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2.6k · Jan 2019
Mirage
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Arid desert
shimmering heat haze
shielding eyes, dazzling rays
blazing sun beats down.
Mirage

Crowned with aureole gold
you shine
strength, beauty
Being divine
Mirage

In your smile
sunbeams dance
In your eyes
Entranced
Mirage

Golden chariot
steeds of fire
Son of Titans
Heat, Desire
Mirage

Illuminated days
together
Sun God
Burn in me forever
Mirage

22/01/19
2.5k · Dec 2018
Under The Blue Jacaranda
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Under the blue jacaranda that swayed in the soft spring breeze
I breathed in the scent of her lavender blossoms, recalling the moment in dreams
Before me were rows of her sisters lining the old town streets
Ringing their bell flowers, calling me in - my blue jacaranda trees

In the gardens were flowers and trees of the world, exploding with colours in glorious hues
Lit up by coral trees’ fire like glow, all through the city where ever you’d go
The pink of the silk trees, mimosas of white
Jasmines of yellow that shone in the light
Flames of the forest that Cook brought so far, burning bright orange and seen from afar
Flowers like birds and their scents filled the air, Angels Trumpet the Lilies on show everywhere

Under the blue jacaranda, I savoured the views in peace
Her leaves were like fern and her shade cooled me down as I sat in the warm spring breeze
And dreamed that one day I would travel her way if over the seven seas
Ringing her bell flowers, calling me in. My Blue Jacaranda trees ...
1.9k · Jan 2019
Moonlight Goodbye
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Melancholy strains of a lone violin
Ethereal music haunting the night
Notes on the air float in sadness
The moonlight is saying goodnight

to the lovers entwined for the last time
as they sway to the music with grace
Clinging before they are parted
The Moon wipes a tear from her face

bathing the couple in silvery shining
She sprinkles her moon-dust and sighs
for the lovers entwined for the last time
The moonlight is saying goodbye

08/01/19
1.8k · Jan 2019
Stargazing
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Stargazing

Come with me to the roof of the world, look up, see the clear, velvet night bejewelled with thousands of twinkling stars
glittering the heavens, shining so bright
The night garden’s star flowers glow in the darkness
at the roof of the world, come stargaze with me
I will catch you a falling star for your posey
sparkle your hair with her diamond bright light
glitter your eyelids with starlight and moon-dust
if you stargaze with me in the dark velvet night.

07/01/19 JG
738 · Jan 2019
“Where am I?”
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Last year busy at my job, my husband called to say
“The car’s broke down, what shall I do, can you ring The AA?”
“Why don’t you give them a ring?
Why are you ringing me?”
“I don’t know where I am” he says, location cannot see
“Well how the heck do I know, can’t you go find out?”
I heard a man call to him, give him a friendly shout
“Here mate can I help you? what’s happened, what is wrong?”
“Where am I?” says my husband, his spanish accent strong
“You’re on Rooley Lane,mate”I heard the local say
“Roo...Roo.. “my husband stuttered in his spanish way
“Yep Rooley Lane”the Yorkshire man repeats, and comes to aid
“Roo... erm... Roo” my husband, attention hasn’t paid
He’s lived in Yorkshire many years, english speaks ok
He doesn’t listen carefully which causes me dismay
The man repeats his whereabouts and still he’s going “Roo..”
Frustrated on the other end, oh yes, that’s when I blew.
“You’re on Rooley Lane” I scream so loud, my colleagues smirk
Thankfully, the bloke helped out and I sat back to work!
My husband is spanish and I’m english. He has lived in uk for years lol
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Bewitch me, Ayesha, in volcanic realms
to bathe in the flames of your pillar of light
Sorceress of beauty, your power overwhelms
your enchanted incarnate, returned from the night
Ageless and timeless, in Kor once revered
Lost in your eyes, in your spellbinding gaze
Two millennia existed, now cruel and feared
by the people you’ve ruled in formidable ways
Step into the blue flames, to melt and to burn?
To give reassurance you step in the blue
caressing your body, erotically turn
Eternal life beckons in harmony with you
We bathe in the light so forever exist
Ayesha, Kallikrates ever entwined
Then time to step out, but a terrible twist
Ayesha you whither likes grapes on a vine
Your body is shrivelling, you’re turning to dust
Before me my lover gone back to the earth
Now I reincarnate forever to lust
for you to come back to me, for your rebirth
I pine for you, grieve for you, calling your name
What you failed to know of the blue fire’s curse
is that once you may enter the magical flame
but the second time all of its powers reverse.

30.12.18 JG
In dedication to Rider Haggard’s She. The Hammer film was very watchable too
564 · Jan 2019
Winter Scene
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Pretty snowflakes swirling and spiralling through the air, softly landing
A myriad of different shapes and sizes
I laugh as one lands on my nose. My breath hangs in the air like a small cloud.
Snow to the knees, we sink in it as we walk and leave deep footprints. I try to step in your deeper footprints.

Overnight, white Winter, with cold heart has touched the land with her icey fingers and left a wonderland behind.
The stream is covered in ice, and translucent hard pointed jewels hang where once the waterfall cascaded.  The bare arms of the trees are painted in white as Winter brushed past in her rush to cover the land.

Wrapped up warm, we enjoy the winter scenery as we sink in snow making our way home. Because of the cold and snow, home feels extra comforting. It’s a pleasure to warm our hands before the fire, snuggle up with mugs of piping hot tea, through the window watch the snowflakes tumble like little lacey acrobats.

14/01/19 JG
519 · Jan 2019
Swan
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Graceful swan, your plumage white
you haunt the shadows of the night
on glacial waters of the lake
mute you glide, no sound do make
And I have loved you from afar
Lost to me, my wandering star

And how you danced as wings took flight
You mesmerised with feet so light
on every pirouette you spun
in moonlight’s glow, my heart was won
And still I love you evermore
Lost to me, hard to endure

You are the lake, the stars, the moon
Ethereal music’s soulful tune
Princess of the glacial water
Nevermore a lover, daughter
In death, your voice will soar the plains
Sing for me those sad refrains

Graceful swan, my deep regret
you nevermore shall be Odette.

28/01/19 JG
445 · Jan 2019
The Death of Planet Earth
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
The saddest day there’ll ever be
when nature sobs in harmony
Planet Earth will cease to be
and Heaven sends her sympathy

We will see the rainfall pouring
tears that never end
pooling in deep waters
as she cry, cries
until the angels die
falling from the heavens
drowning in her waters deep  
their wings too wet to fly

We will hear the wild winds howling
screeching through the trees
calling out in misery
The Earth is on her knees
The angels that watched over us
are nevermore to be
The saddest day we’ll ever see
The death of Planet Earth.

21/01/19 JG
Prompted by ‘cry until the angels die’
396 · Dec 2018
Frozen
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Cold the white waters cascading
Hard the glass jewels of ice
Glint in the sun with no warmth
Winter
Not yet ready to melt

My tears the white waters cascading
My teardrops glass jewels of ice
No warmth to melt or to break them
Frozen
Not yet ready to move on.
391 · Jan 2019
Countess Dracula
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Countess Dracula

Was she a vampire or evil personified
Elizabeth Bathory the name turns one cold
Treated young virgins as toys to experiment
Bathed in their blood so she’d never grow old
In Hungarian castle she ruled as a tyrant when Hungary, Slovakia, Romania were one
Infamous serial killer gone down in folklore
No justice served for the crimes that she’s done
Solitary confinement, her rooms with no view
within her own castle so nobles saved face
For the 650 young deaths she committed
For the hundreds abducted, with never a trace
Sadistic in nature, her pleasure in torture
Accomplices ready to act on her say
How could a woman so cruel be nurtured
and ****** so many yet not seem to pay.
Four years in her room then the cold seemed to trouble her
Retired to her bed, and the next day was dead
Cold runs through my veins at the pain she’s inflicted
Her name sends a shiver whenever it’s said...... Countess Dracula

30.12.18 JG
Elizabeth Bathory, worst female serial killer in history.
360 · Feb 2019
The Rain
Joanna Garrido Feb 2019
The sweet, sweet smell of a fresh rainfall
I breathe her in as I recall
A lingering kiss
A feel of bliss
Sheltering by the old stone wall

Rainfall bouncing on the ground
Takes me back that sound, that pound
to soaking skin
Clothes that cling
Laughing, running. Love we’d found

Rainfall heavy as my heart,
River of my tears
A soft goodbye
A wondering why
Rain reminds me we’re apart

2/2/19 JG
283 · Dec 2018
The dark waltz
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
The dark waltz

I love the dark waltz - deliciously midnight
The Phantom, the opera, the dark lair
the gothic, the mystery, the moonlight
The ethereal spirit of night air
I love the sensual, the star crossed young lovers
The tragic, the dreamer, the doomed
Shakespeare, Lord Byron and Sylvia Plath
Great poets that I have consumed
I love Tchaikovsky, Odette and Odile
Carmen by Bizet, Miss Saigon, Les Mis
The music, the poetry that make my heart feel
Nothing inspires such as this
Spinning me round to the beautiful sound
Of the dark waltz into the abyss

26.12.18 JG
271 · Jan 2019
Rock God
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Rock God

So lithely you moved, owning the stage
Curly dark hair framing heavenly face
Energy flowing from every part
Tight - your rock voice filling the place

In your prime the only rock god of the ages
A giant amongst us, gyrating the floor
Sensual being, your body on show
Leaving us wanting, begging for more

Brown eyes to melt a hardened heart
You had us with a soft smile
A slide of the hips, a need you tonight
Captivated our senses, we drooled for a while

No one could match you for raw energy
You sang with the band whilst you covered the floor
No one has ever bewitched us like you did
You gave us yourself and we all wanted more

The music lives on but you were its life force
It hurt when you died in a moment of pain
Michael we loved you for all that you brought us
We’ll not see your like in this sad world again.

12/01/19 JG
In tribute to the great Michael Hutchence
271 · Jan 2019
Clickety Click
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
She left with a case, not even a note
Heels clicking she never turned back
Clickety click, clickety clack

Where’s mum - little faces pressed
against the glass, eyes searching
Come away, says he, have your tea

She left for another, in her best coat
Heels clicking, she moved on with glee
Clickety clack, entertained on her back

Where’s mum- little cheeks stained
with tears, still eyes searching
Get to bed, says he, you’ve still got me

She left for the new, her old life remote
Heels clacking, she felt they did click
Clickety clack, her heels left no track

Where’s mum - little hearts plead
Eyes searching and searching
Clickety clack, she’s not coming back.

29/01/19 JG
252 · Feb 2019
I love the Bones of You
Joanna Garrido Feb 2019
I love the bones of you my valentine
Why don’t we go socialise?
Celebrate Valentine’s Day
You don’t look fat in my eyes
You’ve nobody to go with
But I will be there at your side
You like a bit of meat to grab hold of?
But I’m your attractive corpse bride

I love the bones of you back, my dear
We could dance, do the Boney Maloney
Rattle and roll, I do a neat trombone
Go Italian and eat macaroni
I’m more at ease at Halloween
But we’ll go paint the town, have a scream
Tickle my funny bone, give me a squeeze
A skeleton’s Valentine dream

Only if your heart is in it.

14/02/19 JG
241 · Dec 2018
Sorry little sea clown
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
The day I met a puffin we were standing in his path
Excitedly we clicked and snapped, keen to photograph
Sand eels dangling from his bill, he stood his tiny ground
Then off he flew, back out to sea and circled round and round
He came back twice to see us, so we thought what a thrill
To see this little sea clown close, with sand eels in his bill
Move out the way a local called, he needs to feed the chick
We stepped aside, he dashed straight past, into his burrow quick.
Before I met a puffin, I thought of them as tall
But in your pocket they could fit, they really are that small.
Sad eyed, painted Pierrots, a marvel to the eye
Swimming in the waters or whirling in the sky
All around a flash of orange, yellow, black, white, grey
Sorry little Sea clown for standing in your way.

15.10.18 JG
234 · Dec 2018
Here’s to a new year
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Here’s to a new year

Here’s to a new year, a brave year, a better year
A year when our dreams all come true
Here’s to a slimmer me, a thinner me, a fitter me
think I’ve said that since 1992.
Here’s to a new year, successful year, a better year
A year when we see Brexit through
Mind - we’ve been saying that and praying that and hoping that,
for at least a year or two (feels like 10)
Here’s to a happy year, adventurous year, a good year
That we flourish in everything we do
So raise a toast, and clink your glass
To a year all bright and new.
Happy New Year

30.12.18 JG
215 · Dec 2018
Pale to the Night
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Pale to the night sky, my raven haired beauty, her vast velvet midnight that reaches forever
And pale to the bright stars as jewels adorn her, spread to the heavens in sparkling array
Pale to the full moon, her silvery shining, bewitching the darkness and casting her spell
Pale to your sisters of dark night, my beauty
Humbled before nature’s night-time display.

1.11.18 JG
This is man comparing his lover to the beauty of the night
199 · Jan 2019
Dance of Death
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
She danced the dance of Death
The red shoes clinging tight
Pain with every breath
Giving up the fight

Near to sweet life’s end
The red shoes whirl her round
On Death she can depend
To dance her underground

Round, round in Dark Waltz spin
The red shoes dance her, on and on
A punishment for Karen’s sin
No sweet release for doing wrong

As she dances through Death’s door
The red shoes haunt the night
And spin around for evermore
A melancholy sight

26/01/19 JG
Inspired by The Red Shoes
199 · Feb 2019
Dream Brother
Joanna Garrido Feb 2019
Hallelujah sang the angels
as he floated down the river
Romantic Masterpiece played on
Rescued from a watery grave
Haunting the Mississippi

Grace sang the angels
as he floated down the river
Poet Extraordinaire floats on
Rescued from a watery grave
Dream Brother

And the angels sang falsetto
Oh I’m not afraid to die
And the rain is falling
Wait in the fire, wait in the fire
Hallelujah ... I feel I’m drownin’ my name...

5/2/19 JG
In tribute to Jeff Buckley who drowned in the Mississippi age 30
192 · Jan 2019
The Asylum
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Love led her to madness
in this dark, putrid place
where the living are ghosts
and haunt the shadows
Cries echo and walls ring
screams in the day,
screams in the night
Love led her and love left her
in this house of no hope
Sunken eyes, never still
Pacing the corridors
****** by his signature
to The Asylum

24/01/19
179 · Dec 2018
The Pursuit
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
The Pursuit

They met at at a ball and they danced through the night
The dashing young count and the lady in black
The music, attention, they soared as in flight
From that moment in time, there was no turning back
But back she did travel to husband and son
She tried quell the music that played through her mind
When she danced in a dream that could not be undone
She tried but the music could not be confined
And she saw that her cold life with husband was wasted
She tried do her duties, her life was her son
When her heart felt the stirrings of passion untasted
There was no going back, a great love had begun
He pursued her, oh how he pursued her
Attentive, his eyes burned with interest that thrilled
From city to city, he chased, would not lose her
His desire fanned the flames of a love unfulfilled
He made her feel beautiful, shine in his presence
Name a young woman who’d not feel that thrill
The dashing young count with a gaze so intense
Then he stopped his pursuit, going in for the ****.
She had tried to tell him to leave her life be
Of her husband in politics, duties were bound
But he knew her heart fluttered when she gave her plea
He saw in her eyes the great love they had found
So He failed show his face, several weeks with no show
Not there at the socials, the opera, no news
And oh how she missed him wherever she’d go
Full on down to nothing, but this was his ruse
Then he sent her a letter to come to his room
It was now all or nothing, come or be done
This was the moment that led to her doom
But for passion she had to now shine in the sun
So she threw off conventions to feel passion’s kiss
And they burned in the flames of a mutual desire
When every last fibre of being needed this
When duty and honour were burned in the fire.

31.12.18 JG
To be continued next year
173 · Jan 2019
One soft kiss
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
In one soft kiss a myriad of sunbeams dance
In one soft kiss a rainbow’s arch its power to enhance
In one soft kiss a feel of bliss lifts high on Cupid’s wings
In one soft kiss a sweet song fills the air and my heart sings

In one soft touch a bud awakens into passion’s flower
In one soft touch a firework explodes in dazzling shower
In one soft touch a feel of such magic surges through
In one soft touch a meltdown of my body into you

2/11/99 JG
Written back in 1999. Thought would share
168 · Jan 2019
City of Light
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
The City of Light

Paris, the city of love, the city of light
La Ville-Lumiere
Birthplace of the Age of Enlightenment
Here, poets, writers and artists
have found inspiration for centuries.

Every night she glows
illuminating the skyline.
Radiant capital casting her magic spell
captivating all who walk her boulevards,
river banks and bridges.
Against the velvet night sky the lit up landmarks stand out in splendour.

In her midst, I have a lightness of step, a lightness of mood
and oh, how I love as all lovers do.
She romances me as no other.

At nightfall the famous Eiffel Tower
a large lighthouse
a beacon shining over the city.
I catch my breath in wonderment at the power of her blazing beams of light.
From sunset her glittering gold
glows on the hour.  
Light shows entertain the passers by, the crowds.

Paris in the daytime is a dream
Paris in the nighttime an enchantment
that lights up our hearts and minds.
She romances me as no other.

15/01/19 JG
164 · Dec 2018
The Gold Finch
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
In the hand of the Baptist by Raphael himself
The Christ child is reaching and touching your head
the blood of salvation is etched out in red

Chained by Fabritius and haunting The Hague
Trained to do tricks in the Dutch golden age
And gold marks your clipped wings

Hardy wrote of you, of tortures endured
In boxes of darkness you never deserved
And your cry is of freedom, your pure voice to soar

On thistle you feast, and your trills fill the air
Charms of you flocking, my autumn tree bare
Anointed as robins, the golden finch sings.

17.12.18 JG
160 · Jan 2019
I lost you
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
I lost you to the mountain, to the longing in your heart
My mortal charms could never hold you here
I lost you to the dream, to compete I could not start
All I have is empty arms and nights of chilling fear
I lost you to the mountain, because it’s there you said
And I am here, but lay discarded in an empty bed

They say you never made it, they say you disappeared
You had to make it to the top or what was this all for?
You wanted it so very much and it’s the thing I feared
They say you’re never coming back, I wonder if they’re sure
A dream to stand upon the highest peak
To not see, not hold, not be there, not speak
I lost you to the mountain a long long time ago

JG 7.4.18
Imagined how George Mallory’s wife would feel during his long expeditions to try conquer Everest when it had still not been summited. After 2 failed attempts he could not resist another attempt in 1924. Photo of wife not in pocket and was going to leave on summit, when his body found in 1999. The question is did he actually reach the summit? The body of Irvine who was making the attempt with him, has not been found as yet. They were last seen on the north ridge not that far from the summit. If Irvine’s body was found, he had the camera so it is possible we would know. This was when equipment and mountaineering clothing were not fit for purpose and expeditions took a very long time.
146 · Jan 2019
Red Sky
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Red Sky

Swirling passions orange, red, flame across the sky
The burning fires of feeling etched above
The radiant sun is setting, her brilliance soon to die
And in the embers stoke the coals of never dying love
Far away you’re standing under the same evening sky
To you, her red depicts my bleeding heart
Our sun has set in your mind when you last kissed me goodbye
For you, the fire’s gone out now we’re apart.

17/01
143 · Jan 2019
The secrets of my heart
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Talk with me and I will share with you the secrets of my heart
Walk with me.
I will show you the mountains that pierce through the sky
I will show you the valleys that in shadows lie
I will show you the castles that perch on the hills
I will show you the springtime, the sweet daffodils
I will show you the waters that cascade and flow
I will show you the soft grass, the velvet  below.
Walk with me.
I will share with you the secrets of my heart.
139 · Jan 2019
True Love
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
True Love

A blood red rose her petals meet
in delicate perfection
Closer in the centre, withstanding wind or storm
Prickles on her stem can never touch her heart
She is passion, she is nature’s work of art

The Roman goddess Venus held her sacred in the myth
From Cupid’s spill of nectar she was born
Do not underestimate this bloom from up above
She is harmony, desire, she is true love

JG 19/01/19
137 · Dec 2018
Your wife is dead
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Your wife is dead

Black heart, brute male who lay his mistress on the still warm bed. No conscience, no shame, to Sylvia still wed
And She fragile, burning with pain, fingers numb with cold
Your wife is dead, his lover said

The snowing streets, the phone box calls
The no one there, the closing walls
And She fragile takes her life
Your wife is dead his lover said

Black heart, brute male who takes his mistress to his sweet wife’s bed unmade
And lets her tend the babes where Sylvia laid
Cook them food where earlier lay her head
Your wife is dead his lover said

JG 14/1/18
I have cried for Sylvia Plath who took her life in depths of clinical depression in February 1963.
Unable to look after herself and left to cope with two tiny children in the middle of a very bad winter when they had all been ill with flu type illnesses. Left with no support in a cold property in London with no phone in the property. American, family and friends over there. The Doctor couldn’t source a hospital bed. She was put on medication that had a negative effect on her before it kicked in.  The helpless, hopelessness of it all
Her feckless seducer of a husband gone with his new lover and breaking her heart, her family and dreams. Such a talent she had - a genius poet. She had said I love you to little Frieda only the night before. If only she had not gone back to where she was living with the children instead of staying longer at a relatively new friend’s.  Why did they let her go back?  They were secretly relieved to get the house back to themselves. The helpless crying in the car on the return that triggered the children to cry. The little plates with biscuits and milk left out and the sealed door to prevent harm to the children. Then she turned on the gas and put her head in the oven.  ****** you, Ted Hughes, ex-poet laureate, may you turn in your grave in shame.

14.11.18 JG
135 · Dec 2018
A Look
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Remembering the long, lingering look that showed your delight in me
Surprising me - the strength of appreciation in your smiling eyes
Feeling bathed in the warmth of those pleasure pools
Appeasing the insecure little girl within
Catching your love in my mind’s eye
as I turned back.

24.11.18 JG
132 · Jan 2019
Depression
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
In a world devoid of light
In joyless, loveless realms
Curled in a corner, no more fight
Everything overwhelms
And grey, grey every day

In a quicksand, bottomless pit
Imprisoned, trapped, inside feel dead
The loss of self, the hope, the wit
Dark thoughts spin around the head
And grey, grey every day

In a padlocked cage without a key
Suicide beckons; a way to be free
Curled in a corner, with no energy
Living though the soul bleeds
And grey, grey every day

But Welcome to the little death
Of sleep where tortures fade
The peaceful rhythm of the breath
In lands where dreams are made

3/11/18 JG
130 · Dec 2018
The Monnow
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Where the rivers meet we walk where the grass smells sweet we talk where the Monnow stands we're holding hands
Overhead a circling hawk

Where the castle stood we talk where  the earth is mud we walk where the Monnow flows and friendship grows
Overhead the clouds grow dark

Where the meadows green we walk where the skies turn mean we talk
Where the Monnow twists. we turn and kiss
Overhead  a circling hawk

29.7.17 JG
126 · Dec 2018
As white as the winter
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
As white as the winter and cold as her smile
She walked through the churchyard, her
wedding train blowing
Her Uncle beside her, his jaw firm and set
Her bridal veil hiding the tears that were flowing
There was no going back, she could tell by his stance
If only he’d listen, in his hands her fate
As white as the winter and cold as the ice
At the top of the church aisle, the bridegroom did wait.
She walked down the aisle on this bleak wedding day
Clutching white roses until her hands bled
Cursing the Uncle who’ll give her away
To the man stood before her with eyes cold and dead
Who held out his hand to her, lifted her veil
As white as the winter, the snow and the hail.
She walked to the altar, the groom at her side
Her heart was another’s, she couldn’t be wed
But vows were then spoken and ring on her finger
His lips pressed against her ‘you’re mine now’ he said
And the world spun around her; she wanted to die
How could she lay with him this dark starless night
As white as the winter, a lamb to the slaughter
Her true love forsaken, no hope within sight
And he led her away through the church to his carriage
Then he drove her to places she’d never dare tred
And she lived with a cold smile, her heart ever frozen
As white as the winter in his wedding bed.

22.10.18 JG
123 · Dec 2018
Mam Tor
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Castleton in early Spring, winter lingers - slow to leave
Warm sun’s rays and chill of wind, daffodils along the stream
overlooked by distant hill the ruins of fine Peveril
And in the fields the lambs at play, never fails to thrill

Up high we climb to Hollins Cross, spectacular the views
The Great Ridge to the left and right, unsure which path to choose
The Mother Hill is calling  from her elevated height
Left we  climb, Back Tor, Lose Hill far behind us to the right

The Shivering Mountain she is known, we shiver as we climb
Strengthening gusts, our caps held down,
But on the ground time after time
We reach the summit, touch the trig, the wind still blowing strong
Easter hols and busy, can’t take pics for long

Down we go the pathway steep, look back along the Tor
Remarking on its eastern face, the mini-hills on show
The Blue John mines, the caverns, a few are further down
And weave our way along the paths till we are back in town

One delight - a little lamb had wandered, in our way
Scuttling fast at Mother’s call, she sadly did not stay
No sweeter sight, the playful lambs when gambolling young and free
If only they outlived the Spring, and always so could be

Some turn into their mothers, slow and bloated, eat and eat
and most males simply disappear and reappear as meat
To stomach such a meat as lamb repugnant to my heart
Best not to dwell too much on this, it’s now time to depart

To Spring, to life, to climbing peaks, to see the lambs another day.
Back Tor, Lose Hill to the right, to Hollins Cross the Edale way.

JG 10.4.18
113 · Dec 2018
Bride of the Dark Depths
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Follow me into the night which envelops us, cloaked in the blackness and hooded in dark
The stars are extinguished, the moon turns her face, no light to guide us, our journey is stark.
The forests that frighten and grasp at thy pale skin, tearing thy garments when hurriedly passed
The calls of the night birds, the shapes of the shadows, firmly hold onto me, move with me fast.

Follow me into the realms of the underworld,  come follow,  inhabit the world of the night
The stars are extinguished, the moon turns her face, into the abyss, goodbye to the light
No ivory satin, no white rose bouquet, no cream lace adorn thee on thy wedding day
Bride of the dark depths thy ebony tresses are decored in black silk, of midnight thy dresses

Follow me into the chambers of Hades and come to me, join with me, lift back thy veil
No father or brother or suitor shall find thee, the stars are extinguished that none see thy trail
But here thou shalt live for me, thrive for me, die for me
Bride of the dark depths, no choices have thee.
110 · Dec 2018
Glen Nevis
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
I came upon a secret place, a land that time forgot. There surely fairae folk exist if dinosaurs do not.
A peaceful place of beauty opened up before my eyes
When through the deep and treacherous gorge, had I reached paradise?
Through woods of hazel, oak and birch, willow and Scot’s pine
On narrow paths, steep-sided, overhung by cliffs so high
I heard the water rushing as I climbed towards the sound
Steall Falls - all her wondrous waters gushing to the ground
By shingle river bank I sat, in silence mesmerised
I felt I’d gone to heaven, even though I hadn’t died
Surrounded by high mountains, it felt as if a dream
A part of me I left behind in sunlit meadows green.

15.10.18 JG
This Glen is near Ben Nevis in Scotland. It really is like a secret valley when you get through the gorge. It is beautiful.
107 · Jan 2019
Wild
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Wild grows the aloe with her orange hybrid blooms
Volcanic soil yet fertile means her brightness fills the eye
in this landscape of the parched and dry,
the barren mountains more radiant for a splash of colour
on this sun drenched land

Wild grows the poppy with her petals proud and red
in meadows green, her brightness fills the eye
in truth it’s where my heart does lie
The green hills of home more radiant for her splash of colour
on this thirst quenched land

Wild blows the west wind, petals scatter in the air
In deserts dry or pastures green, their brightness fills the eye
as on wings they fly
butterflies radiantly floating on the breeze
On the ground, job over, they land.

10/01/19 JG
106 · Dec 2018
Loch Katrine
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Oh such a view as never expected, breathtaking, beautiful worth every step
The expanse of clear waters that stretched out below us
A moment of magic I’ll never forget.

Oh such a steep and strenuous short climb
Muscles had stiffened from climbing Ben Ledi
On reaching the summit of little Ben A’an
I drank in the vistas, for these wasn’t ready.

Oh such a sweet day of sunlight and golden, fallen leaves glistening and paving the way
Loch Katrine before us in all of her glory
Etched in my memory, her autumn display.

Oh such a view as never expected, legends were made here of Rob Roy by Scott
The expanse of clear waters as far as the eye sees
A moment of magic I’ve never forgot.

14.10.18 JG
101 · Dec 2018
In Darkness
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
Green to green
in darkness
touch

In oceans of calico blue, sink
weighted and chained
unreachable
Buried as treasure
unsalvable

Green to green
in darkness
untouchable

JG 24.11.18
90 · Jan 2019
City of Bridges
Joanna Garrido Jan 2019
Kiss me under the Bridge of Sighs
on a moonlit starry night
and I will sigh forever
A gondola ride with you by my side
In the city of love

Kiss me under the Rialto Bridge
an architectural dream
and I will dream forever
A gondola ride on the Grand Canal wide
In the city of dreams

Kiss me under the Bridge of Spires
with passion and desire
and stay with me forever
A gondola ride, the sights to inspire
In this magical city of bridges

JG 14/01/19
80 · Dec 2018
You once touched my life
Joanna Garrido Dec 2018
A humid hot day and my mind starts to wander
To where you might be in your journey through life
Sweet, gentle thoughts of you, moments to ponder
Skipping the parts where it cuts like a knife

Flickers of sunlight that bleach you so fair
Cycling through cities, through valleys and trees
Tracing the tracks that your cycle lays bare
Seeing your smile in the soft, summer breeze

Golden and happy, a child of the sun
Meandering rivers, you go with the flow
Laughing with people, a lover of fun
You once touched my life, were a pleasure to know

Scaling the peaks where the eagles fly free
Beautiful places call out to your soul
Finding new joys in each wonder you see
The poet in you stilled, deep in peace you are whole

I truly do wish you the best in all things
Accomplish your goals with your strength and your drive
Just 3 months to know you and hear how my heart sings
I’ll never forget you, so bright and alive.

19/7/99
A poem I wrote in 1999

— The End —