The cold it creeps into you,
And it will slow you down,
It numbs your heart,
And withers your soul,
And turns your mind around,

Chilled fingers twining inward,
Creates ice along your spine,
It blinds your eyes,
And freezes your ears,
Til the cold is all you can find,

And a life of unending winter,
Growing frost bitten and old,
Or time and again,
You can step in the flame,
And never let yourself get cold.  

JDoyle

Alone I watch the sunset,
Amidst it’s crimson rays,
There’s something I can learn yet,
In these tumbling of days,
And sister crow is cawing,
But her feathers are too black,
It causes this withdrawing,
And I don’t think I’ll be back,
Cause the path is an illusion,
I don’t know where it leads,
But I know it’s the conclusion,
And what my spirit needs.

JDoyle

I’m taking this emotion,
And putting it right here,
Be it feelings or a notion,
It’s better over there,
Less inside to cause commotion,
Less pain and thoughts and care,
My mind in constant motion,
So much to see and hear,
To save from an explosion,
And lead me through despair,
My voice my own promotion,
My heart ripped out to share,
My mindfulness devotion,
My soul much more aware.

JDoyle

I want to climb mountains!
To experience everything this great world has to offer!
I want my legs to quake with exhaustion,
My body to become the stuff of steel!
Sweat to fall from me like a waterfall in springtime,
And my lungs to gasp for breath as a drowning man’s last hope.
I want towering pinnacles that plummet into the blackest depths,
Mountain tops where only me and the eagles dare go,
And the ancient valleys that the river has carved throughout all eternity,
I want freezing rain that turns to blizzards,
And the sweltering heat of hell itself,
Because this is life my friends!
This is why we were born.

JDoyle (this isn’t really poetry, but it’s heartfelt)

The babbling brook
first made the suggestion,
And whispering wind
then added a thought,
Old crackling fire,
now he had a question,
And eye of the storm
winked sly at the plot,
The mouth of the river
grinned wide at the notion,
And rustling leaves,
seemed to like it a lot,
So echoing caverns
just set it in motion,
And twinkling stars,
they knew just the spot.

JDoyle

What is beautiful, defined?
To me it is the sunlight,
Landscapes and life that’s unconfined,

It’s standing for a cause that’s right,
Following a heart that’s true,
And never giving up the fight,

It’s the little acts of love we do,
The nurture of a mother,
And a life that is brand new,

It’s when we see beyond the “other,”
When “I’m sorry” is sincerely,
And we hold onto one another,

It’s remembering another dearly,
Kindness that was shown to me,
And tears of loss, that shine so clearly,

It’s all the wonders of life I see,
The moon, the stars, the rainbows,
The seedling and the ancient tree,

The word “ beautiful” you chose?
To tell me how you’re feeling,
And I think, should I suppose?

That you find me so appealing,
To compare me to compassion,
And to hope and love and healing,

That is just my real reaction,
Such a humbling thing to say,
It brings my thanks and my inaction,

And as for me, though come what may,
I hope my soul stays intertwined,
With what is beautiful today,

JDoyle

These new eyes, how strange to me,
The same places no more the same,
Looking back at who I used to be,
And the curious she who had my name,

My eyes now faded, the sun a glare,
In bitter disappointment, I turn away,
My painful heart, so worn with care,
With jaded soul, I’ll face the day,

Now I see paths I had missed before,
I’m feeling stronger, than I knew I could,
My sense of purpose, was never more,
And I understand now, what is good.

The circle completed, as life renews,
This time, as time and time again,
My life to live, my path to choose,
This peculiar me, that long I’ve been.

JDoyle

I think of all the blessings,
That God has thus bestowed,
The greatest one of all must be,
That of the unknown,

He then chose to show it,
To our most curious mind,
And surely he was grinning,
When he saw that it was fine,

He first made the horizon,
To pull us from the heart,
And bends in paths and rivers,
To show us where to start,

He filled Great Earth with wonder,
More than ever can be told,
And each piece with such detail,
That it never can get old,

Our souls delight to wander,
To study and learn as well,
Always there is more to know,
And always a new trail,

But he had one more whimsy,
That some paths lead within,
And where we think we finish,
Is just where we begin,

So here we are still going,
And growing all the while,
I think he is still watching,
With an old mischievous smile.

JDoyle

Shadows cast by a late afternoon sun,
Are lounging about on the ground,
As my mind wanders upon the horizon,
Where magic and hope can be found,
And all of life’s wonders abound.

This time of day only happens now,
It is gone before winter’s first sign,
A time too precious to long allow,
As the stretching long shadows entwine,
In these perfect hours of sunshine,

A bit of childhood that gave me peace,
And still gives peace today,
A time that makes life’s hurt release,
And our worries to just go away,
How I wish that it would only stay.

The clash of steel in lightning’s flash,
Canons louder than a thunder crash,
Blood with rain as waves they splash,
This night as dark as death,

Tattered flags, whipping to and fro,
Vengeance! give them what we owe,
The captain, he begins to slow,
As one we catch our breath,

No quarter asked and none I’ll give,
Another night I may not live,
Dear Father, all my sins forgive,
As my blade finds one more heart,

A musket shot lights up the dark,
I use the flare to find my mark,
I hear the captain, orders bark,
We must cut the ships apart,

The ocean’s roar and my wild flight,
My own dear ship within my sight,
Across the deep, and foam of white,
One more to come aboard,

Listing, plundered, and broken hull,
Lifeless captain, with a shattered skull,
I guess it’s not my time to fall,
Instead let’s split the hoard.

JDoyle

I should be getting old,
My youth long in the past,
Instead I’m getting bold,
Breaking the used cast,
Creating my own mold,
Seeing the contrast,
Of what I have been told,
And questions I have asked,
My working hands they hold,
Treasures rare and vast,
My troubles turn to gold,
Life’s fortune I’ve amassed,
Young beauty gladly sold,
For freedom bought at last.

JDoyle

Rapier flashes, sun on steel,
Deftly, the point scores the heart,
Blood stained lace, and a dandy’s cry,
Death is sculpted to a fine art,
As body falls in the crimson dirt,
A desperate soul must soon depart,
Long we danced, and long we fought,
In lonely glade, our paths do part,
I to the road, and you to the grave,
The full rising moon bids me to start,

JDoyle

I think of your promises never made,
All of your words not spoken, never true,
Though what you didn’t say is what betrayed,
I’m longing for the life I never knew,

I know that I will not have another,
That from this day forward alone I’ll stay,
My heart and mind, dream of nothing other,
And I’ll be waiting for you come what may,

I remember what you hadn’t told me,
Together all the plans we never had,
But lies you didn’t speak I chose to see,
I’ve only me to blame for feeling bad,

Though time and time again they make me weep,
You’re promises never made I’ll always keep.

JDoyle

I took the time to go and see,
A snowflake falling on a tree,
White against the springtime green,
And such a strange delight to me,

In May, it is not often seen,
Snowstorms, rain and hail between,
And frigid winds that howl and blow,
When I expected days, serene,

A new spring woods covered in snow,
Out my door I just had to go,
Nature, as you know, is free,
And what comes next, we never know.

JDoyle