The brightest lights in my life
Show me the darkest corners.
Stalked by fears unknown,
There is nowhere left to hide.
I refuse to clip their wings
Though my fingers itch to do so.
To give them life is frightening,
To let them live it is terrifying.

Silenced, in awe,
They watched her paint,
Bringing life to a canvas.
Bold colours
And fierce brushstrokes.
They marvelled at her masterpiece.
Me, I watched her face as she painted,
The emotions sweeping over her,
Bringing life to the canvas she was.
And I was humbled
And I was in awe
And I marvelled
At the true masterpiece.

She glides majestically along
The icy blue lake
With barely a ripple.
Long neck and pristine feathers,
A picture of poise and elegance,
Regal calm and
Breathtaking beauty.
The other birds look on jealously
But fail to see
Her frightened feet
Paddling furiously beneath the surface.

At the end of it all
These walls will fall
And the naked truth
Of your misspent youth
Will stalk your night
And bring to light
The shadowed ways
Of your formative days
But shed your fears
And save your tears,
Your past will not define you.

She sits on the rocks
An island between inlets
As the sea surges.

She sits on the rocks
Tempest within her raging
A beast in a cage.

She sits on the rocks
Hypnotised by crashing waves
Enticing her in.

She sits on the rocks
Brittle bones in silken skin
So vulnerable.

She sits on the rocks
An offering to neptune
Sacrificial lamb.

She slips from the rocks
In solitude no longer.
Witnessed by no-one.

She is a mass of contradictions,
smooth curves and sharp tongue,
soft skin and hard thoughts,
happy mouth and sad eyes.
An alluring curiousity,
she travels with the freak show;
under constant scrutiny.
Beauty struggles under
harsh lighting,
grotesque truth
brought to the fore.
Free within a cage
To which you hold the key.
Redundant wings now used
To cover her face.

You may say the shame is mine,
But I wear it with a pride you can't imagine,
And my head will never be bowed.

The beginning and ending
May already have been written,
But the chapters in-between
Are mine to write.
I will make mistakes
That cannot be erased
And my pen will falter
But never fall.
I will not always like
To read them back,
But the chapters
Are mine to write.

She reminds me of
The girl I used to be
And I weep
For who
I could have been
But smile
For who
I have become.
I look back no more,
My sights are set
Ahead

Love dropped
With the force of
A silken feather
Simultaneously knocking
Me to the ground
And lifting me up

Shining a light
Upon the darkest nights.
Heralding the dawn
Of fresh dreams
And blessing the kiss
Of new lovers.

The time will come
When you no longer have to do it,
When it is no longer a duty,
No longer a hardship,
No longer a responsibility,
No longer a chore.

And when you want it
And it's no longer there?
Then you will know true pain

With their horned heads
And whips for tails,
Malevolent eyes
And malicious sneers
These demons scare me,
But not as much
As the ones who wear my face.

Flames that licked upon our tender fingers,
Blisters on the skin of our youthful hands,
The grim taste of ash is all that lingers
As we stumble around these foreign lands.

Faces once well known are now such strangers.
Haunted by wishes now dissipated,
Hunting for safety among dangers,
Searching for what's long evaporated.

Expectations crumbling to such sorrow
And disappointment littered all around.
The longing for a better tomorrow
Sprinkled like seedlings on infertile ground.

We shield our eyes upon finding treasure.
Time takes it's toll, but not beyond measure.

Within her twin pools of fire and smoke,
Within her crimson coloured passion,
He finds calm.

A fist clenches
Around my stomach
When I look into your eyes
And a new old stranger looks back.
The young old you never said goodbye.
And now I tell you I love you,
And now you will forget.

Hammering on the roof
Of this cavern of echoes
Like a thousand
Drums beating in unison
Prompting me to march
In a single person parade,
A celebration of rain.

A beautiful swan
Of the finest crystal
Sat upon a shelf,
Wings poised
To take flight,
Refracting weak sunlight
To create a halo of beauty.
For years she sat gathering dust
Until one day she fell
In a graceful arc,
Smashing on tiles
With the sweetest sound.
Of freedom.
At last.

Elbow deep in soil
I place my fingers on earth's wrist
And feel the pulse of nature
As it hums in my blood
And vibrates my bones

A precious gem
Within something
So fragile.
A ruby
In the folds
Of a rose.
Thorns are an ugly
Necessity,
Protection from
Lovers and foes.

On a floating pier,
My legs are steady.
The rhythm of the sea
Settling and soothing.
The whistling wind
A sweet piccolo.
The tide may leave,
But always returns.
Home.

The jungle drums beat
With a maniacal fervour
And their secret shame
Becomes fodder for the masses,
The hidden cannibalistic tendencies
Of our kind,
Ignorant of dignity's
Desperate struggle to survive.
Pride becomes a common condiment
And the ravenous hunger
To belittle others
Is sated at last.

I will lay me down
And bow my back
To the point of breaking
So I can be your bridge
To better things

In the darkest
Of my dark nights
I looked upon
A cloudy sky
And saw just one star
Looking back.
Somewhere near or far
Someone mirrored
My actions
And I smiled.
Just one is just perfect.

I was the boss.
Emotions kept in check.
Tears shed only in solitude.
Tough as old boots.
No-one could break this ice queen.
Then she looked at me.
This tiny scrap of humanity.
And I crumbled.

The words of last night
Written by the hand of a ghost
And I read them anew
Under light of a new day
And worry that
My very own Mr Hyde
Was lured out once more
With fermented grapes

I stand under dark skies
Close my eyes
And try to melt into the night

She was the perfect hostess
With a beatific smile
Even white teeth
And deep-set dimples.
She walked through her guests
Encouraging merriment
As she held her
Ever-present bottle
Until one day
The bottle held her.
And the guests all left.
And merriment ceased.
And her smile died first.

Squinting against
The light of truth
As it scorches
Your corneas
Lifting cataracts
Of deceit
Clearing the fog
Of lies
Leaving you
Painfully
Achingly
Sickeningly
Sighted

You say you will bury me
In the ground
And roses will grow
To pay me tribute.
I say burn me
So the words you speak
Will be my tribute
As my ashes give birth
To their fire

A shattered illusion
of weeping beauty
lies upon the floor.
We can walk on it
'til our feet bleed,
or we can take the
broken pieces
and make a
kaleidoscope
of exquisite
symmetry

Beyond the veil
Of the spellbinding falls
Lies a cave
Of no light.
Clever creatures make
Their home
Where nobody hears them
Over nature's roar
And eyes deny
What they see.

A message in a bottle
Hope within glass
Set upon relentless seas
With a vague destination
And no preparation
But the desperate wish
To connect with a stranger
You will never touch
And yet you struggle
To speak to your neighbour

Moonlight reflected
In the ocean of your eyes
Like priceless diamonds

The single flower
Placed upon the rocky path
Tells of pain and loss.

The silent ocean
Cannot be charged with ******
For the life it took.

Top of the food chain,
Mortal men gasp their last breath
As she engulfs them.

Fooled by her silence
The respect for her power
Was left on the shore.

They move like dancers
Fuelled by bloodlust.
Heavy hands weighted
With the hopes of a nation.
An ampitheatre of
Fluorescent lights.
The chariots of the colosseum
Move through the shadows
And the savage beasts
Walk on two feet.

In times of adversity
We will not be constrained
This river runs free.

We might flow down to the sea
or end up being drained.
In times of adversity

There is no need for lock and key
We will not live in chains
This river runs free.

We will not dwell on misery
will not be overcome by pain
In times of adversity

As we flow tirelessly
on a relentless campaign
This river runs free

We will not live in slavery
We will not be restrained
In times of adversity
This river runs free

They wander in darkness
With padlocked eyes,
They fill their ears
With sand and grit.
All they see are
The counterfeit representation
Of their warped imaginations
And all they hear
Is the gentle hum
Of blissful ignorance

He thought he was the man,
Two girls vying for his attention.
He chose the one more travelled by.
Now he has to take his tablets.

We sleep
So our darkest thoughts
Can be passed off
As nightmares

They lay wrapped
in cotton sheets
and each other.
Cigarette smoke
combined
with the smell of ***
on the air.
She watched him
watching her.
Words hovered
within the silence.
Whatever else,
at least they
had this.

Fly struggles in vain
Spider's eyes gleam in darkness
The silken trap worked

Spider crawls on paths
Spotted by the silent bird
Swoops in for the ****

Cat slinks through the grass
Eyes locked on newly plump bird
Poised for the attack

Echoes in her blood
Ancient times long forgotten
The call of the hunt

Let me hold your hand, my friend.
Let me guide you on your way
As you approach the end.

I cannot comprehend
This dying light of day.
Let me hold your hand, my friend.

Into darkness we descend,
To my horror and dismay,
As you approach the end.

And though I can't pretend
That your love I can repay.
Let me hold your hand, my friend.

The time you've left to spend
Slips cruelly away
As you approach the end.

How can I contend
With what death has to say.
Let me hold your hand, my friend
As you approach the end.

She lives with
The ghosts of yesterday,
Reliving painful memories
Like a sadistic
Groundhog day.
The awful irony
Of taking care
Of her body all these years,
When her mind was
Planning a revolt.
Is she still in there,
The woman I used to know,
Struggling to get out?
Screaming at the injustice
Of her situation?
Banging on the bars
Of her rotting mind?
The very thought
That could be true
Is the saddest thing
Of all.

Remember my laugh
Not my struggle for breath
In the aftermath
Of my smoker's death.
Think of the children
I love beyond belief
And how I have saddled
Them with this grief.
And how, when it comes
To their wedding day,
I won't be there
To give my daughters away.
And when they cry
And are consumed by fears
I won't be there
To dry their tears.
And how these girls
I love like no other
Will be left in this world
Without their mother.
I rush to my grave
With incredible speed
All for the love
Of this noxious ****.

I would lose face
Without hesitation
If it meant
I put a smile on yours

The apple tree
Bore rotten fruit
And blamed it
On the garden
Refusing to
Acknowledge
That her
Shallow roots
Could also
Be at fault