poetry

How can I not love this world?
It’s hard sometimes,
A lot of the time,
To love the things that hurt me,
And the shallow depths,
And the things that took you away.
I love every moment that’s real,
When you still play on my mind
And with my heart.
How can I not love this world?
How can I hold back
My tears when they’re pure joy?
Even losing you –
How can I not love the world
When that’s where you are?
How can I not greet strangers
With a smile?
How can word get to you
That I’ve forgotten how to.
How can I forget
How much I love this world
Because of you.

I did’t stay in today –
I took a very long walk
And nobody asked me where to.
Nobody.

I am not high today.
I’m not low and I’m not dry,
And nobody asked me to try.
Nobody.

I wrote today.
Not a great load, not much good,
And nobody really cared.
Nobody.

I am not afraid today.
I live to breathe the smell of May
And nobody asked me why.
Nobody.

I am free today.
I breathe in and out and in
And nobody is my master.
Nobody.

I am the poet
Who doesn’t write poetry.
I write dreams in ink
And stories,
The stories that live in my heart.
I am a player, a lover, a fire eater
And not a firefighter.
I crave peace in my mind
And I find it when
I find peace in my soul.
I rise on the blank page –
Oh, how I love it!
Oh, how it consumes me.
I love how it loves me,
I love the poetry that writes me.
Although for the most part
I am the poet
Who doesn’t write poetry.

Go and tell the sun
I have conquered the day.
I chanted the anthem in my heart
And my mind is my clay.

Go and tell the stars
I have freed the night.
Never will my dreams have to die
Nor will I have ghosts to fight.

Go and tell your gods
I have democratised faith.
I’ve felt love and tasted pain
And in compassion I shall bathe.

Go and tell the world
I have freed the spirit.
It’s flying high, flying wild –
I fought for a cause with holy merit.

Oh, water!
Wash me with gratitude.

Oh, earth!
Feed me with compassion.

Oh, fire!
Fill my heart with passion.

Oh, wind!
Carry forward my dreams.

All good things and the joys
Of a fulfilled life and legacy,
And all the corrections and patience,
The cage that locked our hearts.

Love eternal, give me strength
For that which is the love I crave!
And many years in love’s embrace
To fill my soul and bathe in grace.

Bring me partnership, oh love,
Give me that one that lasts forever.
Marry me to devotion and patience
So that I may live in two bodies.

To be honest, that all is just nonsense.
Absolute rubbish, the lot of it!
Empty trash talk, hollow sentiment,
Oh, Shakespeare, there thou aren’t.

Because I didn’t have it in me
To write about my deepest wish;
I didn’t give you a chance to know the truth.
I shouldn’t hide it.

I wish I could tell you now
That regardless of how much this may scare you,
I’ve loved you since the first moment I’ve met you.
That’s it. I love you.

When we first heard
That the world will end,
We felt afraid;
We felt betrayed;
Something shattered
And time stopped.
We felt alone.

We gasped for air,
We said our goodbyes,
And then we waited.
We waited for the end,
We waited to be saved,
We wondered what
Could have been.

We thought about us,
About our old age
And about everything
Being OK.
We looked at us,
The last people –
The best people.

We found a speaker
So we played music;
Eventually, I noticed
Us all moving together.
We danced together –
Of this we were
But none the wiser.

And so we danced
At the end of the world.
Foolish, imperfect,
Smiling, unimportant;
Resentful and forgiving.
Dangerously, Lovingly,
We danced at the end.

It’s about time –
The day unravels with earth and sun.

It’s about time –
The darkness shrieks and bellows.

It’s about time –
The soul calls out for adventure.

It’s about time –
Our labour calls to bear fruit.

It’s about time –
And the day goes from still to still.

It’s about time –
Love calls and seeks revenge.

It’s about time –
The dusk and dawn are one.

It’s about time –
We embrace the task ahead.