The Girl on the Trapeze

13/07/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation


I was five when I first fell in love.

The costumes. The performers. The show.

It sparked my childish imagination

And distracted me from all reality.



But the one that really caught my eye

Was the girl high up on the trapeze.

She flew with the grace of an angel

And captured my heart so young.



Her smile was utterly contagious,

Dazzling as she twisted and turned,

And I was mesmerized by her motion,

Oh, so far up above my young head.



I wanted to be just like her

Soaring above the crowd every night

Not a care in the world to worry about

And so glamorous she appeared to be.



But that was a long time ago,

And I have learned so much since then;

Though every time I see a circus tent

I am five years old again.

Poison

12/07/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



It was May, 2004

And I stood outside the Enmore

Taking in the lights of Newtown

Waiting for the doors to open.



You’d bought the tickets so long ago

When we were better together

So, tell me why I was there

Waiting for you to arrive.



You were always late.

It was one of my pet peeves.

And you knew it annoyed me

More than almost anything.



You loved that band and would say

“Every rose has its thorn”

Whenever I brought it up

But you were more thorn than rose.



This night out was the last gasp,

The last nail in the coffin perhaps,

Of a relationship that was already dead

But just hadn’t realised it yet.



Life loves a tragedy, I suppose,

And we were absolute proof of it,

Two big personalities on a collision course

Destined to burn up worlds in our wake.



That night was supposed to give us

Something to believe in –

A shared past to cling on to

And rekindle what we had.



But there was nothing left to salvage

From this car crash of a relationship,

And standing in that line I knew

That this would be a last hurrah.



You used to call me your fallen angel.

I was really a bird whose wings you’d clipped,

Wanting desperately to be uncaged,

Set free in the big wide world.



Looking back, I can see tight you clung

To the idea that I was this perfect girlfriend

Who made you look good by extension

But in reality we ripped each other apart.



Life goes on, even when our hearts break,

Because we know what we deserve,

Even when that realisation hurts,

And being second best is not it.



I’ve lived so much more since that night

Without you holding me back

Or telling me it wasn’t worth my time

And making me afraid to try,



Now I ride the wind wherever it takes me –

I’ve seen the world without you,

And met the most interesting people,

All because I found myself in losing you.



You lived in your little bubble

And it was suffocating me

You said if I loved you, I’d stay

And maybe you were right.



I won’t forget you,

You were my biggest mistake,

But one I needed to make to grow

And find out who I was inside.



On that cool autumn night

Way back, over a decade ago,

I found out you were my poison

And I walked through those doors alone.

Riding on the Bus

11/07/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



We all know of Rosa Parks,

Who refused to give up her seat,

But what of the others who sat

In defiance just like her?



What of the likes of Claudette Colvin

Who also refused to move

At the tender age of just fifteen

And warrior wise beyond her years?



Could perhaps we could remember

Eighteen-year-old Mary Louise Smith

Who would not give up her seat

And fought segregation to the end?



What of proud Jeanetta Reese,

Who was intimidated by scared white folk

After such an act of public defiance,

That she could not take the stand?



And how many would know the name

Or the story of Aurelia Browder

Who refused to give up her seat

For a white bus rider to assume?



So, while we may remember

The name of Rosa Parks so well,

Remember, yet, those other names

Who fought for freedom, too.

Blind Date

10/07/2020 –  Poem a Day



Waiting patiently

(Well, as patiently as I can),

The suspense killing me.



The expectation rises

As I sit in hope

Of what is to come.



All the predictions

Come to a head

As the anticipation swells.



Then I see her face.

My Dressing Gown

09/07/2020 –  Poem A Day Compilation


I have a dressing gown

That I got for Mother’s Day

And it’s the best thing in winter

Because it’s so warm and soft.



But often I cannot put it on

Because it’s been soundly claimed

By a furry little friend called Misty,

My beautiful but tubby cat.



If I happen to leave it on my bed

Instead of hanging it up,

She will knead it into a little nest

And fall fast asleep.



So, tonight I’ll grab a jumper

Instead of my comfy robe,

And leave the little devil

Because she’s just too cute to move.

Numb

08/07/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



I looked at her face,

Contorted in grief,

Tears streaming down her cheek,

Pitiful wails escaping her quivering lips.



She was rocking slowly,

Curled up in the chair in the corner,

Her sadness palpable

In the stillness of the room.



She couldn’t look at him,

Laid out on the bed,

IV lines still attached

And the curtains drawn.



She had her face turned away from him,

Not quite facing the wall where I stood,

My back leaning against the cold concrete,

But she didn’t see me there.



She was lost in her own pain,

The discomfort of so many years

Of hospital trips and medications,

Seeping out of her now.



She was mourning her loss

But angry at her relief

That it was finally over

And she didn’t want him to see.



She didn’t want him to know

And, at the same time,

She knew he could never know

And it was tearing her apart.



She wiped her face with the back of her hand,

Sniffed and took a deep breath,

Trying to compose herself

As she sat up in the chair.



She could always muster that strength,

Much more than I ever could.

I don’t know where it came from

But I knew that she’d need every ounce of it.



She reached out her hand, damp with tears,

Taking mine to steady her,

And she stood,

Her head lifting in defiance.



She was a tower, a beacon,

All five foot nothing of her,

And she walked out of that room

With all the grace of the queen herself.



She thanked the nurses at their station

And I stood behind, awkwardly,

As they explained what would happen next

And offered their condolences.



She listened intently,

Nodding but not speaking,

As tears continued to leak from her eyes,

Against her will, it seemed.



She walked to the car

But she could not open the door,

Her hand frozen on the handle

And I felt her crumbling before me.



I held my mother as a child

And I knew all that was waiting for me,

But not just yet.

Right then, I was numb.

The Sound of Silence

07/07/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation


Do you hear that sound?

It is the sound of a million voices,

Silent in the dark,

Afraid and confused and betrayed

By the noise inside their heads

That won’t pass their lips,

That can’t be heard in the night,

That wells up inside them

And chokes them

While those with the power

To yell and scream and shout

Do nothing in this world

But make endless noise

Drowning out the silence

Of another voice lost –

Another muzzle fitted,

Another story untold –

When we desperately need to hear

And to listen

To those who are silent

To those with no voice

To those who hide in the shadows

Beyond the safe spaces and the tears

Because in this world they cannot shout

Over the static that surrounds them

And there is no blood curdling scream

Until it is too late,

(As the scream falls silent

And you wonder why they didn’t speak,

Why they didn’t cry out,

Why no one heard)

And the yelling never stops,

It never goes away

It echoes and repeats

In the silence of the forgotten;

And the terror that lives in that silence

Sucks air out of lungs,

Rips flesh from bones

And lets blood run dry

Because it has no answers

Only silence, and more silence,

And there,

In the sound of silence,

It hides, and it grows,

Consuming everything –

All that betrayal,

All that confusion,

All that fear –

Until there is only silence

And silence is the only sound.

Would You Rather?

06/07/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation


Sometimes I sit and ponder

The impossible situations that I might find

If the world was put together

In a different sort of bind.



I play a game of “would I rather”

And let my imagination run amok

And see where it ends its journey,

Expanding my mind with any luck.



So, won’t you come along with me

As I play this little game

Where thoughts are wild, without constraint

Running free and never tame?



Would you rather be in control

Of people’s emotions or of time?

What havoc might you wreak

And might it be a crime?



I would not want to play around

With love or fear or hate or dread,

The inner turmoil of my own mind

Is enough to send me to my bed.



I would rather master time,

To have an extra hour, week or day

To do those things that I put off

Or fit more in, in some way.



I wonder if you would rather

Watch the television all day long

Or meet someone new each and every day

That you could, on your journey, take along?



I’m sure that I would tire some

Of watching all the same old shows

That get churned out on TV stations

And I would surely begin to doze.



But if I could a new person meet

To discover new and interesting tales

And impart my stories each day a-new,

Neither bored as the other regales.



Would you rather in your life

Be always be running ten minutes late

Or instead, perhaps, always arrive

Some twenty minutes early for the date?



To be late is such a rudeness,

Keeping someone waiting just for me.

It is unconscionable to my mind

That late is something I could not be.



This is an easy choice to make.

I would be destined to arrive before

So as to make sure we kept our place,

And be the party waiting by the door.



Do you ever wonder to yourself

Would you rather be the first who sees

A planet fresh to be explored

Or invent a drug that cures a disease?



Being, if I truthfully admit,

Not one to be so brave or bold

I think it unlikely that I would be

Exploring any planet new or old.



But to be able to help a person in need

To live their life free from pain

And help create such positive outcomes

Without a thought of what I may gain!



Would you rather travel the world

On a shoestring budget for a year

Or stay in only one country for that time

And live in luxury, the very top tier?



This is a difficult choice for me

As I love to explore all over the place,

I’d happily backpack around the world

Making camp sites and hostels a handy base.



I’d also enjoy digging deep into the history

And natural beauty of just one locale

Visiting museums and fine dining venues

Enjoying the theatre and concerts pastorale.



What other fancies could you lend your mind to

When lazing about on a winter’s afternoon?

Savour those moment while you can

Because reality bites a little too soon.

The Weather Inside

05/07/2020 –  Poem a Day Compilation



Ever feel like there’s a tiny cloud

That hovers over your head

And follows you wherever you go?

Yeah. Me, too.



Sometimes it’s a wispy white cloud

Casting cheerful shadows

On bright sunny days

That fill my heart with joy.



On other days it’s darker,

Grey and foreboding,

Casting doubt and uncertainty

No matter the weather outside.



Then there are those days

When storm clouds rage

Rain, thunder, lightning, oh my!

And you are cast into despair.



On days such as those

I’d really just like to have

A tiny umbrella and maybe a raincoat

To protect my waterlogged self.



But the worst days come, I feel,

When there’s no clouds at all

But your pockets are full of hail

From a multitude of yesterdays.



When you can see the sunshine

But can’t feel its warmth

And you’re shivering alone in your house,

Screams lost on the passing breeze.

Goodbye

04/07/2020 -  Poem a Day Compilation



It wasn’t hard to say goodbye.

I didn’t need to say it at all.

I simply shut the door on our friendship

And let it fade into the background.



I went against my better judgement

Letting you into my life at all

But I was alone and lonely then

And wanted to see the good in you.



I think I knew it wouldn’t last

But I hoped you would change for me

But you just got worse and worse

And, in the end, I couldn’t continue.



I sometimes miss our chats

But knowing how they always end

I’m glad I don’t have to go through that

No matter how good the rest of it was.



You probably think I’ll come crawling back

But I don’t need your negativity in my life.

You’ve had more chances than you deserve

And you can’t worm your way back this time.



If you try to reach out to me

You’ll find no response at all.

Because you don’t deserve my time

And with these last few words I am done.

Opposites

03/07/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation



I wanted to stay in and watch a movie.

You wanted to go out clubbing.

We went out to the cinema.



I like wide open spaces.

You like the city life.

We bought a unit overlooking the park.



I wanted to cook an omelette.

You wanted a five-star dining experience.

We used the good plates and had candles.



I like lazy Sunday mornings.

You like running a dawn.

We each did our own thing.



I wanted to get a kitten.

You wanted to get a dog.

We got both, and a turtle, too.



I like intimate barbeques.

You like huge parties.

We had a huge barbecue in the park.



I needed to be brought out of my shell.

You needed to be brought down to earth.

We needed each other.

Complete

02/07/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation

I do not feel complete –

I am a half, a quarter, an eighth –

Divided and separated,

Not whole by any margin.

 

My heart is simultaneously full

And empty at the same time.

Conflicting emotions wash over me

And drag me down below.

 

I want to be at one,

Not cleaved by indecision.

I know what it is I want

But not how to start that journey.

 

My heart is drawn in one direction

While my brain pulls in the other,

Neither winning the battle

And the war hardly begun.

Uncertainty

01/07/2020 - Poem a Day Compilation

 

Sometimes I’m not sure

And I feel a little like Heisenberg

Trying to measure momentum and position

But coming squarely undone.

 

It’s not that I think you’re a wave

Or a particle fixed in space,

I’m just constantly in doubt

About where it is we are going.

 

Were love as simple as physics

I’d have a glorious PhD

In what it is to be in love

But maybe not what it is to be loved.

 

Perhaps we are Fourier transforms –

Two corresponding bases in space –

The magnetic potential between us

Absolutely, undeniably true.

Home Planet

30/06/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation

 

I look around this world,

Its wonders stretched before me,

And ask myself one question

That everyone should pose:

 

Where’s the sense of adventure

In beating a well-worn path

When there’s a whole planet to explore

And a lifetime’s memories to be made?

 

I have stood atop a mountain

Way up above the clouds,

Staring out to the horizon

And down to valleys below.

 

I have crossed vast oceans

To far and distant lands

Where I do not speak the language

But can always understand.

 

It is the beauty that binds us,

The soaking in of new sights,

The sharing of our doorstep

With those from foreign lands.

 

I have gazed upon great monuments

Built to honour kings and queens of yore

And stepped inside magnificent temples

Dedicated to an everlasting love.

 

I have driven across continents

Their length and breadth laid bare

For the simple pleasure

Of seeing what was there.

 

When you marvel at the intricate –

The smallest petal, a delicate wing –

And take in the riches money can’t buy

But a sense of wonder can.

 

There are so many places still

To spark my imagination.

I cannot dream of new worlds when

I have not done with this one yet.

Out of Order

29/06/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation

 

The sign said “out of order”

And I had to agree.

The whole world was.

I definitely was.

I was upside down

And inside out

And back to front

And more than a little skewwhiff.

 

I was unprepared and overwhelmed

But didn’t really realise

Until I came face to face

With that sign on a vending machine

That summed up my whole existence

And it didn’t pain me at all

That my life could be so encapsulated

By a broken-down drinks machine.

 

It seemed quite rational

To be confronted as I was

By the illogical being that was me

In such a humdrum manner

As wanting a bottle of soft drink

And being unable to even begin to decide

Because a sign on the front told me

“Out of order” and I was.

25 Words

28/06/2020 – Poem a Day Compilation

 

If I had only twenty-five words

To explain how I felt about you

I don’t know that I could do better than

“I love you.”