Lanterns
I wish
I was a lantern,
you would let me go
willingly.
Watch me rise bright
twinkling, beautiful
until I disappear
and
you would walk away
happy
content and knowing
in that moment
it was worth
letting me go.
Letting me go shining;
By Melissa Walters
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram
@Melissawalterspoetry
LOCKED DOWN
to our spot on the globe------
Cant go out------locked in.
Lost...... alone... telly and phone.
Booze, crisps, pot noodles---things like that
Its cold. Extra coats. Wooly hat.
zoom---------life has changed---empty room.
Anger. Addiction. Self harm. Sad.
Previous distractions now banned------leading to mad
Lockdown. Shutdown. Spy on your neighbours.
Call the police.......
Order online. destroy the shops.
Work from home. destroy the shops.
Bread and butter jobs gone---forever? destroy the shops.
Zero hours folk...forgotten 3million...No furlough? where do they go? their hard work ignored.their tax paid-ignored ..... destroy the shops.
Injections, objections, persuasion and tales
filtered censored media views feeding---feeding---feeding---feeding---feeding----feeding
C is me choosing good over evil
H is me hoping I’ve made the right choice
O is me being open and civil
I is me inspiring others to rejoice in positive
Change for the better and
Equality for all.
Anon
Mindful walk in Moseley Park
Debbie let us in to the gated private park
A secret tranquil place just opposite the supermarket
And as we ambled around the beautiful unlittered space
We found it calming and relaxing. A peaceful place of stillness
Ideal for a mindful walk.
There were carvings and willow sculptures,
A mysterious icehouse and historical details
To engage our thoughts and inspire imagination
But though springlike, it was cold and fresh even muddy in places.
Among the woodchippy fungussy secret garden
We entwined bark, berries and blossom
And launched artistic, colourful rafts onto the lake
Winter sailing away, heralding the spring equinox.
This poem is ‘curated’ from words given to Cathy Crossley by the group who participated in the mindful walk on 19th March 2021, led by Autumn Aldous
Mr Dusk Comes To Visit Us!
There’s something comforting going on deep inside of me
Every now and then Mr Dusk comes to visit me
After we have tea drinking up all our bubbling thoughts
Not knowing our distorted reality is merging with hallucinated fantasies
Mr Dusk turns to me and asks
“I wonder if they know about those blueberry bruises
Or raspberry ripple slits and scars?”
I reply in a hurried rapid tone
“No! They are not aware of the blood I spill.”
As I eat a thousand more chocolate bars
There are blue caterpillars everywhere we go
That hide under millions of bags of snow
Just so they can perform the tiniest of shows
By the end of it they all have us blowing up are thrones
As we see music in vibrant lights
Hearing words that are more violent than knives
Halfway through our trips
The giant mushrooms start to vanish
As we try to crawl back to Alice
I lose myself within the chatter
By the time I get back I don’t see anybody to flatter
Realising I’ve got a sign that says ‘no trespassing inside’
I suppose that fits with these crisp cold breezes and these closed off evenings
A deep smooth voice as luxurious as chocolate fondue fills the room
Toxins leave my system or so I thought
As I get hooked on loneliness after dark
He’s tall and he’s sharp knows all the right sparks
To warm the dance floor with souls that will never trust somebody else with their hearts
I turn to Mr Dusk as we part and say this as I walk away not fulfilled with what happened today;
“Maybe it was clumsy of me to fall for you
Knowing very well you can make such dreadful marks
Knowing very well those scars will never fade away not even one day
You stepped into my life when I couldn’t feel any pain
You were the reason in this society I was seen as insane
You say you didn’t realise the damage you caused
Well how come you masked the fragmented parts of you
To the point glue sticks couldn’t even make sense of you?
You say that you wanted to leave me soon
Well if you wanted to so badly why didn’t you?
You told me I was shit at things even when I was considered unique
You told me lie after lie giving me no chance to breathe
The funny thing is you looked like the friendliest being I had ever seen
Taking me in with every ounce of your enchanting fragrance that pulled me in
I was gullible from the start or is that you speaking?
You tend to do that an awful lot…
You even make me twist the whole letterings in my brain just so you can be entertained!
Gosh! You are so frustrating!”
But in the end they will be judging me not you
They don’t see the chains wrapped around my bed
They just see my yellow teeth as I struggle to get out of my head
They don’t see you stopping me from getting by
They see me lying telling them that “I’m fine or I’m alright” as I dim my light
They don’t see me when I feel sick due to you whispering false lies into my mind
They see me paranoid over what I look like in the mirror as I shake and I quiver
My body isn’t trapped my soul is just collapsed
I could scream that “I’M EXHAUSTED” but you would just laugh
With the most haunting eyes looking deep inside
You are capable of making those smirks pass around a crowded room
As they echo to the point I can’t even hear my own howl for help
I feel myself withering away
This is the reason I don’t go outside and play
Self-conscious of every move I make
Making me aware that my ligaments ache
Clothing making my body itch and scratch
Due to uncalled for dirty looks that deem down my path
As I wipe my eyes
No longer blurred by those pearly tears
And non-stop white lies that despise my cries
That cause silver puddles to appear in my eyes
Mr Dusk comes closer to me as he bends over my shoulder and
Whispers to me for the grand finale;
“You have won this battle my dear
But it’s what happens after this that you should fear!
Living can be the scariest part of them all
Feeling the healing and agony of the no longer guarded crystal frames
As the panes start to slowly decapitate your pathways
After all of this you won’t ever be the same
There will be days when living will drive you back knocking at my door
Looking into my windows with reflections that will haunt you till’ the day you pass those haunted floorboards!”
While he murmured some more
I wasn’t afraid of the flaws that would be unleashed
I looked up at the moonlight realising I could tell that so much was going to be released
Mr Dusk turned around once more as he opened his mouth for the last thread;
“One last thing, before I go on my way to meet some other soul to cast them over with my spells that will cause their memory to decay away.
Good luck! Call me again when you need to numb the pain…”
He winked at me as he walked off into the distance so gracefully with an eerie aura
As he caught up to his next victim who was gliding peacefully
Having sweet dreams full of brown honey eyes and money that would not repair the damage of the loss that he would fine them
As he sung them a song about the cost of being lost in their own bed full of bloody thorns
Full from the thousands of nights before
Where they would get scorn every day for being in human form
Everyday humans get belittled for feelings that make our souls refreshed
Society can’t take the idea of even such little tears
They never seem to be able to rest
We are what they fear
As they undress back stage in the hopes we won’t see their flowing river of baby blue droplets
Hanging from thick black lines acting like bridges to close their minds
While lashing out in front of us
Telling us that it’s bad to be ourselves
Making us feel ashamed to be connected with the human genes that have been buried deep inside of us for centuries of years
Bashing us into negative mental health
Dowsing us in doses full with uncalled for names
Calling us things like the “CrAzY parade”
Over an ounce of empathy
Do they realise anger is an emotion too?
They get pent up and lash out at us for exposing the truth
That such subtle significant emotions can set fireworks off in our mind sets
That wreaks havoc on the sameness
We are the cherry bombs they couldn’t detonate
We are the ones that expose those bellyaches
We tell it how it is not what they want to hear
But when will society finally look in the mirror and realise we are what makes these naturally flowing tears the monsters that they are reflected as
After all we are society
I hope I haven’t scared you
I just needed to let it out about those doubts
As our nightmares are filled with teeth falling out
As a society we have a responsibility to make others feel a little bit lighter
Like freshly baked red velvet cupcake batter
To assist with the rising of downfalls
That our minds can never brace for the pain or the lack of rest
Due to you and me being visited by the uncalled for depression that trespasses our streets
That hits society so vigorously that you never fully have a goodnights sleep in peace
Sometimes all people need is a cinnamon kiss
Or a hug full of the joys of Christmas wishes
Perhaps some “I love you’s” and “We need you’s” wouldn’t go a miss
We just need something refreshing in our minds such as peppermint peace
So we can release are nasty thoughts and taunts
Before we can leave are past behind us
These are the cast out spells that leave us overwhelmed
Or are theses just the tales we can’t openly tell
Or even admit to ourselves?
Niamh Duffy
Wednesday 9th June, 2021
My Shadows Hymn
As I try to understand
this present state
that has left
an unsatisfied voice
bellowing deep within.
I attempt to mute it out
between blaring bass and beats
booming my thoughts like waves
equalizing my vibration
and flows me into
the bliss and peace
of a meditative state.
Until my past unites the present
and memories flood my eyes
some things still weigh hefty
even after all this time.
Declined
I lay upon my bed,
stuck in rewind
I am lost in my head
spiralling into reverberation
I consult with the darkness.
Too Many times
this familiarity
has found me here
wrapped me up tight
and seduced me.
But I refuse to revert
to my old self,
all the drinking
and drug taking
Cutting n Self-hating.
So please don’t be alarmed
as I zone out, shut down
and I struggle to let you in,
My soul is just off dancing
to my shadows hymn.
By Melissa Walters
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram @Melissawalterspoetry
My sorrows masterpiece
My sorrow is a masterpiece
a misery masquerade
seduced by darkness
day by day.
Dressed me up in death
hauntings and screams
whispers in my ear
of things I’ll never be.
My sorrow walks
fields of failed dreams,
Dances the flames of
passions gone to waste
combusting to dust.
I attempt
to talk it out
but I am hushed
My sorrow is a masterpiece
but I have had enough.
By Melissa Walters
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram @Melissawalterspoetry
No Moses Child
I.M. Mike Costello
In the rushes he was found. No Moses child
Face down in brown water. Troubled mind
Watery crucifixion for a broken will
His dolla rosa, the boreen down the hill
The transport box brought him back
past a kitchen garden Gethsemane
to the waking station, under
the far off *Croagh, his Calvary
*Croagh Patrick, County Mayo
Brendan O’Neill
One Driver Escaped Uninjured
a straggle of a line
arms folded back
reverential contortions
hunched crow-black
from the sweep of the rain
a grasp
"Sorry for your trouble"
poor comfort that
the clink of glasses
striking a tinder heart
the crazed cuckoo croak
of the clock
ticking off
the first hour
of a life without her
those others whose blood was spilt
the rain battered box
gift wrapped
wreaths and flowers blooming
on a life of guilt
Brendan O’Neill
Meadow
Summer sensations
Footfall on soft warm grass
Seed heads tickle
Flatten and bend underfoot
Spring up. Grow strong, renew
Brush against skin
Breezes send grasses shimmering purple
Stones wear away
Untouched by human hand
Shaped by winter winds
Rounded
Pushchairs, dogs. Bikes pass by
Ann
Playground of the Rich
With a ten pound note, creased between my fingers, I buy my friends both a tea and a lemon and lime for myself.
I have stolen a Medusa Pearl (in theory as an actor)
I have held up a security guard
I have smirked knowingly in front of a camera,
I twiddle my drink between my fingers, in an effort to look opulent.
Others have beautifully fried eggs and sausages, so glazed and mouth-watering,
A fit gift for any wealthy lady.
My fun is only just starting at 6.00 in the evening,
And I’ll be playing all the way to the bus stop.
My chips are down.
On the way, I look at beautifully designed tapestries at the library, with creatures of the sea,and land,
Carefully depicted marine life, and animals.,
all sewn in rich colours
And later, on returning to cook, I play with the dishcloth, singing it, while mopping up mushroom juice. Were they shitake mushrooms?
Why do I need to cook?
His royal apartment, my penthouse flat,
I own my kingdom,
This is my domain.
With it’s beautiful plants.
Its white tiled, clean kitchen, with its retro kettle,
My holding, my venture, my reward,
Judith Fleetwood Walker
Handsworth Park 21.06.21
On the longest day
A group stroll around a grand old park
With lakes and a bandstand
An old church adjoins, with graveyard
A railway runs through it.
The leisure centre is now open,
but only to 10 people who have booked to swim!
A painted bear guards the entrance
A blue motorbike leans casually by the door, arousing envy
Its a park for people
There are children playing on colourful equipment
And in the distance, the youth have their basketball court
There’s an art trail with fascinating pieces, to enter and gaze upwards
Fragrant roses perfume the air
And whirlygigs flutter down
Conkers are forming, ready for autumn battles
Some words of wisdom end our gathering
“God is here”
“Expectations lead to disappointment”
We were not disappointed in the park and the gathering.
Collated from a group walk by Cathy Crossley
Rain
Gathering together
Under heavy rain soaked clouds
Sheltering under brollies
Huge golfing, wonky tie & dye, tiny goldfish bowl, exotic oriental, plain and flowery
Gathering together
Under rain soaked trees
Sheltering under a canopy of dark brown branches
and bright green leaves
Each raindrop has a secret to share with you
Go quietly, take a look, be still, just be
Gathering together
Sharing our treasures,
Heart, mind and body refreshed,
Saturated
Quenched
Ann
Rainbow of Hope
Tempests must come before rainbows appear
Lit up by sunbeams, a gossamer ghost;
The thunder clouds` moisture, vapour at most
But they symbolise hope that storms will clear.
Peace and love after the bitterest tears,
Refraction of sunlight sensed through the eyes,
Magical moments in clearing blue skies –
The promise of calm after doubts and fears.
In darkness, rainbow`s beauty blocked from sight:
Colours are shattered, buffeted by gales
Looking for a rainbow, courage assailed
Cast adrift in the storm, lost to the night.
Bleakness the weather, no stars shining bright:
Wind-battered, filled with heartache and dismay,
Clinging on to hope, clouds the darkest grey –
The rainbow is coming – in all its might.
By Ian Henery
Rainbows Follow
Rainbows follow storms after rain
And sunshine on the weather vane.
They`re not just colours in the sky,
Mere refractions, sensed through the eye
But a sign of peace after pain.
A rainbow is the prize we gain
When hope was lost and darkness reigned;
We held on, never asking why
Rainbows follow.
Struck by tempest, life down the drain:
Souls engulfed, hope begins to wane.
Bleakness, waves heave, the seagulls cry;
Trust in hope, no time for goodbye
Rainbows follow.
By Ian Henery
Raptus
The time
never
seems right
and there
never
is the right time
just the moments,
of courage
rejection
low moods
the highs
and a war
shaking
the very foundations
of all you knew;
But rebuild
on shaky ground
and when the war
is over
stand tall
still and calm
knowing you fought
bruised
near death
trying to
catch your breath
no cowering
waiting
doing nothing
waiting…
Anything is better
than just
waiting
for the war
to be
over.
By Melissa Walters
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram @Melissawalterspoetry
Transformations
Sleeping Demons reawakening,
Desperation burning,
Running through my veins,
Thoughts and feelings I can't contain.
Roots disconnected,
My voice, my breath silenced,
My path to safety,
A frowned upon secret,
Forced Hidden beneath ground,
No light to be found.
Time, became my friend,
Shaping a belief in my heart,
The strength to survive was within,
The darkness began to crack,
New found pleasures able to thrive.
Finally, my wings untied.
Old roots re energised.
Vibrant colour all around,
The world awakes with joyous sound.
By Samantha Creghan
‘Self Doubt’ - Lib Oration
I want to squeeze out your self doubt so we’re not devout to Chaos
Thought out not caught out with minds which betray us
Traps, Tricks, and Niggles hijacking Riddles, and Rhymes
Access the oppressed bring freedom to mind
Let your words flow onto a page as though you were in compulsive convulsions
Glossolalic emulsions, colliding colloidal bulletins
Headlines and footnotes, bodies of texts; throats that won’t choke
Just to find relationals, spatials, nascent thoughts beyond abortions
Grey matter of batter baking into pancake proportions
Contortions of meaning just to find feeling
Mind is a tape loop reeling. Reeling.
Really? Without fear see no one need fear me
Speak freely and let clearly be secondary
Fluency is the flow you see in unadulterated reality
It’s intense, compense-ates for all societal flaws
Through a sense and lense of loneliness we seek something more
Decisions are the laser incisions of possibility
Pathways that divide the shock in every body
To think that they could be in liberty
Not wondering whether our choices are supposed to be
Close to ‘me’
Like flipping a coin as tails or heads
It lands right upon its side instead
Says make mistakes to break the self doubt
Don’t have to work it all out
Move in direction to direct indirection
Perfection is a defect of the intellect
Built to protect the pretext of the imposter
Foster not the syndrome, but a freedom, free from a queendom of indecisions
Schisms and prisms of second guesses
Spill across and gloss the floor in messes
Don’t doubt! Believe, retrieve the reprieve, Achieve!
Freed to move along, I get nervous with almost anyone
How can I speak so much now?
I wrote it down
I typed in hieroglyphs of self-analysis
To therapize and metamorphosize this
The Spiral of Life
Swirling around from start to finish
Completing the loop of the never ending story
Weaving about
This way and that
Taking us in directions we’d never thought about
Spiraling us out into an unknown world
Helping us to experience, grow and mature
Make better and bolder versions of ourselves
Testing us, stretching us and challenging us
To blend and mold our thoughts and feelings
Into a greater spiritual awareness
For mankind and the universe
Spreading love, hope and joy in our footsteps
As we walk into a bright, new future
Karen Collins
Inspired by a snail shell 14/06/21
Spirals with spirals.
A spiral of positivity for some.
A world filled with Light
Freedom given to fly, with doors open wide.
A spiral of negativity for others.
A world filled with darkness and terror
Trapped in chains, closed doors all around.
Others sometimes a rollercoaster path.
Shades of light and dark, twists and turns, ups and downs.
Immersed in a world filled with kind hearts, inspirational nature and artitistic creativity.
Explosions of colour and music all around, flooding my senses.
A path filled with discovery, opportunity and growth.
That's what positive wellbeing looks like for me
Samantha Cregan
Sweet Thing
Drunk again, drunk before
Knocking at an open door
Giving you things to keep
Things that I had buried deep
Placing my heart in the traction
Of bipolar distraction
Listening for imagined deceit
Feelings that run counterfeit
The smallest bird can sing a tune
And puppy dogs howl at the moon
But my dog died and I found Jesus
Riding a horse away from Texas
Strike a light! It’s England’s Glory
Listening to your Jackanory
Feeling frail, I then rail
Pavement bouncing - evening’s tale
Gave me a First in misbehaviour
Sleeping with a perplexed stranger
Vertigo gives fear to stumble
Hope's sustained with apple crumble
I salute, my soldiers drill
But war is lost and I am killed
So I park my clogs in bawdy houses
Imagining your sweet caress
But visions falter in the porter
No substitutes for your sweetness
Brendan O’Neill
The Seeds of Hope (You Are Not Alone)
By Ian Henery
Planting flower seeds beneath COVID skies
In the pandemic, seeds of hope in rows,
Solidarity with those who have cried.
Buried snugly in the soil, the seeds lie,
Bursting with rebirth, promise and gusto;
Planting flower seeds beneath COVID skies.
Community garden, no place to hide,
Watch seeds of hope flower, blossom and grow;
Solidarity with those who have cried.
Lockdown is ended, freedom from “inside”,
Sit in the sun and watch the flowers blow;
Planting flower seeds beneath COVID skies.
Neighbours, gatherings that have been denied,
Human contact seems like so long ago;
Solidarity with those who have cried.
Flowers for the living and those who have died,
Seeds of hope and new life, replacing woe;
Planting flower seeds beneath COVID skies,
Solidarity with those who have cried.
A Cumbrian's Last Request
Just once more
Let me see that Cumberland shore
With the backdrop of mountains high,
And before me floating
Above the mist on the Irish sea
The Viking Isle with her twin peaks
Piercing a cloudless sky.
It's not much to ask before I go,
To see for one last time
Her natural beauty
That I came to know and love,
And to feel her rhythms,
And hear her rhymes.
Let me breathe deeply this land
Of my ancestors’ birth,
The secret green jewel
Of our Mother Earth.
The starkness of her great grey battlements,
Commanding lush valleys of emerald green
With her sparkling clusters of diamonds,
Scattered in between.
This is the last desire
I have, and need to fulfil
To set me free,
And if you, like me were born here,
Then you'll understand this
Just like me.
Tom Higgins 16/05/2015
Tulpa
I am – the stardust
sleepwalker tip-
toeing rainfalls of
fireflies
surfing into auroras
dolphin dancers fading to
ghostly geishas –
climbing again – into crest-
falls of spirit fire thought
forms – sigils
grappling from grimoires
– now –
a smouldering tulpa –
I – was –
once
almost
real.
Elaine Christie
The Dawn is Broken
The Dawn is broken
A glimpse of the morning
Begins to peep through
The vanishing clouds
To let the sun come
Out and shine
And a new day is upon us
The birds are singing in the sky
And what unforgettable moments
Today will bring
Katherine Skinner
The family friend
You forced yourself on me,
along with your touch.
I pleaded for you to stop,
but you still never got off.
I closed my eyes tightly,
wishing I was somewhere else,
wishing someone had been there to help me.
But I was on my own,
with you as company.
As a child,
I figured I must of done something wrong
to deserve this,
to have been punished that way.
Since then,
much time has passed,
yet I can still see it in my head,
tattooed to my brain.
Why did you do this to me,
all those years ago?
I trusted you;
the family friend
ST
‘Tis a Cold Winter’s Morning
‘Tis a cold winter’s morning that greets the eye
Shrouded in hazy mist
I plod on without a sigh
As the foggy mist sets adrift
The damp soil makes for easy work
Tending my plot with spade and fork
‘Tis indeed a labour’s love I toil
Digging and turning the soil
Pausing I spot a fleeting visitor
With a chest of orange red colour
Perched upon a sapling bough
He’s come to watch me plough
And though wintery days are short
I’m filled with festive thought
Oh what joy when work is such play
For the robin has joined me today!
Eugen Egan
Just Asking, Again
In the blink of an eye,
Or so it seems,
A whole life becomes
Just like one of life's dreams,
A dream of an existence
Which is fleeting, yet real,
In the conscious hours
Physically and emotionally, I feel.
My senses are with me
They help me to find
The answers I need
To untangle my mind
They work hard together
They work as a team
To try and decipher
This coded life's dream.
Yet still I can't fathom
The deep pool of doubt
Which questions so often
What my life's all about,
Why were these atoms
From the great eternity
Accidentally merged together
In order to be me?
Tom Higgins 29/12/2020
Some days it will rain on you.
The rain will settle in your soul like an old wine stain you’ve been trying
to clean forever.
Strangely, you will enjoy the rush of innocence coming to your life.
This beautiful arising.
Washing the mistakes away and making space for new dreams to grow.
Natural, beautiful – just like you.
Vivienne Verse
Today I decided
“pull your finger out Sue”
There is a world out there
With people to meet
And plenty to do
And so I decided on “Meet up”
To see where it would take me
To a park
Where the welcome was free
A greeting so warm was such a pleasure
To have a wonderful walk round
Highbury Park all at our leisure
Sue Moseley
On Friday 18th June, Autumn arranged for a group of us to meet for a mindful walk at Warstone Cemetery in the Jewellery Quarter. We were lucky that Josie Wall, the cemetery researcher was able to talk to us and give us some interesting, if grim, facts about the history of the place, and the 90 thousand skeletons there! Somewhat appropriately it was a drizzly day, so after an hour we escaped the damp and spotted a nearby café. We hadn’t realised it was focused on female customers, as we had a couple of chaps with us, who were fine with the pinkness of it all. We sheltered and had hot food and cold drinks and relished being together in a group. Jackie drew gravestones surrounded by pink, and Keith wrote a poem and we all felt better for the whole experience. Thanks to community Lottery funding.
Warstone Cemetery
It was deadly serious
We met at a graveyard
Josie Wall told us all
It was no longer a mystery
As we learned all of the history
John Baskerville, buried three times
Now in the catacombs to be found
An Amphitheater was created
Graveyard Closures were debated
But future use was for us to decide
Raise money by having Music live?
Keith Shelley
18/6/21