eyes droop
mind-in-a-loop
darkness surrounds
misery abounds

longing for escape
to break free from waters
that stifle and suffocate
in private quarters

i hear the rain
as constant pain
no reprieve
can't self-deceive

i long for air
for light,
but am sunk in despair
no respite

roller-coaster roundabout of life
the hurt, anguish, unending strife,
no strength to take a knife
no strength to end this life

best batten down the hatches
lock the doors with latches
give gasoline and matches
hurrah for quick dispatches

everyone has devils
some hide them better
it's our job to channel evils
'n thereby make them lesser

think not to restrain that urge
to bind with shackle and fetter,
don't expect to purge
the malevolent abetter

show him a way forward
lift your sights higher
together swim shoreward
toward that spiritual fire

you want to die?
don't ask yourself why,
ask how to use the feeling
to give yourself a high

seek out that inner aspiration
find the glint in mud,
award yourself gratulation
for all your sweat and blood

as you work on what matters
focuse on the prize
and if your spirit shatters
from thence shall you rise

for from dark earth emerges seedling
from black coal the brightest diamond
decay 'n rot shall be your healing
in your swim to distant island

In the greying steel and glass,
hands, dry and blistered, labour,
a merciless smoke turns days to dusk,
as a worker grunts to neighbour

through din and grime, thin bodies mined,
choking in tireless toil,
All dreams quenched, all brains confined
To clunk of drums and oil.

Beyond lies world where riches rule,
Where lies are painted bright,
Marble steps to cerulean pool,
Break the rhythm of light.

Each step another shoulder bowed,
Another voice is numbed,
Another to submission cowed,
As feelings rank, unplumbed.

And dreams are forced to wilt and die,
In factory's metallic guise,
Beneath unseeing, endless sky,
In sweat of muted cries.

Under Your Feet lapis lazuli,
Oceans' cerulean blues on high,
Firmament of awesome ice transparent,
Infinite Beings energy apparent.

How can I address You on high,
Place supplication afore Your Footstool,
I of flesh and maggot nigh,
Speak before the Infinite Rule?

'Tis my soul that does the speaking,
Spark of Yourself in my keeping,
Planted in dust before its reaping,
The burning flame forever seeking.

If dust to dust, then flame can lust
For Fiery Source, in Thee I trust,
Father, however low I fall,
You are my saviour, You are my all.

My dear compadre,
We've been through it all,
The trials and tribulations,
Laughter and tears.

You are my brother,
My ally and friend,
The one I can turn to
When the road seems to bend.

Our bond's unbreakable,
Our friendship like no other,
Ever grateful for you,
My dear compadre.

Through thick and thin,
Stood side by side,
Friendship's a beacon
In e'er-changing tide.

Honored to know you,
To call you my own,
My dear compadre,
Never alone.

my dove,
I still remember - the day I found you
your perfume wafting o'er distant waters,
i smelt you from afar,
frankincense, myrrh, myrtle o' young daughters.

beloved,
you came to me from afar.
Time had no meaning, as you held me in your love,
You gazed at me,
your pure eyes calling me dove.
But now you're gone.
And life has lost its meaning.

my dove,
i let you go,
i let you fly over many waters.
i deemed it wiser -- for us both
but my dove, i love you still.
and i'm still here, on the hill.

beloved,
till hoary days i'll remember your voice
though they look at me askance
in simulacrum of life,
they ask me to dance
to tune of flute 'n fife
but i hear not,
for i cannot, save in you, rejoice.

a humanoid is he
no bigger than my thumb
he sits and laughs before me
he says i look quite glum

and when i ask his name
he winks and shakes his head
"what's a name if not for fame
i'll take anonymity instead"

only i can see him
as strange as that may seem
full of vigour and vim
more vivid than a dream

and if you think it's fantasy
the tale i tell you now
a part of inner phantasy
although i don't know how

well, that's your choice and right to say,
i'll not deny you that
but i see him now, as clear as day,
and that's the end of that

I danced with Him that night,
Heart alight, light, so bright,
He was close to me that night
As I held Him so tight.

What will be this next year?
Will we drift asunder?
Will He my love remember? (and I Him?)
Will I plummet? Will I flounder?

He was close to me that night,
The spirit in my hair,
As I swirled with Him so light,
His Spirit in the air.

My heart it beats His song,
Though the distance between us grows,
Though I know it'll be so long,
Before my arms behold His wonder.

Do you know of Whom I speak,
He Whose Name I dare not whisper,
He Whose closeness intoxicates me?
Oh, my G-d, I swear I'll miss Ye.

turning eyes within the self
dark black foreboding
but earth below, with pixie elf,
the frog, the slug, the toad-ring ...
nature helps to lift one's mood
to strive to break the mould,
nectariferous is G-d's sweet food -
There's light when all is told.

in the bulrush, by the river,
where brown seed pod 'n green spike quiver,
by the bank of golden long grass,
as guilt tresses in framed hand-glass,
flowing locks of glowing young lass,
dancing in the water'd mirror
where the rippled circles shiver
where the sun and moonlight shimmer
twixt the dross and floating debris
there i spied the rainbow'd mandarin
red 'n navy, red 'n aquamarine,
orange, auburn, blue 'n teal-green,
as the palette o' Claude Monet,
swirl'd Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso,
unaware of colours gay,
swimming slow in feet o' yellow,
unaware of Artist's play,
unassuming, with bowed head
burnished bronze 'n beak of red,
and by his side his mate 'n bride,
in subtle shades of patchwork pied,
together they the water glide,
the king and queen of nature's pride.

soar sweet soul
as never before
let go of sorrow
of time and morrow

soar sweet spirit
soar higher still
and stay your visit
on heaven's hill

soar divine one
you've hardly begun
you are G-d's son
G-d's only one

that's you and I
we're made of sky
so embrace what's nigh
you'll never die

life awoken
from rotten grain
to flourish as new paragon

world broken
can grow again
only when once truly gone

what was spoken
once thought insane
becomes world's new dawn

sun a token
of golden chain
a link to world bygone.'

world once askew
aligns anew
humanity as one

In the hush of winter’s breath,
Where mountains sleep,
Stands a crest, silent,
Nestled in nature’s ice.

In white array, dawn whispers.
Lustre o' icicles reflect approaching morn,
The voice of the eagle soaring,
The song of the unheard sun,
Break forth in new excursion.

In haze of wintry pallor,
Weighed by days gone by,
My memories flutter,
Once pristine, like cloudless sky,
now, beleaguered by heavy sighs,
they fade one by one b'fore my eyes.

Where dreams once swelled
they now falter. Quelled.
Fated to die.

Yet where they lie lingers a shadowy breath,
With echoes eternal beyond the setting sun,
Beyond the quiet of creeping death,
Emotions as a tapestry spun,
Newest fingerprint of the One.

he shook the sheet o' cotton,
                                               torn beyond repair
and aired the slept-in bed
                                               home and nighttime lair
shooed out the air that's rotten
                                               privy to his despair
and laid the warm bedspread
                                               attenuate, threadbare

he puffed up the pillow
                                           must put on braver face
and laid it down with care
                                          straightening out the lace
opened up the window
                                         looking up to space
and let in cleaner air
                                         with hope for Divine Grace

thus ushered in the new day
                                        his heart in hope and prayer
of new earth, and sunshine ray
                                        with beat of love-affair
as yesterday's forgotten,
                                        his hands carving out the air
as comes a new born day.
                                        as comes the L-rd of care.

eyes ajar, like chocolate box
desperately trying to close
outside noise of yelping fox
and wife blowing her nose
leave my mind in flummox
unable to sleep or doze
expropriated as man in docks
of rightful slumber pose
so now in state as tinderbox
i gingerly throw on my clothes
close my hose, put on my socks,
'n venture on tiptoes,
half-past two scream the clocks
as children comatose
dream of bears and goldilocks
red cape and purple bows.

no-one knows
i'm stuck in here
where no-one goes
'n no-one can hear

i've got no strength left to struggle
to dicker, bicker or to wrangle
soon a sound like geese-a-gaggle
as the rope squeezes the vagal

and then, release from veils 'n parable,
release from meanings allegorical,
from pretence, lies 'n deception,
from politic's priests of misdirection.

and then all bliss?
or a snap and a hiss
of ten thousand voices
all of my choices

haunting chasing
watching me racing
for in hell there's no escape
from black devil in hooded cape

raucous music fills the air
loud images shout
jarring sounds of "i don't care"
fill the streets about

bromide for the masses
dulls enfeebled senses
as the Jews in gases
abandoning defences

breathing **** and lewd for food
***** for the multitude
constant noise blocks out dispute
till you're lying destitute

swinging in the corner
lifeless limbs a-droop
blind to tears of mourner
head in hangman's loop

sometimes i yearn to sing with the stars
to be one with Jupiter, Venus 'n Mars
to scale the heavens, make my voice heard,
to soar ever upwards, on feathers of bird,
to join in the song of orange-tipped rays
that shine over Earth at start of new days
to bathe in the light of Eternal's blue gown
and sew for Him words He can wear as a crown

and at once i am there, in the heavens above,
in the waves and the currents of outpour of love,
dancing among stars of burning white fire
circling with angels of purest desire
the existence of self dissolved in the ether
the soul's divine rest with the Earth far beneath her
spirit at rest in the ***** of Source
in loving embrace of benevolent Force
Mind of the Father and Womb of the Mother,
Arms of my Friend, breath of my Lover

there i forget all the pain and the sorrow
the worry, the fear, the concern of the morrow,
i forget to beseech, to implore and to pray
to scream and to shout, to beg and to say
"Make the world better, that man and beast
not prey on each other, on their downfall not feast,
that each live in harmony as sister and brother
with regard and care and concern for the other,
that there be an end to the senseless warfare,
that breeds on pride, that sows despair,"
To plead, "put a kibosh on the metal annihilator,
the blaster, the bomb, the knife of executioner,
that seeds of pure kindness should sprout and proliferate
heal minds of the mindless and hearts of the ingrates."

i forget to pray, to roar "it's enough!
all the death, all the sickness, all the hurt thereof",
for there in heaven there is only love
there's no mention of pain in the heavens above.

i can't go in the room
you're wrapped in white
why everywhere a gloom
why a candle as your light

they're putting you in ground
you can't really be dead
you're not making a sound
is this what they dread

it must be my head
it cannot be real
you're still there in bed
you'll ask how i feel

i'll wake up soon
you'll be there for me
you'll sing me your tune
you'll tell your story

i'll comb your hair
I'll scratch your back
with your love in the air
there's nothing i lack

cherub so fair
raven black hair
eyes azure
as grandfather
face radiant
perfect, pure, true,
features salient
i remember you

with tiny hands 'n fingers moving
there you lay swathed in pipes
in distress from convolut'd tubing
not from teething or testinal gripes

in ICU unit of babies diverse
at mercy of overworked nurse
no sound left your mouth, no whimper or cry
when they said you had predilection to die

when no-one was looking, your face turned blue
from lack of oxygen from outside to you,
no-one noticed as your life slipped away
none there for you on your last day

a myriad solar stars
danced on rippled river
moving, broken bars
silver of largesse Giver

leaping light in flits of fun
as arrows from archer's quiver
glancing, lancing cracked mirror
with searing rays of sun

as footsteps mine trod a-bank
a host of dew-blest drops
upon the blades as soldiers' rank
green rifles on hilltop

and thereupon, beheld did I,
a myriad suns of shining sky,
laid out scattered 'neath my feet,
laughing, dancing, notes on sheet,

safron heads with garlands gold
as spokes of wheel, of chariots old,
lemon-yellow and amber blond,
plates on stem as juggler's wand

scarce a week of nights gone by
and in same field did I spy
in place of golden suns of sky
a myriad moons, with heads held high

and from the ivory spheres of pearl,
as wafts of breath did cause to swirl,
a newfound life of newborn soul,
as sparks divinity from the Whole

for though the sun gives life untold
honey'd nectar and heat from cold,
the seed of future is in moon's hand,
as fairies 'light upon the sand

Nag, nagging,
Finger wagging,
Shoulders sagging,
Victim slagging.

Oh beration,
Flagellation,
Irritating
Castigation.

Cutting hemlock,
On her chopping block,
Innuendoes
Spawning ad hoc.

Super-intending,
Condescending,
Never ending,
Insult fending.

Pointless rounds
Of empty double-talk,
Wife, your name is
Self-styled wise hawk.

Oh ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
that's all they ever say,
** ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
every ---*- day!

It's enough to make the snail retreat
curl up in his shell
Wishes he'd taken another street
devoid of laughs of hell

Oh ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
he hears it every day
** ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
chokes his life away

the pointing and the snigger
the staring and contempt
the pulling of the trigger
that starts the spirit's ascent

Oh ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
** ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Oh ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
** ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

but when you start to figure
the emptiness that's there
beneath the little snigger
beneath the look and stare

the absence of all lucid thought
or vestige of intelligence
as alcoholics of red port
lolling with belligerence

might gasconade or fulminate
devoid o' logical thinking
in egregious display of hate
of self in wanton drinking

then you start to wonder
who's the bigger fool
it's you for going under
from taunt or ridicule

so next when you encounter
the sniding, sneering crack
don't let it be a downer
just straighten up your back

there's nothing there to mind
save the empty air
that fills the deaf and blind
to soul divine and rare

so throw back your head and laugh
at the silliness in the scare
and watch the devil flee like chaff
like deer in headlight glare

Oh ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
** ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Oh ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
** ** ** ** ** ** **. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

there was an old lady from York
who used to screech and squawk
when asked why
this heinous cry
she answered, 'because i'm a stork'!

now, this strange ol' lady from York
who believed that she was a stork
decided one day
to start eating hay
on a plate with a knife and a fork

when friends offered her some fish
she firmly pushed away the dish
i'm vegetarian
not a barbarian
but i'll eat some eggs if you wish

now i'd like to continue this rhyme
about this bird maritime
or rather this lady
of intelligence shady
but i'm afraid it's reached my bedtime

so, kind reader, as you're still reading
and curious to know where this is leading
feel free to write
something to delight
to give this story the end that it's needing

there once was a time,
before your time,
when men were gentlemanly
and the ****** was celibacy

the air was purer
and if we were poorer
our lives were satiated
[with] meaning that radiated

quondam royals had mystique,
your wife was yours and was unique.
i often wonder what went wrong
but it's been too dark for much too long.

take my head                                        i take your head
hold me                                                 i hold you
kiss my lips                                           i kiss your lips
fold me                                                  i fold you
in your embrace                                   in my embrace
                  together we will ever be as one

they tell a tale 'bout a bottle filling with all the tears
shed from all the pain 'n misery of all the years
all the suffering, all the tortures,
all the plundering from earth-scorchers
all the famine and the fever and the fears

and when that bottle's reached its limit will be the time
when salvation awoken starts its clock to chime
when war and famine end
humanity grief amends
and forgotten will be the ache and gloom of crime

what kind of bottle is it that never fills
regardless of the slain and horde of kills,
regardless of the river
of blood and pain and shiver
unending on the hard earth flows 'n spills?

hi there, folks
it's me here,
if i might u coax
to lend an ear

'specially those of you
who have been so kind
read my poetry through
with presence of mind

i'm on my way
for more than a day
don't know when
i'll be back again

[no, not planning
on emigrating,
i'll just be away
how long, i can't say]

can i ask you a favour
if you have the time
again to savour
my lines of rhyme

let me know
in the space below
which poems are best
stand out from the rest

and i'll thank you again
from the bottom of my heart
for being such a friend
though physically apart

i saw him once at age of four
he bade me wine to drink galore
and then again at five years old
to scribe my name in figures bold
black upon the outside bench
got spanked for that 'n left a stench
then if my memory serves me right
at age of nine on eraser white
uncomplimentary homage to my teacher
to write he bade whereupon appeacher
swift to headmaster sent me in fury
but too afraid of one-man jury
he bade me fabricate pathetic tale
of his absence when i went to jail

lies and deceit [seemed to] have coloured my years
for now in sweetest memory appears
marking of my own homework
in red paint while I duties shirk.
thus, in twilight as old i grow
i'm frightened of my grey shadow
the falsehood has become my own
part of flesh and part of bone
can i correct this wayward soul
and fly towards the divine goal?
methinks must use mercurial self
warts 'n all, angel and elf,
in ad hoc program to do good deed
and so transform this wayward steed

and comfort take in this small truth
that memory is a no-good sleuth
takes delight in remembering bad
but scarce commemorates good times had
so yes, sweet devil, you've been here,
i've done your bidding since toddler year
but higher angel i've followed you too
galumphing on in ways few knew
G-d alone will weigh the scales
for He sees the whole with all details

he watched the tea in rapture
as the milk in swirling spiral
as the curling column'd vapour
fought in vain for its survival

wraiths numinous dissipate
could not would not participate
in wretched game o' nature's abuse
placing world in hanging-noose

so he downed the tea
spirit long gone
as Zyklon-B
couldn't hang on

now nothing's left
of brown micturition
passed through gill-cleft
in natural tradition

red, the colour of crimson blood
blue, the carrying veins,
green, as colour of unripe spud
the bile of human remains

above all lies the crystal-clear
elixir o' emotions swirled,
the pearl-like diamond of heartfelt tear
that's bigger than this world

On the first day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the second day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the third day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the fourth day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the fifth day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the sixth day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Six countries' electronic waste, five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the seventh day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Seven world-powers downplaying, six countries' electronic waste, five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the eighth day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Eight pointless wars, seven world-powers downplaying, six countries' electronic waste, five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the ninth day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Nine last elephants Asian, eight pointless wars, seven world-powers downplaying, six countries' electronic waste, five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the tenth day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Ten million famishing, nine last elephants Asian, eight pointless wars, seven world-powers downplaying, six countries' electronic waste, five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the eleventh day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Eleven million hectares deforesting, ten million famishing, nine last elephants Asian, eight pointless wars, seven world-powers downplaying, six countries' electronic waste, five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

On the twelfth day of maliciousness my true love gave to me
Twelve million tonnes plastic waste, eleven million hectares deforesting, ten million famishing, nine last elephants Asian, eight pointless wars, seven world-powers downplaying, six countries' electronic waste, five pandemic viruses, four massive oil leaks, three million toddlers' deaths, two ballistic missiles and nuclear waste in the Pacific Sea

tell fingers to write
in compendious form
perchance grant respite
from inner turmoil storm
from nature gregarious
in mind-jail contrarious
through written commune
in time opportune
elucidate my state
perchance reciprocate
perchance to clear
the fog and the fear
perchance exculpate
the guilt o' mind-state
to elicit response
from brain so ensconced
in darkness of mind
state in which i find
the people all around
as i in state confound
a mental funambulism
of paranoia 'n autism
bemused befuddled
black cotton wool not cuddled
all druthers denied
in polyglot mind
in liaison with the devil
unpalatable to one level
thoughts unmanageable
as soft putty malleable
not by monsters in the air
of zoomorphic form to scare
but by monsters in the flesh
catch mind as in a mesh
construe in mental rift
in milieu o' crooks' grift
yet through timeless antidote
with words' rhyme in note
have cleared mind somewhat
from dregs of coffee-***
so onward mettlesome horse
we'll trot together yet
at vanguard o' life's course
till time to pay our debt
till hope for imprimatur
from my true life Protection
in place of light so pure
till time's resurrection.

almighty father, almighty king,
heavens and earth are your thing
but here's the thing
hear me King

your children have well and truly messed up

you can hazard a guess
the world's a mess

as to why
well, there's a tongue-tie
i mean where do i start
there aint no flowchart
well, not for this!

drought and fires are the norm
let's not forget cyclone and storm
the unrelenting hurricanes
monsoon floods and murderous rains

then you've got the violence
ok, there's always been that
aye, and the mass riots
but not the rat-a-tat-tat
weapons to wreak world destruction
smallest child needs no introduction
every day 'nother calamity
natural and man-induced
men and women have lost their sanity
world's evil's come in to roost

so do we need help or what?

is it normal to feel fright
every time i take a bite
knowing that you're in the room
scanning me as camera zoom
focused on my every action
driving me to distraction

i take a step and i'm aware
of your so very intrusive stare
i say a word and feel uneasy
often faint and slightly queasy
what was it in your history
that gave cause to this mystery?

i pity you, it cannot be easy,
always on watch, never breezy,
your scorpio moon, secretive, intense
thinking everyone's, to you, against,
to be on guard your sole defence
a pressure-cooker, simmering, incens'd

that i am the brunt of your emotion
coupled with your strange devotion
is my lot in this world i suppose
and, I must, take it on the nose,
bow my head to superior wisdom
or else, take flight? flee the system?

as playwriter put in the mouth of the Dane,
To be, or not to be, that is the question:
If 'tis nobler suffering fortune's arrow 'n chain,
Or to end them. Abscond. To quit the session?
To take flight, to act —aye, there's the pain:
For in that change i know not if i'll freshen

or as yacht flotilla set in sea tub
be drowned by circumstance as by depression
today i know i bare your snub
but what if i'm fated to public aggression
so that, when i'm free, as drinker from pub
i'll never master my self-expression

is the better part of valour discretion
or is caution best expressed by it's lack?
will i flounder in my own self-egression
or will my soul make final it's comeback?
and what of the children? part of concession?
i cannot on them turn my back...

so it's settled then, i must sail on,
be resigned to path of no return
and when summer nights have all but gone
allow myself luxurious yearn
of what might have been in life bygone
had i struck out in its sojourn

golden chariot, by four steeds drawn
riding till the eve from dawn
incandescence, iridescence,
fattening aurum ears of corn

celestial orb, perpetual wonder
servant to her Glorious Maker
rolls in vacant space o' yonder
Obeisant to a Hidden Creator

Perfect globe, fiery love
Healing as the wings of dove
Embracing from the heavens above
A hand enveloped in velvet glove.

With what magic then has moon of white,
Lifeless, cold, Earth's satellite,
Dare presume block sun's light,
In passing over, height for height.

Two spheres they be in heaven far
Natural opposites, heat 'n algor,
One white and cold as ice 'n snow
One yellow golden warming glow

Yet Omnipotent deemed heaven's star
Be same proportion, on a par
To ball of stone, a rock bizarre,
That it change noon to witching-hour.

We, sole witness of this phenomenon,
Must draw from Father some sort lesson
At least, to pause, to stop and wonder
At His creation that knows no blunder.

to purposely confine
a poem in line
to assign guideline
can undermine

free flow of thought
of meaning's import
impede and thwart
your mind's report

but oft times a border
creates form and order
as rhythmic performer
like glass filled with water

like canes support beans
like stakes uphold vines,
injects meaning to scenes
sacrality to shrines

a soul needs a ladder
a system to climb
else, as mad-hatter
it'll just waste in time