TURNING TIDES

I wander on pastures
So lush and so green
My spirit is lifted
My torment unseen

The land stretches far
Melts into the distance
A veil of blue mist
Offers no resistance

As I near the calm ocean
No sound can I hear
My woman is with me
She guides me from fear

But the passion inside
Instilled by the sea
Is calling me softly
And won’t let me be

The sea and the ocean
The rivers, the streams
Won’t let me escape
From the witch of my dreams

When the night is upon me
To her I am drawn
But how quickly she fades
When the day starts to dawn

Now the darkness has passed
Yet I feel her once more
A storm starts to brew
As the waves crash ashore

She appears from the depths
My name she is calling
The waves start to beckon
I feel myself falling

Blinded by spray
Chocked by her treason
The witch who has tricked me
Won’t listen to reason

I call for my woman
But no-one can hear me
My voice carries silent
Yet reaches her clearly

My woman of trust
Holds me safe in her arms
Guides me from temptation
Away from her charms

Here I shall stay
Til the feeling has gone
No longer the ocean
No longer the song

WAITING FOR GOD


If your halo should
Fall down and choke you,
Would fault be mine?
As I’d surely provoked you.

The blood of a martyr,
The sweat of a saint,
The words of your God,
Reassuring, but faint.

If your life as you know it
Was shattered,
Your perfect existence
Would hardly have mattered.

The glory in the making,
Reality turned sour,
The justice in the fight,
The hero of the hour.

When the veil from
Your eyes has been torn,
And your face no longer
Shows anger or scorn.

Time has passed,
And you’re on your own,
All who’ve loved you
Have been and gone.

If you wake in the
Night feeling scared,
And you can’t tell a soul,
Because no-body cares.

The power of doubt,
The weakness of the mind,
The unanswerable question,
That torments all mankind

Never a man,
Till he swallows his pride,
And faces his demons,
That are hiding inside.

And when you realise
That you’ve lost your way,
You don’t have to kneel,
In order to pray.

SHADOWS AND PATHS

Why hide amongst strangers
Who call themselves friends
Embracing the loneliness
Their masks of pretence

She still tried to run
But her legs were of lead
Couldn’t quite get away
From the sounds in her head

She insists on the night
In which she hides her despair
But she is alive despite all
The burdens she bears

But the storm brought an angel
Who quelled all her fears
Who spoke of a heaven
And dried all her tears

Her heart was released
The peace she regained
Her mind was laid open
Til no sorrow remained

Now with a smile of pure silk
She who only thought to die
Will now mock the bed
On which she chose to lie

She who would always
Half heartedly run
Will now laugh with the moon
And sit with the sun

Now we two alone
Whose love has been proved
Shall never again
From each other be moved

STRANGE LIFE

On the return
I gazed over the high mountains,
Snow tipped and glowing,
In all their rugged splendour,
And I remember the smile
On the glowing face,
The recognition
In the dazzled eye,
And the bridge,
As it swayed over the white water.
And I remember peace
In the honeycombed meadow,
The sweet scent of summer,
The bright distant sun.
Yet I was confused,
As the kingfisher dived cleanly
Into the shallow waters,
And the larch sang high
In the Sycamore tree.
As the waves crashed ashore,
The seaweed tossed,
Dolphins played,
I felt a restlessness,
Of one who has nothing,
Yet wants everything.
For always there is something missing,
A piece of the puzzle
That won’t quite fit.
And I remember the discontent,
As the wind whipped into a frenzy,
Changing the scenery,
As easily as if a landscape painter
Had whipped all the colours together,
Blurring the face,
Obscuring the memory,
Strange how suddenly things change.

I AM ME

To the changelings of fashion
And the monarchs of the state
Who think I should be thankful
That I should fit a dress size eight

That my hair should be this colour
And the golden tan I fake
Is not from expensive holidays
That I do not choose to take

To everyone who knows me
And everything I do
Would things have been done different
If the spotlight was on you

That I should act improper
And not adhere to rules
That I surround myself with idiots
Criminals and fools

To those who profess to know
How we should live our lives
And are horrified to find
A single woman strive

To keep her maiden name
Or to gain a PHD
That the boundaries of tradition
Could be modified by me

To one who has to live
Through the havoc I create
From the comprehensive teacher
To the sullen reprobate

I dare them now to bask
In my reflected glory
Not to analyse my life
Or to publish my life story

And if the present pass me by
Or the future bears no fruit
If those elusive seeds of knowledge
No longer will take root

In the mind over which one day
I’ll no longer have control
When the body which protects me
Will be without a soul

And if in years to come
My name on lips would be
It would be for one reason only
It would be ‘cos I was me.

DO YOU?

Do you ever
Think about me now?
When someone takes your picture
Do you ever think
I might see it?

Does it make
Your eyes go misty,
And your smile falter
Or do you push it
To the back of your mind,

Do you hear my laugh
And wish you could
See my smile
One more time
To brighten your day?

Do you smell my perfume
And turn to find
Someone else wearing it…
Do you even remember
What perfume I wore?

Do you dream of me
A lot, a little, at all?
Does your heart jump
When the phone rings,
But it’s never me,

I look when no-one’s watching
And I wonder
If that twinkle in your eye
Is still for me

Or is there someone else
Looking at your picture now…

HOW DO I SAY “I LOVE YOU”?



It’s often hard to put into words
Or say it to your face
When you came into my life
It became a better place.
The love I feel so deep inside
Reaches to my heart
But my words they seem so limited
So difficult to impart.
No-one seems to comprehend
These feelings true and grand
Knowing you are there for me
To protect and hold my hand.
Through all my fears and loneliness
Through all the joys and sorrows
To give me strength to carry on
And face all life’s tomorrows.
I love you more than I could ever say
Or ever hope to show
But to know you as I know you now
Somehow I know you know