It will do its best to hurt you, twist your emotions, break you financially, mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. It wants you to suffer. To break you before it can 'make' you. Snared between its gnarly teeth it has no remorse. Until the very end, it will bite in and grind, chewing on your patience until every day is simply the same and you beg for mercy. Recalling memories like postage stamps to a bygone era, days fold themselves away into neat envelopes, ready to be relived both now and never.  

Those who are sensitive know the score. That life is a game that sometimes they don't feel like playing. At times you win, at times you lose. The thrill of the ride is in the journey; that first rush of life that flows through your veins and down the drain. After that, routine is a mundane affair that will **** you if it gets the chance. By keeping you breathing.  

A victim to circumstance, you find yourself trying to take control where there is none. Frustration sunsets kick in and scream for resistance. But still, the routine. Average life, average dreams. Mr and Mrs Grey only become free to express themselves sexually as every other form of creativity is strictly banned. Colour an illusion, playing with love. There is shyness. Uncertainty where there should be knowing. TV drama. Break-ups. Celebrity divorce. Iraq. Iran. Paid for wars. ****** and delirious children. Emaciated women. Sexuality, a given. Robots on stage. Narcissism all the rage. Fear in fashion. Outrage but no action. We parade our pain online. Wax and wane. Reliving youth, former glory. And all the time we wonder where it ends. Begging for another story.

You present to me
The moment
In open hands
Blessed are those
Who start
With a grateful heart

Exploring the emptiness
Deep inside
Unravelling the layers
Like ribbons
So we may surface
Not as new beings
But like an empty box
Be revealed
For the content of our character

Words can cut so easily
Hard to believe
Easy to be deceived
By all the shiny pieces

Yet as the record
Of our life
Reaches its end
If we can stand
Let go of fear
We can realise
Our truest gift
Is being here

Making each moment count
Not trying to change
Simply finding peace
With here and now
That's when the voice from deep within
Will rise
And cut through
All our deceptions and lies

So at the end of this life
We can say with firm understanding
Our love carried us in the darkest night
To what's true
After wading through the deepest tarmac
We walked to the light;
We found you.

In the shadows
We dance
Building a bridge
Between friendship and love

Fleeting
Bricks fall
Dreams are broken and burnt
Then remade
Every single day

I sit still
Staring at the blank space
Where you once lay

Planning for the journey
Or simply walking through
Sit still
Breathe in
Aware of what to do

Thoughts pass like thunder
On their way out
As the stars
Cut through the sky

Scribing now
Drawing down clouds
To scrawl our dreams
Upon its steps
We stand

Holding onto the past
We let it drop
First a finger
and then a hand

Filled with deep regret
Transforming how
into why

We realise that
Dreams are broken and burnt
And remade
Every single day

Yet, a part still missing
I sit
Staring at the blank space
In the sky
The part where
lovers meet
for the first time;
Where you became I.

We stand
Arms length
Hands like soldiers in the night
Wanting something better
Than the rumours of the world

Listen to the beat
The stamping feet
The parade rhythm of life
Tearing us asunder

The kind of etheric dance
That makes you stay up
Late at night with wonder

Longing
For security
An in-breath
Becomes a bullet
Shattering illusions

I hold my breath
Hearing you near
Body exhales;
No more fear

As the flames and smoky fire
Consume our souls
We melt the wire...
Yet still a connection stands
Electric voice screams
A heartfelt song,
Carried across victorious lands
Singing 'we will never forget you...'

Afterward, fumes fill the air
Birds sing along the creek
Silence crashes like symbols
As I read your last words
'We only depart to meet...'

Feathered, protected
You take me under your wing
Holding me close
To your beating heart
I hear your breath sing

With the illusion of silence
You shatter my hope
Swallowing hard
I wonder who you are
A mother bird
Entrusting me
Encouraging me far

I love our mutual interest
The light in your eyes
Captivating
Embracing

From a distance
We are held, in motion
A deep meditative waiting  
For the sweet sensation
Of freedom
As we say goodbye

Cutting loose
The ribbon from our feet
Hearts on high
Wings steadied against the wind
All expectations fall to Earth...
Fly.

The winter comes and goes
Lost in summer’s clothes
Leaves fall around me
Random memories
Bloom, then blossom
A bud in disguise

The picture tells a thousand words
You paint each one
Waiting, in hope
But the sun never lies

Cycles of the moon
Wash over your mind
Emotional
Recreational
An endless search
You will never find

Treasure surrounds you
It’s breaking the senses
And into the darkness
Dancing in the dust

Energy rises
Day and night
Feeding the illusion
And so we must…

Pursue the desire
To feel
To become
One with the other

Approaching midnight
But lost in time and space
Under moonlight
I trace a line
Across your face…

We are reflections
Barely grasping
At the youth
Slipping away from our fingers…

A secret wonder
This life is
We don’t know what
It’ll bring us…

So misunderstood
Connecting space
Yet feelings remain
True as blood

I count the times
You ran through my veins
Elements of you
Transcend distance…

And yet here
On this plain
Synchronicity
Seeking Invisibility;
I sense your resistance

Rehashed stories
Former glories
Cycle on
From one moment to the next
Going with the flow…

A lesson learned
You grow
With no rhyme, purpose or reason
Flowering, evergreen, everlasting
Yet standing tall, in your season.

Friends are the jewels of the earth
For the real treasure
We all seek
Is to be understood
And cared for by another

With endless conversations
And cups of tea
There’s a longing
A sense of peace
That comes from good company

As the day rolls on
We talk and feel life through
Laughing at the situations
That seek to destroy us

There’s a beauty
In mutual bonding
And learning
And laughing
At life’s trouble;
It’s just me and you
Lost in our little bubble

When feeling blue
Unearthed, deadbeat
They give you a new perspective
to set you on your feet

Friendship is priceless
Connections
Communications
More tea, cake and understanding

By text, by mail
By spoken word
They reach over continents
Villages, cities and towns
To make themselves heard

To lend a hand
When feeling low
Or losing hope
They give their free support
The kind of which
Can never be bought

Days, weeks, months and years
Pass by in the blink of an eye
No need for an explanation, reason or why
They are there for you
No matter how life changes

A true friend
Always caring
Always the same inside
Getting to know you a little better
Than they did the last time
They read your letter

Never tiring of your company
A spirit so pure
You may not find all the answers
But will laugh, and talk and share
So together, we’ll find the cure

Digging deep into the human soul
Excavating feelings
Working through emotional episodes
To find peace in the present moment
And in each other
At the end of the day
That is friendship’s truest goal

Be they brother, mother, sister or lover
Friends come in many shapes and guises
For what it’s worth
A true friend means more to me
Than all the jewels of the earth.

Sky opens
Slides down her face
Wondering, wandering
Lines of Consciousness
And reality
Somewhere between
Intention and frailty

Stay true she remembers hearing the words
But not their meaning.
Go with the flow
And your ship will come in
They told her…

There’s a truth
In the window
And smiling faces
Look back
On grey worn places

Hopeful, little
Eager to be wanted
She dances on streets
That will never run dry

She feared it might never return
That feeling of why?
Purposeful
Like bricks to cement the day
But it wasn’t in her nature to say…

There was a mystery then
A sliver of a patch
To stitch your own
In the quilt of life
They called home

Read and work
Say prayers before bed…
There’s always an answer
Except she’d never know it

Time, an old friend
Had a strange way about her
That was the thing;
She didn’t care.

Awake, she wandered, lonely
Blinded by the blur
Hoping for desolation.
Expecting a word,
Smile or reason in turn.

Except it never came.
Only the rain.

She's hoping to go back to the light soon
Spending summer nights, returning home
Ever longing, staring at the moon
The sun, stars, present time
As days stay in form
To witness the show
Of an intergalactic presentation
And with a long applause
Break their silence
At first dawn

She's hoping to go back to the light
To see her leading stars
Shine so bright
And take their chances
On a second deal of cosmic proportions
To take the hand of the dusky dancer
Who'll secretly romance her
With his many rings of ancient stones

She's hoping to go back to the light
From planet earth
Where she stands
Looking so small
Staring insignificantly
Into the Source of it all

She's hoping to go back to the light
Where it all began
To meet her maker
And create a new deal breaker
Of significant power and force

She's hoping to go back to the light
The unconditional love
That breaks through her heart
Slipping through her fingers
Sending messages from above

She's hoping to go back to the light
No more to be reborn
In physical form
But to rejoice on a higher plane
With no more trial or pain

She's hoping to go back to the light
Where clouds are no longer formed
And the sun is the only star she'll see
Where through the darkness
There's nothing endless;
Only the promise of being free.

I am the sky
That's forever falling
I am the plant
My seeds are sprouting
Basking in her summer sun
Taking in her splendour
Oh, how she comes undone

I see the day
Twinkling at the night
Feeling her endless distance
A constant companion
Urging her to shine so bright

Starlings
Bury and swoop
Upon the horizons
Making meaning
For the senses
Sea licking salt;
She yearns for that
No pretenses

There will come a time
When she no longer questions
Or calculates good intentions
Her arms grasping out
To nurture earth
From up above
A heavenly birth
Will fall and rain
A billion drops
Of inspiration

Smiles
Tiny shards of light
Radiating her true reflection
Like simple words on a page
Reaching a familiar end
Scribbling
Screaming for release.
The writing comes in waves.
*Hello, old friend...

Dancing under digits
Spacing between words
I count them all
Each syllable
Once, twice, I heard them dancing in my mind

Floating, instant reality
Bringing distance
Separating elements
From pen to page
You sing in colour
Yet speak so beige

Words, what do they mean?
Sailing through an infinite horizon
Your thoughts like waves
Shattering a tranquil line

Logical
Emotional
Trying to entwine
Encapsulating a memory
That will never be mine.

Update my page
List this
Pin that
Tweet
Repost
Resend
Got no time to chat

White canvas
Endless pixels
A sight for sore eyes
Fruitlessly searching
Social media
For an elusive prize

Scandal
Gossip
Salacious juice
Lines between
Real and fantasy
Reach a truce

Inbox injunction
Endless mail
I want to call it a day
They’ve got some nerve;
‘Be more sociable,’ they say

In cyber space
There’s an infinite world of possibilities
Save for when
We’re face to face

Travelling along
The endless lines
Towards an unknown destination
Lost in ourselves,
We killed the art of conversation

Look at the posts
They’re neverending;
Babies, kittens
See what’s trending
Feeling smitten?
Oh look at all those words,
I haven’t written…

Don’t mind me
I’m just scrolling through.

The pile of boxes
Lay at the end of the bed
She stands
Researching
Rehearsing
Each line he said

Her horizons
Endless, nameless
A story starting with her sun

She acted all day
Perfecting the play
Of forgotten summers

At night, her mind in transit
Musical interlude
Records spin on repeat
Arms stretching
Around every boy she meets

Staring
She looks at them now
Vinyl sleeves worn thin
Each song tells a story
Needle scratches
beneath her skin

She'll never forget his face
Feelings transcend time
But still the rock
keeps turning
Burning, forever

Telling tales of youth gone by
Eternally lost
In the orbit
of her mind's eye.

Snow fell hard
That weekend
Work, play, no study

Close my eyes
Rain down
Beat at the window
Of my lonesome soul

Your lip quivers
A beautiful reminder
Of memories told
A time treasured
Two halves, made whole

Alone now
Lost in the avalanche
Of your love

I’m finding it hard to cope
In your absence;
But no regrets

Binary blame
Computer love
Seeking sunlight
In your face

Wandering eyes
Capture a misspent youth
Bridge a truth
Me and you

A bond between beliefs
A song that’s all bark
And no teeth

Recalling previous days
Staring at the sun
Phantom pictures
Frozen faces;
Winters come and gone.

I relax
Staring at the moon
Reflective beginnings

This is a day unlike no other
Before the dawn
Before the first zip or button
is fastened

The clothes lay at the end of the bed
Pregnant with possibilities

Step aside slumber
I'm awake
and feeling reborn

No second chances
It's now or never
No time for regret;
Endeavour

Tea taming the light
Misty magic
Crawls up the spine
Birds through the looking glass

She opened the book
Absorbing every page
Each chapter a gateway
Musing on those she knew;
Represented by numbers
Individual, yet all the same

Your days are a never ending struggle
Rare in and of themselves
Bringing trouble;
Dog eared rationale

We seekers of solace
Take refuge in books
Understanding
Demanding
The next installment;
Flooding our lives
with fantasies
Cocooned
In our chrysalis

Reading brings change
And knowledge
From page to page
We analyse
Plot, scene, age
Apply the theatre to our lives
And sit, thinking for a while

Read between the lines
Crime, thriller, romance
Happenstance

That could be our lives
Yet sky so grey
Overcast
Reprimanding
We sit, dreaming...

Some day.