Ballerina leaves
dancing to music unheard
in shades of autumn

Perfumed air carries
The scent of the nearby sea
Dry salty seaweed

I'll meet you at the top of the mountain
When the sun is setting
And the stars are in the wings.
Where the wind tosses our hair
But the cold is superficial.
Where we stare across the lough,
Our whole world before us
In miniature
Where we hold hands
So we won't fall off
Or we'll fall together.
I'll meet you at the top of the mountain
When the sun is setting.

The sun set
Before it had a chance to shine.
But i see it
Reborn
In the star that lights
My darkest night.

She walks in shadows
But she is someone's guiding light

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.

She gathered her hopes
And dreams,
Her loves
And desires,
Her wants
And needs
And fashioned them into a shawl of the finest silk
That they should keep her warm
Without weighing her down.

How she loved!
She loved how
He made her laugh,
Loved how he held her
While they danced.
Loved how he stroked her face
When he thought no-one was watching
Loved how emotional he got
At the first scan.
Loved how he loved
Their child
Loved how he stared at her
And promised to love her forever
Loved how he asked how she was
When they learnt he was sick.
Loved how grateful he was
For a glass of water in bed
Loved how he tried
To make her laugh instead of cry
Loved how he held their child
Even though his arms were so weak
Loved how he let her cuddle in
As his breathing slowed
Loved how even when he was gone
The memory of him brought joy to her heart.
Loved how when anyone asked her
What she had done with her life
She could look them in the eye
And honestly declare
"I truly loved‘"

I do not want  
Shelter from this rain.
I Let it wash away
My pain.

I do not want
Shelter from this wind.
I want to push against it
And win.

When the storm is over
For once and for all,
I keep my head up,
I stand tall.

Programmed to programs,
harbingers of doom,
we drink in shadow
and drown in darkness
leaving no room
for infusion of light,
dragged into
pits of despair
losing sight of
the illuminations
that surround us.
Acting like
shepherless sheep
trapped in a pen,
when the very field that we crave
is ours for the taking
if only we could take that last brave step
towards contentment

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

Landed
With a voice
That only
A Mother
Could love,
Let
My poetry
Sing to you
In a way
I never could

The tree outside does dance,
Moves in such a way
That the dying light of day
Has me entranced.

Such a blissful feeling
Staring at the pirouettes
Of the branches' silhouettes
Upon my ceiling.

A colourless cascade
Of contrasting dark and light,
I could watch this scene all night
But light does fade.

The mystery of history
Is that we keep repeating it.
The madness of sadness
Is that we keep feeding it.

The park in the dark
Is a dangerous place.
I cant help it!
Rhymes put a smile on my face

He couldn't see the pain
Locked safely away.
Couldn't see the anguish
Of the day-to-day.
Didn't realize that all
Was not well,
That she felt just like
An empty shell.
Didn't see the tears
That streaked her face
As she hid where she could
In the loneliest place.
But when she gathered her courage
And took a deep breath
And explained how bad
She truly felt,
He said not a thing
But held her tight,
and stroked her hair
Throughout the night.
He may have missed
What she tried to hide
But he let her know
That he's by her side.

I took my skeletons
And put them in the closet
Way back where no one
Could ever find them
But the noise of clacking bones
Haunted me daily.

You came along
And opened the doors
Danced with the skeletons under sunlight
Until their bones crumbled to dust

And held my hand as the dust was carried away by the wind

I shed my skin.
Winter take my petals,
Leave me naked
With the wind.
Bare, you see me.
Love's stunted growth?
The leaves were
Only ever a facade.
Sweet Jesus,
Let the sap taste as sweet
As promises given
In early spring.
I shed my skin.
Please love me still.

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

Just a little doll
Wrapped in blankets,
Dark lashes
Pillowed on milky skin,
Still warm to the touch.
Only white lips
And eyes,
Not quite closed,
Giving lie
To the belief
That you're sleeping.
Be at peace little man.
Be at peace.

Moonlight lays kisses
Upon a tranquil ocean.
Soporofic touch.

Stop, if you have a minute
And please look a while
Upon the face of the girl with the frozen smile.

Stop.
Do you see her?
Or do you see a lie?
Tell me
Will you forget her
By and by?

Or will you forever
Ask yourself why
You didnt stop for the girl wirh the frozen smile?

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 ****.

Beyond the clouds
There is a light
Gentle and strong
The promise
Of the end of night.
It shimmers
With the sound of
Children's laughter.
The hint of
A happily ever after.
Or maybe just
Okay for now,
But we'll make it
Through this storm
Somehow.

Sometimes my silent screams
Drown the white noise.
Sometimes my shattered smile
Comforts their fickle tears.
Sometimes I wrap your hand in mine
And feel the love unspoken.
Sometimes words are not enough.
Sometimes words cannot be found.
Sometimes ....

I wrap my arms around myself.
Myself?
Where have you gone?
Has it been four seconds?
Or four years?
The world still turns.
Who told it to turn?
Do I remember you,
Or is it a phantom?
People still laugh,
They must not know.
I still laugh,
I’m sorry.
You’re gone,
I’m sorry.
I’m here,
I’m sorry.
****** live,
You die.
I’m forever sorry.

I hope you don't trip
Over that pouting bottom lip

Whisper it into the wind
The earth shall hear your secrets.

Like stained glass,
She was breathtakingly beautiful
But easily broken

Stars, don't mock me,
Looking down
Without a care in the world.
Challenging me,
Who will be next?
I admire your beauty
And fear
Your ruthlesness.
Do you really need another
To join your ranks?
Leave her with me,
I pray.
Your world will be
No different
With her in it,
Yet mine will be
So much the worse
Without her.

I will not bow down
To defeat.
I storm ahead and
Won't retreat.
I am the captain
Of this fleet.

The storms may rage
Beneath my feet,
But in this race
I will compete.
I will not bow down
To defeat.

I will not bow down
To defeat.
I storm ahead and
Won't retreat.
I am the captain
Of this fleet.

The storms may rage
Beneath my feet,
But in this race
I will compete.
I will not bow down
To defeat.

White tipped waves bear down
Upon the rocky shoreline.
The storm rages on.

It's a strange old beat
And a weird old track
But I'll move my feet
If your hand's on my back.
You bring the drums
And I'll bring the bass
And everything else
Falls into place.
Forever glad we got the chance
To lie in each other's arms
And dance.

I walk in a wilderness
Of raw emotion
And feral thoughts
Constricting my chest
In a relentless vice
Unique calls
Echo in silence
Turning me deaf
And the shadows
Assault my eyes
Hiding in the blind spot.
My mind is *****
And my body is ravaged
The hollow knock
On an empty box
And somehow
I am home

A sea
Of nameless faces
Garbed in grey
Wired to monotony,
Like a flock
Flying in one direction,
But never toward the sun.
Painted smiles
On plastic faces
A homogenous race
Of uniformity.
Vacant expressions
And abandoned thoughts.
Then there is you.
Strut my little peacock.
Strut.