I'll not add
burden to my words
let my lips be sealed
lest I cause more hurt
the best have been uttered
what's left should be purged
and yours I've long heard
we both lost our way
we fell backward--

words, words, words
the more said
the more absurd
unworthy as dirt

we are somehow
each a betrayer of truth
it's easy to understand
lies, oh how they suit!

let me be a child
only then could I be good
every word spoken
would be beyond guile
never crude nor rude

in these days darkening
(  in impassioned reflecting)
I wish I could
expunge what I said
rid myself of the counterfeit
and pretence totally shed

We, most of us
live retrospectively
the past remains a yoke
it is mindless tyranny

the mould has been cast
as though in molten steel
struggle we might to break out
but are stuck from head to heel

joys there were but few
sorrows they piled so high
the young their ideals lost
all that the elderly did was to sigh

troubled is the now
the future is misty
the magnet of long gone years
draws us back inexorably.

Silence by the lake
you could hear
the flapping of birds' wings
soft breezes they drift near--

by the lakeside the lovers whisper
words to be recalled and will be more dear
a canopy of colours, scenery and feelings
marks such tender moments--love knows no fear

Life we have forgotten
but it does not forget us
it will judge in a future date
whether we have lived with purpose-

we have been too self-conscious
sometimes are vain-glorious
drowned in futile busy-ness
we are empty and exist in barrenness

..and this is the reality 
    the darkest terror 
    the incomparable beauty
    yet life could never be an error--

    mystery absorbs me completely 
     calls for my humble surrender   
      all that is, is but ephemerality    
      even my most treasured endeavour

I can't speak
time is stifling
my throat
threatens my being

it knows
I won't be holding
back the truth
of its meddling

what authority
does it have---judging
without the real facts
knowing?

I can't speak
but I'll do the writing
of its falsehood and tricks
I'll fight it--without ceasing!

By being a fool
no envy do I court
the smart walk away
of me they carry no thought

never mind I be such regarded
by none's fancy am I caught
to be mocked is to be rewarded
I would never change for another spot!

Try this---being mindless
it clears away the thinking mess

Now that joys have parted
  retrospectively we live
  earth sings a piteous dirge
  hearts are plagued by lonely grief

for the good old days
have gone to sleep
the flowers have withered
hopes are hard to keep

hear you not the lamentations
that echo and sweep
across from land to land
wounds that bleed so deep?

what shall save but love
the fountain of solace and relief
oh come, come to me
in my darkest hour-- let me live!

Dear Sonia,
I am saddened by the failing health of your elder brother.

Yours is the most compassionate piece  I have received.

You work with sick and dying people
and feel the depth of their feelings in your heart-
I have no doubt you have reached a high level of peace,
acceptance and 'enlightenment'-
never mind what one's religion is-
it is about the self and its relationship with
the Ultimate-- no one sees this
and it is not important that we are seen
but rather how we live alone-
in the singular-- known to us and the Ultimate only.

It's really strange that you should have written this.
When I woke up this morning, this thought came to me:
every minute,  thousands of lives are broken
and if we could feel their sorrow in our own hearts,
we would know their lonely suffering
though none of them is known to us.

Suffering is universal--a statement too wide-
we care concretely for the suffering of a single soul
as this is more real than abstract.
This we know profoundly through our love
for our dear ones in pain or suffering.
We are humble and are grateful for the small joys
we have had.  We could even say we are more fortunate
than many as there are millions all over the world
who don't enjoy what we have.

It is easy to hate life
and attribute blame to fate...
but we lose our humanity if we follow that route-
we should say instead-
we suffer as millions do,
we must learn to accept our suffering
without bitterness or rancour
for to live is to suffer--often,  in a large measure.

Suffering could bring out our best
or our worst but if we fight life
we would be thrown backwards
and would never realise our full humanity.

You have a good heart
and your words inspire me.

l hope that some sunshine
will return to your brother's life in the near future

yours sincerely
Peter

But what's convenient
is not what's necessarily desired
it's in the nature of every person
such to choose, easily fired

to rush for the expedient-
impulse is too quickly hired
gratification is too strong and impatient
to such is the human brain wired.

The emptiness is the end
of everything
sans  enemy or friend
self dissolves into nothing

The heart is made for loving
but also has to be tested by suffering

They consume me
these restless emotions
I am ravaged --thrown
into unknown directions--

my words, how they choke
my head is set in oscillations
I should walk the path of silence
beyond the domain of confusions

These I reckon
are the last days
I've no reason
to welcome praise

or fear rejection
my life has spoken
even the vilest judgement
I'll bear--my spirit shall not be broken-

words escape me
there's no need for penance
immune to adversity
shorn of rancour and pretence

these I accept
as the last days
there's no regret
life has not been a waste

Only now
   you are saying-
   'this is the time
   for me to seek meaning'

  all because
  of the lockdown
  not otherwise-
  did you drown

  in all past hours
  in vain-glorious pursuing
  of the worthless money-crown
  but forgot the right living?

  Only now
sadly the late awakening
  life has been lived in delusion
  days ahead are for regretting.

Not every smile is a treat
it might hide a great deceit

The poet
might be hated
by some or many
but he will not
go into exile
or be silenced--
none could suppress
his thought
even if each
should unsettle
or provoke

for the world
is an empty vessel
a tightening rope
around the neck
a hidden dagger
ready for the throat

man is born free
but never so
he lives in
perpetual slavery
hit in the face
wherever he does go-

outside
is the power
a steel-clad prison
a shark-mouthed monster

but words
do not die
truth
does not perish
time will but revive
the beautiful
the sublime
the pure
that transcends time

as the dark descends
and the last ray
of day is gone
a free-willed poet
will once again
be born

Dear S and K,

Both of you never cease to inspire me-I am bowled over by your wonderful music.

I know many people have talent but they fade away somehow.
I admire people who keep their passion to the end, enjoying more as they move along-t his is the best way to live.
Life is about doing--even more than thinking-the latter is within and might not find expression while the former is alive, vibrant, inspiring edifying, sharing and being at heart with people.
We grow older by the day but let's not let time push us away--if we pursue this path,life could never be dull or lacking in value

Music is a torch that lights up darkness,consoler of the heart and balm for the soul-it is the most supreme art, in my view-it is the sweetest poetry in sound.

I have begun to listen and am thoroughly enjoying.

Keep well and safe during this painful time
yours-in-admiration
P

Sip, sip sip
keep up with the good spirit
let not a single drop drip
Coke has much merit!

Is there ***** in the 'fridge?
Bring your guitar and let's do a gig
( It is dumb to play tedious bridge)
be quick, be quick, oh be quick!

Buds we are--the poetic type
waiting for flowering
if the climate is not right
such might not be forthcoming

yet,  nothing shall hold back
the words and feelings overpowering
even if the sky were cast with darkest clouds
they would be pierced across through our writing.

There's no hurry
dawn is yawning still
the first rose is still asleep
silence reigns in the hill.

There's no hurry
dew is still on the grass
the sun is yet to do its round
nature has no cause to rush.

There's no hurry
kids will not be late for school
mum is preparing breakfast
of goodies on the table there will be full.

There's no hurry
sleep is upon my love's tender eyes
I'll let her dream of our wondrous days
when I was her most precious prize.

Of course, you won
no other player---you, the only one!

Of course, marriage is OK
how else could we have May, Kay and Fay?

Remember me?
      of course, Henry
      have you forgotten
      you haven't repaid the loaned money?

Old songs
         make me sad
         long ago
         every one made me glad

Falling asleep while reading
      the next morning I forget everything

Of course
     I have no money
     12 hours a day
     I make myself happy

I sleep by day
I work by night
I earn a small salary
something seems to be right

Too much wit
    where is the merit?

If you know all
you cause your own downfall

The day does not make me
I make my day
it is deaf and dumb
I have all the say

Life-- the non-negotiable
in most parts unknowable
I'll do just the possible
leave the questions to other people.

What is that life
that's not somehow fixated?
Freud was an addicted collector
somewhat obsessive and deluded

The moment
is a singular heart-beat
of time-- the essence
of your becoming
like none other
a test of your being

that interface
known to none
the dialogue
has just begun

the second
that went before
has shut its door

the nowness
the freshness
the openness
the intimateness

the memorable
perhaps the sublime
the realisation
to be recalled in time

all that life is
is self-centred moments
with the unknown
even the mysterious
the experiencing
of the person alone

how fragile
how unpredictable
the moment
that records
words and thoughts
unspoken

To die should hold no fear
    but is a life fulfilled
    the day's sunshine will wane
    unto night's silent hours it must yield

  yet it will be good to learn
  how gladly to die
  in the calmest acceptance
without heaving even a tiny sigh

  too much of being life-enamoured
  is in an unbreakable net being caught
impermanence is the eternal law
all things will end in naught

beatitude it is in farewelling
my heart has no sense of loss
whatever that which is beyond I question not
unto that unknown I must willingly cross.

..perhaps I've lived too long
to suffer the ravage deeply
of the world's endless ugliness
(  silent laments I keep)
my weariness weighs heavily
and I long for my awaited sleep

where has the beauty fled?
has love been mute for some reason?
the earth has lost its singing voice
there are tears in every season

perhaps there are many others
still keeping life's portals ajar
with inspired prophecies
I could just stand apart from afar

in the public-square they proclaim
the advent  of a new era
there shall be a resurrection
man's hopes shall soar to the brightest star

perhaps they are the 'being-called'
fortunate not bearing a single life's scar
but too long have I lived--I can't stay
lest they blame their grand plan I might mar.

Leave behind the unknowable
speak not the unspeakable

How do you know
    you know?

Their coffers they filled
but are not fulfilled

Never mind the reason
     just follow every season

Walk behind
others
wisdom you will find

Be nothing
   you will be everything

To the Source
all things return
it was the First Cause

Be like water
  you will not falter

You struggle
     because
    your words muddle

In letting go
the path begins
to show

There is no finality
to the mind
that embraces the empty

Meditation--
the path to liberation

Zen-- the inner eye
   that ignores the 'I'