11.11.11

The last of the heroes are gone
from that terrible war long ago.
The memories fade one by one,
but the scars that remain still heal slow

As distance and time travel on,
new heroes are made and pass by.
The white stone looks down on them all
and the mothers and children still cry

So what have we learned through these years,
have the lessons, hard taught, touched us yet;
or is the pain washed away with the tears
so that we just forget. Lest we forget.

Portchester Castle

These sunkissed stones drenched in the past
the vast weight of centuries within this space
The hardened flint, the distant masts
the rippling water, the parchmarked lawns
This open ground within these walls
holding memories of two thousand years
The tiled Roman patterns, the hard Norman Keep
the Church still used after all this time
The laughing children, a family day out
the people of tomorrow greeting those of yesterday
The everyday world beside the wonders of the ages gone
a memorial kept to educate the world to come
In stillness I can hear the tread
of those that passed this way before
Emperors, kings, prisoners, rich and poor
their footsteps fade and I am alone once more

A share of the blame

A good meal and all fire is quelled
no room for ire when the belly is full
no agitation or revolutionary angst
just the bliss of being fed well
But what of those who do not dine
upon the feast we call our life
those shut out from our banquet
those who know only hunger and strife
Do I spare them a thought
as I fill my ample gut
can I deny a share of the blame
for those who die at my feet

Dinner at the Holiday Inn

The peaceful setting sun
the tinkling water's soothing fall
the dappled grass, green and yellow
the sunlight warm upon my face
The gentle hum of conversation
so different from the night before
music in the background bringing back memories
of a childhood and home now long gone
The conversation swells as more diners arrive
yet still a sense of calm I feel
writing these words as I wait
for my meal to come

Haiku on flatulence

Sound like a gunshot
An explosion of foul gas
The room will soon clear

Sympathy for Saddam

This man had done great evil
I daresay he deserved to die
But when I saw him go to his death
it almost made me cry
I know that the blood of his victims
cried out that justice be done
But seeing him standing there helpless
I saw only some mother's son
Should I pity a merciless tyrant?
Can I pity one such as he?
Yes there's room in my heart for such pity
Because God first felt pity for me
How can I pity the pitiless?
Because I am a better person

Gift

The gift-giver needs no recompense
save acceptance of the gift
Acceptance needs no second sense
to be complete and swift
Completion of this harmony
the banishing of strife
This banishment a rhapsody
a song of joy and life

Slowly learning to be me

I'm slowly learning to be me
learning at last how to be free
becoming the person I'm meant to be
eyes wide open I'm beginning to see

The Potter is moulding the clay of my heart
teaching me virtue as He has from the start
but foolish and wayward I burdened my cart
though in truth He was here, we were never apart

Oft I've forgotten and gone my own way
and been far too eager to have my own say
filled so with noise I'm unable to pray
but now at His feet I am longing to stay

A beginning not an end

Darkness falls but briefly
then I awaken from my sleep
everlasting love beneath me
to catch me and to keep

I go before, beyond your sight
to the place reserved for me
not towards the dark cold night
but to the light that sets me free

Though lost for now I am not gone
so do not keep on weeping long
rejoice, for now my crown is won
we'll meet again in the eternal song

Vastness

The singing of the sonorous spheres
whirling through the wastes of the vast unknown
The passing of the pressing, pain filled years
wandering through this wanton world alone

Far stars that light the darkened sky
stories from a past we cannot meet
No warmth they give on this most chilly night
their rays don't melt the ice beneath my feet

Full moon shines yellow 'flected sun
illuming night with eerie lunar rays
I know not what the coming years will bring
what outcome from this sacred tale of days

Keep me sane

I'm cold and dead inside
Lost in pain I can't abide
All the hope I had has died
The promise of tomorrow gone

Perhaps I should sever all life's ties
To silence all the endless whys
And escape the pretty lies
The promise of tomorrow gone

But you alone can keep me sane
You can make me whole again
If I invoke your holy name
and the promise of the life to come