Waiting...

Picture

In the picture
With your hand held high
Balled to a fist
Raised to the wind
Raised to the world
Determination no bound

The picture faded
To sepia tones
And I swear
In the quiet moments
I see your fist fall
And unclench
Bowed in submission
You let the world in

Shadow

The shadow that walks
Beside my footsteps
Laughs with abandon
Welcomes without reserve
No exception

The shadow that moves
Alongside my path
Has been here before
In past or in present
With the light that shone long besides

The shadow alongside
Has walked for hours
In silence
In presence
Of everything I gave it

The shadow within
Has looked on
At the shades of judgement
That coloured the view
I saw

The darkness is mine
Flowing from the light
That shone
So very brightly
It changed the colour
And the view
Soaked up
Without consequence

I’m seeing it before me
And I close my eyes.

Between

You danced
Showing your life
Everything you had
To my song
In my room

You swore
Hand held high
Eyes looking up
Without reflection
Or hindsight

You touched
Like it was the last time
You could say it
Like it was the meaning
The echo to everything
Fallen before

I closed my eyes.
Where were you?

My memory of darkness obscures
All the changes
And everything you offered
To the gods
To change
From what fell before
To what falls between

Thin Line

I can watch you
with your eyes fixed open
in fascination,
hypnotised
by the scene you’re seeing
The connection is visceral
blood finding itself again
As you look at the pain
spat out before you
Arrogance fallen once more

I can watch you
with my eyes closed shut
in denial
repugnance
by the scene you’re seeing
The distance is undeniable
as you push yourself up
from the pain you see
When all I can feel
is the thin line between
the standing and the falling

Hope

Is it courage
if we can’t see the beast we are fighting,
is the question I ask myself
without speaking
every hour

Is it choice
when we cannot contemplate
the other option
no matter how dark
the day that threatens to fall

Is it determined
if we cast the net widely
if we throw our cards into the air
if we hold our breathe, sign a cross,
feel premonitions,
follow intuition.
Close our eyes and hope like hell...

Counting

The stillness in the dark
seems to cry out
waking me from dream,
rousing me from slumber.
Into a world of silence,
where my world
is filled with the echoes of my breath
catching hard and fast.
The abrupt awakening
jolts adrenaline fuelled
heavy breathing,
which as it quietens
leaves a space between.
A moment without.
No light, no sound
Broken only by the ticking of the clock
behind me counting the time down.

Shining back

Strands ofhair
hide her face
She pushes them aside.
Looking down
searching
for the reflection,
deep within the walls
Of the moon
shining back
up at itself,
an answer
to the world,
to the question
she never asked.

Anything

The night is biting
through my clothes
and my breath
is billowing out white
against the darkenss
all around
and I’m standing, freezing
looking up tonight
for a star to wish on
to show the way
to light the path
Might be erased
in first light of morning
but tonight,
think I’d follow
anything.

Taken

The fireside gave a glow
reflecting off the glass
half filled, half drunk
reflecting on the story
half told
half held
of times long past
of choices made
lesser roads not travelled

The fireside gave a glow
reflecting in the eyes
half tired, but alive
telling the story
half chosen
half chance
of days long past
of what was made
and lesser roads not taken.