness.
It is insidious.
So I’ll sit here in the dark
Remembering the happiness
Trying to find the will and strength
To claw myself out of the darkness
And back to the light
To once again gamble on the outside world.

Dan Gray

An evening I had with Leonard.
Myself with five ladies of the hooking craft.
Full house congregating to hear him speak.
The fluid words of living
An elixir to ones soul.
This little old man,
A modern Pied Piper of life,
An influence of modern song
That will carry past his physical presence.
His ability to stroke that place in ones mind
That can lead an audience in silence.
Wanting to catch every nuance.
The sound of vibrating strings
Matching the sound,
Of Angels wings,
Lift you past his words.
Observing the crowd
Some leaning forward as if in pews,
Not wanting to miss one word of inspiration.
Silver haired women,
Eyes closed, moistened  lips smiling,
Modulating to the tunes.
Remembering youthful encounters
Sensualized by this Poets intent.
Grey haired men lip sync
As they used to whisper in anticipation
In their ladies ear.
Youth of today
Rising in joy, cheering
Will carry the cycle forward.
At twelve I heard Suzanne and was captured.
I devoured his works
Finding poetry was not school house boring.
Seeking what had inspired him.
The surveyor for oh so many in the path of poets.

Dan Gray
April, 2013

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

Earth Mother
Fairy Queen
Friend of a thousand years.

Attraction of mind
Regaler of times
Laughter, trickles of tears.

Associated memories
Like things endured
Growing with equivalent fears.

Years soon go by
History flies
Reflecting as similar mirrors.

Beliefs being different
Colour your way
Ignoring all of their jeers.

The Earth she does lead
The Mother does bleed
You encompass with loving cheers.

I’ve tasted your salt
I’ve tasted your bread
Quaffing more than a couple of beers.

My friendship I pledge
Till the Circle ends
Long past our separate biers.

Dan Gray - 2009

Come my Love;
Sit a while
Spend some time with me.

Settle back
Close your eyes
Picture us by the sea.

The setting sun
The waves soft crash
Me, adoring thee.

We’re holding hands
Talking Love
We get settled, by the sea.

We talk of past
We talk of now
The future, what may be.

I taste your lips
Hold you near
We are comfy, you and me.

In whispered breath
We pledge our Love
Feelings root deep as any tree.

So when apart
And you think these things
I’ll be there with thee.

Dan Gray
2oo2

I like to use words that wrap around you.
Ones that tickle you in unseen places.
Shivers caused by the words meaning,
Interpreted by the involvement of your mind.
Words which, by themselves;
Are innocent.
Ones that are soft and delicate,
Like a warm breath on your neck.
Velvety in their smoothness
Caressing your imagination as they work.
Triggering tingles that travel over your body;
As does the oh so soft touch of a lover,
Causing the rising blush,
From the image my words can paint.
A warmth rising from these words
Rubbed together by your thinking,
Reminding one of private pleasures,
With private partners.
So let me tempt you,
With the exercising of your imagination.
By my words.

Dan Gray
2008

When I close my eyes
My mind can be
That secret world of fantasy.

It’s not youth I find
Not strength untold
Nor with the women, over bold.

With special friends
Small ecstasies,
This world of marvel, my fantasies.

I’m at that age
Where worries run
And soon pile up, sun to sun.

It’s time that’s different
Don’t you see?
Within my world of fantasy.

The rules don’t change
I know my way
Age and customs don’t hold sway.

With all these things
And a heart that’s free
You wonder why, my fantasies?

Some friends to close
For thoughts to stray
You hide them deep and far away.

Some may surface
But none shall see
For it’s private; in my fantasy.

If you see that look
And hear me sigh
You needn’t sit and wonder why.

I’ve crossed that line
To Fantasy
Or, are you, really here with me ?

Dan Gray
1996

I, am a dreamer.
I will sit; still.
My mind escapes.
It soars and takes wing.
Capturing words that compel me,
Nay, force me to pick up a pen.
It searches my heart,
Explores my soul.
Takes energy from my feelings.
It travels to my past,
Taunts my present,
Questions my future.

Finds more words.

Herds them, into sentences.

It takes my passions,
Translates them to thoughts.
Colours them with hopes.
Carves them with doubts.
Reinforces them with truths.
Undermines them, with reality.

I, am a dreamer.
I write down,
Scratch out,
Translate, change,
Combine then rearrange
All these words.
You see my fears,
Hear me laugh,
Shout, curse
And question why.
You feel my pain.
My joys.
My happiness.
Tears as they roll down my cheeks.
Love as it leaves my heart.
I, am a dreamer.

I see how things can be,
There is logic to these.
Coupled with emotions
Braced from my heart.
Ignoring the would - ahs
The could - ahs
The should -ahs
The might be’s of my life.
No matter.
The power of my words,
The righteousness of their being
The bold advances of their meanings.
They are only as substantial
As my thoughts.
For I am not a prophet,
I, am just a dreamer.

So read my words.
Let them enter your mind.
Your heart.
Your soul.
Let them lead you
Down the roads I’ve traveled,
To embrace the Love I feel.
Partake of my passions.
Lift your soul,
Cry with me,
Laugh with me.
Find deep within yourself
What I find deep within me.

Do these things
Celebrate them,
Enjoy them,
Feel them,
Live them.
Then maybe; I won’t find,
That I am just a dreamer

Dan Gray
2004

While sitting on the sea shore, under a tree,
I’ve seen the first ray of the dawns light
As it approaches me from across the open water.

I’ve seen the ghostly pale light of a full moon
Dancing with the shadows of the forest around me.

I have seen the multi faceted light from stones,
So expensive I’d have to work a lifetime to afford one.

I have seen the wondrous light of Comets,
As they cross the sky for nights on end.

But none of these,
Alone or combined,
Hold a candle to the light in my loves eyes,
As she sees me walking towards her.

Dan Gray
2000

Bright yellow leaves tumble and fall.
They carpet the black asphalt.
Rain drops form varied streams
Which carry and reflect your colour,
From pool to forming pool
Acting as natures kaleidoscope.

Dan Gray
1998