Novel Excerpts
Poetry
Here is my most recent poem.
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If I could light the shadows, in people's wounded hearts,
remove the pain and suffering, life sometimes imparts,
would tears of joy soothe those scars left by your agony?
Could we ignore our differences, live in harmony?
It seems a crazy dream, perhaps naive ambition,
to want to make a difference, change our sad condition.
But, if I could light those shadows, ease one troubled soul,
repair the damage hiding there, make it new and whole.
If somehow there was a way, some magic that I knew,
I'd use my hopes and wishes and make a start with
you.
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Time
Minutes passing, like rainy days.
My soul aches, in so many ways.
Hours grow, into endless years.
Tormented heart, so full of tears.
Déjà vu, is driving
me mad.
Premonitions, of something bad.
Reliving moments, for a while.
Memories develop a smile.
Recalling joys of yesterday.
Lost in time, they faded away.
Decades slip by, quiet and fast.
In a blink, tomorrow is past.
Time, so fickle, fleeting and
free.
At these times, it’s nothing to
me.
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That Angel
Men worked hard in their factories.
Lovers met beneath lotus trees.
Babies cried for their mothers'
love.
An angel flew so high above.
They were not unlike you or me,
until she came to set them free.
A million screams went unheard,
the poet's pen wrote not one word.
When she released her special prize,
and dried the tears from babies'
eyes.
A flash of light to warm the soul,
the angel had achieved her goal.
Who will forget that special
day,
or that angel - Enola Gaye.
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Here's another...
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Black Soul
Eye's so wide I see your soul,
void of love and far from whole.
You can never be complete,
while lacking love, warm and sweet.
Taking pleasure from my pain,
from my death what can you gain?
Hate spurs you to mame and kill,
blinded by the racist pill.
Like my skin and that of coal,
black but empty is your soul.
--------
From my happy home
Kick back and relax,
listen to some tracks.
Sip coffee and cream,
while I weave a dream.
Babe sleeps in her bed,
no fear in her head.
Cats at my feet purr,
PC starts to whirr.
Here in my abode,
penning tale or ode.
Safe and warm inside,
from the world I hide.
Love is all around,
magic is abound.
Here I am set free,
as are words in me.
Imagination,
my fascination,
No place else for me,
this I clearly see.
Here I can be true,
and might share with you.
Write of worlds unknown,
from my happy home.
---------
Broken Clock
Silent on the mantel, no tick,
nor chime, nor tock was heard.
Gathered in the darkened room,
quiet tears, but no spoken word.
Pendulum still, regulator too.
Mechanical heart that somehow knew.
Ten past four, the hand stood
fast,
The very second you breathed your
last.
They mourned but stared with awe,
Sensing there must be something
more?
Abruptly the silence ceased with
one last chime,
And that broken clock announced,
the death, of time.
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Celtic Spirit
He who would be King, spirited
away,
Lost from those who battled each
day.
For freedom from the likes of John,
War was lost, but spirit lives
on.
If ever you should view this
land so free, so wild,
Gaze upon its majesty, like an
awe-struck child.
Remember, as lochs and mountains
you admire,
This land was born of blood and
fire.
Celtic warriors, proudest race,
As strong of arm, as fair of face.
Claymores rest with honoured men,
Stood their ground in every glen.
Their blood still courses through
my veins,
And their love of Scotland always
remains.
The spirit of Scotland will never
die,
Its heart lives on from Ayr to
Skye.
--------
Dark Candle
Dark candle flickers, shadows
dance.
Dim flame teased, by your breath
per chance?
My quiet room, a warm, dark place,
A refuge, from the human race.
Dark candle flickers, shadows
dance.
Dim light hidden, naught left to
chance.
Invaded by my lover’s touch,
Have I been so long, missed so
much?
Dark candle flickers, shadows
dance.
Dim flame dying, ending the trance.
Time to leave my quiet haven,
Safe ‘neath wing of mystic Raven.
Dark candle smokes, quietly yearns,
Dim flame quenched, ‘til next it
burns.
In hallowed cavern, deep dark hole,
This place I hide my fragile soul.
--------
Mirror Mirror
An expressionless face gazes
through me,
as he carefully shaves before his mirror.
Going through the motions, I follow each
move as I have done so many times before.
Centuries of razor watching, millennia of cuts.
Dreams of people pampering, while I gaze upon
their souls through their unsuspecting eyes. They
stare right through me and I spy inside. With a
splash the face is gone. Lonely silence fills my
existence, until the next visitor comes. Dark
reigns this side of the trapping glass.
Here in motionless black I dwell,
waiting to share envious moments with you,
you the living.
--------
Valkyrie Valentine
Tempered body, conditioned mind,
but tortured is my soul.
It all went wrong in sixty-eight,
in a far off foreign hole.
Sister bought a poster, of a soldier
asking why?
Naïve teenage bother said,
‘At least I’ll learn to fly.’
Lennon and McCartney, dreamed
of peace on earth,
while the “powers that be” knew
just what hatred’s worth.
On February fourteenth, tracers
scorched the sky.
My wingman hit the deck that day,
on the air I heard him cry.
I filled my shorts and pulled
a chord, as my bird burst into flame,
I called out for my mother, but
later hid my shame.
Found my way back to H.Q, helped
by some G.I.
Torching villages that we found,
then watched the bastards fry.
Screaming burning faces, keeping
me from sleep,
friends and foes that haunt me,
while in the dark I weep.
Now I exist or just about, here
on psych ward four,
Re-living every passing day, the
hell of pointless war,
where Valkyrie Valentines bring
burning tears and nothing more.
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Prayer for a Stranger
Blue lights dazzle my drive home,
Something’s wrong up ahead.
Little one asks is ‘that an ambulance
daddy?
Is somebody dead?’
I explain as best I can that
an accident’s occurred,
The rain on my windscreen leaves
my vision blurred.
Traffic slows to take a look,
Nothing here to fill a book.
But then the child enquires once
more,
‘If no one’s hurt, what are all
the blue lights for?’
So I suggest we say a prayer,
For whoever may be caught in there.
May they be safe and well tonight,
May they win their struggle without
a fight.
May they go home to those they
love,
And be cared for by the lord above.
For the stranger I pass by in my
car,
I pray you’re safe whoever you
are.
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When the night comes
Eternal conflict, of light and
dark.
While dawn awakens, singing lark.
Shadows fall, retreating into noon.
Joyous morning rapture, gone too
soon.
Dark fingers advance, clawing
back night.
Scared mortals might hide, others
take flight.
Futile gestures, attempts at escape.
Nocturne touches every landscape.
Apollo slips into submission.
Until tomorrow’s brief remission.
Dark poet’s soul quietly released.
When the night comes, on words
he will feast.