I hate school
because teacher Giraffe is always
picking on me
in his high and lofty manner
He's always pointing at me
with his prehensile tongue
and snorting: "Maybe you'd
like to stop laughing
and share your joke
with the rest of animal class?"

But I don't know no joke;
I just laugh

When the big ball upstairs
Has burnt his day's share
And his little sister
Has awoken to shine

When mechanical birds and horses
Have flown to their nests
And the chaos of daylight
Has given way to peace

When the world's voluntary madness
Dissipates into necessary sanity
And the hot unfriendly winds
Sheath their unseen swords

When earth and sky seem to agree
In the stillness of transient dark
Reviving fast-dying hopes
And healing old wounds

When all hell ceases to break loose
Awaiting the rooster's call...
I merry in dreamland
As my tired body sleeps...


© Raphael Uzor

Art is my life,
madness is my muse.
My best works come out,
when I feel abused..

Watching wild unicorns, dance in the snow,
Whinnying, frolicking, as happy as can be,
As I hover high above, observing all below.

Such stunning beauty, makes my heart glow,
Mythical creatures, running wild and free,
Watching wild unicorns, dance in the snow.

They are seeds of dreams, we lovingly sow,
Rearing in acknowledgement, just for me,
As I hover high above, observing all below.

They begin racing clouds, perhaps for show,
Maybe I am a dream, one only they can see,
Watching wild unicorns, dance in the snow.

Amongst trillions of stars, one must know,
Unicorns live and play, with unbridled glee,
As I hover high above, observing all below.

Through layers of cloud, drifting so slow,
To unlock sheer bliss, I now possess the key,
Watching wild unicorns, dance in the snow,
As I hover high above, observing all below.

©Paul M Chafer 2014

I was her only child
It was not by choice
Her womb taken away by disease
She felt she had lost her voice

The world was not where she lived
It had done so little for her
So she locked me away from the evil outside
Smothered by her care

When I was 5 I started school
And I didn't know what to say
Because I was taught so many things
That they were taught the other way

When I was 14 I liked a boy
But I didn't know how to react
This was a lesson I hadn't been taught
On the inside I felt cracked

But my mother didn't see it
She hated I was shy
'I didn't raise you like this' she said
But this was a lie

And then the evil came back
She became so very ill
And her instincts that stunted me
Came back for the ****

A week before she died
My family sat me down
'Shes dying' they told me
The room spun around

Her one last act
Was to protect me from being sad
But inside the crack deepened
All I felt was mad

Because I was more than that
I was more than being protected
I hardened on the outside
But inside I felt rejected

I became the daughter
My mum wanted me to be
Confident, loud
Someone everyone could see

I drunk away the doubts
I danced away the pain
So that the thoughts inside
Didn't drive me insane

I never cried or moaned
In front of people or alone
So I could prove I was strong
I wanted this to be known

She was taken so early
When i felt for her so much hate
I was robbed of my mother
And now it's too late

shy stutter of a thought
scurrying across rough rock and diving
headfirst into cold white water
so as not to be heard, unlike
the wilted sigh from pinched lips
that draws eye contact then breaks it
like waves upon those stones

syllables soft and jumping
through valleys, over jagged mountains
just to reach ears clouded
with assumptions and a failing effort
to tune it all out
skinny fingers gripping a skull
through wild, upset hair
hands coming to rest uneasily
within each other, still shaking from the strain

or maybe it's the cold that cuts edges
into my shoulders, ties the laces tighter across my back
pinching me into place as i twist inside
looking away a thousand times, and trying
but i cannot unwind, i cannot open myself
to you