Start playing your favourite playlist and enjoy going through the poems.
Time to
grab
a cuppa
Have a read, have a listen.
When we notice
A celebration
There are so many good reasons
To rid my life of all bitterness
And enjoy a sweet treat.
I want to feast on joy
And overindulge in laughing.
Swap grapefruits for grapes.
There are so many places
To be fully naked in,
So many lips to taste,
Body parts and naughty thoughts
To ravish and enjoy.
So much care and lust
To savour and collide with.
So much warmth
And heaps of variety
That can make me
Plump and giddy.
Plates over plates of
The deepest chats
To have my fill.
There is just so much love
And beauty everywhere.
Newdays
A great expanse of time
Has recently unfolded
And an emptiness followed.
Suddenly, things didn’t come
With deadlines or appointments.
It was all too fluid, too loose.
Enough to scare the bones,
A bounty of loneliness.
Beyond finishing the day
Goals felt absurd and lifeless
And every day folded
With such nonchalance,
As if it was mocking me.
It was the time to be
For the sake of my bones
About half way into their use.
It sneaked in ever so suddenly,
That freedom.
Hello, beam!
My oh my!
Don’t you just sparkle today
As if you eat all the ice cream
And emptied the cookie jar.
And you’re five. And cheeky!
With a steady, frozen grin,
Mischief in your eyes,
So shamelessly claiming
“SO WHAT?!”
So what.
So you.
Sunrise
If I’m awake to see the sun come up
My thoughts of desperation fade away.
My being draws breath from its fire
And the heat breathes life inside of me.
The orange star calls on me to rise
For it has cleared the clouds
And lit my path to greater things.
I cross the threshold of my door
With sleepy eyes and muffled voice,
Blinded and revived by the light.
Like the gentle touch of love
It raises me to faith in daydreams.
My dearest heaven, my greatest god,
Good morning.
When we struggle
A hand
It’s never that easy at the start
But once you do and do again
It gets much easier to just ask.
People may still let you down
And you’re right – it’s often better
To just do things ourselves.
That doesn’t mean alone though.
Invite them to watch if nothing else:
“I’m going to do this with or without
Your help” kind of thing.
Who knows, people might just
Surprise you. They often do.
Comeback
Let me take you by your hand
And bring you out into the sun
On this cold and crisp morning
When you’re not at your best.
Let me join you
Within this hollow space
Charred by flames passed.
Let me add the sticks and paper
And ignite your depths again
So that when you’re ready
You can bring all of you
Back into our world,
Where you belong.
Cover
I wish I knew what to say
But I just don’t.
And I know how much
You need to hear
One of my dad jokes
So you can laugh
And call me an idiot.
Or anything about my day
So you can listen for a second
And then retreat back
Into that irresistible sorrow.
Let me just be here,
In your pocket. Silent.
Go for it. I promise it’s OK
If I ever hear you cry.
The rest
Here I lie
To kiss a bumblebee
By means of the flower
Laid in the soil of my waste.
Here I go
To the land that fed me,
Embracing my kin
Who called me back to them.
Here I live
To be watered by the rain,
Massaged and turned by roots
And pressed by youthful feet.
Here I am
Alive in buzzing, crawling life,
Surrendering to exquisite change
So I may bloom again.
When we love
Slip
Today I give you permission
To be absolutely as you are.
Go ahead and be tired,
Take it very, very slow.
Make a big dent in the sofa
And scroll your phone
To doom and back.
Go ahead and be fed up,
Scream into your pillow
Or just take it easy guilt-free.
Whatever it is, it can wait.
You never needed it
And you never will;
Mine or anyone else’s.
But just in case.
Together
Thing is
I don’t really know how
I’m just gliding through
And it’s not as if I ever
Dreamed or planned anything
That looks like this.
Every day is just …steady.
I love the gentle stillness
You wrap me in alongside
The freedom to exist
Unaltered and in full view.
I realise now
I never needed wings.
Homeware
Bar the dog we’ve always wanted
And the cat I vetoed way too soon,
Nothing is missing in this house.
Not a plate or fork or cushion.
Even things I never cared for are here
Alongside things I care for most.
It’s all here. All of it. All the time.
The cold and the warm things
And so much of the inbetween,
Moments that somehow became
A force to be reckoned with.
I couldn’t count them all in a lifetime.
Nowhere else is quite as magical.
A place to rival dreams.
Ours.
For the love
I won’t ever have to say
I never got the chance to
Because I did.
From up close and afar
I savoured every moment,
Whispering to your heart
And to your soul.
With kisses and cuddles
And so much more
That was just …improvised.
Often without words,
Just quick glances
At any part of you.
Daily. Still.
A world of things
I’ve chased dreams and flew planes
And dared to be crazy brave.
I’ve built empires, crowned kings
And witnessed miracles.
I’ve crossed continents of people
And gods who created stars
And galaxies in their hands
Called me their brother.
I love them all
And plenty there is to love too,
And I’ll never love any of it
As much as I love you.
More
All that I have to give to you
Is invisible to your eyes,
Everywhere and untouchable.
It glows in the dark
And it’s the light in my eyes.
It’s warm year round
And it lives in my touch.
It’s everything you feel
When I touch you from afar
And it’s in every atom
Vibrating in the cosmos.
When we miss
Distraction
The sweetness starts
With a gentle crackling
From my speaker,
Every now and again.
It cracks just like
A gentle shoulder touch
And it’s possibly endearing,
How it’s taking me away
From this state I bathe in
As a ritual ever since
This relentless feeling
Took over my life.
And for a moment,
Every now and again,
I forget about
How much I miss you.
When we celebrate
Bday
Here’s to all the things
You wanted to be,
And to better.
To what could have been
And could be and will be,
And to your faith.
To that warm heart
And gentle touch,
And to your love.
To all that you do
And don’t remember,
And to tomorrow.
To you,
My darling everything.
Here’s to you.
Pride
It’s something we carry in our hearts
And sometimes share with the world.
It’s our antidote to ignorance
And our calling march come summer.
It’s something we share with our friends
When we dance the nights away.
It’s every drop in our teary eyes
When we witness courage in others.
It’s something we build every day
And fight to keep alive and beaming.
It’s a soft bending, stubborn hope
That things will eventually get better.
It’s something in the strut of our heels
And the glitter that covers our wounds.
It’s the glue of our community
And the sweet embrace of our kin.
It’s something rooted in every broken heart
And it’s somewhere we all belong.
Our glory anthem. Our war and peace.
Our Pride.
When we brave
Note to self No.36
Don’t you dare do it.
Don’t you dare give me hope
And dreams and daily wishes
If you’re not up for it.
Don’t even try to or hope to.
If I’m not or if it’s not
The only thing and only reason
You’ll ever need to go all in – don’t.
Don’t sleep on it either.
Don’t ask for a raincheck.
Don’t tell me you’re tired.
My dreams will never be
Your “maybe” plan.
I won’t ask twice, I promise.
Are you in?
Show
Come forward, you!
Come. Come on,
Get a little bit closer.
Closer still. Rise.
Stand up and walk
And a little while later arrive.
Don’t be shy or coy
And don’t feel anxious
Nor afraid of what’s to come.
Where all here where
You called on us to be,
Eager to see you.
Glorious.
Daring to
Well then,
I suppose some questions
Are not to be asked.
A sort of unwritten rule
To keep us safe, maybe.
Although I doubt we’ve ever
Been too concerned with our safety;
Maybe when we flew to the stars
But surely not when we climbed a tree.
Today I’ve discovered such a question,
Akin to flying to the stars,
And for the sake of my safety
I absolutely must not
Ever, ever ask it.
But don’t you want to know it?
Come close, I’ll whisper it:
Whose permission are you waiting for?
Next in line
Stretch yourself to the stars
And never mind how tall.
Expand further than your skin.
Expose fear for what it is
And warn others against it.
Show them your scars.
Be the one to demand more
And demand better for all of us
Who shoulda woulda couldn’t.
Push
Come rise, you giant
Made of clay, come rise.
All that belongs to love
Shall be forgiven.
Come lift your sorrow
And bathe in light today.
All that belongs to love
Shall be remembered.
Come reach the top
Of the mountain of life.
All that belongs to love
Shall be lived.
Come bring your heart
And all the joy and pain.
All that belongs to love
Shall be felt.
Come you giant, rise!
And rise over again.
All that belongs to love
Shall be reborn.
Heartbeat
My daily call to my heart
Is for a beat that’s not too slow
And not too fast.
Like when I take no note of it
Or a steady, youthful beat
Just slow enough
To enjoy this moment,
And just fast enough
To have the courage
To come find you again.
When we pause
My anxiety prayer
When I’m anxious in the morning
I shall remember excitement.
When I’m anxious in public
I shall remember I’m not alone.
When I’m anxious at work
I shall remember my value.
When I’m anxious to create
I shall remember my dreams.
When I’m anxious with others
I shall remember patience.
When I’m anxious about the future
I shall remember courage.
When I’m anxious at night
I shall remember peace.
And when I’m anxious in life
I shall remember compassion.
Matilda
Well then,
I suppose some questions
Are not to be asked.
A sort of unwritten rule
To keep us safe, maybe.
Although I doubt we’ve ever
Been too concerned with our safety;
Maybe when we flew to the stars
But surely not when we climbed a tree.
Today I’ve discovered such a question,
Akin to flying to the stars,
And for the sake of my safety
I absolutely must not
Ever, ever ask it.
But don’t you want to know it?
Come close, I’ll whisper it:
Whose permission are you waiting for?
Vista
Maybe you were told often
To keep your feet on the ground
And head out of the clouds
So you don’t bother anyone.
You bowed your head
And made yourself fit.
Maybe that’s when you lost it,
That way up point of view,
The sight of what could be
Which only you have eyes for.
But can you remember still?
From fairytale books maybe.
What do we call someone
With their feet on the ground
And head in the clouds?
We call you a giant.
Young ones
You just have to go at their pace;
They are a bit slow for a while.
There isn’t any other way really.
That’s all the patience you have,
And you’ll need much, much more.
And oh, how they twinkle
When you spoil them with kisses
And more toys than they can hold.
How it aches when they cry
And when they leave to start anew.
Pinch yourself sometimes,
And don’t blink.
