The Enemy Within

I fight myself on a daily basis
It's not that I hate myself, per se;
it’s that I still see all the faces
of all those who went before
who put me on “ignore”
or far, far worse

I am my own worst enemy at times
still listening to invisible demons
If you read between my lines
you’ll see I don’t always vote for freedom
It’s too easy to be overcome
to just succumb
to those dark, sweet whispers

So the battle rages on inside of me
mostly in waking, sometimes more in sleeping
I am unable to set myself free –
maybe temporarily –
until I once more end up weeping
no kind thoughts for safe keeping
just darkness and pain
again and again.

© 30/07/2015.

Today She Died

You would have thought
she’d learnt her lesson by now
all the uncaring fools
who’d gotten a piece of her somehow

Yet first she cried

She was wrong again
his fists said to her
this time he’d make
the pain last forever

She couldn’t survive

And he didn’t stop
even when her screams ceased
pounding out pools of blood
until she was deceased

So today, she died.

© 29/07/2015.

Living

Open your mind
to the possibilities inside
all the wonders and joy
that you like to hide
all those impossible moments
you would never have felt
if you’d just let yourself
stay on that shelf
if you’d never allowed
yourself to feel
all the happy moments
that can be real
you’d still be sitting there
alone and crying
so unhappy
thinking of dying
if you’d never allowed
yourself to believe
that you could let
yourself truly live.

© 21/07/2015.

You Don't Know Me

I am many things
fleeting colours, sounds
sometimes remembered –
I get around
But you don’t know me

My outward face
the never-shifting mask
rarely seen beyond
and few who ask
But you don’t see me

I am darkness
I am pain
but beauty
for those who remain
But not
you

In blindness
you stumble away
I set you free
You will never
know
me.

© 17/07/2015.

The Ripper

A drop
a single drop –
red – falls
slowly to the ground
it makes no sound
as it glides
towards the drain
Another joins it
the only testimony
that there was pain
For now
all is silent
bar the rhythmic
drip, drip
of her life that was
flowing away
She died today
with empty words
in her arms
fooled by his
softly-spoken charms
One quick flash of his razor
and she was
no more.

© 13/07/2015.

A Sea Dream

Smells and sounds
fluidity, the ocean
beauty abounds
caught up in the motion
of pure devotion
Caressing my skin
as I let you in
and fall at your feet
to set myself free
For a single moment
I believe.

© 06/07/2015.

Who Are We…

Who are we to judge
Those lining the streets in despair
beggars! druggies! bums!
when all they need is someone to care.

Who are we to damn
the mentally ill who cut and cry
attention seeker! nothing wrong! just sad!
she’s been abandoned and now just wants to die.

Who are we to laugh at
the disabled, however they are
look at him! midget! ugly!
so what if they have lifelong scars.

Who are we to criticise
the poor needing extra handouts
scrounger! lazy! get a job!
his kids now starve ‘cos his benefits were cut.

You don’t know what we’ve been through
how dare you attack our self-esteem
one day you might find yourself there
then you will know what it means!

© 09/07/2015.

Release

I throw sand at the wind
watch it scatter, like my thoughts
the tide is coming in
to take them all away

Memories long gone
many worlds, never visited
time moves ever on
as the tide ebbs slowly in

Songs I’ve never sung
former friends, long forgotten
many things I should have done
time already moved on

Water laps at my feet
washing pain from my soul
I cannot admit defeat
but more I could have done

Reminders of me
in the sea, in the wind
they help set me free
I will not admit defeat

One last look at the ocean
I walk away, renewed
a new start set in motion
I am finally set free.

© 07/07/2015.

Lost in a Moment

Hours become days
days become weeks
weeks become years
time disappears
Falling into the great abyss
gone forever, now nothingness
as if it never did exist
bar the loose memories in our minds
We lost track of time
whilst we were entwined
with our multitude of thoughts.

© 06/08/2013.

A Political Fairy Tale

In a broken world
where only lies remain
Where no amount of kindness
can clear that stain
We’re stumbling in the silence
of where sanity is removed
Fighting against the corruption
of “new and improved”
Falsely-promoted promises
of a far better world
Where the cream has soured
and the milk has curdled
Too many lies to justify
such wanton destruction
A decaying eyesore
their best construction
A prettily-painted picture
to bring them further glory
Each delicate brushstroke
carefully hiding the true story
They brainwash the masses
with their political fairy tale
And those of us in the know
fight it, to no avail
But when the zombies wake up
and see the truth, they lose hope
And with a forlorn sigh they say:
‘maybe next time, I’ll just not vote.’

© 16/04/2015.

Wake Me Not

Let me sleep and never wake
lest my soul do further break
Let me die within a dream
to save me from my inner scream
All the broken thoughts within my mind
the reminders of so much lost time
Silent turmoil that's never ending
torn limbs can do no more bending
The storm has reached its heady height
soon there'll be only eternal night
So if I happen to never wake
it's because the saving came too late.

© 06/04/2015.

Come What May

Whispers, remnants
slowly dying
Another day
full of long sighing
In wakefulness
we're far from our best
But even in sleep
we find no rest

Tortured soul
eternally crying
Singing winds
forever lying
A voice, it says
how we are blessed
Though we fear
it does nothing but jest

We drift away
emptiness on all sides
Impossible to find
some place to hide
From the black of night
that lives in day
That ensures we can never
find our way

The water we drown in
is too wide
All help and hope
has slowly died
Yet still we look for
one person to say
That they’ll always be there
come what may.

© 25/03/2015.

Fragile Promises

He came to me
with words made of glass
full of unfulfillable promises
They shone brightly in his light
blinding me with their beauty
He placed them in my hands
with a kiss and a gentle caress –
I believed.

But then he turned away
and once the light was gone
they shattered
Hundreds of tiny shards
cut into my flesh
leaving raw and bloody wounds.

If only I'd believed harder
treated them with more care
but none of it was enough
fragile as they were.

He never returned
but the scars remain
reminders of my broken dreams.

© 08/01/2014.

Stormy Seas

The waves roll high
on the seas of regret
reminding me of things
I thought I’d never forget
Bringing back to my eyes
scenes long past
wonders and longing –
I’m lashed to its mast.

My ship brought me back
to visit your shore
to give me one last look
at what went before
Now it moves me forward
fights hard against the wind
until the memories are forgotten
and the pain once more dimmed.

© 23/02/2014.

The Music Group

Dancing whilst it is light
playing our days away
singing a beautiful song
while the audience smiles and sways

And come the night time
we'll play some more
letting the colours flow further
and then dancing till we’re sore.

For every frown
there comes a smile
even if sometimes
you must wait a while

But for everyone
young or old
at the end of the day
pleasant stories are told.

© 08/07/2012.

Truth and Lies

The truth, a stinging whiplash
that cauterises my wounds
Its light of burning amber
is burnt out all too soon.
What I once believed
is now something I can’t afford
All because of someone
who was too lazy to lock their door.
Happiness that was hard won
now thrown as food to the birds
All those memories I’d held dear
now just rancid milk curds.
You told me that there was nothing
more real than the two of us
But now I look upon the lies
of the fairy tale that never was.

© 15/06/2012.

Starting Over

Everything that once was
I put it to you
Everything that could have been
I lay them here too
All those things
I could have known
All those items
I wanted to own

I lay them on the ground
without a sound
Then walk away
to a new day

A new beginning.

© 10/04/2012.

Fantasies

If I were born in a mythical world
I wonder who’d I’d have been
A prince or princess
in the most elegant dress
made out of the finest satins
Or perhaps a pauper,
a fishmonger’s daughter,
set for a life of hard labour
Who’d dream of princes
and the tastiest minces
then marry the son of the neighbour
And would there be dragons
perhaps even gryphons
in this world of fantasy?
Maybe talking cats
and egg-laying bats
all living together harmoniously.

But I am me with all my quirks
and sit here with my dreams
With my fairy-tale-long hair
and oft mystical airs
I am never who I might seem
My many tattoos
give few clues
to the person lying inside
A friend, a foe
who could know
because I always like to hide
But for those I like
I just might
give a hint or two
Then let you in
to the fantasy within
tucked between the imaginings of you.

© 09/04/2012.

Love's Lullaby

Sleep my love,
the day is done,
but I’ll still hold you close,
as we rest, as one.

Dream my love,
and I’ll fill your mind,
with our beautiful memories,
to last for all time.

Wake my love,
I hold you still in my arms,
and will stay by your side,
as the new day is begun.

© 26/09/2011.

Threads of Time

The lines
   that intertwine
Weaving between
   the worlds, unseen
Dancing around
   without a sound
Letting you breathe
   letting you believe
A brief moment
   of emotional torrent
A slight touch
   a little too much

Before leaving once more
but not the same as before.

The world is changed in its wake.

© 05/02/2012.