My World of Poetry


 

~Veiled Threat~

She is not seen, but she can see, She's an enigma, a mystery.
People stare as she walks by, but never look her in the eye.
She is mocked, insulted, criticised, abused, misunderstood, despised.
Is it so strange, why can't they see,  that this is her identity.
They say "Why don't you integrate, either conform or relocate"
To her, the veil is liberating, but you won't find that worth debating,
She will not acquiesce, nor hide, She'll  always wear her veil with pride

 
~What is Love?~

Love is a mixture of pleasure and pain,
Blue skies and dark clouds, sunshine and rain.
All the angst and the ecstasy, rolled into one,
The tears and laughter, the sadness and fun.

Folly and madness with passionate nights,
Mind games and drama with quarrels and fights.
You're packing to leave, then unpacking to stay,
Is it better to love, or be loved, who can say?

Just be sure, when you find love, you don't let it go,
Cherish the moments, go with the flow.
Savour the pleasure and ride out the pain,
If you throw love away, it might not come again. 

~My Darling Boy~

I saw you in the park today,
I watched you run and laugh and play.
I saw you fall, but she was there,
to kiss you better, stroke your hair.
You're three years old, my darling boy,
Now someone else's pride and joy.

Today, despite the pouring rain,
I stood outside your school again.
I watched you running through the gate,
That fleeting glimpse was worth the wait.
Tomorrow I'll be there once more,
Like yesterday and the day before.

Today you started senior school,
So grown up and acting cool.
You looked so happy with your mates.
waiting at the school yard gates.
My, how you've grown, my handsome lad,
A carbon copy of your dad.

On the station platform, hidden from view,
I watched them wave goodbye to you.
You're off to university,
The world's your oyster, young and free.
Overwhelmed by love and loss and pride,
I disappear in the crowd, my tears to hide.

Today outside the church I cried,
When I saw you kiss your blushing bride.
My darling boy with his lovely wife,
I hope you'll have a happy life.
All though the years, I've watched you grow,
The time has come to let you go.

 

~The Boy Next Door~

Where is he now? The Boy next door,
Who said he'd love me, forever more.
At five, he was leaning over my wall,
 Giving me sweets, to throw back his ball.

At six, in the playground. he was there,
Fighting the boys, who pulled my hair.
At eight, he was walking me home from school,
Carrying my books and acting cool.

At ten, we'd go skating in the park,
Running all the way home, before it got dark.
At twelve, he carved our names in a tree,
And said, one day he would marry me. 

At thirteen, we shared our first real kiss,
I was so in love, it was heavenly bliss.
At fourteen, my whole world fell apart,
And left me with a broken heart.

His family were moving across the sea,
And the boy next door was leaving me.
The day he left, he held me tight,
And told me things would be alright.
He would come back to me, he said,
And when he did, we would get wed.

 That year we wrote, most every day,
So much to tell, so much to say.
But gradually the posts got less ,
So busy growing up I guess.

Well, time moves on and memories fade,
Along with promises we made.
But as I stand here by the old oak tree,
Where the boy next door said he'd marry me.
Where he said he would love me for ever more,
I Just wonder what happened, to the boy next door?

~Bag Lady~

Huddled  in a doorway of a derelict store,
Her bed for the night is a concrete floor.
Far from the Town Centre, pubs and shops,
She wont get hassled by drunks or cops.

Wrapped up in a blanket, she tries to keep warm,
But its hard when her clothes are drenched from the storm.
She's scared, wet and hungry, chilled to the bone,
And never before has she felt so alone.

Tears sting her cheeks, like the falling rain,
She's a frightened child, full of hurt and pain.
Just sixteen, and she's all alone,
And no one cares that she's here on  her own.

Beth left her home, without looking back,
No regrets, didn't bother to pack.
Alcoholic Mother, abusive Dad,
It must be her fault, did she do something bad?

She'll start a new life. she'll find a way,
Get a job with decent pay.
Find a place to live, her very own space,
Then she drifts off to sleep with a smile on her face.

The local Newspaper reported the death,
of a homeless vagrant, known only as Beth.
For thirty years or more she's been -
Living rough on the streets, since the age of sixteen.

~Prison Cell~

I dreamt I was locked in a prison cell,
All alone in the dark in my private hell.
Once an abused and battered wife,
Now a murderess in gaol for life.

You were no different, that fateful night,
Menacing, violent, fists clenched tight.
I cowered in the corner, afraid for my life,
But this time, clenched tight in my hand was a knife.

The next thing I remember, was you lying there,
There was blood on my hands, there was blood everywhere.
I stood and I watched, till you took your last breath,
and I felt no remorse, as the cause of your death.

They said, plead not guilty, it makes perfect sense,
It was not intentional, just self defence.
But I stood  in the courtroom, my head held high,
And said, "I intended the B*****d should die."

My lawyer protested, he said its quite clear,
she's got battered wife syndrome, full of guilt, shame and fear.
But the judge, summing up, said I picked up the knife,
and fully intended to take his life.

As the jury said Guilty, I woke from my dream,
And glancing around, I heard myself scream.
The nightmare was real, this was my private hell,
All alone in the dark, in a prison cell.

~Madam Heroin~

I dreamt of you again last night,
young and wild and free.
Tomorrow was light years away,
Yesterday was history.

You lived each moment to the full,
As if it were your last.
No thought of consequence,
No care, of future or of past.

I loved you with a passion,
And you said you loved me too.
But your affair with Madam Heroin,
Was stronger than we two.

We both knew that the time would come,
When you would go away.
And though we planned I'd follow,
We both knew I would stay.

A year went by, no word from you,
Until that fateful day.
The phone call came that told me,
You'd be coming home to stay.

Last night I called to see you,
to say my last goodbyes.
I told you all about our son,
and how he had his father's eyes.

I told you that I loved you,
Kissed your cheek and walked away.
I left you lying on the slab,
So still, so cold, so grey.

18 years have passed,
And every day I think of you,
As I look into your son's eyes,
So vibrant, deep and blue.

He's so like you were at eighteen,
Young and wild and free.
He tries to hide the needle marks,
Afraid that I might see.

We both know that the time will come,
When he will go away.
You'll stretch out your hand to take his,
And lead him home to stay.

~Dark and Light~

You lived in the dark and I could not comfort you.
You ventured into the light and I could not reach you.
In the dark you were surrounded by hopelessness & sorrow,
engulfed in misery and desperation.
In the light you were surrounded by hope and joy,
engulfed in love and laughter.
In the dark you felt safe. In the light you felt exposed.
Maybe it would have been better
had you stayed  safe in the embrace of depression,
than glimpsed the light of recovery.
In the Spring you took your own life.




~One Last Time~

Like countless times before
we say our last goodbye.
Neither of us wanting our affair to end,
But knowing it can only lead to heartache.

But what of my heartache now,
at the thought of never seeing you again.
Of never hearing you say you love me.
Of never feeling your kiss, your warm embrace.

Maybe, yes maybe I will phone you later,
and suggest we meet tomorrow for one last time.
My phone is ringing, maybe its you?
Yes, you suggest we meet tomorrow,
For one last time.




  ~Air Raid Shelter~

Within the playground of my mind
Relics of war were left behind.
A disused shelter underground,
A battered life-boat beached on land.

Laden to gunwales, creaking, swaying,
With freight of heedless children playing.
House and tag, who's in, who's out,
The smaller cower, the taller shout:

"Dare you to knock on the shelter door?"
I tap, inside the shuttered roar
of Death goaded from sickly sleep,
All shelter like spume upon the deep.

Swells of fear, except for one,
Bolted to earth, who can not run,
Fused, poised, frozen in glass,
As a boat adrift among the grass. 




~Just 8 Years Old~

Just another ordinary day,
She stands in the playground watching her friends at play.
She calls them friends, but they call her names,
She's never invited to join in their games.

At the end of the school day she stands at the gates,
Watching the kids go home with their mates.
Or being collected by Mum or by Dad,
As she slowly walks home, all alone and so sad.

At home she sits quietly, she's learnt the hard way,
That a slap or a punch is the price that you pay,
If you speak out of turn when your Fathers around,
So she sits eyes downcast not uttering a sound.

Her parents are addicts, who pay for their fix,
With Dad's stolen goods and Mum turning tricks.
She knows all the signs and keeps out of sight,
When they're needing a fix, or as high as a kite.

No comforting kiss or being held tight
When she wakes from a nightmare shaking with fright.
But her nightmare is real, one she lives every day.
And the pain and the fear are with her to stay.




~Forbidden Fruit~

I've waited all my life it seems,
To know a love like this;
Gay abandoned passion,
The thrill of our first kiss.
I don't know how it happened,
I don't know if I knew;
That you were meant for me,
As much, as I was meant for you.
I try to analyse our love,
But find no answers there;
Why can't I just accept our fate,
Enjoy our love affair.
This maybe just a fleeting thing,
Our crazy wild romance;
But love like this comes round but once;
I think I'll take a chance.





~I Believe~

Fairies are elusive wondrous little things, we
saw them best as children tried to touch their
fairy wings. But now that we are all grown up
and adult, we don't see, those tiny wondrous
beings, that we saw when we were three.
They visit us each morning flying round as we
get up, the sleep that we wipe from our eyes,
comes from their fairy cup.
They wait and hope that we will say those
words they long to hear; "I believe in Fairies",
say it loud and say it clear.
For every time you say it, another fairy will
survive, but when you say I don't believe
another fairy dies.





~The Beggar~

I fumble in my pocket for change. How out of character, how strange.
How come I stopped for this one, I've always hurried by before,
I glance down at the young ragged beggar,
on the pavement outside the restaurant door.