I still feel you.  Although the times have changed. I still want you. Even though we've both gone our separate ways. One foot in front of the other. Walking slow. When I want to run for cover. Your arms were shelter in the eyes of the storm. Your heart was home. Your eyes always warm. I'm shaking in my bones. This skin it feels so thick. When all you did was leave and change behind my back. Can't lose this feeling when it's a fire inside my soul. Trying to put together the pieces. Trying to mend these fresh opened holes. You came and left so quickly without a second glance. Left for California
                                                     without a second chance.

Stars that glimmer in a velvet sky,
sprinkles of colour dotting spring trees,
rivers galloping down mountainsides,
endless open stretches that beg to be run across with wild abandon,
heavy air hanging amidst thick trees, which shelter unseen creatures mere feet away,
infinite, firm, immovable ranges topped with glittering snow,
sun-streaked and sparkling oceans, smoothly beckoning or foaming with reckless passion.

When did we start shuttering our wide eyes,
closing out all but thin strips of our world’s breathtaking beauty?
How can anyone bear to be so readily sightless of this magnificence?
Maybe if we threw open the blinds
and bathed in the artistry of our Earth,
we wouldn’t be so irresponsible with it,
wouldn’t allow ourselves to be complicit in its devastation.

Pasts come alive
Futures die

Lost in limbo

Reaching out to see
The markers on the trees
Where's the path gone
I left it to be free

Through a forest in perpetual night
Creatures all around
But none in my sight
No tools
No weapons
No light
No chance of a fair fight

This path I have chosen
Is now my home
I must build some shelter
Some fire and soon
I'll see the sun
A light in the forest
Brighter than the moon

I don’t deserve a friend like you,
but there you are, always listening,
always looking out for me.
You give me shelter during the storm,
a safe port to anchor my leaking hull,
a big oak tree to protect me from the rain.

I look up at the stars sometimes
and hate them for being
so beautiful and far away.
Then you walk by like a supernova
and suddenly the stars don’t seem so far away.

You lie in the sun radiating grace,
and I am mesmerised by how
your eyes collect the sunlight like they were miracles.
You calm me with your words,
and I throw them back at you
because I don’t learn, but I will.

I don’t deserve a friend like you,
but I appreciate that you are.
Despite all I say and do to the contrary,
I will always be your friend,
never far away, wishing you all the luck in the world.

the Orange tree planted as a pip in a old yogurt *** has survived its second year.
It would never survive outside, the windowsill is its only hope of continued survival. We have much in common.

The black clouds and lightening have passed to the other side
Calm, Still
Some are chasers of the
Whirlwind
Location, strength and direction are important
Warnings are needed.

Torture and tyranny ,odds and difficulties
Help to refine one from just pain to pleasure
Every fire burnt on the way becomes candle
To lead towards real essence of real treasure

When I look back I see hypocrites to mislead
Then I bow my head in sheer love and servitude
I have nothing at disposal but set of bad deed
My master being too kind gives me fortitude

Let love prevail in the shelter of beauty in trance
The rivals and rascals embraced their ***** goal
I was saved every time by your kindness in glance
God always came forward as savior of my soul

Col Muhammad Khalid Khan
Copyright 2016 Golden Glow

The rain had brought the animals into shelter
They were wary of him
He could sense their concern
The smell was wrong
He was the unknown
He felt the same
Always out of place
His mind drifted back
Her face came into view
The words distorting
Anger through the tears
She would find another
He was sure of that
The snake slithered over him
Curious, but alert to danger
Trigger alert, just like him
He hated going back
They hated him
**** water townsfolk
They flew the flag
But not for him
His surroundings suited
Camouflaged, just like his life
They came into view
Four shots, death in the rain
The animals scattered for a time
But slowly returned
They were wary of him
The smell was wrong
Dead humans appeared to surround him
Her face came into view
The words distorting
Flags were waving
She understood now
The animals began to accept him
He was part of the surroundings.

I am but a wanderer seeking refuge
Finding shelter in the arms of one cherished
But this sanctuary lacks congruency in my heart
Now, I acquiesce to hope and conviction

We mourn the loss of a child called love
With youthful enthusiasm it was encouraged
But if one loves the child more than the other
Love grows divisible and rebellious

The pain and anguish of the vanquished,
Need not to be in vain
All feel the sting of relinquishment
Soon, a fleeting memory

The soul intuits destiny’s detours
Like a mouse in a maze, we seek a prize
Worthy of the pursuit
But are we mindful of the past costs?

Earth was created by God,
And its ruled by man
God gave flowers for fragrance,
Man made Perfume crushing it
He gave trees for shadow,
We cut them to build a shelter
He blessed us with sixth sense,                                                           ­           But some humans lost the rest of five senses                                                           ­          
Man printed papers to rule himself,
And he named it "money",
Atlast,This money made Man mad.

I've failed you once again

I really am that wild one that can't be tamed
It's not you this time, I'm to blame

The picture of my dreams are too humongous to fit  your frame

Your excuses have long  become lame
I've found a shelter, a hedge from your cruel reign

There will be a draught from your abuses that never cease to rain
Your insanity got me wondering if I ever was sane
You and I cease to be, nothing will ever be the same
This time I choose me, I have trained hard enough to beat you at  your drain-game

I am the grand prize, I, will I claim

Never again with your toxic love will I remain

I'd aim to  fail you again
This time with showers of love I'd pour on myself to burn out your toxic flames

I"d fail you once and for all, rather than fail  myself
Never again!

What's there to lose when all i stand to do is gain?

I've picked me off of your shelf

This time I'm doing me, stop looking for flaws in everyone else

Find you again, do it for yourself
r3d

#yararewa
#northernstar
#roadtorecovery #everythingipretendtobe #realrawandsimple #welearnasweteach
#writingright
#firesofr3d

Desperate and drunk, I walked into a mosque for shelter
But the bearded men kicked me out from the stairs.
I got back on my feet and laughed as I asked God,
"Are you not mine and only theirs?"

Tall chimneys ****** up brick red necks
their smoke black heads unblinking on the scene
for the chimneys have no eyes
no nose to smell out the waste

A small boy crosses a ***** street
his blackened face
mixed with tears and sweat
make a pattern of his features
a sign of over work
a sign of torture

Along the street a river winds its way
like a great sluggish ***** snake
its low banks brown with mud
like a rugby player after a match

The boy finds a comforting shelter
a small shack with a blanket
the patterns faded with much use
but it is comfort for the boy
as tired he falls asleep
his eyes closed his breathing quiet

Not much moves in the streets
as the red brick sentinels
blind and deaf watch on
unmoving as the night draws on

You promised the world, and all the beauty it holds.
You promised your heart, and all you’ve ever known
You tossed aside, you got on the ride
Unknowingly, knowingly, ready to explore a love
You’ve never been shown.
You took his hand, and lead him to a castle,
You kept him warm for a little while.
He looked with disbelief as a glance over your shoulder
Removed any recollection of grief
His dog-eared heart had ever felt.
I’ve known him now around eighteen years
And the magic he found in you removed my fear
That he had forgotten how to love,
Forgotten what it felt like to hear
The music life plays.
I fear his ticket is soon to expire,
So please keep his heart on fire.
Keep him close and safe from harm,
Keep on riding for a little while longer
And shelter him from any storm.
I know you’ve loved and lost the same as him
And a new life is scary to begin from scratch,
But his heart of stone has begun to crack
And heal with your name engraved there,
So please, for me, love him the way he deserves.

maybe just a little bit.

I was an open cut on flesh and you were the bandaid that was supposed to shelter me while I healed.

Still raw and red you slid over me, over the severed nerve endings and watched me bleed.

**-AA

I loved you once, but somehow
Your heart is the same, but you're different now and I can't help but miss the man you wanted to be but I also can't pretend you were better off with me because now you are happy, more you than you've been, and yet the man I fell for is still somewhere within underneath the new mask and the hair and the smile still your eyes hold the boy I loved, the one who was wild and you still slump your shoulders, rolling in ease and within their shelter my mind was at ease but you've changed so much, love, you seem so different now, and I cannot believe I loved you somehow. Maybe who you are is allowed to change and maybe time can rearrange our priorities now and then. Maybe you can fully be yourself today while burying you from yesterday and maybe it is time that I really learned how to let you be.
|b.g.|

you wrap your hands around my neck as you taunt "am I winning yet?" and I grin because your desire to be in control tempts me to show you my game. you're a coward when it comes to vulnerability. you drop your hands when your heart starts to skip its beats and you find shelter to be relieved. you peer viciously to see how I'm withstanding your fatal attraction. when you see an occupied heart with hands other than yours you wash the noose you call your hands to start fresh. you regain access to my only pathway for air and I hate to admit it but there's no where else I would rather decease than in your hands.

I hold you in my arms and close to my chest
Trust in me that Daddy knows what’s best
When the world is dark and closing in fast
Look to me and see that this darkness will not last
I love you my child more than you can conceive
Miracles will happen if you just believe
I hold you always I am always at you side
I stretched my arms to take you in the day that I died
No matter where you go or what you do
I am here and I will never leave you
I dance with you for joy when life is sun and flowers
I will be your shelter in the pouring rain showers
I take you by the hand and lead you to peace and joy
My love for you, nothing could destroy
In the moments of despair when hope is frail
Cling to me and you shall prevail
It will make sense these trials that you suffer
There is a purpose beyond making you tougher
I am here as you walk the road of life
Here in the joy and wonder as well as the strife
I wish you could know how much I care
How I wish you could be more aware
I want to be your safe haven; shelter in the storm
In the deepest cold come to me and I will keep you warm
I hold you in my hand and I work for your good
But I won’t always take bad away even if I could
If I lead you to it, I will get you through it
Eventually you see how the pieces fit
I cradle you in arms so strong and soft
Love takes flight and hope stays aloft
When the burden you carry is too much to bear
Just turn and see that I am right there
I will send you people who will carry you and give you a lift
To have such true friends is a rare and precious gift
Those who love and cherish you like a treasure
Their worth is a thing that knows no measure
They hold you and comfort encourage and bless
In in your discomfort they too feel distress
Be strong and be bold for in my hands I hold
A precious child so meek and mild
You will never walk alone for wherever you are
I am yours, I love you, and you are my own

infants
by nature
are cryptic.

beset by symbols of worry, parents

become clear.

draw for me
a bomb shelter.

     name those already there.

Pale light, cold and dreamless, she becomes my umbra...
Her beautiful obscurity tells me she is real..
Pedals of gloom bloom among this dark flower..
They shelter me from such pale light..
The darkest of colors fill in her body..
Her shade keeps me warm..
As the pale light grows brighter she becomes a penumbra to this false sun above..
She sees in my eyes that I welcome her eternal dusk..

Trying to decipher the art of letting go,
Weighing all the options of things that I now know.
To free my soul of all that's heavy,
I cannot do it til I'm ready.
Giving up the struggle and pain,
Bringing shelter from the rain.
Loves supposed to concur all,
Not the reason why I fall.
Giving up is not my game,
But all the days seem like the same.
I need to initiate some change,
So all this pain is not in vain.
Letting go of all my fear,
All balled up in one big tear.
Making room for all that's good,
Living in the life I should.
Prepared by all the lessons learned,
To take the thrown that I have earned.
I live my life with love and kindness,
Soon I will be your highness.
A humble boss with grace and poise,
Who also knows to bring the noise.
Treating all with true respect,
Though not taking any ****.
I'm a goddess to the core,
I need to change my life before.
I never reach my full potential,
Taking the first step's essential.
One step, two step, three step, four,
I won't suffer any more.

Refugees
I know of a forest where all trees are equally tall
and the distant between them is strangely wide
this so they can get the same amount of sun and
rain will fall evenly on plants and mossy ground.
Trees grow fast here and next year they will be
harvested and new sampling planted.

For the birds, rabbits and foxes that had made
a home at what can be called a new estate will
have to move or find shelter in the old forest
that is full of thorny bushes deep shadow and
and ****** boars that never had a bath unless
caught out in the rain

Nests will be too near others there will squabble
rabbits and foxes have to make new burrows
and they will be snubbed by the old dwellers who
will call them lazy or even worse new-rich should
the have shiny fur or colourful feathers and
will not be sent a Christmas card that year.