Tuesday 28 October 2014

Pale moon rising



The pale moon rising
I’ll see you again tonight
Our forbidden love

Is the moon our friend
Or a duplicitous sneak
But what do I care?

I'll touch your soft skin
Feel the warmth of your body
So I worry not

But I sense trouble
For a mist clouds your sad eyes
You say not a word

That speaks millions
For this will be the last time
It will be dark soon

Image from www.109.com

Saturday 25 October 2014

My life is an open book




What frivolous days
No inklings of times to come
Being thirteen was good

Then when I met you
Love beat an audible drum
In both of our hearts

Sun, blue sky and you
We ran through the poppy field
Speedy young adults

Our bodies entwined
Like strange gnarled roots of a tree
In time everlasting

Just who would write this
Wind blown, storm tossed, best seller
Are all lives like this?

Apocalyptic
Literary masterpiece
With sad epilogue

Image found at www.thaoski.com

Yearning for home

                                             Nightingale singing

Your love is a nightingale's song                                
That sad caress of hearts desire                           
This touches me wherever I am                              
Whatever I do I will not tire   
           
As I travel so far from home                        
I picture you in all my dreams                                  
As lonely paths I walk at night                                 
My way is lit by your moonbeams               

This yearning will be sure to end                            
In your sweet arms I’ll gladly lay                              
Homeward’s journey soon will make                     
And with our children gladly play    

You’ve warmed me with your fire of love               
I kiss your lips with passions drive
What kind fortune picked me for you
This is all that keeps me alive

Beautiful nightingale sing on
You echo words my love does say
I sadly sleep this night alone
At dawn I’ll take the homeward way

Image found at http://www.debrecensun.hu/culture/2012/05/02/listen-to-the-nightingales-song/


To win your love



Can I conquer you?
What design to win your love
Have you a weakness?

How aloof you are
Such weapon to tend beauty
and crush my spirit

A prickly question
What irk, that thorn in my side
Just where is your smile?

I’ll give you roses
Surely I will scent success
When they touch your heart


Wednesday 22 October 2014

A stranger even to herself

                                    Bag Lady by William Cook Hagwood



She’s one of the first to leave                     
Staring up at the bright sky             
As though there might be some sign         
Perhaps guidance from above                   
Or if the weather would hold                        

She had such a fertile mind                        
She had survived against all odds             
Always searching in the streets                  
Begging when they weren’t looking           
And defensive when they were                   

She had a family once                                 
They would not recognize her now             
Other drifters hated her                               
She hated them back “So there!”               
Those needy little bastards                         

She had known another life             
With husband and children too                   
All gone, gone, gone, good riddance
She was better on her own 
A stranger even to herself 

Image found at www.tarotcanada.org

Monday 20 October 2014

Cards



A long time ago
There were no computer games
But we were not sad

I was so young then
We were short in everything
And it was wartime

But we still had fun
Outside we ran and played free
Indoors, different

So chilly winters
A pack of cards was all
Solo or with friends

Solitaire for one
For two there was Snap
Then Go Fish for more

Soon there was Rummy
When the Old Maid had been found
I loved Clock Patience

With Dad we learned Whist
Then we progressed to Oh Hell
Except at parties

For many people
Called for improvisation
So then Chase the Ace

Playing cards teach us
Winning and losing is fun
Adding social skills

Image from www.the guardian.com

Saturday 18 October 2014

The Woodland Sprite


I met an angel                                                          
May I talk to you of her?                                  
But keep it secret                                                    

Her voice like a song                                              
With hands soft and beautiful                              
I said “speak to me”                                                 

She laughed like a stream                                    
The sound of rippling water                                  
As she smiled at me                                               

“I want to touch you”                                               
Her eyes sparkled like the stars                           
She denied me not                                                 

I tugged at her hand                                                           
She lived in the dark forest                                               
“Come back home with me”                                  

She just shook her head                                       
“I am daughter of the woods                            
He would not approve”                                          

As her hands touched mine                                      
She said "And just who are you                     
Will you come again?"                                            

I said that I would
Day’s later I returned there
But could not find her

I searched all over
Yet I found the woodman’s hut
Abandoned for years

I often go back
Hoping that my woodland sprite
Will appear again

Image from www.cecile214.deviantart.com

Aunt Bess




I remember my childhood
Oh so many long years ago
Aunt Bess was a stranger to us
Yes, the one with the crazy laugh
A martyr to her memories
And a prisoner of her dreams
Whose secrets were in shadows
In the bright sunshine of our lives
She wore a diamond necklet
But no wedding ring shone for her
She lost her man in the great war
And her mind went shortly after
Just what seer could have forecast
War's cold steel that took him away
Would steal her mind as well

Image found at www.etsy.com

An Unwelcome Guest



I was awoken
By a blood curdling scream
On one winter’s night

I sat up in bed
Was my wife having a dream?
I gently touched her

“Ssh” she spoke at last
“There’s somebody in the house
Didn’t you hear them?”

“I will go and check”
I tell her quite undaunted
She still clung to me

She felt so loving
I really should have stayed there
But got up instead

There in the kitchen
A found a happy possum
Eating leftovers

I had a problem
Just how could I get rid of
This unwelcome guest? 

Image found at www.cathyarnaudasiatour2013.com

Wednesday 15 October 2014

The lake in the trees

             

I went back again
To that special place of yours
That comforted you

To the secret lake
Through the whispering pines trees
Your childhood spent there

When we were first wed
You gently took my hand
To tell who you were

There you swam alone
So long before you knew me
Before we were one

Sometimes I go back
Because there I feel you again
Now that you have gone

The lake and pines wave
For they mourn your passing too
I am not alone


Image found at www.frensham-pe.gov.uk

Playing in the rain



Alone that morning
She stared out of the window
Reminiscing back

All those years ago
Children playing in the rain
Such happiness then

They were all gifted
Now gone, oh so far away
As the clock ticked on

Intense loneliness
The teeming rain wept for her
As the rot set in

Image from www.blog.bilingualtherapies.com

Tuesday 14 October 2014

Dum puts his thinking cap on (No. 27)

                              Burning out a log to use as a canoe


For the second special and 100 th Anniversary I have chosen prompt words not used before during a hiatus in my posting to Josie’s site and have brought back Dum and Yum the prehistoric cave people. Dum was the thinker and inventor that humanity had to have in order to progress. In this special chapter we see him take advantage of a catastrophe that hit the habitat they lived in. To see early stories about Dum and Yum just click on Cavemen in the Labels bar. I have made use of the prompt words Easy, Wind and Cloud

All of the cave dwellers had moved to the village where Song the spirit woman lived. She had persuaded the head men there that Dum would be a useful member of the village as he had good ideas on hunting and inventing new tools to help them in everyday life.

Some of the cave people had not been sure but when they found that each family would have a hut made out of branches and with a watertight roof covered with twigs and leaves and even moss that kept the rain out they slowly got accustomed to it especially as the bigger community felt safer together and were to repel raiders whether they be outsiders or hungry animals like bears and wolves.

Dum as usual made the most of this security by spending much time travelling further afield to see what was there knowing that his family would be safe in the village if he was delayed.

So it was that one cloudy and windy day he and Grunt his friend from the cave days travelled north they were caught in terrific storm and had to shelter overnight in most uncomfortable conditions in the forest. They were soaking wet they couldn’t light a fire and the storm’s wind had been so great many trees were blown over and even swept away in the flood of water from the hills inland that swelled the rivers and burst their banks.

Grunt was miserable and wanted to get home quickly to his woman Dong but Dum was curious. He wanted to see where all the debris of the storm had been washed to. He also was dubious about crossing the swollen river that ran so fast he could imagine them being swept away, injured or even drowned.

He finally managed to dissuade Grunt from crossing the river that was in turmoil and white with foam and seemed very angry indeed. So he promised Dong they would cross when it looked easier.

Dum kept lifting his nose to the breeze to catch the scent of the ocean. Finally he indicated to Grunt that soon they would see the sea. Now the terrain was flatter the river started to run slower and the debris was being washed up on the banks in great heaps. Finally they reached the shore and the beach was covered with all manner of detritus. Little rivulets spread over the flat sand and with piles like little islands on the sand they scrambled from one to the other to get the village on the other side of the river.  However their way was blocked and as Dum could see a lot of debris floating in the sea he indicated to Grunt they should wade out in the water and hold onto some large branches and somehow find their way south back to the village by water. When they finally found the beach clear again they would walk again. Grunt was very unhappy he didn't like the sea but as he too wanted to get home he reluctantly agreed. As there was so much debris they soon saw a large branch and waded out to that held on and finally straddled it while Dum paddled with his hands to get clear of other obstructions. It was not long before they were clear of most of the obstructions and made their way back to the village side of the blocked and swollen river. As they got nearer the shore Dum slipped off the branch to see if his feet touched the sandy bottom. He had to do this two or three times before he felt it so he then dragged the branch in shore with Grunt still grumbling as a passenger. 

Slowly they made their way back home empty handed but safe. Yum welcomed Dum back with a hug and he told her what had happened. Then she showed him the damage that had been caused to the village with several huts losing their roofs. However everyone was safe. Once they got a fire going again and had eaten some food Yum saw that Dum was thinking hard. Later he told what they had done and said they he was going to make a log useful to travel out to sea so they could catch fish further out from the shore. Yum just smiled at him. How she loved him for even in danger he could see the possibilities of improving their lives.


                               Dum's later invention of a bark canoe

Saturday 11 October 2014

Longing



Whispers in my heart
Love letters from you to me
With many kisses

Remembering you 
I so want to breathe you in
Lay my head on you

I miss you so much
You have gone so far away
Out of my reach

The fir trees whisper
They know that I pine for you
How can I catch up?

Image from www.siskiyous.edu

Night Train



Night train's mournful whistle
Ate into my heart
Hypnotized me
No, tortured me
As I remembered you

You were mine once, long ago
Your teasing flesh
Slaking our lust
Where were our brains?
Just like headless chickens

I knew you would leave me
Out of gimmicks
Liquor ran out
Uniform no draw
The machine had clicked stop

So where do I go from here?
Where's the lotion?
Where's the balm?
Just that whistle
As I remember you


Image from www.astronomerbilal.wordpress.com

Friday 10 October 2014

If music be the food of love…write on


                                    Flute and Harpsichord Duet

The time of our lives
When your soft fingers play with
The cleft in my chin

The beat of your heart
Your voice is such sweet music
Drum's beat of passion

Together in tune
Our love’s like a symphony
Seductive rhythm

Tenor in my voice
But words are not my forte
Pause for reflection

A medley of kisses
You play with my affections
And nibble my ears

Now I must leave you
Concerto’s last movement
Resounding applause

Sharp pain of absence
I note the tears in your eyes
Plucking my heartstrings

25+ words related to music or including musical terms are included in this piece.

Image found at www.bonhams.com

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Our magic land



You and I found a magic land
So we went there hand in hand
Where soft hills we did explore
Limpid pools enticed us even more

Supple trees swayed from side to side
A dark forest welcomed us inside
Where woodland scents aroused us there
We frolicked in secret without a care

Sun’s arrogant glare now was hidden
Quiet whispers were not forbidden
Life’s crude ways were left far behind
And its torments were out of mind

Oh what magic was there that day
We just didn’t want to come away
When I stole that last kiss from you
You said “Don’t tell a soul, that’s taboo"

Image from www.corbisimages.com

Monday 6 October 2014

Old Timer's Lament

As I didn't start contributing to Two Shoes Tuesday until prompt 10, I thought I would include the first nine prompt words in this piece and allude to the 100th. As one of the older contributors do forgive me my sarcasm.



No illusions left
Someone please open the door
I fear I cannot

“Tell me your secret
It is very safe with me
Just what did you say?”

Hope is eternal
“If winter comes, can spring be...”
So the saying goes

I can’t walk in rain
So my eyes are damp with tears
I miss everything

Swim in the blue sea
Water makes me feel alive
Rejuvenate me

I remember shoes
But now I just wear slippers
I’ve no place to go

Centurion he
“Just who remembers me still?
My friends are all gone”

Image found at www.verysmartbrothas.com

Saturday 4 October 2014

He left her a gift



He was gone again
Their ships passing in the night
He’d left her a gift

He usually did
A cute lass or handsome lad
To greet him next time

So away he sailed
Letting go the sheet anchor
Hauling the main sails

Contact was broken
Yet their connection was strong
“He’s here in their eyes”

She imagined him
Every time she named them
Yet fearing the worst

She sang them a song
“Where is my daddy at sea?
Please come home to me”

She never thought of
The many goblets of grog
Or girls in the ports

After many months
To the port office she went
Looking at the signs

But she could not read
So entered and ask for news
“It’s vital” she said

Wife of a seaman
She had the sense to know
From the man’s speech

They were now alone
A sad poem she must sing
Home he would not come

Image from www.hdesktops.com

An Empty Bed



Have I been dreaming?
I woke to an empty bed
Now it seems so big

I reach out, you’ve gone
I hear the rain dance for me
Somebody loves me

Skies are grey today
Everybody’s in a rush
But I’m a slowcoach

The world’s had a wash
There is no trace of you left
Except in my heart

Have I been dreaming?
I woke to an empty bed
Now the world’s so big

Image found at www.brokenfixit.com

Friday 3 October 2014

A dusty scrapbook



I’d been gone so long
But I was back home again
For the funeral

Forty years now passed
I had changed, the town had changed
But I still belonged

There was the old church
The park, the river of youth
There the market square

Once I was a choirboy
Always on my bicycle
Playing with my mates

No eulogies said
My mother’s friends now all gone
Her son a stranger

My back felt a tap
And the she uttered my name
“I knew you mum well”

She had a kind face
Worn by many a summer
“I’ve something for you”

After the service
She took me back to her place
“Why don’t you sit down?”

With a cup of tea
She offered a piece of cake
“Forgive me” she smiled

“She said this is yours
It’s so full of photographs
Her dusty scrapbook"


Wednesday 1 October 2014

Guests that stay too long



Still they come to this barren land
From teeming cities, swamp and sand
Their desire for freedom so intense
Despite the dangers and expense

Their worries far outweigh the dangers
Despite our history of bushrangers
They come to leave behind war and strife
And of course to seek a better life

But with welcome here they do not get
High seas and navy patrols see them met
Then to remote internment camps are sent
In this land compassion is quite absent

There is a far better way and wiser
To arrive by plane with a temporary visa
To work or even take a blissful holiday
Overstay your welcome, you might be okay


Image fro, www.theaustralian.com.au