like the moon
I go through

phases

some of my
lights go out

and I become
dull and distant

give me time
they will come

back on

like the moon
I do not ask

for praise or
forgiveness

it is just a
phase

I am going through

Dear me,
Don't just sit
Rise, and pursue greatness.

Don't just watch
Go after what you want.

Don't just exist
Strive and start living.

Don't just dream
Work hard and aim for success.

Don't get tired
Keep hiking until you get to the peak.

We all carry Guilt.
Things we did
Or should have done.
Actions taken when red mist descended,
Hot blackness deep inside,
Or when we ran scared
Like a startled rabbit.

Sometimes we were just plain mean:
Doing things
Too bad to confess.
At times we “did our job”,
Knowing full well
That it was wrong.

We hate ourselves for what we did:
Adrenaline taking over
As we exploded and lashed out.
Cruel acts and gutting dumpings:
Things best unsaid.

But no good beating ourselves up.
No point blaming ourselves
For things we did as callow youths.
We cannot always help
What we do.
To err is human,
As they say.

We all have our flaws and demons:
Personality defects and fears.
Some have  anger issues
And autistic traits.
Fear of commitment,
Emotional dimness
And many other such things.
Stuff of heartbreak
And sorrow.

I, for one, never did relationships –
Just didn’t understand
What they were about.
So I was bound to do wrong
Sometime.

All stuff for lyrics of songs:
Songs of drifting apart
And breaking up.
Material mounting into Everests
Of angst.

But worry not.
We are not alone.
For evil acts,
Trouble and strife,
Division and violent clashes:
They all seem to be the general way
In these trying
Modern times.

Plenty to work on
In our collective quest
For Peace,
Including peace of mind.

Paul Butters

© PB 17\1\2021.

Poetry that animates
   Your own creations

Poetry that stirs up
   Your own recipes

Poetry in motion
   Taking you somewhere free

Poetry, a passing stare
   Made you do a double glare

Poetry in locomotion
   That made you map out crazy

Agitates, oscillates, fluctuates
   Darkness, light or in the shadows

Tempestuous because you like
    The moody and absurd words

Poetry, the outlet of imagination
   For things that need to be written

I am the deep, the sky in reverse
I have what you seek, for better or worse

I am the blue of infinite depth
I've swallowed the crews and cleared the decks

You are afraid or maybe intrigued
Of the place where you played and also was freed

Kiss me now like you did before
Give me your vow and the ocean is yours.

I feel your shivers nestling inside me,
The trace of your embrace, I want to cry
Amid old dreams, I wonder
And I don't wonder, I run, and don't run,
Why are you coming?

Your breath touches my hand,
I cling to your whisper,
Sitting at the table, asleep by the mystery
You love the white paper,

We meet în the same thought, on the same line,
In the same letter,
We embrace in the same word, in oblivion.

You are a heavenly soul
with the peaceful heart
and the full moon shines
in your shy smile.

Your eyes are beautiful
like the morning rose
Your face is shining
with an attractive mole.

Your hair is so colorful
like the sunny rainbow,
that smells in your window
and makes the air cool.

You are a happy queen
with a sweet voice;
Keep smiling always
like the moon on the ocean!