If Shakespeare
    had met Elvis Presley
    he would have been tempted
    to write rock-poetry-

   If Amadeus
  had met Elvis Presley
  he would have been persuaded
to compose rock--melodies--- too many!

   If Warren Buffet
  had met Elvis Presley
  he would have said:
'  Invest in my company!'

   If Elon Musk
had met Elvis Presley
  he would have induced him
  to sing the song: ' Tesla The All-Mighty!'

I wish
I had known
it was then
brain-fog
just for a moment
the opportunity
was lost

the right words
I failed to speak
(she was waiting
in such great expectation
with her I lost eye-contact

then she said:
'The wind
is brewing strong
I must leave
in case it were
to break
into a storm'
( a quick glimpse
of her I took
in her eyes
there was a tiny teardrop)-

evening was setting in
into the fading light
she walked
I couldn't find
the words to say-
my heart grievously broke!

You've got me
totally wrong
I'm not legendary
nor Promethean -strong

only an ordinary bloke
who've just arrived at the block
with his many frailties and warts
who never has claimed great were his thoughts

An ordinary day
but a good day it is
when nothing is amiss

Last week

I thought I was on

to something novel

and felt exhilarated



yesterday

I was in deep doubt



today

I gave up on the idea-

felt quite relieved really



tomorrow

I have to start all over again

Dear John,

Life is lived in the singular---we should know what we want
and what to reject/avoid. We are alone, ever alone--not in existential angst but cannot escape the onslaught of destiny, life's suffering
and, also to some extent, the malice of the world. We adapt and we accept--the journey and meaning or lack of meaning is ours--ours alone.  Happiness is subjective and definable only by our own self-
we never need to envy or copy others'. Some trust we must have in others, but excessive could be ruinous--this is confirmed by my past experience.

I am the cynic you have discovered but it's also healthy and makes me stronger-but I don't think I am a misanthrope. We don't belong to others but to our self, in the last analysis.

Am I happy? Yes, in an over-average measure--cynicism doesn't destroy happiness--it's a survival tool.

You said I was a pessimist--yes, I am but pessimistic people can also find their peace of mind and happiness as the optimists. We are all different and choose the path that bests suits us.

I am truly surprised that I have more friends and acquaintances than I could count despite the person I am and the way I manifest myself in my contacts with others.  One should have friends or live in isolation and loneliness but has to choose wisely--true friendship
is hard to find and one who dares say so-and-so is MY BEST FRIEND runs a great risk as human nature is inherently selfish and often unforgiving.  I don't run away but am ever-circumspect.
Friendship, apart from sincerity and honesty, must have this basic
quality---CONSISTENCY--but how many of us, even with the will and intention, could succeed in this? Thus, I conclude: be a realist not an idealist.

Congratulations-
you are an optimist.  Continue to be so--be happy-celebrate life.

Yours pessimistically
P

Another theme
another dimension
another dream
another direction-

another that you deem
another cogitation
another scheme
another question-

another quest
another interpretation
another guest
another perturbation

another romance
another passion
another distance
another apprehension

the another of the another
another and another attention
the another of the another of the another
another frustration!

Why do you hold back
      in fear
     but act so differently
      when I am not near?

The hours
      you shouldn't count
      forgetting all else
      that's where true meaning is found

Life is at odds
with people
who cling to
their 'oughts'

Love might not be the cure
but strength it offers all things to endure

Repetition is what love doesn't savour
exhausting and vexatious such it does find
she knows and trusts her lover
who will keep her ever in heart and mind

Money is merely a measure
         not about wellbeing, nor pleasure

Is what I say
        a cover-up
        keeping truth at bay?

.....but what's thinking
          merely word--hunting?

Another day-
what shall I do
at work or play
find what words
to say?

Coalesced
into the moment
driven
to thinking
doing
people-mixing
and interpreting
decision-making
perhaps doubting-
with time
in watching
with life
waiting and expecting-

another day
testing
challenging
frail though
I am
my best game
I will play-
there shall be
no walking away
nor failing!

Another day?
It'd be too late
only moments
to regret:

mission uncompleted
duty not executed
the promise reneged
the skills not displayed
the intended words unsaid
the inspiration unheeded
the love neglected
the prayer desired
not articulated

and what's left
is but the heartache-

the green meadow
where once in childhood
you and your friends played
on each bright morrow
might be parched
by the scorch
of time's uncaring sun-
and you'd find
every rose dead
and buried-

the stream where
you your paper-boat
once did navigate
might have been drenched
and what's left
might be debris and dirt-

the hidden tree
which you climbed
where you built
your secret home
might have been felled
and steel gate girded -

ah, how wise was Horace
who this advice wrote
Carpe diem---seize the day!
( reminding us
the day to celebrate
ere time would have fled
and we'd but live in lonely regret)

An old man now I am
through the past years
as I scan
and this I've learned:

time and life
for no one
will  they wait
if forfeited
what's left
is but the deepest regret

'Another day
another time'
so they say
truly I wouldn't know
I'd be around
to meet that outcome
as for me, a dunce
only this would I advance:
' the hour is now
  not a second later
  soon will set the sun
  no more me---ever!'

It's from another land
words have their home elsewhere
I scarcely could understand
haven't before visited there-

their authority they assert without my consent
their stand they aren't afraid to declare
they banish me to some distant end
before my face in indifference they stare.

Why choose that forbidden path
       when there's another route?
       the former is thorny and rough
       look beyond where eager flowers shoot

      in the bright sunshine and all is calm
      untouched by unsightly strife and rant
      nature soothes and invites in tenderest charm
      where love and beauty abounds* at every bend.

Beauty
   in the beholder's eyes
   as of now
   what of futurity?

Don't force friendship

out from me

it will happen

when we are both ready


and you know surely

friendship is a high price to pay

so many have ended in misery

each in disappointment walks away

Only one life-jacket
in a sinking ship
would you give it to your friend
or for yourself keep?

Life
the enjoyment
or
the punishment?

Love
the embracer
or
the accuser?

Easy to hold
hard to let go

Not the world-
but yourself
which is the  cause
of the greatest trouble

It takes four or five years
     to qualify in engineering
    mine takes a life-time--
    it's called 'life-engineering'

     copyright. I have not come across this term

Life not viewed
as an erratum
but a window
to become

Life is the inside
and the outside
they are seldom in congruence
they often quarrel and fight

Think of life not in terms
of love or hate
just follow its tides
to the occasion yourself relate.

What's the  greatest vulnerability?
   It's none other than love-- literally

Be brief

    a long speech

    is a verbal screech

The world will never, never be OK
  as long as everyone insists on their say

This is yours
to write
alone
for yourself-
the anthem
of your life
crystallised
from your tears
purified
by your own heart
carved
from the depths
of your soul

unknown
unheard
by the world

not sung
by the nation
to the raising
of the flag
nor to the sound
of trumpets
horns and brass
nor to the march
of medal-wearing soldiers

every note
forged
from the furnace
of your pain and sorrow

life is yours
yours alone
it belongs
to no nation
nor to the world
you are the keeper
the preserver
the nourisher
the nurturer
the alpha
and omega
the only knower

where you stand
is your self-crafted
sacred ground
that tiny spot
you count
as your right
and legacy
unalienable
verily
to the end of time

what though
the wildest storms
come your way
what though
the ground
were to shake
what though
all were in flames
what though
you were inundated
by sweeping waves
from the tumultuous sea
what though
you are drawing
your last breath
what though
all the past
would be reduced
to dust--

there your head
you'll still hold high
and look upon
every adversity
without fear
or a single sigh

and claim
'I'm my own
and myself
I don't let down
as a hero never
would I count
even as tears
are welling
I'll complete
the composing
of my anthem
that would sound
nowhere
but only
in my own ears

then myself
I'd have overcome

my anthem then
is my life'.

She's arrogant, insensitive, callous
garrulous, recalcitrant, cantankerous
but don't ever call her a '*****'--let her be
happy are those who live in humanity and charity.

You went so far

looking for others

that you totally

forgot your own self

You've been insulted-
for the first time?
Be prepared:
many more will come!

Life is endless talk

most of such has no worth

The stereotyped
people prefer
what is new
they fear

Don't scowl or frown-
be prepared to be let down
life is a Darwinian jungle
its keyword is: SURVIVAL!

The world
they discovered
but their true self
they forgot

No one can claim
  himself he owns fully
  he has absorbed
  that of others, at least partially

  we're each to some extent
  a bud graft and a hybrid
  but such would
  any of us admit?

Smart people
    there are too many
    not all achieved their goals-
    they lacked curiosity -

    how they did bask
   in their past each victory
   resting too long on their laurel
   they faded away in complacency

Even the most consistent
can change
due to the force
of circumstance

You've spent most of your life
analyzing other people
but haven't enough time
to understand yourself-
that's your greatest moral trouble!

A hero
can also be
a villain -
this is harsh reality

Teaching oneself
is much harder
than teaching others:
there will be excuses
for not being diligent

Without lies
most of mankind
wouldn't have survived

We wonder
what others are
but don't know
our own character
and what
we should be-
a moral disaster!