I opened up a window to my soul
It radiated light and made me whole
Blinded by the sun I looked away
Turned glory into just another day
The rain came in, as did the storm
Fires burned yet never kept me warm
I dream that lighted window still
Hands cold upon the windowsill
I shut that window way back when
Can I ever open it again?
Or are the shutters closed so tight
I no more shall see the light

Not a day goes by
I don’t look  to the sky
And realise
The beauty all around
Feet on the ground
There are angel wings
Up above
This world has a dark side
An ebbing tide
Yet there is love
I hate every mistake I make
When I falter and  fall
On the scale of things
I wonder
Does it matter to me
Or anyone,  anyone at all
Insignificance perhaps
Is the master plan
Who owns the soul
God or man
Here comes another lapse
Of faith in anything
Always there’s hope
Of tomorrow
And what the day may bring

Tell me now for the setting sun
Reminds me the day is almost done
Tell me now or the birds won’t sing
Tell me now, tell me everything
Let me hear your sweet sweet voice
Let the hills and valleys rejoice
In love at last declared
I love, but never knew you cared
Tell me now to be remembered
Deep in the autumn time
In dark December, in the snow
When my season’s done and I must go
Tell me now for the setting sun
Reminds me my day is almost done

Manage the wind when she blows
Manage the rain and the snow
Manage the ice, manage the storm
Manage the fire, try to stay warm
Oh but the heart it does grieve
No more to give, nothing to receive
That’s worth all the effort and stress
Give till you drop, receive even less
Sometimes it would be refreshing
To be given more than you’re getting
To let go and enjoy all the beauty
To forget who you are and your duty
Spread wide your unfettered wings
If you have no hope, never stand tall
How will you even manage at all

When you go we don’t say much
We never kiss, we never touch
Your old dog begins to bark
He waits for you ‘till it gets dark
Like the lamp I’m burning low
If this is love, how would I know?

You chop the logs to warm the grate
Draw the bolt across the gate
Make sure the house is safe and sound
Life gets easier when you’re around
Like the lamp I’m burning low
If this is love, how would I know?

My life was hard, the going tough
The men in town  treated me rough
You smiled at me, told me you knew
The streets no place for a gal like you
Like the lamp I was burning low
Out on the streets, nowhere to go

There’s always a fire in your grate
You hurry home, you’re never late
With no demands, no price to pay
You come home early every day
The lamp is lit, it’s shining bright
I think its love, I feel tonight

When you go we don’t say much
We never kiss, we never touch
Your old dog begins to bark
He waits for you ‘till it gets dark
The lamp is lit it’s shining bright
Yes this is love I feel tonight

I won’t pretend that I’m clever
I’m not at all pretentious
Some people think it’s contentious
Doing all the stuff that pleases me
I’m unpredictable as can be,
Like the weather
This is how it is
But when I start to fizz
I write
Any time, day or night
And hope you may enjoy it
When folks get together
l sing
For the joy it will bring
And hope you’ll sing along
This is how it is
Sometimes I pluck my violin
Making a most untuneful din
At least I’m very strict
This I’ll not on you inflict
One day you’ll play along
If you want to
I am the proud custodian
Of a beautiful melodeon
Together we have fun every day
Then there’s all the other stuff I do
The stuff that helps to get me through
You don’t have to be clever
I say to you whatever
Enjoy the thrill of the ride
Let all your stuff inside
Come out
Never fear and never doubt
At the end of the day
Be proud to say.....

I did it my way

Not knowing where you’re going
Not knowing what you’re owing
Makes life tough
Thought you’d made a choice
Believed fate heard your voice
It’s not enough
Life’s become a test
Not knowing where you’re going
Not knowing if you’re owing
Never able to rest
Did you fail the test?
You ask the question
There is a suggestion
Of mediocrity in your thoughts
Endless shoulds and oughts
The fate of human beings
Not trusting, never seeing
Troubles, fleeting glory
It’s a never ending story

Hey you
Don’t tell me what to do
Or try to change my point of view
Are you deranged?
When you say the sky is blue
The chocolate ration has increased
Nothing’s changed
There is no inflation
My frustration grows
Who knows how long it will be
Before this tidal wave pollutes the sea
Do you think my eyes are closed?
That I don’t realise; I don’t know?
Hey you
I was a symptom
That’s for sure
But now I want to be
Part of the cure

**** backed Tilly, was moonstruck mad and silly
Leaning on a stile with her pail upon her arm
Muttering the while; a curse, perhaps a charm?
****** backed Tilly tells of things I never knew
Of maggot pies, chocolate skies, and monkeys painted blue
She kept a nanny goat, a weasel; a long haired stoat called *****
Folks said she was moonstruck, du dilly mad and silly
She kept a bird that couldn’t sing, a battered bat without a wing
Was there ever a stranger thing, than ****** backed Tilly?
She said her humps were presents, they didn’t weigh her down
She said her humps made her special; she wore them like a crown
She didn’t have much schooling, yet she can milk a cow
She’s a wizard when the butter turns,
A healer when the sunlight burns
A sayer of the sooth; ****** back Tilly tells the truth
I’ve loved my ****** back Tilly girl, ever since I was a youth

There’s a little corner in the room
Where she hides away
Alone and silent in the gloom
She'll be there today
There’s creaking on the floor
Shadows by the door
Drafts no-one explains
Rattling of the window panes
Sighing, sometimes crying
She’s so sick of trying
To communicate her life
Of maiden, mother, wife
The time is coming soon
Another month, another moon
An anniversary in June
Then she’ll know it’s time to go
There’s a little corner in the room
Dark and silent in the gloom
The midnight hour is past
She’s free to leave at last
She’s gone to find her way
My ghost of yesterday

Hard to say goodbye
Hard to laugh
Hard not to cry
‘Till the ebbing tide
Brings a sunset day
Heart’s breaking
Oh but is it real
This numbness
Inability to think
Inability to feel
One last drink
Hands shaking
So hard to laugh
So hard not to cry
Say goodbye
As birds fly away
Even they know
When it’s time to go

Little breeze toing and froing
Little girl dancing with the leaves
Sunlight flitting thro’ the trees
Chestnuts falling
Ploughboys reaping
Hedgerows sleeping
Night owl calling
Grass so still
It’s as if it’s lost the will
To keep growing

Days and nights changing
Dappled shadows rearranging
Dance is slowing down, down
Little girl is going
When the summer slows
Farmer is reaping
Autumn shades deepening
Grass so still
As if it’s lost the will
To keep growing

Find it, it’s calling to you
In the soles of your feet
In music so sweet
In the food that you eat
In skies azure blue
Find it in love that you give
In the life that you live
It’s calling to you
In the voice of the lark
In the moon after dark
Whatever you do
Find it
In warm winds that blow
In storms and in snow
Find it
****
Never let it go

Kindness
Antidote to  blindness
Where can you find
Someone to care
Words are spoken
Love left behind
Efficiency rules
In the schools
Of money making
Say the words
In clipped monotones
Leave the Consumer
Behind
Frightened, shaken
Silly old fool
Go home
It’s a nine to five
She’s alone
You’ll survive
You’re driven
To make a living
Trained in ignorance
A caring profession?
Or Orwellian trip
It’s not hip
It’s all an act
Ignore the fact
That kindness
Really is
The antidote
To  blindness

Manufactured lives
Unravelling unravelling
Babbling babbling
Gobbledegook
Baiting the hook
Stepford girls and wives
His master’s voice
Obey the call
No choice at all
Misplaced glamour
Sculptured hips
Botoxed lips
Never enough
Wasted lives?
Get tough
Take a hammer
Hit the spot
Ditch the lot

In the morning mist
Shrouded from the light
A world is left behind
Approaching day
Departing night
Warm womb cradling deep
The shadow land between
Wakening and sleep
Nothing speaks of today
Or vanquished yesterday
No body and no mind
No-one to worry for
No-one to hurry for
Nothing to say
I’m sane
Or not sane
Worthy or not
I am awakening
I almost forgot
Day taking its revenge
Rehearsing for the play
Reluctant actor cast
Parts for the future
Roles from the past
Pleasure mixed with pain
The morning mist remains
A warm womb cradling deep
Before the final sleep
Until the bitter end
My comforter and friend

It’s pattacake pattacake bakers’ man
Ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes
Its parties and fun till we all fall down
Kisses and cakes and merry go rounds
Then they call time and bring on the clowns

Feels so cold, people scold, can’t compete
When all of the others are pretty and sweet
Nothing to do walking home in the rain
Hold your head high; you’re out of the game
Pretend you don’t care, bandage the pain

People are starting to stop and to stare
Is it my style, the clothes that I wear?
Some seem to like me, I don’t understand
Why should they bother, something has gone wrong
Why choose duckling when you can have swan?

I’m strengthening, growing, emerging in light
My wings are strong now, the future is bright
Goodbye to hurting to tears and to hate
Too late for reflection, the mirror is cracked
It’s time to move on, and never look back

Averagely sad
Averagely mad
A little bit joy
A little bit loud
A little bit coy
Often proud
Not outstanding
Not witty
Not always pretty
Or open handed
Unless you are blessed
Or cursed to be the worst
But for us, for the rest
We are humanity
Despite of our insanity
We do our best
We’ll get through
................................
We always do

Where are you
Dreamers under the sun
Miss you, love you every one
Artists painting endless panoplies
Scribblers scribbling in their beds
From the depths of imagination
Stories awakening in their heads
Poets’ pens poised to flow
Rhymers growing wings to creation
Eager to take flight, ready to go
The rivers of time move on
Until words and pictures are inked
Every one of these
Redeemers, fantasy givers
All beauty becomes linked
Poems and stories are gifts
Here to relieve the monotony
Of the considered norm, lifts
Pathways to the soul, endless rivers
To keep us sane, make us whole
Where are you
Dreamers under the sun
Miss you........
Love you every one

Going back to the beginning
A loser has to be winning
Just one time
Monetary matters not my shout
Truth be told all I want is out
To be feeling fine
Backwards going forwards to convey
Today is progressing in a better way
If I really go back
I fear I might lack
Insight and experience
Couldn’t take interference
Though tossed and windblown
I know that I have grown
Going back to the beginning
I'm the winner this time

*****
Feeling fine

Let me be your rock of ages
I’m old enough you see
I’m craggy like that cleft
Not much of me left
Still have my personality
Ego well preserved
So much of me is wrong
Yet you give me more
More than I deserve
Within this old wreck
Is a growing respect
For the things you do
Let me look after you
Shelter you from harm
After years of neglect
Let me be for you
What you are for me
Your rock of ages

Step into the garden of love
Leave your ego at the door
You don’t need it anymore
A blessed sweet release
Step into the garden of love
After all these years
Dry your tears
*****
Find your peace

Don’t tell me that we can’t
Don’t tell me that we shouldn’t
Don’t tell me we won’t fly
I won’t deceive you, I will try
Don’t tell me that we couldn’t
Let me be anything I choose
If you put me down
Soon I won’t be around
Once the cord is broken
The words you have spoken
Means we both will lose
Please don’t let us go
I want to let you know
You’re my man
Don’t say we can’t
We shouldn’t or we shan’t
Say we can

Gambling
On you
I’m at home
Not alone
Yet lonely
I crash
This is rash
Not funny
For love
Not money
For shame
This isn’t right
Phone?
Text too?
Can’t do it
If only......
Still I try
Again?
Why?
Gambling on you
Gets me by



I

Sad house
I have to go
You were nonchalant
Concerning fears
Unresponsive to tears
You needed love
You craved laughter
In the rafters
Ringing up above
You were grief
No relief
Relentless pain
Can’t do this again
I’m here for now
God knows how
I do it
I’ll get through it
Please believe
When I leave
I'll find
Good people
To leave  behind
Before I go sad
Or bad........

Or  out of my mind

Flesh and bone atone
You are the soul slayer
I yearn to be all things
Open my eyes and truly see
My body but transportation
A figment of creation and imagination
Underneath this flesh there is knowledge
That shall bear fruit and flower
I am growing, I am a shoot
I am air and water and earth and tree
I am honey bee
I am bird

**

I am free

Tide  turning
No burning
No  heat
Air sweet
No rain
No pain
Tide  turning
No yearning
For the past
Die cast
Fearsome foe
Let him go
Wish him well
You can tell
Tide turning
Soul learning
Knowing
Farewell lust
Trust
Seed  growing
 To fruition
Purity
Maturity
No competition
Tide  turning
No  burning
Peace....

Release

Raising power, hour by hour
Raising the roof to the sky
Some think it's kinda spooky
Say we must be  kooky
Cloaked in invisibility
Nothing here to see
Over and above
The quantum norm
Surging with the tides
Releasing love inside
Accessible to you
If you want it to be
Non negotiable
And free

Remember the beauty of night scented flowers
Remember the shadows cast on leafy bowers
A mysterious cloak falls, day shift is ending
Power arises as dark is descending
Reawaken old magic, dance to the rhythm
Rejoice in your role, the heart you were given
The bards and the ancient ones calling the runes
The witches and warlocks dancing their tunes
This is the light of the night of strange things
Of faeries and ghosties, creatures with wings,
In misted guise the Earth is transforming
As in the distance begins a new dawning
It’s a hidden world, a twist to the tale
As slowly but surely up hill and down dale
The night scented flowers return to the deep
Their day time companions awaken from sleep
No human can know all the things that go on
When Earth closes her shutters, daylight is gone
So remember the beauty of night scented flowers
Fragrant moon blossoms, rejoice in the power

There’s a little boy sitting on a stone
All alone
There’s a little girl hiding in a tree
Far from home
There’s an old lady telling
Stories of her past
There is no-one to hear her
Nobody near her
Each word may be her last
Her tears they fall like rain
Her body racked with pain
Still that little boy sits
On a stone
That little girl hides in a tree
I am here writing poems
On my own, safe at home
Thoughts take wings and grow
If thoughts are spoken
Can the spell be broken?
Will someone reap
Loving thoughts we sow
In our waking hours
Or in our sleep
These precious souls
To keep

I’m plugged in
You‘re plugged in
This is my cathedral
This is my house
Steady on the mouse
I keep my angels here
Lest they disappear
Those inner demons
If I let them in
Every time I write
They will win
Words are powerful
Eager to get through
I write poetry
Nothing can be
Completely free
Of vanity
It’s Insanity
To even think so

Little indispositions
Lead to impositions
First a clicky hip
Causing you to slip
Next a wonky knee
A disability
Headache coming on
All your tablets gone
Just a small suggestion
Of minor indigestion
Becoming imminent
Grab the peppermint
Can’t see to read
This is all you need
Taking all the facts
Most likely cataracts
Sick of indispositions
Calling your physician
Except when you do
You’ll be in the queue
Indispositions taking toll
Sickened, feeling old
Can’t stand the heat
Can’t stand the cold
If this sounds like hell
Now you’re feeling well
Throwing away the pills
Forgetting all your ills
You are oh so strong
Your pains nearly gone
No indispositons
No impositions
All tucked away

.........

Happy happy day!

Pillows are spread
Duvet thrown carelessly
An empty bed
Tangled precariously
My heart is thundering
Can’t help wondering
If your energy portrays
Immortality
Or the ending of days
I fear you waking
That’s the reality
My life is receding
You are living, breathing
More precious
Than anything
I have ever known
I live through you
Vicariously
These days
You are my home
Now is the time
It’s not too late
To tell you this
A morning kiss
And a cup of tea
Brewed with love
From you to me
We must never end
My lover, my soul mate
My friend

Hope’s a pretty thing
Hope’s a dangling
Dangling on a string
Leads me blindly
Takes me kindly
Somewhere I belong
Helps me find my song
Nerves are jangling
Still she’s dangling
Like soap on a rope
Pretty yet neglected
A gift disrespected
To revive her power
Take her down
Give her a shake
Spread the love around

The Elder comes when day is done
When night time draweth near
The Elder comes and with him comes
The Elder Elfin fear
Folks dread his breath upon their own
Fear he’ll creep into the home
Steal the souls of folks he scares
Folks who dread the creaking stairs
Those who creep and pray and weep
Will find he comes when they’re asleep
How shall we cast him from our dreams?
Easier than what it seems
Those who boldly stare him out
Will never fear when he’s about
Leave a torch to light his way
Turn his darkness into day
Eldic runes upon your door
Protect your home forever more

Weekend stuff
Enough is enough
Just want to chill
Don’t need a pill
Music in my head
Lying on my bed
Its inertia
Nothing to do
No worry
No hurry
If you will or won’t
What you do
Or you don’t
Won’t hurt you

Jenny flies
She’s a bird
Watch her eyes
Watch her smile
Hold the hand of the child
Be good

Jenny soars
She’s a bird
Watch her swoop
Watch her glide
Hold the hand of the child
Be good

Jenny floats
She’s a bird
He will watch
Watch and wait
Hold the hand of the child
Be good

Jenny dives
She’s a bird
Feel her fears
Dry her tears
Hold the hand of the child
Be good

Jenny falls
She’s a bird
No words spoken
Wings all broken
Hold the hand of the child
Be good

Coming out of the cold
There’s a meal to enjoy, to be shared
A drink to be poured, one or two
We smile for a while and we laugh
Spirits around to remind us
Of times that that will not come again
Yet the glow from our memories remain
Silence is golden as glasses are raised
To absent friends and the passing of days
As we share our journeys, the stories unfold
It’s good to come out of the cold

I go unwilling and unarmed
Recruited by age I lay me down
The medals gleaming on my coat
Mean nothing now, my vessel weak
Hard for my ship to stay afloat
The ocean once sparkling blue
A dingy grey of lowering clouds
Dark and foreboding as a storm
I recall standing proudly on the prow
My crew would not know me now
There are things to accept, things to learn
Time to know my place, take the stern
My orders once barked in strident tone
Now a whisper, not my own
My ship becalmed, canons disarmed
Her flag that once flew with pride
Is still, no wind can stir her, colours bled
I salute and a gust raises her high,
A blood red pennant in a star filled sky
I am not afraid to die

She doesn’t know what she will find
As she leaves the grownup world behind
No words to express the thrill of chasing dragonflies
Grabbing shoots of grass, plucking daisies from their beds
Stumbling over grassy mounds on and on she goes,
Happiness running through her fingers, tingling in her toes
Crimson poppies are giants standing guard
The field is full of stones, the earth is very hard
A butterfly flutters by almost landing on her head
She tries to catch it in her arms, falling down instead
There’s no-one to catch her; big tears form in her eyes
The world’s a lonely place, no more will she roam
Her name is called;  a gentle voice that feels like home
She runs to her mother and the safety that she brings
Cuddled wrapped in love, lulled to sleep by lullabies
Dreaming of her secret world, touched by faery wings

Build your castles in the air
Lock in the magic keep it there
In your fortress of tales untold
City streets are paved with gold
Girls with green hair, mermaid struck
Are bound to bless your day with luck
The man with briefcase on the bus
Hides wings of golden angel dust
Enjoy the conversations heard
The variations of the word
The power of the spoken truth
The reckless in the throes of youth
Living in your imagination
Life becomes your own creation
Let not the doom and gloom abound
Sorrow be lost, joy be found
Listen to the sweetest songs
Let your truth right all the wrongs
It’s not real others may say
Life’s yours to own; live it your way
When the darkest shadows come
Turn them into bright sun beams
Safe in the castles of your dreams

“Valerie, is it ready yet?”
Dark tea stains in a faded mug
Dusty brown teapot
A thousand cups have been poured
Strained, like me
It wasn’t always about the tea
The obligatory Kit-Kat
Or the toilet!
Too many trips
Too many times
“Valerie is it ready yet?”
When were you strong like this tea?
“How was your day?”
With that cheeky smile
And bedroom eyes
I miss that man so much
“Valerie is that you?”
Who do you think it is?
No conversation
The bleatings of a sad old man
“It’s got to brew,”
A discreet tap makes me jump
“He’s in the living room,”
“Valerie where’s me tea?”
“Yes it’s made,”
“He’s all packed,”
His favourite Chelsea mug
A multi- pack of Kit-Kats
Stuffed hastily in his pocket
In silver foil and blood red wrappers
A last supper
For the betrayed

You didn’t want anyone to get behind your eyes
Not anyone, not even me
You weren’t dishonest when you told me lies
They were to protect you from others’ unkindness
Their blindness, refusal to acknowledge your beauty,
Made you hide things you didn’t want me to see
I didn’t want you to go home
I knew they would all be waiting
But you, you’d be on your own
I knew you would go; you had such a sense of duty
Our eyes met, I never can forget
The misery reflected in their depths
Forgive me love; I do not have your humanity
All I can see is others treating you badly
It makes me so angry so I tell you this is insanity
Sadly there is nothing I can do
But to go on loving you
And hope that will be enough to get you through

by Sheila Haskins

Everyone should meet a tree
In a faery forest glade
In sunshine and in shade
 Everyone should meet a tree
Trees with spreading roots
Their branches green with shoots
Everyone can get to know a tree
In each and every season,
You don’t need a reason
Tree life brings balance, harmony
Take a trip, a forest ramble
Deep within the woodland green
Hug a tree with healing powers
Passing  peaceful hours,
Revelling in the history
Everyone should meet a tree

Colours bleeding down the years
Grey clouds raining with the fears
Impatient youth slowing down
Something lost, something found
Clock ticks, mirror betrays
The final passing of the days
A few months adding up to older
Fire burns as wind blows colder
Then comes the last enduring heat
Warmth of ashes, air is sweet
A place to lay a weary head
The comfort of a cosy bed
Reluctantly, acceptance grows
No need to worry or to ponder
The secrets of the wild blue yonder
The air is fragrant with the scent
Of borrowed time, memory spent

I’m not what you wanted but I am what you get
I dance in the rain and my knickers get wet
I wear lots of rings, holey tights, gaudy things
I haven’t much schooling; I don’t give a jot
I know all of Earth’s creatures; I love them a lot
I don’t tire of giving; you can take my last penny
Even if it means I am left without any

I can’t be tied, my feet start to itch
They say I’m a changeling, I say I’m a witch
I left home to be courting the Lord of the Green
Making my hay when the summer was keen
I sleep in the barn, when the winter draws nigh
I ride and I glory in freezing cold snow
I’ll tell you my story if you want to know

The skies are so blue, except when they’re grey
That’s lucky too; it’s a beautiful day
When the moon is a finger gilding the soil
You’ll find I may linger in love for a while
I’m a ship in the night, passing you by
I want you to know me, to understand why
I’m a leaf on the breeze, a whisper, a sigh

I am the envy of all that I see
I am the blossom that flies from the tree
Singing in summer, dancing in snow
I’m not what you wanted, but I want you to know
Tho’ I wear lots of rings, holey tights, gaudy things
If you hear my voice as you weave and you spin
I am you in your glory; let me come in
You are me and our story’s
About to begin

She cleans until every surface gleams
Cleans and cleans to remove life’s grime
Just one more time will do it
One more time and she will be through it
No leaks no spillages allowed to remain
No signs of decay; life’s easier that way
She keeps on cleaning every day
As the dirt disappears so do the years
Until the next time she looks in the mirror
Sees the woman she has become
She can’t dust the lines away, the mirror never lies,
It reflects the story of her stolen youth
So she exfoliates, scrubs, buys cosmetics
The face she is left with she’s learnt to despise
Her hair is the colour of despair; grey, hardly there
To get out of her head she cleans instead
Cleans until every surface shines, safe in this sterile world
Outside rain is falling like tears, obliterating her reflection
Inside the house is a palace, fit for inspection
She cleans just once more, believing doubts will go away
Tomorrow today’s fears will be returning
So she keeps on cleaning, keeps on dreaming
Ready to battle another weary day

Mr Life
I’ve got plans
Things to do
Things to see
Don’t want to be
An also ran
I’m depressed
Getting stressed
Because of you
You get in the way
Each and every day
I reach up to the skies
But it comes as no surprise
When I come tumbling down
And as I hit the ground
There you are you rascal you
No wonder I feel blue
If you want trouble and strife
Why don’t you get yourself a wife?
Mr Life

Today I am dying
All hope gone, sick of trying
Tomorrow is a new day
Sunshine all the  way
Today I am dying

.......

Tomorrow?

Tomorrow I am flying

Today there is pain
All is lost once again
Tomorrow brings a new breeze
Rolling in across the sea
Rippling through the trees

Today I am dying

Tomorrow?........

Tomorrow I am flying