Poetry

21/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Poetry is a flood of emotions,

Captured in the lines of text

Consumed by the reader

And passed on from mind to mind



The words flow when I am sad

Like tears dripping from my fingers

Staining the page with expressions

Full of sorrow and distress



The words flow when I am tired

And can barely keep my eyes open

Yet still manage to make my fingers move

To get the words on the paper



The words flow when I am bored

And have nothing else to do

But stare at the page

Until inspiration strikes



The words flow when I am lonely

And they are my only friends

Keeping me company

When the world has deserted me



The words flow when I am depressed

To give me an escape from my own mind

And to let loose all the chaos

That builds up inside of me



The words flow when I am ashamed

Acting as a release from the burden

Of that which holds me back

When I think I am not enough



The words flow when I am guilty

No matter how inconsequential

The slight may have been

I feel it deep within my soul



The words flow when I am mad

At myself for not being more than I am

And for being too much

For other people to handle



The words flow when I am hurt

Trickling from a multitude of wounds

That I probably inflicted upon myself

In the wakeful hours after midnight



The words flow when I am hostile

Towards an imagined enemy

Closing in on the gates

To the fortress that is my heart



The words flow when I am angry

At the world for its depravity

And it’s soullessness

When it should be a comforting place



The words flow when I am selfish

And only thinking about my own needs

My own desires to be heard

And to create something more than myself



The words flow when I am hateful

The metaphorical bile rising up

And spilling on the page

With venomous force



The words flow when I am critical

Mostly of myself

And my achievements

Or lack thereof



The words flow when I am scared

That I’m not on the right path

And my world will fall apart

Leaving me bereft



The words flow when I am confused

Allowing me to understand

Myself and the world around me

Through meandering verse and stanza



The words flow when I am rejected

All the things I should have said

But never had the courage

Spewing out of me like a torrent



The words flow when I am helpless

Fighting against the tide

Without a lifeline

Unable to save myself



The words flow when I am insecure

Seeking reassurance

That I am not alone in my thoughts

And there is some way out



The words flow when I am anxious

Coming fast and furious

Over the rocks in my brain

Creating whirlpools to trap me



The words flow when I am joyful

And bounce from my fingers

Onto keys that show the world

The smile upon my face



The words flow when I am excited

Bombarding the readers with images

Burned into my brain

By thousands of neurons firing



The words flow when I am energetic

The power the sun pouring out of me

A million times a second

Filling my cup until it runs over



The words flow when I am cheerful

Bubbling up and out of the pen

Each letter, each word, each line of text

A drop of sunshine to light the way



The words flow when I am creative

Turning pictures into poems

And painting images in the minds

Of those who would soak them in



The words flow when I am hopeful

Because words can change the world

They can lift up the deserving

And shine a light on the downtrodden



The words flow when I am proud

Glittering like diamonds

Strewn across a sea of troubles

That have been fought and overcome



The words flow when I am appreciated

So that I can return the thanks

Given to me for a job well done

Or for time given up in the service of others



The words flow when I am faithful

To my own thoughts and convictions

Not swayed by passing phases

But strong in my sense of self



The words flow when I am peaceful

And at one with the world

Lost in a mediation with myself

That fills the noise in my head with quiet



The words flow when I am trusting

Of the process I go through

Of putting pen to paper

And letting go of the rest of the world



The words flow when I am loving

Showing that love for all to see

Showering all those who care to look

With a glow that radiates from the page



The words flow when I am thoughtful

Contemplating the meaning of life

All the intricacies of humanity

And why it is that this form speaks to me



The words flow when I am content

And for that brief moment in time

Everything is right with the world

Just as it should be



Poetry is a flood of emotions,

Born of the turmoils and the triumphs

Given with courage to the world

Without expectation of reward

A Fleeting Encounter

20/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



He stepped onto the bus in front of me

His suit freshly laundered by the smell

That was only just detectable under the cologne

He’d liberally applied that morning



He was sporting the designer stubble

That so many found utterly desirable

But I didn’t think it suited his face

And he’d have looked better clean-shaven



If I’d wanted to wager a guess at his occupation

I would have said middle management

Probably in a bank or other financial institution

By the way he carried himself



His voice carried all through the bus

As he talked into his earpiece

No doubt his constantly connected phone

Like an extra limb he couldn’t live without



I was glad to be getting off at the next stop

Away from his pompous attitude

And his overbearing presence

To go on my way in my minimalist peace

Surrounded

19/04/2021 - Poem a Day Compilation



I am surrounded by the pressure

To be more than I am

And sometimes I don’t know

How I’m supposed to deal with that



The pressure isn’t from anywhere else

But inside my own mind

And I argue with myself endlessly

About what I should be doing



I wish I had the confidence

To achieve what I tell myself I should

Maybe one day I will

But today is not that day

No Matter Where

18/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Written in the early hours of Sunday, just after midnight,

whilst watching the funeral of Prince Philip,

Duke of Edinburgh, formerly Prince of Greece and Denmark.



Though laid to rest

In solemn ceremony

Replete with tears

Fallen on sunken cheeks

Of old comrades

Known for so many years

And from bright eyes

Of grandchildren

Who had not enough time

All standing as one

In grief

A family in mourning

Not now any greater

Nor lesser

Than any other in such sorrow

You will be remembered

By those who held you

In high esteem

And in their arms

No matter where they may lay their head

The Cellar Door

17/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



We don’t have a cellar door

But I’ve always wanted one

A door to a place I can hide away

When the working day is done



A comfy world tucked away

Where reality gets shut out

And words can tumble from my mind

In quiet murmurs, not a shout



A wall full of bookshelves

And a desk for me to write

Where the troubles of the working day

Are kept far from sight



Maybe one day I’ll get my cellar door

And the stairs and cellar, too

To create a little sanctuary

That I can share with you

The Inescapable Truth

16/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Everyone discovers

Their own

Inescapable truth

That defines

Who or

What or

Where and

It can

Break them

Make them

Or maybe

Forsake them

But always

Is there

Following them

Through life

Through troubles

Through ecstasy

Through trials

And tribulations

And all

That comes

With them

Drawing Breath

15/04/2021 – Poem a Day Compilation



Conscious of the air passing my lips

As I breathe in and out

Sucking in the cold, still air

Of the breaking dawn

Letting out the warmth from my lungs

Seeing my breath plume out in front of me

My hands stuffed deep into pockets

In an effort to stop my fingertips turning blue

And my feet shuffling on the spot

The lambswool lining of my boots toasty

Against the low, rolling fog not yet burnt off

By the suns warming rays