There is a place beyond the tawny grass and the scattered trees
It is a place void of flowers and of bees
A place where the lion and cheetah do not reside
It is a place where those unfit won't survive

The sun won't pierce it
and the waters only collide
the brush is too thick
even the trees don't coincide

Dare to explore this place
you will see
in the heart of darkness
no man can be free

Never would I have thought
What this piece of paper had brought
Inked in its first days
It uplifted us into a golden age

but as its letters faded and disappeared
the king and his madmen reappeared
with his forged steel and crude command
The paper was soon banned

now the ink has evaporated
and the paper has lost its grace
our future is ill-fated
tomorrow comes the stone age

The tale was told of a place enveloped by insanity
of those who ventured the depths to find ivory
but discovered the zenith of seclusion
and enslaved by the epitome of delusion

It was a tale of the pilgrims from Europe
but pilgrims they were not
for only the materialistic they sought
they were poor of heart

The tale spoke of great wealth
but the strange tropical illness
had only impaired men's health
proving the expedition to be fruitless

The tale spoke of those who tamed the wild*
but those who returned
saw no face of glory
the darkness is most definitely not friendly

There are those who
despise tight spaces
who hate confinement
at least in their own basement

There's some truth
I concur
I need room
not some gloomy tomb

still there are some
who are confined
by the dust below
and the clouds above

they desire
the width of the equator
and claim
the height to the stars

but in the end
with all man as a subject
with majestic skyscrapers
and treasuries filled to the brim

their death creates borders
implodes skyscrapers
and loots the coffers

alas, as they started
in incubators
they remain claustrophobic
in coffins

the world is not enough
because we are not enough

duisternis in
Sonder olie,
Sonder lamp,
die nag het my ingewag

Mag ek vra
waarheen hy loop
die kronkelpad
só geknoop?

Seker nie!
dis te laat
vrae is heen
die wolke dreun

die miere vergader
om my rantsoene
en druppels besmeer
die kaart kontoere

en so is ek duisternis in
sonder olie
sonder lamp
die nag het my ingewag

He was a miner

Deep under the earth he sought
a gem he could not keep
worn and torn he went down
pickaxe in hand

little did he know
that it was his day
fate would greet him with a kiss
the last he heard was a hiss

His broken body was embedded in the earth
where tear drops fell
but tomorrow again
the earth will hear the miner's bell

Many days I have pondered
                             about our friendship
                             what I always wondered
                             will I lose grip?

To face the reality
takes a brave brain
even so
when there is little gain

                                         what if I become encumbered
                                         by relativism?
                                         or become blinded
                                         by logical positivism

All I've ever sought
was your authenticity
but the world has hidden
your certainty

                                                      ­                                    At the end of the day
                                                             ­                             I hope and pray
                                                            ­                              that you I will trust
                                                           ­                               not the devil's rust

My world is unsaturated
There is no colour
only incoherent sounds and melodies

black and white picture frames
indistinguishable smells and scents

My perception is dimmed
depleted from beauty

it all seems the same
feels the same
smells the same

It glided through the air
just cloaking the sun's glare
to the heavens it aimed
but by gravity it was tamed

down it dashed
swooping down to crash
on the unsuspecting its fate
for man's reaction was too late

the soft flesh it would pierce
to show stains of dark red
the screams were fierce
a man would be dead

and so many more followed
so that the enemy ranks would be hollowed
but what the arrow did
was only what the laws of nature would permit

and soon its job was done
for lead would take its place
propelled from the gun

Up on the horizon I see the light
it receives me with a blinding glare
mockingly?  Perhaps
angrily?  Possible

Then the light hides
behind the vast body of water

darkness envelopes the sky
as even the moon has nothing to show
behind the ever-thickening clouds
what may approach?

"Starboard!"
Frightening uttering from the crow

the departure of the light
spawns a silhouette
pitch black
where the water meets the sky

the glare...
mockingly? No
angrily? most certainly not
Alarmingly? I wish I had known.

The waves above
sweep over mockingly
teasing me with
gravity

There are many
it seems
that are wounded
by life

Yes, wounded
they didn't fall
from a tree
but were beaten

as broken souls
they wander around
unable to tend to their wounds
or inject morphine

but don't cry!
bruises heal
as the roots of burnt grass
spawn regrowth

I watched her eyes
like I gazed at the stars
trying to discover
the constellations of her heart

I watched with wonder and awe
how she glowed and smoldered in the light
while only appearing cold as comet ice

Her sight ravished me to no end
as she gracefully lit the night sky
but saddened I couldn't reach her
I could not fly

You will never know
the sunny day
or the starry night

You will never know
the dancing green grass
or the dark red roses

You will never know
the colourful dreams
or insightful thoughts

You will never know
the ambition of those who tried
or the satisfaction of those succeeded

You will never know
the affection of two lovers
or the nurture of a caretaker

Why?
'Cause you never existed
and neither did I

How much darkness
can my mind bare?
For when it's dark
I am scared.

The dawn
met me with a glimmering light
The dusk
departed with moment's fright

Now it's just you
- and me
where I'm guarded
because you set the darkness free

You deceive my eyes
and whistle to my ears
worst though
you tease my fears

Yet when day come
my fears drown
blistered in sun light
and white clouds

yet we will meet
again
..and again
...and again

The horizon is picture perfect
embodying the beauty of savannah
with her scattered trees, small shadows
and long pointy yellow-brown grass

The sun colours the scene
with its bright warm light
while I walk slowly
feeling tingling grass tips

there is no end
to reach in this painting as...
my steps become more frequent
my breath heavier
my heart excited

faster I go
until walk...I can no more
now
stampeding
with all my might
and my heart

and then...
the ultimate defiance of gravity
I spread my wings
wide open
casting shadows
bigger than trees

looking down
I see a smaller world
baptised by light,
beauty,
and grazing beasts

even the hunters
lie lazy
disguised by
grass and shadow...

but
my wings start to shrink
gravity takes control
and
I must walk again

then
the light dims out
as the hunters wake
the beasts grow tired

the night
- takes takes the reign

Thoughts and feelings
send me reeling
they reside in my head
and will pass only when I'm dead

they say...
effort
                           is not without reward
darkness
                           is not without light
beginning
                           is not without end

but how can we know that the reward will be worthy?
                                        that the we will not become lost in the dark?
                                        that we survive to the end?

It is the certainty we lose
that enslaves us in fear
that we may not know
where we might go

                                                  but we have faith
                                                  in the award of life,
                                                  the rising sun
                                                  and the story's end

So on that mundane Monday
the blind Belgian led me to this door
I wanted to play
surely this would not lead to war?

"The choice is yours
go or wait?
choose your course
the other side holds fate"

and so I touched the door
....

"wait!
there is more!
more than one door"

"this door!
that door!
there a door!
here a door!"

and so the wooden one it was
...

"wait!
there is more!
more than one floor!"

"this floor!
that floor!
there a floor!
here a floor!"

and so I picked the third floor
...

"wait!
..."

Now listen!
I just want to play
Your introduction is taking
all day!

"who said the door is the way?
you have already started to play"

When I looked into your eyes
A thousand battles waged
You were afraid to die
Yet not prepared to lie

Your words sounded the alarm
A world in peril
A body shaken
Your happiness had been taken

I wish I could heal all your wounds
Fend off the darkness that looms

But I am so far away
You are the night sky
As I am the day light

Slowly it descended into the depths
Its hull integrity, not much left
The crew became captives
prayers left unanswered

a moment ago they were hunting steel
With an arrow many a fate would seal
But on this occasion they were
betrayed
By an invisible sonar wave

Their foe consecrated a watery grave
The sea only happy to oblige

Light passes on to dark
The creaking coffin
As those below
Bid their new host welcome

You are a puzzle to me
I am a puzzle to you?
Am I a puzzle to me

Pieces don't fit
What fits aren't pieces

No edges to begin with
No center to end

Where does it start?
How does it end?

When look into your eyes
The stars come alight
Twinkling
From afar

No darkness could ever bear
The luminescence of your stare

I wish I could close
The time and space
The light years
Between us

But I am no God
I gaze
I wonder
I long

And so by day
I bide the time
Hoping that yet again
I will see you at night