dear little part of me

dear little part of me
you are safe and you are free
i know for years i didn’t see
just how much you kept my safety

you acted bravely
you kept watch gravely
forced to wield the sword and the shield
and the armour of a lady

but i need you to know

those times have now long past
we can breathe and break our fast
we can live and love and laugh

we can finally rest at last
that it’s safe for you to let go
safe to play and safe to be free
it’s safe for you to be you

and me to be me
i know for years I didn’t see
what you did for us
what you did for me

but i do now
so you can release
but i do now
so we can walk together in peace

---

This poem is inspired by the book, ‘How To Write Evocative Poetry’.

You can read some chapters from the book, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

I Let It Go and Just Feel

I hear you in the lyrics of a song.
I feel you in the kiss of cold wind.
I see you in a starry night sky.
I taste you in a bite of sweet fruit.
I smell you in an ocean breeze.
I sense you deep within.

I have received all I asked of you and more.
Yet doubt continues to haunt me.
Expectations cloud your true nature.
You are not what others say.
Words cannot convey the
Intricacy of your message.

Emotion, feeling and intuition
Serve you better.
You talk in subtlety and rhyme.
Gentle guidance that’s often overlooked.
Saying not what I want to hear,
But what I need to.

I follow as best I can,
I’m sorry for my failures.
I stand at the edge of a cliff.
Please catch me,
Help me to fly.
I let it go and just feel.

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Words On A Page’

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, or Audiobook.

Looking In

I close my eyes.

Where once there was vividness
There is now a vague blur.

Stories and visions intermingle
A kaleidoscope of confusion.

Words and non-words alike
Are spoken and responded to.

The allure of reality is lost,
Replaced by the bliss of the abyss.

The joy of not knowing
Is ever more tempting.

Closing my eyes to avoid it all,
To get to where release was once felt.

But no more.
The avalanche of memory greets me.
I cannot escape the pain inside.
I long to let it go.

To let it all go.

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Words On A Page’

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, or Audiobook.

Reflections

The world is a mirror to your soul,
Your happiness will be shown
On the faces of strangers,
Your fear will flicker in their eyes,
Your hope will express itself
In the poetry you read, as too will your ills.

The mirror rejects what you are not,
Thus the world will always be you,
In this way you are trapped,
Rejecting love when you need it most,
And the advice you most need to hear.

Yet you are not stagnant,
And neither is the mood of the world,
What happens in one, distorts the other,
Words can scratch, and actions can crack,
So keep a watch on its surface,
And a polishing rag in hand.

Realise that the mirror is in fact imperfect,
Subject to change, manipulation and control,
Those reflections are more than phantasms,
They have a force that can break.

So watch the mirror,
Be on guard against its influence,
But also influence your guard,
For your actions may inadvertently
Shatter someone’s soul.

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Words On A Page’

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, or Audiobook.

A Mirror

A mirror reflects differently,
Backwards, reversing your stare.
What's dark out here is light in there.

With pain on my face I look away.
Make it stop! Get rid of it, now! Today!

I peel away the face off my skin.
My mask is gone, the blackness glares, Tunneling further in.

Digging, chewing, boring its way deeper.
I fall to my knees, feeling hollow and weaker.

The bridge in my dreams,
Becomes the place I take flight.
This is where it ends,
Now, this night.

Bound and restricted, both heavy and light.
My mind and body have all but lost the fight.

Will a light come to save me?
Or forsaken will I remain,
Alone and insane?

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Words On A Page’

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, or Audiobook.

nightmare

the toxic nightmare
the dream that traps you
into believing you’re awake
that lets you live your fantasy
for just long enough
to taste heaven
but not long enough
to be satiated
before you are wretched
back into reality
by a chiding laugh
laced with criticism
for being so gullible
as to believe
you deserve
happiness
let alone a beautiful dream

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

how am i, really?

how am i really?

do you mean in general
or in the moment of response?

that brief moment
when we must somehow summarise
contrasting the darkness of the shadow
against the brilliance of the light
with just one word

i’m ‘good’
you?

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

tsunami

i see a tsunami approaching
and i know
if i start drowning
you will help
you will pull me out of the water

at the last moment
you will save me

but i am so terrified
of getting wet
that i am frozen in place
and thus
i can’t build the shelter
to weather the wave
or find the strength
to run
to higher ground

so i’m forced to wait
as my doom gets closer
praying that the
promised help
does indeed come
before i pre-emptively give up

because waiting
for the wave
is no way to live
and surviving it
just to see another
isn’t either

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

sertraline

medication?
more like calcification

the myopic solution
replacing anxiety
with apathy

losing focus
focusing
on what i have lost

my thoughts
circle the drain
both hope and fear
falling in turn

i am lost

a rudderless raft
left to drift
upon a dead calm lake

fog obscures the bank
fog obscures desire

i am far too calm
to stay safe
life and death
seem equally desirable

i drift

cold rationality
the last remaining
life preserver

the small subtle voice
whispering
that this too shall pass
the sun will shine
the wind will blow
and i will have purpose once more

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

a sentence without grammar

i feel like a sentence
without grammar

perfectly legible
yet nonetheless
fundamentally lacking
something
everyone else seems
to have

i feel like a poem
that lacks a rhyme

capable
of functioning
to a high degree
yet nevertheless
unappealing
to the masses

i feel like a story
that was left unfinished

interesting
but ultimately…

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

music of the ever present moment

a single blade of grass
dances in the wind
to the beat
of the ever-present moment

i sit
and listen
to the song
until nothing
but the song
remains

wind rustling
traffic rumbling
heart beating
dogs barking
birds chirping
people talking
brain thinking
eyes blinking
body breathing
mind perceiving

just sitting
just watching
just listening

just being
here
just being
now
just…

now
now
now
now
now
now
now

a wisp of smoke rising
more substantial
than rock

the knowing
the knower
and the known
are one
all labels fall away
i never was
yet
it always is
there is nothing
but the music of the ever-present moment
there is nothing
but now

freedom from form
freedom from i
spy the lie the moment i die
what’s left but now?
no one to wonder why
listen closely to the sigh
of the inner eye
as it fails to find the individual i
oh my!
don’t cry
this is all there ever was my guy
awaken
the dream is over
there is no one there to be shy
and nothing to deny
you never existed
it was all a beautiful lie
a cosmic joke
played by the eternal i
testify to the truth that words can only imply
there is nothing but now to clarify

---

Watch this poem on YouTube

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

set the darkness alight

when pain turns to might
the blind gain sight
but try as they might
they can’t handle the light
so accustomed to darkness
truth brings fright …

rodents delight in their self created blight
reluctantly fleeing the cat’s tyrannous bite
unable to fight they turn to flight
returned to the sewers
hiding till night
then forming packs of righteous right
they write of spite and unquenched appetite
they sight the slight and ways to incite
they observe the oversight and offer an invite
then wait
for their revolution
to set the darkness alight

---

This poem is inspired by the book, ‘How To Write Evocative Poetry’.

You can read some chapters from the book, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

maybe

maybe i’m not shy
or introverted
or defective
or broken
or any of the other put downs
my mind likes to offer up

maybe
just maybe
i am exactly who i needed to be
to survive

cautious
careful
considerate

maybe i learnt
to look before i leap
to consider all possibilities
to be sure before allowing myself to relax

maybe that negative voice
only speaks of the version of me
that has his guard up

maybe
just maybe
if you get to know me
if you wait long enough
if you earn my trust

maybe then
i’ll let you in

maybe then
you will see
who i really am

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

Love Is

Love is a mortgage,
A debt promise of pain.
Paid with interest,
For those you outlive.

Love is making connections
Despite knowing they will be broken.
And it’s the letting go
Of the guilt for doing so.

Love is for the small sacrifices,
That contain the hidden joys.
And the memory that’s both
Blessing and curse.

Love is knowing when to push,
And when you must concede.
The realisation that you’re wrong,
And the leaving of transgressions unseen.

Love is the give and take,
The unspoken word.
The comforts freely given,
And those gratefully accepted.

Love is the discipline to say no,
Through begging, pleading and pain.
And the careful observation,
Of limits reached.

Love is tempered guidance,
A shot at eternity.
And the words of encouragement,
To try once more.

Love is a partnership,
A bonding of the muse.
A step into darkness,
Taken together in faith.

---

This poem is from the book ‘Reflections of the Self, The Poetry, Insights, and Wisdom Of Silence’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, or Audiobook.

monkey mind

monkey mind
a brain confined
trapped by the past
by conditioning
by words left unsaid
by a childhood unseen
by what could have been

don’t you see
little monkey
you are free

just let go
just move
just step to the side

because though your cage
seems all encompassing
it is just an illusion
one that can be broken

by you
connecting with others

by you
in harmony
with a group
holding space
holding your body
guiding you
to break the cage
you confined yourself to

way back when
you needed such protection
just to survive

but now dear monkey
it’s time to thrive
you are safe
and free
if you choose yourself to be

---

Watch this poem on YouTube

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

Two Leaves

Two leaves float down a river,
Pulled by the current of life.
Sometimes they take the same path,
Sometimes the river splits them up.

Yet even when apart,
They travel together.
Because all paths lead to the source,
Still, each journey may vary.

Where one leaf faces rocks and rapids,
The other leaf faces calm tranquillity.
Where one leaf feels the warmth of the sun,
The other leaf is beaten by rain.

At times, all leaves get stuck,
Blocked by debris or caught on a bank.
Or pulled under the surface and trapped.
At these times the leaves must wait.

Wait for another to knock it free.
Or for the flow to clear the way.
Or for the slow push of time itself,
To gently alter the river’s shape.

Then the leaves will float once more,
This interruption quickly forgotten,
Because the destination is the same,
No matter which path it took.

---

Watch this poem on YouTube

This poem is from the book ‘Reflections of the Self, The Poetry, Insights, and Wisdom Of Silence’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, or Audiobook.

burn these pages

brevity may be the soul of wit
but destruction is the soul of poetry

observe

in your hands you hold nature’s majesty
reduced
to mere sheets of dead wood
marked
by the transient thoughts of one blind to the moment

hoping to inspire a fraction of the awe that its life once gave

burn these pages
and feel the flames as they touch your soul
deeper
than any collection of words ever could

---

Watch this poem on YouTube

This poem is inspired by the book, ‘How To Write Evocative Poetry’.

You can read some chapters from the book, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

excessive thinking

i replaced
drinking
with excessive
thinking

the hangover
is worse
thoughts
form a curse

no longer
dumb
no longer
numb

swallow burn
shame
write ink
pain

bottles
emptied of sin
notepads
fill the bin

addicted
to stress
addicted
nonetheless

the bar
is locked
my writing
is blocked

my 12-step
process
is journaling
this nonsense

just these few
lines
stress and whiskey
rhymes 

should i have
another?
write on
my brother!

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

i float

the vastness of the ocean
has been replaced
by the safety of a kiddy pool

i float
under a lifeguards watchful gaze
passively accepting
the artificiality of my confines
only vaguely aware
of a time
not long ago
when I could look upon the horizon
and feel the sun upon my skin

memories
of riding atop the waves
both terrified and exhilarated
by nature’s limitless beauty
have been replaced
by the scent of chlorine
penetrating my nose
and irritating my eyes

but I don’t care
i am lulled by the warmth of the water
and comforted by the knowledge
that soon
i will forget
the taste of salt water
and the thrill of that first plunge
into the depth
of the ocean’s
infinite embrace

---

Watch this poem on YouTube

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.

fear

why’d i give up
so much of myself
out of fear
of my own
blossoming
greatness?

---

This poem is from the book, ‘Poetry from a Dark Night of the Soul’.

Read more from the colleciton, download a free copy, or purchase as a Paperback, eBook, Hardcover or Audiobook.