Like ashes in a grate they lie;
The dying hearts of men.
Battered, bruised, twisted, burned,
Extinguished remnants that failed to learn
That sure and steady as the beat
The path it treads is pure deceit.
For one desire burns deep and true,
Often hidden but always new,
To place itself above all else
With purposed cunning and utmost stealth.
Feigned emotions, subtle ways,
To be lord of all that it surveys.
Alas, the cost is always great,
Bitterness, anger, envy, hate.
For soon by these alone it’s led,
Gnarled and poisoned, loveless, dead.
Until forsaken it stands alone,
An empty, lifeless, tragic stone.
We live and we learn
It’s like living and loving, holding out your hand,
Believing in some truth. Make a passionate stand.
Looking for a future, a question every turn,
You know baby we live and we learn.
It’s like pushing and shoving, you’ve got to make your way.
The gold is on the other side, so the papers say.
Chasing after rainbows no matter what you earn,
You know baby we live and we learn.
When you’re standing stone in a lonely place,
Empty eyes, impending grace,
The truth lies like a sunshine in the wintertime;
The eternal rhyme.
And even though it’s all been said,
Hope’s a dried up river bed.
Your soul will always grow and yearn
Cos baby we live and we learn.
It’s like hoping and praying the answers up above.
The power’s with the people but they hate to love.
Trusting in a future boy you’re gonna burn
Cos baby we live and we learn.
It’s like power and glory, make it like a man,
Take them to the cleaners, cheat them if you can.
The pain and the suffering not a real concern
Cos baby we live and we learn.
When you’re standing stone in a lonely place,
Empty eyes, impending grace,
The truth lies like a sunshine in the wintertime;
The eternal rhyme.
And even though it’s all been said,
Hope’s a dried up river bed.
Your soul will always grow and yearn
Cos baby we live and we learn.
It’s like living and loving, build a better place,
Standing all together crazy human race.
Hoping as the clock strikes, tables start to turn,
That baby we live and we learn.
Living on the edge
There’s a rain tapping on my window
There’s a man knocking on my door
There’s a phone ringing in the kitchen
There’s a couple somewhere making love
There’s a guilt crippling my friendships
There’s a fear growing by the hour
There’s a child longing for affection
There’s a tongue ready to devour
There’s a pain piercing my being
There’s a joke someone used to tell
There’s a world filled with joy and sorrow
There’s a heaven, some believe a hell
There’s a place I have never been to
There’s a poem I wrote with my own hand
There’s a set of values I aspire to
There’s a God for whom I’d make a stand
Living on the edge of my emotion
Reality is someone’s fancy notion
Tethered to my minds imagination
Carried to the edge by nervous tension
Captured by the fear of daily living
Tortured by the thought of one day dying
Hopelessness increasing with each failing
Endless days and nights of pleading, crying
There’s a man I know who wants to hurt me
There’s a woman, helpless, meek and mild
There’s a will that’s never to be broken
There’s a rod that didn’t spare the child
There’s a voice that never lets me settle
There’s a mind tormenting every day
There’s a narrow path for me to follow
There’s a thief showing me the way
There’s a life lying here in ruins
There’s a spirit longing to be free
There’s a heart, loving, warm and caring
There’s a soul begging company
There’s a love somewhere in the darkness
There’s a hand reaching out to care
There’s a truth calling me to follow
There’s a rest a peaceful haven there
Living on the edge of my emotion
Reality is someone’s fancy notion
Tethered to my minds imagination
Carried to the edge by nervous tension
Captured by the fear of daily living
Tortured by the thought of one day dying
Hopelessness increasing with each failing
Endless days and nights of pleading, crying
Stranger than Fiction
In the dark I saw a light
You don’t get daytime if you don’t have night
You can’t feel good if you’ve never known bad
Yes that’s right
Perfect contradiction truth is stranger than fiction
I’m moving up cos I’ve hit the ground
In the quiet you can hear the sound
Where you find hate you can spread
A little love around
Calculated prediction truth is stranger than fiction
Truth is stranger than fiction
Truth is relative lies
Truth is stranger than fiction
It’s all you ever wanted in disguise
Stranger than fiction
It’s warming up a real rainbow scene
All the colours are turning green
As the walls are crumbling you can hear them shout
Hear the scream
Globalised affliction truth is stranger than fiction
Well it may be you or it may be me
It may be never so let it be
As the wheels are turning and you know
You’ve seen it all before
Constant premonition truth is stranger than fiction
Truth is stranger than fiction
Truth is relative lies
Truth is stranger than fiction
It’s all you ever wanted in disguise
Stranger than fiction
Nine Tenths
You may have caught a glimpse of him slipping through the meadow,
Unassuming, as he sidles down the bank.
A subtle recollection, how he seemed to linger longer
Than is normal when just looking at a plank.
No reason though to second guess an ordinary guy
Taking time out for his daily constitution.
Another elder statesman and ten thousand daily steps,
A requisite for any health solution.
Fair to say this observation isn’t too far from the truth
And if challenged would provide a good defense.
But more subtle motivations drive this man to walk the streets,
If exposed may lead to serious offence.
Convinced that reclamation should be practiced as a right
And that all things can be useful given time.
He won’t hesitate to relocate an item that he finds
Unaware of the potential for a crime.
What basis can I offer for this local exposé?
Is it more than idle gossip and tall tales?
Sadly, every recollection represents his very words
Flowing freely after one or two cold ales.
This wasn’t idle banter fueled by alcohol and laughs
Or an over eager host giving a show.
The detailed explanation was a vivid tour de force
Of his kleptomanic, waste obsessed M.O.
He dances through the shadows in the darkest hours of night,
Ever cautious, circles round his target gate.
Those piles of native timber lying just within his reach
Are the latest golden prize he’ll liberate.
With the cunning of a fox and as silent as the dead
He lovingly repatriates the lumber.
Then returning to his lair, carefully locking up his hoard,
Congratulates himself in peaceful slumber.
There’s underlying logic to his actions and intent
And a well-considered, thought out point of view.
The streets are full of wonders that with careful restoration
Can be made to function just as good as new.
So who can sit in judgement when the final outcome shines?
Is this act a noble trait or fatal flaw?
Either way it’s academic, a simple truth prevails,
That possession works as nine tenths of the law.
Friends
Friends are forever
Lovers linger on
Friends are still beside you
When all the love has gone
Friends are forever
Lovers can pretend
Friends are waiting for you
When love has reached its end
Friends are forever
Lovers make you cry
Friends know how you’re feeling
When all the love’s run dry
Friends are forever
Lovers need it all
Friends can see the writing
When your back’s against the wall
Friends are forever
Lovers pass the time
Friends remain a constant
When love has lost its rhyme
Friends are forever
Lovers end in tears
Friends remember great times
The joy of sharing years
Friends are forever
Lovers try their best
Friends can take it slowly
When friendship’s passed the test
Friends are forever
Lovers make amends
When friends turn in to lovers
And lovers become friends
The Mirror
Look in the mirror
Who do I see?
I see myself and yet, it’s not me
It’s merely a form, a passing disguise
For inside that body the real me hides
The me that can laugh, the me that can cry
The me that climbs mountains, the me that could fly
The me that feels love, the me that feels pain
The me incarnated, the me trapped again
Look in the mirror
What do I see?
The need for escape, a yearn to be free
A burning desire, an unfulfilled dream
A tormented soul, the silent scream
The scream that needs love, the scream that needs hope
The scream that craves closeness, the scream that can’t cope
The scream that is lost, the scream that tries hard
The scream incarnated, the scream being scarred
Look in the mirror
Why do I see?
The dislocation, life’s duality
A constant becoming, a moment of chance
A struggle for meaning, the life dance
The dance of emotion, the dance of release
The dance of knowledge, the dance of increase
The dance of accepting, the dance to see
The dance incarnated, the dance in me
Soul Mates
Lead me slowly
Not walked this path before
Take me softly to heavens door
Anticipation seeping through every pore
Hold me gently while we explore
Whisper my name
Guide me with your voice
A glance betraying my perfect choice
Expectation rising with every sigh
Emotions climbing out on high
Fear subsiding
As I feel my soul accede
A timeless mystery of pure release
Emancipation my spirit free
Soaring with my destiny
Take my hand now
Look deep in to my eyes
This was more than we surmised
Synchronising this moment in time
Soul mates, at last you’re mine
Angels Wings
Like angels wings
You lift me up and I’m in heaven
Those special things
You give to me mean everything
With you I’m learning to give love a chance
Starting to flirt with romance
Guess I’m growing to
Be in love with you
Hide and Seek
The sun always manages to sneak its way into the lounge. A small crack in the meticulously arranged curtain perimeter defense is enough. A tell tale of the life outside glows on the wall, a stark counterpoint to the gloom inside. Bright, shimmering and alive, even the clouds can only steal the glory for a short while as they pass on their rain making journey. As suddenly as hope is stolen it returns, brighter and triumphant in its assertion; there is life outside.