A melody in light and dark

I wanted to say something about the difference between the potential of what we have and the possible reality of where we're going. The contrast between light and dark seems very stark these days and life often looks as if all we have is a light at the end of the tunnel.

A melody of love and wonder woven through the hearts,
Through all the dreams and yearnings of the people taking part
A gift to all on which we stand so beautiful to see
A planet rich and green with life, a wondrous place to be

Despoiled with hate and war and strife the fabric of the world
Is rent and ruined, we see this place as swine instead of pearl
Does such a blindness surely mean we have to take a road
To hell with just a hoped return before we grow too old

The dreams our grasping fingers reach toward are barren gold
The lustrous sheen deludes our minds we cannot see the cold
With no more meaning than a children's playtime fantasy
For such as this we sacrifice our future chance to be

Where to from here as always is the question we should ask
It's ne'er too late to make amends no matter what the task
The healing of world begins with not a giant leap
Rather hand in hand we make some promises we keep

More winter musings

Sitting on the train staring at the grey landscape... it seems like it has rained every day for a long time. A few thoughts...

A thought in the gloom

The dull grey scenery shuffling by
A leaden procession of gloom outside
As the rain slowly falls and smothers the land
With its incessantly miserable hand

Winter drifts by and nary a cry
We look stoically forward with a silent sigh
With resignation, we wish and wait
For spring to arrive with undue haste

What purpose now is served by the cold
Making us creak and feel so old
Perhaps a much needed brief respite
Ere the world once more does spring to life

If everything happened at once perhaps
The cycle of life would soon collapse
So now we wait, the days we abide
Till spring doth arrive in it's own good time

A kitchen table

After doing a little cooking this evening (a grated chocolate and Passionfruit Pavlova) I was sitting at the kitchen table and was struck by what a multitude of roles something so simple can play in life...

Kitchen Table

A kitchen table in life does stand
To sit and offer a helping hand
Perhaps to listen to a friend
When they need to talk again

Today it's scones with jam and tea
Perhaps a little cream, we'll see
A little treat with love that's made
While kids around the table played

After work a quiet eve
We sit, relax and take our ease
A meal with those we hold so dear
Our friends and loved ones sitting near

Sometimes to sit and while away
Some lazy hours of the day
The sun streams in the window wide
What better way some time to bide

A moment in red

I was walking on the track to West Head in the Northern Beaches area of Sydney today and came across a beautiful Redgum on the side of the track. I stayed there for a few minutes just enjoying the peace of the moment.

Later I was reflecting on the day and feeling that I needed to write something. The memory of the moment stood admiring that beautiful Redgum inspired me to write this.

A moment in red

Upon the path another step
A secret view that nature's kept
Only revealed for few to see
An insight granted now for me

Standing graceful, calm and strong
A sentry over years so long
Her presence touches hearts that pass
And reaches out to those that ask

I gaze upon her curves in red
A gentle touch, no word is said
A hand upon the bark will rest
Almost as if at her behest

Her life a balm to slow the day
Creates a yearning just to stay
Close beside, beneath her shade
I'll linger here now, if I may

I walk away and find my soul
Enriched by insight not my own
Rather life has given me
A moment with this wondrous tree

So now the memory remains
My life may even be the same
Save for a simple moment's time
When I could leave the world behind

Evening

Just about to put my head on the pillow last night and I needed to write this. I found it fascinating that the mixture of thoughts and feelings that gave rise to this could be both so dark and so joyful at the same time.

Evening

As evening falls the night doth bring
A darkness that will quietly sing
Softly in the hearts of all
Until she holds us in her thrall

Then slowly as the eyes do close
What dreams and thoughts may come, who knows
As tales of joy and woe untold
Are freed as soul and spirit unfold

Imagination soaring free
My thoughts will oft return to thee
And there within the night's embrace
The hours pass with peace and grace

Yet dreams that come with darkness true
May not always be of you
As fears that lie within me still
Arise, my very being to chill

And now a moment feared has come
With dark and bitter taste has stung
As wrapt in night's embracing wings
I yearn to dream of joyful things

But soon the sun's illumined light
Returns to banish now the night
And new horizons now perceived
Give once more a chance to be

Winter... a morning moment

After writing A Leaf recently I wanted to try and build some momentum. So, coffee in hand I sat in the morning winter sunlight, early in the morning and I found something to say. Being surrounded by a beautiful landscape certainly makes it easier though...

Winter
The sun rises late and casts in the morn
A pale gentle blanket that's not quite warm
The crisp winter sunlight over the land
A telltale sign of winter's cold hand

High up above the sharp flickering white
Catching the eyes, a magpie's flight
While life goes on at a much slower pace
It never does pause, does never abate

The Eucalypt's greens will always surround
Guardians watching with never a sound
Save the soft rustle of leaves in the breeze
A nurturing whisper from beautiful trees

With bated breath the world still awaits
The coming of life that spring creates
Not patient perhaps, rather simply resigned
To seasons that turn only in their own time

A leaf

I thought I'd try something a little different. I've wanted for a while to be able to write on a more regular basis and decided to look at the process from another perspective. A friend suggested recently that I think about combining more than one art form. This an attempt to do that.

Closing my eyes in a warm quiet room I let my mind wander to see where it would lead me. After a few minutes I remembered a photo I had taken recently of a leaf. I followed the thought and this is where it would lead me... 

I can feel the stir of life begin

Emerging with a gentle urgency  

A crisp, clean spring awaits

My first tentative, tender reach

Uplifted by the golden, warming sun

The urgency now strong, driven

Into spring into life

At last bursting green and verdant
  

The raindrops for upon me

Quenching, filling, giving

To me, my work increases

A channel for life and growth

Time passes... day by day

Slowing, tiring, toiling

The days are growing longer

One by one. I feel it coming

A chill touch heralds the coming end

A willing sacrifice I need to make

To help the greater life

To live, to grow, to prosper

Darkness all around is all

I see and feel now

The welcome end is nigh

A final sigh, I give my last, 

I am no more, an empty husk

The merest breath of wind

Enough to breach the bond

Of leaf to tree, I am no more

In my final sacrifice I gave

What little life I had to give

That once again the cycle might

Turn to life in spring once more

Rain... Inspired by a friend

I was on the way home from the gym and read something a friend had written..."There's something so beautiful about the sound of falling rain..." A beautiful thought, inspiring words...

The first thought that came to mind after reading it was this...

The soft patter of spring rain
A random rhythm of gentle chaos
Each drop a gift from the world
Bearing, sustaining, begetting life

Perhaps a summer storm rolls in
The roiling clouds and thunder
Of the elements in full cry
A deluge that fortifies and cleanses

The golden hues of autumn herald
The last frenetic surge, a seasons's life
Flinches 'neath the first chill bite
A promise of more so soon to come

And now the piercing, pelting drive
Of winters icy hand descends
Each drop of rain a touch of cold
That helps complete the dark embrace

And now the seasons turn again
Spring rains arriving, urging forth
The stirring green and budding life,
Of nature's never-ending gift to all

Inspired by a friend. Thank you.

Reflections & friends

I saw a friend today that I hadn't seen for what felt like forever but in reality was probably less than a year. She's someone that had a profound impact on me in terms of writing poetry. One of the immediate things that happened after I saw her was that I wanted to write again. More importantly I had something to write :)

I saw you today... I saw you
The tears in my eyes reminding me
Of your beauty and peace
Perhaps today I really saw you

I talked with you today... we talked
And thoughts and words within my mind
That started in my heart...
Today we talked

I remembered you today... memories
That drift in placid harmony
And always comfort... lift... inspire
Today another precious memory

I needed you today... A need
Unperceived, for your inspiration
Now, as then, the unseen door did open
Today a need fulfilled

Today our paths have crossed... again
On a red brick way that wends
Beneath the white and gentle pale
Today we tread the path anew

Today... an absent friend...
A presence deeply felt in hearts
That yearn to ease her burden
Today... and always

I saw you today and looked inside myself again

Sometimes we meet people who leave a lasting, profound and positive impression on us. Both of the people who inspired this poem have done that for me.