Presence intact

Brighton Pier

The sun dances on the water

Stars rising from beneath

The seaweed on the shoreline

Forms a natural, coastal wreath

 

Lovers hugged by all their layers

Lying in their warm embrace

The elderly cocooned by blankets

Countless memories, they retrace

 

Young hands are building castles

Singing aloud, their own delight

Parents lost in checking iPhones

Communing only through satellite

 

Brave souls both shoe and sock-less

Wade in water, barely thawed

From the frosty, icy winter

Toes emerging cold and gnawed

 

Greasy smells of fish and chips

Mix with, the salty air

Attracting fearless seagulls

Bombard the tourists, unaware

 

The half-moon, observes in silence

Caressing pebbles with its gaze

Sharing the sky in daylight

Within its lunar cyclical phase

 

Myself, I sit and remember

Knowing this is where we sat

When we made out lifelong promise

Your presence remains intact

With outstretched arms

P1020945

You stroked my face

as you hugged me

with your woody embrace

standing tall

on your roots

I held you close

 

Your woody musk

enveloped my skin

breathing life

into my belly

you led the dance

as we swayed with the wind

 

You translated secrets

of ancient stories

etched into your bark

an encoded history

written into the symmetry

of perfection

 

Responding to touch

we outstretched our arms

to the sun

the shared meaning

of two life forms

committed to growth

Who deems that you’re worth more?

change

Do you really believe they chose this?

That this was their great goal?

Have you considered what events

Removed them all, from life’s payroll?

 

Belongings, spilling onto pavements

With only two senses you observe

Then walk past full of judgement

With your assumptions, you dis-serve

 

Circumstance, their badge of existence

Their lonely truth; societies disdain

Acknowledgement, a powerful present

A true antidote, to their pain

 

As trapped by others’ opinions

As by the doorway, where they sit

So why not take a moment

To make this part of your remit?

 

You don’t want to give your money?

Who deems that you’re worth more?

Than the soul, that you see sitting

On their cardboard covered floor

 

If you want to live your purpose

A conscious member of this race

Then give a warm drink and a sandwich

And make this action commonplace

Love is threatening to skip town

Love is threatening to skip town

Thinks we’ve made a real mess

Tired of our hatred and anger

Of our desire to regress

 

Sick of constantly being heralded

As a bumper sticker on cars

Or as a brand, or a logo

To sell liquor, in bars

 

Love is feeling disappointed

At the bickering between friends

The incoherence created

By the worshipping of trends

 

Love requires honest commitment

Never differentiates by type

Doesn’t believe in self-deception

Never falls for its own hype

 

The Beatles knew what they were saying

In that Love is all you need

Love isn’t interested in money

It has no concept, of greed

 

Love truly knows no boundaries

Has a heart made of light

Within the cosmos of humanity

Love doesn’t know how to fight

 

It’s departure would be a tragedy

Love does not want to go

Would prefer us to be connected

Remove our boundaries and grow

The Concept of Time

I grew up loving Children’s nursery rhymes, which is where my initial interest in poetry  and rhyme came from.  One of my all time favourites is My Grandfather’s Clock, written by Henry Clay Work in 1876.  The Concept of Time, is written using the same rhyming pattern.

 

The concept of time

Is a manmade affair,

Creating space where your thoughts intertwine;

When you’re two steps ahead

You are two steps behind,

Living life as if all is just fine.

There is far more to find

Than the workings of your mind,

Such a futile waste and you won’t shine;

 

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

Not behind, nor in front of you,

Only now, only now

To your own self be true,

Only now, only now

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

 

You know, what you know

Intuition will guide,

With forgiveness you go with the flow;

By mastering your mind

You accept what’s within,

With awareness you’ll yield and you’ll grow.

Abundance is all yours

With no ceilings and no floors,

Nothing’s random in the fabric of life;

 

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

Not behind, nor in front of you,

Only now, only now

To your own self be true,

Only now, only now

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

 

Not behind, nor in front of you,

Only now, only now

To your own self be true,

Only now, only now

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

 

Always in the right place

You are held where you stand,

Don’t resist, all is as, it should be;

Participate in life

Adding value and truth,

With compassion, you set yourself free.

Know enough is enough

And stop trying to be tough,

Do not covet and in turn you will grow;

 

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

Not behind, nor in front of you,

Only now, only now

To your own self be true,

Only now, only now

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

 

Affirm you are great

From your own starting point,

Don’t put off what you can do today;

No enemies to fight

With belief by your side,

Have courage and go out seize the day.

Now you are wide-awake

Lift your foot off from the brake,

Only you can choose to live fearlessly;

 

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.

Not behind, nor in front of you,

Only now, only now

To your own self be true,

Only now, only now

So it’s time, now

To be all that you are,

To be one, of a kind.