I'm not a seafarer, but took a risk and dove right in,
as if from cliff height and wound up floundering
in the dark abysmal depths of a roiling ocean.
From pages of 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,'
I wore the feathered omen draped around my shoulders.
When a marriage ends, the mast is cracked, mainsail tattered.
The bottle was his failing; but the burden was mine.
His raging storm was a whirlpool of self-loathing.
Certain to drown if I lingered with him much longer,
I was in need of a way out of my wretched life.
Frowns were etched into my brow from doleful despair,
as we sailed beneath stormy skies on a battered ship.
My cries were much louder than the roar of the ocean,
but he didn't seem to care whether he lived or died.
I desperately fought to keep him tethered to my side
but he was the killick that kept dragging me down.
I couldn't save us both, broke free from the chain,
and watched Coleridge's boa floating in the flotsam.
I stood on the beach, searching each crested wave
but when the tide ebbed, I walked away.
The cruel laughter of the soul
Laments its flagellation by time,
Ebbed on the flattened stones of
A raped river.
Sorrow, an amanuensis of silence,
Reads the minutes of the last meeting
Held within dying doors, between
Mind and soul, two warring nations
Of a proud heart,
Now asleep with bloodshot eyes.
The sea was a whisper before it was water,
cleaved through the wind.
I stepped into its silver mouth,
waves curling something pressing in
a wistful longing for a past I never knew.
Seagulls traced ethereal designs across the expanse
their wails scattered like fragments.
Somewhere underneath the foam,
the past was fossilized within sedimentary strata
waiting for my hands to delve deep enough to find it.
The tide came in more forcefully
and I thought of to how love in this way
always arriving, always leaving---
sometimes tender, sometimes intense enough
to split the coast in two.
When it ebbed, it left behind more than remnants of a disaster,
it embodied the ideal I sought;
calmed by the steady undulations of the sea,
gleaming in calmness;
as if the tide dredged up
on the verge of being forgotten.
( for Mom )
I’ll treasure dear while growing old
I clasped your hand til it waxed cold
a warm so gifted - touch and breath
thus torn from me by time and death
no quarter mine should find that gone
I grasped quite desp’rate, holding on
what sweet, the reaper robbed me of
your glow of closeness, coursings, love
but while your heat slow-slipped away
I cursed your lord should find you stay
for what good, gods or peace or calm
when gone, the warmth your tiny palm?
oh Mom, your death is owed such costs
they’ve found me broken, bleak and lost
l’m scared what left as you ebbed cold
were precious things that kept me whole
now I’ll not find, through gain or cause
those dear things made me who I was
that my heart’s doomed, whate’er I do
too much of mine left then … with you
dear heav’n, please tell me that’s … not …
true.
I tried to speak, but the words were hollow,
My breath held tight to leeward of an echo.
You said goodbye, like the end would follow,
But I’m stuck dumb trying to swallow.
You're far away,
But an echo still remains.
I called your name,
But silence forgot my claims.
You're far, far away,
But I still feel the flickering flame.
Of all we lost too soon,
As tide ebbed from our empty room.
I watched your eyes fade to dark gray,
Like stars that fail, shift to deep dark red.
Take me in to join you there,
I can't move to follow you, I'm paralyzed.
In dusk's silence, I wandered into the forest's recesses
Where ancient secrets slumber, and mystic powers weave
The Uba forest's murmured wonders, a realm of awe
Where powder-kissed mysteries await, and spirits breathe
Fortified by inner strength, I communed with the land's guardian
A being of primal power, with eyes that saw beyond
The veil of reality, where worlds collide and blend
Humans morph into beasts, and creatures take on human form
In this realm of shape-shifting dreams, night and day converge
As beings with terrifying visages stride, their power unbound
I emerged transformed, my essence infused with forest might
Empty plates overflowed, and respect followed in my wake
But power's double-edged sword sliced through my foolish pride
My secret revealed, my life force ebbed away, in cool blood spilled
Now a spirit within the spirit realm, I whisper warnings true
Human power, fleeting and fragile, against God's eternal might forever
Soul’s
heartfelt
cry echoed
in the vast void,
of prayers unheard
by the heavens above,
so to resolve the impasse,
poised in the void of cessation,
the earth entity melded with space,
sparking the power of bliss magnetism.
Thoughts rested, desires ebbed and fears faded
whence grazed by the wafting winds of grace,
in witness mode, staid soul observed,
the dance divine within form,
entwining head and heart,
whence eye then single,
all that then was,
was the Self,
shining
bright.
Easter Reading
In Lima – Peru- a hippo was pulling the tram car with
its best friend, a water buffalo. They had ended up
here, far from Africa, after the great flood ebbed and
had been blessed with eternal life, only being mere
animals, they didn´t know this. In Lima, no one made
a big issue of this, but when the wider world knew
and some adventurers set about trying to kill the pair,
in vain, the Lima people took another look, especially
since the church thought they were the devil´s own
handiwork, god would never have allowed beasts
besting man. Angry people took to hurling mud and
stones at the animals, also calling them rude names.
From the mountain came a man dressed in white
burnoose, and spoke to the people:
“For years, you respected my creation, the hippo
the water buffalo, with respect and care, I thought
well of you and decided that the archbishop of Lima,
when the time was right, would be the new pope, but you
have disappointed me greatly, hence the new pope
will be the archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina”.
The man, in white burnoose, paused and said
“It is also the time you electrified the tram system.”
the blood runs thin yet saturated with ideas
foreign and forgotten of home's idyllic nature
day's twinkle welcomed the white svelte blankets as
golden needles pierced deep through the fabric of her sky
the world's warm embrace held where happiness ebbed away
dragging and plodding until there was nothing left but
the last rain's cleansing nature
the world around was reborn
the rain washed my skin and soul
the blood that once ran iced thawed
the chambers broke free from rust
forever stained and broken
yet renewed and young
intersperse were the rays of gold beyond the
fields of fruition and hope
returning inside, dripping
i embrace absurdity
that was once my prison as
the once maddening stenches
run clean
At Arromanches Les Baines, the British used a massive artificial harbour, known as Mulberry Harbour( specifically Mulberry B) to facilitate the landing of troops and supplies after D Day. It was ingenious.
Mulberry B
They lie half buried in the sand
Parked like huge metal flat beds
Under heavy weather barrages
Once they ebbed and flowed with the tide
That now washes over them
a stark reminder of sufferings
bravery and sacrifices
Invaded by moss,
they rust together
Undefeated in their history
yet their freedom doomed
There are no gravestones
at Arromanches Les Baines
Just revered metal allies
03/04/2025
When I have to open my eyes, stop own
To remember what the dream is,at sour
Gigantic hot gulfs in heart blown
Where ebbed fathomless sea, feels sore.
The memories going on my mind,
That are from years left behind,
Very sweet this morning sun
Peeps from cotton cloud , give heart burn
If every time this still like now
One day the tide of it gets overgrow.
wide eyes that couldn't get truth,
Every pieces inqiure,not own lie,
When all happened wit went to dearth
Neither mind thought nor mad fly.
The briny’s ebbed and now far out of sight
And all around a vast expanse we see
With debris left by the retreating sea.
And stretch of golden sand, a real delight.
On rocks are barnacles there clinging tight
Waiting for next high tide to set them free.
A risky life they have, you must agree,
Being at the mercy of the tide each night.
Now on mudflats left by departing tide
This wader slowly struts and keeps keen eye,
Searching to see where the lugworms may hide.
Hoping to spot sand spirals there to try.
Each one he stabs as he then wanders wide
For those lugworms are vital food supply.
attention internalised
thought flow rested
my heart was at peace
though earth life tested
I became a witness
motionless in vast space
doing nothing thus
I invoked God’s grace
fears and desires ebbed
bliss magnetism was activated
no demons then remained
needing to be placated
one night in vibrant stillness
debts of love were recalled
seeing misdeeds of my past
I was repentant and appalled
at that moment God appeared
in light soft white yet bright
He erased past transgressions
and said it is alright
God then gently held my hand
and said be joyous on this earth
live out your life span in peace
with heart bubbling in mirth
He revealed we too are as He
made in His image ~ living light
earth is a school to grow in wisdom
love taking us on a wingless flight
such was my encounter with God
He reveals Himself when it is time
however we always hear His voice
betwixt love’s bliss beat chime
enraptured by the bliss current
thoughts automatically ceased
abiding in pure awareness
demons of our past were released
doing nothing save being still
we became holder of the flame
earthy desires have ebbed away
God realisation’s our aim
poised as such by day and by night
knowing all doings will be done
we remain thus in time stretched peace
feeling with the universe one
In as it so seemed to be, desires and fears
had both somewhat ebbed away but this thought was
but a concept conjured by wayward ego …
which we thus renounce.
For as long as we are identified with
body-mind, we are in a state of stupor,
knowing not the light of soul, that glows within …
light that lights all lights.
Recognising truth of our magnificence,
head then melds with toroidal heart, whereupon
we as living light resplendent with rapture …
at last feel complete.
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