The Eye of the Beholder

07/05/2020 – Iso Well-Being Compilation

 

The Blobfish is rarely seen

In your local fish and chip shop

Because it lives in the deepest waters

And looks like Jabba the Hut.

But there’s a sad beauty

To this deep-sea creature

That draws you in

With its gelatinous form.

 

The Naked Mole Rat is cute

In the same way, it must be said,

As a penis with teeth surely is,

And that isn’t very much at all.

The queen of these sand puppies

Has a colony like that of a bee

Which she keeps on a tight leash

Except when it comes to breeding

 

The Proboscis Monkey has a nose

That would put Monsieur Bergerac to shame

He uses it to lure the ladies

To his jungle hideaway.

But that’s not his only quality,

With a bloated stomach filled with gas

Caused by a diet of unripened fruit

He is a gaseous mess.

 

The Star Nosed Mole is amazing

At feeling its way through the ground

With a nose that looks like two stars

Exploding in the night sky.

The rest of the creature’s quite reasonable,

It’s furry and small and cute.

From the back it’s decidedly handsome

But from the front it might give you a start.

 

The Aye-Aye is a bit of a no-no,

With big ears and big eyes to match;

Its fingers seem to go on forever,

And its hair is sparse in the least.

Though it looks like something you’d see

In a horror film or nightmare,

This adorably ugly critter

Is happy to just hang out instead.

 

The Axolotl can regenerate limbs

That it might lose in a fight for its life.

But it’s its pale countenance

That gives it most of its startling look.

Well, along with red fringe

It wears like some sort of scarf,

That are really gills turned out

And allow the unfortunate to breathe.

 

The Warthog is mighty fine

In animated form on the screen

But in real life is not so pretty

Even when it’s had a mud bath.

Its tusk, they do protrude

From a frightfully weathered face,

They’re an effective form of defence

Against predators and other unruly hogs.

 

The Common Celestial Goldfish

Might have a name that is fancy

But its eyes are perched oddly

On the side of its head.

They’re much too large for the rest of it,

As if they had been inflated,

Giving an altogether unusual form

For this otherwise ordinary fish.

 

The Kakapo might be a parrot

But it lacks the style and the grace

Of most of its feathered brethren

An ugly duckling never to be a swan.

But its size gives it some majesty,

So large it cannot fly,

Calling from the ground to its mate

Its colours a gorgeous sight.

The Seasons

06/05/2020 - Iso Well-Being Compilation 



You are cold like the winter,

Aloof and indifferent,

Making you hard to read

And keeping me at arm’s length.



You run hot like summer months,

Easy to anger,

Firey and unpredictable,

And I am running scared.



You’re warm like springtime,

Wrapping me in your arms,

Telling me everything will be ok

And I am drawn in all over again.



You are cool as an autumn breeze,

Hinting at what’s to come,

So tantalizingly calm,

But I have to get away.

A Decision in Time

05/05/2020 – Iso Well-Being Compilation



Today I might to decide to get a puppy.

Not just any puppy – A rescue puppy –

Not because I must but because

It exists within me to care.



Or maybe I’ll be a cat instead,

They seem so much more independent

And I wouldn’t have to take them for a walk,

Just make sure they don’t eat the bird.



Today I might decide to save those few dollars

That I would have spent on a takeaway

And put them in a piggy bank

Safe for a rainy day.



Or I might give it to the homeless guy

Who looks like he needs a hot meal

And, though it won’t buy much,

It’s more than he’s had all week.



Today I might decide to eat a salad for lunch

Because it’s time I looked after myself

And stopped over-indulging

On comfort foods and junk.



Or I might have the slice of cake

That was left over from my birthday

Because it’s not right to waste food

Especially when it’s so delicious.



Today I might decide to go for a run

To get the blood pumping though my veins,

Air flowing through my lungs,

And my muscles stronger than before.



Or I might sit on the couch under a blanket

And binge watch that latest TV show

That everyone’s raving about but of which

I don’t quite understand the premise.



Today I might decide to read a book

And get lost in its pages,

Captured by its characters and themes,

Transported to a different realm.



Or I might go to bed earlier than usual,

Get a full night’s sleep for once,

And hopefully wake up refreshed,

Not like I’ve been hit by a truck.



Today I might decide to get excited –

About what, I don’t know –

But I will approach it with enthusiasm

And overbrimming with the trill of it.



Or I might just plod through the day

Avoiding conflict and surprise,

Having a day where I simply exist

And don’t have to exert myself.



Today I might decide to follow my dreams

And change my career path,

Take on that role I know suits me

More than any other has done.



Or I might make the best of this job,

Creating the role I want for myself

From within the existing constraints

And blowing them to kingdom come.



Today I might decide to choose the right guy

To settle down with for the future

Who treats me as I should be treated

And accepts me, faults and all.



Or I might choose Mt Right Now,

Who makes me feel exponentially good

If but for a fleeting moment in time

And then disappears into the ether.



Today I might decide to catch up with friends

Who actually get me,

Who rejoice in my absurdity,

And who understand my weaknesses.



Or I might hang with new friends

Because then I can pretend to be someone

Infinitely different from who I am,

If only for a day.



Today I might decide to love myself

Because if I don’t, who will?

And I deserve to be loved

Just like everyone else.

My city

04/05/2020 - Iso Well-Being Compilation

I love this city.
It sparkles and it shines.
It soothes my nerves,
And excites my mind.

I couldn’t live anywhere
But in its warm embrace.
It invigorates me, wholly,
And feeds my desires.

Every time I leave it
I know, when I return,
It will always welcome me
Back home where I belong.

There’s nowhere else on earth
I’d rather be right now
Than tucked up in my bed,
Listening to my city hum.

The Ghost of Winters Past

03/05/2020 – Iso Well-Being Compilation



A shadow crossed my face today.

I thought it was just the trees

But looking back, I think I was wrong;

I think it might have been you.



I feel your soul in every sunbeam,

On every snowflake that falls,

With every breeze that kisses my cheek

And through all the years that lapse.



Your spirit lifts me when I am down,

When I am deep in the heart of darkness,

Surrounded by the cold night air,

And scared of everything that moves.



I see your presence as I walk this city,

In that building that you laid mortar for,

In those sculptures you crafted,

In the smile of our child as we play.



I have visions of you as I sleep,

Wrapping your arms around me

And telling me that it’s ok

But how can it be when you’re not here?



I hear your voice sometimes,

And I turn to answer you

But there’s no one there,

Just an hallucination, haunting me,



You are a shade on a clear blue day,

Misting my eyes so I cannot see you;

I can’t unsee you, though.

You’re burned into my memory.



You drift from me,

A phantom of delight.

Never quite within my reach,

Slipping slowly away forever.



The dreaded spectre of a life without you

Looms large and foreboding now,

Though it never feels real,

As if you’d walk through the door any moment.



I am spooked by the noises this old house makes,

The creaks like footsteps on the stairs

And the whistling of wind through cracks

You promised to repair before you …



I get thrown by fleeting sights of men

Who bear some passing resemblance to you,

A doppelganger sent to tease me

When I all I wish is to grieve in peace.



You are but a wraith,

Lingering too long, perhaps,

Unable to let go of this mortal coil,

Unable to let me be free.



Were I blessed with an apparition of you

I may finally be able to say goodbye,

To give you your release and,

In so doing, let my heart heal.



But the strings that bind us

Cannot be cut so easily

And you are with me always,

My precious Eidolon.

A bad dream

02/05/2020 - Iso Well-Being Compilation



I’d like to wake up from this dream now


Because it’s not fun in the least.


I’m stuck in my own private nightmare


Looking out at a world I don’t recognise.


Devils call daily for sacrifices,


Infecting the minds of those near,


And there’s nothing I can do but cry


And scream until I can’t speak anymore.


I long for another reality,


One with laughter and joy – not this mess.

How to know if you’re in love

01/05/2020 - Iso Well-Being Compilation



When I see his smile,

I get butterflies in my tummy

And I want to look into his eyes

For all of eternity and then some.



When he talks, I listen,

Hanging off every word

As if it might be the last thing

I ever hear in this world.



When I know he’s been thinking of me

It makes me all warm inside

Like he’s hugging my soul

And I don’t want him to let go.



When he calls me pet names

And it doesn’t creep me out

But it makes me want to hear them more

Even if they are schmaltzy.



When he send me pictures of himself

In his trackies and a jumper,

Looking all snuggly warm,

And I just want to curl up in his arms.



When I ask him about his day

And he tells me,

Regardless of how boring he thought it was,

And I do the same for him.