I have dreamt
of falling stars,
although the
beauty of
your heart's
tears grow
farther in
light than
the reaches
of the heavens,
will you soar
forever in the
the secret skies
of my embrace?
In this moment,
let us heal
our wounds,
for we will
behold time
in this endless
love song

The word is on the wind herself and whispers secret stories of learning to the wise of heart and mind,

This is in her ever, so sweet whispers of life itself.

The word is in the flames of a great forest fire,

Which brings new growth and insight to the wise after the flames have gone from the forest again.

The word is in the earth herself from which a new seedling can grow into a great Birch tree herself.

The word is found flowing down the rivers of the land to the seven oceans of the world.

Then falls in rainfall on the land again to bring new growth on the needy land again.

So seek the new dawn's light each day within yourself and you will find The Secret Bard within yourself,

So seek the new dawn's light each day within yourself and you will find The Secret Bard within yourself,

So seek the new dawn's light each day within yourself and you will find The Secret Bard within yourself.

Do you know me?
Do I know you?
What secrets do you embrace?

I have my pleasures,
My little treasures.
I wonder if I am the only one?

They're not to be hidden,
Nor are they forbidden.
They're just mine. My secrets.

For example,
Do you like to dance crazily with music loud?
Do you do art, paint, draw, create?
Do you go for a walk late at night?
Do you sit in your room and contemplate?
Or do you think about who would win, superman or batman?
Do you feel sad? Do you feel happy? Do you have a secret anger that burns you?
Or are people as plain as they look upfront?
What is it that you do that you hold dear, near and out of fear you keep inside?

I wonder. Am I the only one with secrets that no-one knows?
Why do I hold them so close? To make them feel like mine.
What am I afraid of, That if someone knew my secrets, they would no longer be secret?
Why does this make it feel special? If no-one knows about them?
If they were known, it would no longer be enjoyable.
Is it for the lack of judgement that I tell no soul I know?
Or is it to keep it mine and by sharing it, it is no longer mine to share?
Is it my secret and do you have any you want to contribute?
Then it will be our secret.

‘A tribute to my lost friend, the wonderful artist Alex Pointer, who chose to illustrate one of my poems, and who has sadly left this realm last year.’

Lost to the secret valley…

Time now is vast, all over for you, leaving so fast
   Drifting, twirling, to find a home on the grass
Ground soft beneath your feet, sky above blue
   Standing quietly, focus , take in all of the view
This place, this beauty, it’s where your Pan lives
   Then a tiny touch from behind, now you draw breath

Not turning, but you can feel his warmth on your nape
   Clops, as he moves off jingling, his big toes scrape
A horn blows quiet at first, then strident as he passes
   Here now, you’re left far behind, feet in cool grasses
Just staring over this place of which you’ve just read
   Wonderful land, where now you lie, with all you need

Before and below, an amazing valley with small stream
   Gazing down, seeing this languid water, seems a dream
First step tentative, but you have confidence in this gorge
   Over the edge, slipping slightly, yet downward you forge
In grass underfoot, rustles abound, there tiny creatures run
   Further down, birds lift to the sky, all gone, one by one

Turn to look back, your face saddens, torn by lost faces  
   Tears ***** your eyes, remembering husband, heart races
In your mind, children, pictures, paintings, now sadly bygone
   A scant breeze kisses, cleaning your cheeks of love forlorn
Here in this valley, a halfway place, memories of your reading
  An intense desire to paint pictures of another’s life bleeding

Foot follows foot as you slowly descend into this other’s story
   Gazing in wonder at this real scene, know that this is Lordly
Awareness of toes firm in ground, experiencing grass growth
   Then near tiny river before you, waiting something you hate
Dark, black, bad, and evil, something affecting your life’s fate
   But as you approach, there before you in glory, bright Pan

Brown face, shows both love and sadness, looks to your eyes
   Then standing proudly, lifts arm, killing it, watching as it dies
Turns to you, tears on his face, quietly tells of his affection
   For you, for your spouse, your family, your life, its perfection
With hands he reaches, your fingers he grips, you feel love
   Then you know his warmth, and you stare into the sky above

Pan leads you slowly to the flowing water, there swim fish
   Flashing many magical colours, waters stirring, tails swish
Rustles from behind, tell of much life abounding, if unseen
   Pan then points downstream towards the sea, land between
You let go his hand, walk then beneath the overhanging trees
   Scented flowers assault your nostrils, plants you squeeze

Turn to gaze back, in the distance, you now hear Pan’s trill
   That pain, the loss you felt, now lost, river running, ears fill
Clutching branches, feel their roughness, experience their life
   Happiness fills your heart, all sadness trimmed by Pan’s knife
No more pain, no sense of loss, for you know all will join you
   Husband, family, friends, not lost, just delayed, this be true

Here now, you remember a story you read, one of this very land
   How you’d loved, drawn and painted, led by his writing hand
You’d wished for his wisdom to be real, and here you finally are
   Free at last to live amongst flowers, existing as if a bright star
This chapter in his story written for you to read, gives solace
   Moving forward along the river, you seek your now final place

Bees buzzing, birds flit, over the clear blue water insects fly
   Bright yellow daffodils on the grass, iris by water flowing by
Red wild roses climb the trees, rapidly rapping their branches
   Vividly coloured damsels whirring, hunting things dancing
All this, and much more, the further you progress towards sea
   Slowly, one sight to another, you know sea will set you free

Always pushing forwards, closer, looking to that shining sea
   Buds, flowers, fruits, together now appear here, all three
You pluck a fruit you’ve never seen before, of various colours
   Tastes so sweet, flavour unknown, stopping by wild flowers
Here momentarily you feel the need to take a long, long rest
   Yet suddenly feel that moving would best, as just a guest

Fruit juice drips from your chin, on hitting ground, grows on
   Here everything seems so alive, constant death then birth
Seemingly this is the Goddesses halfway house to reality
   By the green sea, you somehow know she awaits with vitality
Onward you press, to see a young woman who awaits you
   Dressed in silvery blue, stands out, yet is a beautiful view

Saying nothing, she lets you pass, closer you feel a freeze
   Temperature continues to drop, made worse by breeze
And then she’s far behind, winter now long far away and gone
   Through the still waving branches, there appears another
This woman dressed as spring, has come, wears bright greens
   Approaching, she smiles, waves arm, sends warmer scenes

Onwards past, now ahead by the trees, appearing, another
   This one dazzling like summer, you pass, she’s like a mother
Smells of love, hope, and forever after, reminds of happy days
   Here now the trees branches thin, into sight, red, brown blaze
Closer, another woman, stunning beauty, she now awaits, you
   Her arms outstretched, you grasp her hands, leads to sea

Impending final ending, you are led to the one true Goddess
   Here her daughter Autumn stops before her beloved mistress
You feel warm, loved, as your life before you, suddenly flashes
   This higher power, touches you, behind her the sea crashes
Home you feel, all painful essences revealed, but gone forever
   Brightest of purest hope, as here, now you finally surrender

Lift, fly far away, safe from all man’s wrath and harm, now hope
   Behind those you love so much, but know be with you soon
And as the sun fades on another day, shining bright you alight
   Travel distant stars, ride upon different skies, live with delight
Behind husband mourns and cry’s with family and friends near
   But know this, only the bright stars die young, this sadly clear

It started when people stopped bathing
Or showering.

Every day before they went to work or after their 5 mile run.  People just stopped stepping into their tubs
Or showers
To turn the faucet handles that activated
Cold and hot water to fall from the plumbing.

They gradually
Lost interest in hygiene. Personal cleanliness was ghosted.

Everything else mattered to them,  until it didn't.  Getting their kids to school on time mattered, finishing the work project by deadline mattered, visiting relatives in Montana mattered, driving to the store for groceries mattered, until it didn't. Simply ceasing soap and water on flesh.

They just stopped bathing. It's not that they were afraid of water. If near the ocean they would still run and swim in the waves,
Or jump into the pool at the Hilton. No they weren't afraid of water.
It was something else
So slow
And insidious that it was hardly noticed at first.

The domesticated animals picked up on the phenomena first.
They became anxious. They scurried, tried vocalizing. They sensed a lack of intention from their care givers. They sensed a lack of worthiness inside of their humans. The animals began to wonder about their own well being.
What was their future?

Once you start with a variation from normal,  from routine,  from tradition,  the pendulum swings.
The people didn't realize what was happening. Then it slowly dawned on them over time.
They didn't feel needed.
But kept it a secret. The secret necrosed from the inside
Out. They forgot that connecting to one another
Was vital to survival. Their silence could be deadly.

Over in Israel once visiting the holy sites
One morning I took off on my own for a wee wander in the desert
I hadn't been walking long
When I came across this thing sticking out of the ground
It was a kind of strange looking dial with ancient markings on it
I thought to myself this could be a real find
I might get some money out of this...
I started nudging at it with the toe of my boot
But then suddenly I hear this little voice "Go on, pick it up"
So I turn around expecting to see someone there
But there's no one, no one there
Well that's odd I think. So I start nudging at it again with my boot
And then I hear the same little voice again"Go on, pick it up"
I look around and there's no one there only some rocks, the sand and... and this, this prickly looking desert Bush,
I look at the Bush a bit suspiciously and I say rather amusingly not expecting an answer
"Are you talking to me... you talking to me ?"
Well I tell you, Jaysus I nearly jumped out of my boots when the Bush it snaps back at me rather curtly "Well who the hell else would I be talking to, you're the only one here aren't you!!!
A Bush with an attitude I thought, I bet Moses never had to put up with that
Then I thought to myself 'this isn't the kind of Bush you meet every day'.
So I bent down and picked it up, the strange dial
'What is it ?" I asked
"It's a magical time piece" the Bush replied, "it's like the remote control device you use for your TV
It has 3 buttons, a Pause button in the middle, a Rewind and a Forward button
But instead of controlling a TV, it controls Time itself"
"Yeah!" I said a little disbelievingly
When you press the Pause button Time stops and the whole world stops
If you press the Forward button you can go into the future
The Rewind brings you back into your recent past".
'You're not serious', I said.
"So", the Bush continued, "if you're in a queue, say in a restaurant, you can press the Pause button and then you can go right up to the top of the queue and get your dinner and you can sit down and eat it in peace with no noise or distractions, time will have stopped for everyone else
No one will see you, it's like you're the Invisible Man. You can go up and down your whole world just like that".
'And I suppose' I say, 'if I ever need some money I can just nip into a shop and take it out of the till, or go into a Bank..'
The Bush cuts me off here suddenly saying "No! You can't steal/take other people's money
Instead you just go into the future, there you can get all the winning horses and winning Lotto numbers and bring all that knowledge back into the present".
And what's the Past button for?' I asked
"If you have good happy experiences you can go back and relive them over and over".
'That sounds great', I replied. I thought he would have made a great salesman this Bush.
"But why me", I asked kind of conscientiously, "why should I be so lucky",  
"Well you found it", said the Bush, "and I can't use it, I'm only a Bush".
Then he went on "But be careful to keep it a secret, others will suddenly start getting curious and start asking questions
They'll want to know why you're so lucky and successful and where all your money is coming from
Even if you take a wife, she too will probably eventually start asking questions, trying to discover your secret. But remember always keep your finger to your lips, like a Sphinx never reveal to them your secret".
Then the Bush said "I've got to go now".
"You've got to go", I said a bit sadly (I was getting kind of fond of this Bush),"but you're a Bush"
Then he starts burning, becoming engulfed in flames.
"Are you alright!" I said, a bit concerned
Then he says finally "Enjoy your new toy, have a great time !
And he was gone.  And I was alone again.