'A Touch of Rose' © 2011 Don MacIver on Amazon.com, poetry, poems

A TOUCH OF ROSE
AN ECLECTIC COMPILATION OF ORIGINAL WORKS OF POETRY
AND PROSE
BY DON MACIVER
VICTORIA, BC, CANADA; 2011

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
All contents contained within this publication are the original
written works of the author who shall retain exclusive rights
to accreditation and future publishing of all materials
contained within this book.
The advance written permission of the author must be
obtained prior to republication of any and all contents, in
whole or in part, as contained within this book. Any
unauthorized use or publication of any content of this book
shall be considered a violation of copyright law and remedy
shall be pursued accordingly.
Source Publisher: Lulu.com
http://www.lulu.com
copyright 2011 Don MacIver; All Rights Reserved
Victoria, BC, Canada
ISBN: 978-0-557-54558-2

DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my loving wife Andrea who I affectionately
refer to as my ‘rose’. Andrea embraces life and love as something to
be treasured in the moment and always. She is a constant inspiration
for so much of what I write.
"A Touch of Rose", the title poem, reflects the gifts I have savoured
for so long...in my relationship, my writing, our families and friends,
our lives. I draw parallels between what is arguably the most
beautiful and treasured of all flora with life itself and the splendor
that touches our lives. Despite the many things that make our lives
difficult I see good in life, a resonant beauty that blossoms and
flourishes, timeless reminders that life is so much what we make of it
despite the pitfalls, the frustrations, the dangers, the misgivings.
May each of you experience a touch of rose.
Don MacIver, 2011

PREFACE
"A Touch Of Rose" embraces the beauty, ardor and fragility of
romantic inclinations between two people in love. It will offer for the
reader a highly personal exploration, an examination of feelings that
run just beneath the surface or deep as an ocean with shades of
emerald, aquamarine, midnight blue or dark as pitch. It will touch
upon the complexity of relationships, its wonders, its failings. This
publication will also touch upon many other aspects of life, of nature.
It is a reflection, a celebration.
"A Touch Of Rose", the title poem, reflects the gifts I have savoured
for so long...in my relationship, my writing, our families and friends,
our lives. I draw parallels between what is arguably the most
beautiful and treasured of all flora with life itself and the splendor
that touches our lives. Despite the many things that make our lives
difficult I see the good in life, a resonant beauty that blossoms and
flourishes, timeless reminders that life is so much what we make of it
despite the pitfalls, the frustrations, the dangers, the misgivings.
May each of you experience a touch of rose.

CONTENT
Page No. Content Index
11 Chapter 1: Romance & Relationships
12 A Touch of Rose...title poem
13 Eaux de Parfums
14 Save For Tomorrow
15 Chosen
16 You Gave Me A Lifetime
17 Until Dawn
18 Once Upon A Midnight Dream
19 While She Sleeps
20 Amber Dance
21 Crystal Ball
22 Deception
23 Drawn To You
24 Faces
25 Forbidden
26 Love Is
27 Temptation
28 Tenderness

CONTENT
29 A Dream For Two
30 A Veil Between
31 Meant To Be
32 Of Whispered Things
33 Share This Dream
34 Chapter 2: Inspiration & Dreams
35 Her Name Was Ayana
36 You Didn’t Need To
37 Upon Layered Souls
38 For All That Inspires
39 Not Enough Heroes
40 Allow Me This
41 Apex
42 Cleansed
43 Deliverance
44 Destiny
45 Fragments Of A Whole
46 Hope & Dreams

CONTENT
47 Solitude
48 Treasure
49 A Poet’s Place
50 At Peace
51 Hope Is...
52 Chapter 3: A Place To Remember
53 A Mother Lost
54 Missing You
55 Immortality
56 9.1.1.– A Sad Day
57 Yet Another Dead Soldier
58 Always With Angels
59 Lest We Forget
60 Of Cherished Things
61 Alone Too Soon
62 Hours Bleed Eternal

CONTENT
63 Chapter 4: The Human Condition
64 What I Can’t Be Anymore
65 Just For Being
66 Openworks
67 Save Harmless Exculpatory Delusions
68 Seasons For Change
69 State of Being
70 Obscure Notions
71 Promises
72 Altered State
73 By Water’s Edge
74 Fragments Of A Shattered Soul
75 On A Distant Star
76 She
77 A Face In The Crowd
78 A Place Of Shelter, Not A Home

CONTENT
79 Chapter 5: Nature & The Environment
80 Pebbles & Sand
81 Hummingbird / Sea Waves
82 Drawn To This Place
83 Beauty In Silence
84 Fragile Existence
85 A Fallen Leaf
86 A Meadow Song

CONTENT
87 Chapter 6: In Tribute
88 Minstrel’s Song...dedicated to Burton Cummings
89 A Father’s Pride
90 Chapter 7: Lyrical Verse
91 Make This Night Last Forever
92 You Went Away
93 A Few Moments Apart
94 Migration Of The Dunes
(tribute to Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald”
95 Forever Would Be Too Soon

CHAPTER 1:
ROMANCE & RELATIONSHIPS

A Touch of Rose
Each moment's passage an untold story
As blossom of rosebud, new beginnings
Delicate with unbridled radiance
Concentric in flower our lives unfold
Extended hand reaching out tenderly
Affectionate gesture, tender healing
Mon ami et mon cher, tres eclatant
(My friend and my lover, so radiant)
My life, my love, my reason for being
Love's bidding in all it fragility
Soft yet resilient, ever endure
The crimson and fragrant ornamental
Depth of conviction with each rise and fall
What binds us together, sacred amour
Favoured companion forever embrace
This touch of rose a timeless reminder
A sweetheart confession spoke longingly
Each giving shall be your promised return
Forgivingness our center, our trust embraced
Touched by a presence and mutual desire
To stand by each other forever more
A Candelabra rose shall pass between
One hand to one heart ever faithfully
May tears never stain blessed love we share
And time heal the pain lest we drift apart
Copyright 2009 Don MacIver; All Rights Reserved

EAUX DE PARFUMS
A tapestry of cobblestone concealed our every step
Drawn to one another as polar opposites
Hastened breath misting in opacity by night's coolness
As we navigate awareness of our destination
Meandering pathways of Victorian translation
Chamfered elegance, hands groping blindly bidding guidance
Moonlit hollows of darkened doorway cast forbidding shadows
Closer, closer, feeling intensely anxious of juncture
Rounding corners failing to yield to our expectations
Whispered pleadings for chance meeting exhaled in wonderment
Wanton thoughts excite with every hurried stride, forsaken
Perspiration's trickle cools our heated forms, dripping
Traces of fleeting presence, ever closer must we be
Wait...there beneath soft lantern you pause in anticipation
Our eyes impale the other's in poignant consternation
Paralysis overcomes as our discreet forbidding
Slowly now our tempered cadence, measured interference
We still proceed to closeness in angled accentuation
Our gaze locked in readiness as lions poised defiant
Heartbeats in runaway as each moment wrought new meaning
Now droplets fall in seductive pleasure, penetrating
An already moistened clothing, chilling to heated skin
Wind's blanket surrounds our greeting as with eaux de parfums
Your fragrance now unbearable, we twist with elegance
Gazelles in frenzied union bound as lovers now conjoined
A kiss, to linger, bittersweet with each passing moment
Oblivious to else surrounding, bid you fond farewell
Till next we meet on darkened path in shadows our sweet sorrow

SAVE FOR TOMORROW
Dawn draws my rise with intensity
As Morning Glory responds to sun
My gaze to you ever so fondly
In quietness you rest by my side
Silent, your dreams whisper tenderly
Of sweet moments that are yet to come
Let this day be but ours forever
And the nights echo our blessed heartsong
For all that has long come between us
Shall come to pass as night fades away
Hold me ever so close sweet angel
In your arms I will always remain
Reach out with conviction of your faith
That most sacred place within your soul
Where inner strength defines your being
And bathes your heart in content once more
In your arms I stand resurrected
By embracing whatever will be
Take my hand and save for tomorrow
All that could have been ours for today
Yesterday is but a memory
Filled with such heartache and frustration
As tumbleweed drifting aimlessly
Precious moments we lost to the wind
Souls for a lifetime joined together
Taking flight as though a shooting star
For all that I am and all you'll be
Loving each other forever more
Copyright Don MacIver 2009; All Rights Reserved

CHOSEN
Dreams' passage seemed an eternity
A landscape of your divine favour
Images traced in obscurity
An enchantment, archipelago
Passions meander as Merganser
Adrift on a channel of Venice
Abridging uncharted destinies
Confluence of two hearts enraptured
Our whispers of tender moments as
Lovers explore Piazza San Marco
Where mute swans pair in elegant dance
Upon sunbathed waters eternal
Stars flicker in moonlit serenade
Your heartsong romancing teardrop eyes
Night's gentle breeze soft and alluring
As distant strokes of a mandolin
For you are the chosen, I bequeath
To walk as though immortality
As angel's wings will carry us to
Still moments of resplendent grandeur
Disrobed of intention I forsake
As swift, the night shall come to pass
That I bid you any malcontent
Nor a vessel of seeming burden
Conjoined we partake of destiny
As one, as the chosen, willingly
O'er a bridge spanning moments flowing
In perpetual simplicity
Let our kiss forever emulate
Our affections lo our newfound love
Embraced for all it was meant to be

In our hearts, in our mind, in our soul

YOU GAVE ME A LIFETIME
What I'd give for each moment spent with you
Each second, each hour we'd celebrate
The gentle caress of a nurtured hand
Lips barely touch though the sweetest of kiss
You'd coddle my every waking hour
Your kindness my blessing, together we
Made music enriched by our very souls
It was ours to keep and never let go
An eternity passed unknowingly
Just grant us some time, too soon would it end
Though in anger at times the words we spoke
In our hearts we were just examining
Feelings of turmoil, an inner weakness
The tears that you cried, the sadness you lived
Oft drained you of energies better used
I've begged your forgiveness, absolved my wrongs
Let the thorn of a rose never keep us apart
Lo its petals may always conjoin two hearts
Forever is how it truly must be
Together for a lifetime cherishing
All that we've had and whatever may be
In this place and hereafter...stay with me

UNTIL DAWN
Gulf waters tepid in hastened wake
Undulate gently past, ankle deep
Dusk bids farewell to a weathered sky
Of cloud break bathed in retreating sun
Gulls grow silent, in shadows they wait
Until dawn's early light will summon
Whilst lovers pander by candlelight
Of stars' luminescence, romancing
She whispers sweet nothings upon him
Her dark silhouette ever closer
As they sway in gentle persuasion
A surrender, perchance until dawn
This dream, lo I've witnessed so often
In my slumber this visage was borne
As tender enchantment bestowed
Upon lovers as we, before dawn

ONCE UPON A MIDNIGHT DREAM
A curtain touched by midnight's breeze
In silent sway its vague response
Shadows yield a moonlit chatter
Dark silhouettes in stillness lay
Breathless, our minds exhilarate
Words in soft whisper retracing
Moments so tender, passionate
Tumultuous coupling rendered
Fingertip tracings, prolonged kiss
Moistened excitement, exploding
In torrents of ecstasy pass
Between lovers, frenzied exchange
Bathed in sweetness of warm release
Glistening surfaces, trembling
Grasping bed sheets desperately
Embracing a midnight dream

WHILE SHE SLEEPS
Her head nestled gently on pillow of down
Hands as in prayer conjoined peacefully
In darkness do I see a fleeting smile
As dreams render sweetness, this she sees
Lips voice a tenderness only I know
Unconscious words whispered lovingly
Imagine I would visions her witness
Desires fill her nights, fulfilled while she sleeps
Fingertips quiver, revealed images
Traced ever slowly on silken bed sheet
Breath becomes shallow, silent release
His intentions obvious, ecstasy
Rythmic responses beckon rise and fall
Explicit melody harmonizing
Heightened awareness, crescendo transcends
To a place in her dreams, she drifts away
May a kiss last forever upon thy lips
Sweet daughter of angels, Heaven knows
Lay in splendour upon thy bed this night
While you sleep I bestow your everything

AMBER DANCE
Softly notes linger, caressing
As melodic foreplay, sensory
Warmth ascending, fingertip touch
Sway to its cadence, simmering
Hands sculpt curvature, firmness traced
In treble resonance, fleeting
Hastened breath drawn, burning release
Tongue strokes flicker in amber dance
Moistened skin trembling, ebb and flow
Forms undulating, crescendo
Toes tracing upward, torso sway
Lips part in wordless ecstasy
Eyes convey intimate shadow
Obscure in its pallor, mystic
Secretions slide effervescent
Tempering a heat smouldering
Hips in gyration, amber dance
Conjoined flames' erotic embrace
Gentle, hypnotic renderings

CRYSTAL BALL
Would it be cliche to wish upon a star
Search the heavens for answers longingly
Close my eyes to the visions that trouble me
Cease to acknowledge many things that I fear
Gaze long at a rainbow that follows soft rains
Cradle in slumber by misty waterfall
Look with wonderment deep in the crystal ball
Upon images magical, as a dream
Dancing by moonlit in barefoot splendour
Hearts beat exquisitely, our tender lips touch
Hands tracing body with each passing moment
Shudders of ecstasy, passion ignited
Frenzied encounters, the things that we whisper
Endless the butterflies still swirling inside
Look to a future of hope and prosperity
Cling to the notion that happiness brings
Wherever we meet in this crystal ball haze
Is a chance of a lifetime to ever embrace
Take my hand, sweet surrender, into the night
We will walk side by side to the end of time

DECEPTION
Painful the things I cannot see
What once we had, what used to be
Chained to indifference, should I
Suppress anger, forgive the lies
A veil of endless frustration
Hiding from blind misconception
What now seems so wrong felt so right
Drawn into darkness from the light
All that is left are memories
Eyes closed, we can no longer see
Passion that brought us together
Is gone, must it be forever
Anger fuelled by lost desires
Tears shed, we no longer aspire
To spend a lifetime of sharing
Loving, devotion and caring
Why does it have to end this way
Broken promises, things you say
Hollow deception, empty words
The reasons why you never heard
Now all that's left are burning tears
That were shed from unfounded fears
Looking back at an open door
Footsteps trail, I will hear no more

DRAWN TO YOU
Each moment that passes between us
A lifetime of maybes cast away
In pursuit of wanton desires
Tender comfort of a warm embrace
A touch of transference, lingered kiss
In silent observance clarify
This time that we share, this eloquence
Words of omission, the awkwardness
Reluctance has spawned a disregard
For what we believed passionately
Drawn ever closer, not drift apart
I long to remember, conjugate
Urgency compels our intentions
Our covenant the bond that we share
My hand I offer in acceptance
So deeply devoted, drawn to you

FACES
So long have I begged your honesty
This veil that you wear, this faceless mask
Tangible words fail to pass your lips
An idiom untranslatable
Visionless gaze, so little you see
Forgiveness denied unequivocally
A trace of tears shed so long ago
Parched stains that scar your ashen face
Your kiss, a truncheon, tears my soul
Seething with anger, pitilessly
Expose me for all the world to see
Through wanton eyes bloodied, cold as stone
A heart without passion turns away
In abandonment you lacerate
The countenance I bear without shame
Is your witness, failure, my ruin

FORBIDDEN
Traces of musk lay upon the night air
Sinewy smoke twisting from chimney stacks
Horse drawn carriage ambles on cobblestone
Glistening from late afternoon shower
Dusk falls gently on this village seaside
Gulls swoop in playful banter overhead
Merchants roll goods back inside for the night
Their footsteps trailing, a shuffle at best
The fragrance of pub fare beckons me in
To consume and indulge excessively
Candlelight flickering as passersby
Whimsically stare in curiosity
My eyes shifting nervously survey the room
Clutter of humanity drinking swill
Drunken fondling and sloppy romance
Lewd and suggestive behaviour the thing
Across the aisle she patiently observed
A patron slumped over in drunken sleep
Scooping up change with a nod to barkeep
His last drink acknowledged, done for the night
With a turn of abandon she hastened
To cross over to where I sat observing
A teasing sway to her ample bottom
Her long flowing hair swayed in abandon
Easing her charm next to me on the bench
Our fingertips touched in playful exchange
Her emerald eyes taking me away
To a place ever distant, unfamiliar
The intensity of our wonton gaze
Burned as a thousand suns in galaxies
Light years away, ever so out of reach
Sensuality there...yet forbidden
The impulse to ravage provocative
Cravings intense, yet I must look away
Knowing this encounter is surely wrong
I beg her forgiveness and take my leave
My heart pounding heavy, silent my voice
Eyes clouded in painful sadness, remorse
For a different place I was meant to be
A dream that never happened, thankfully
We met in a nightmare, forbidden dream
Where tears fell in shame of what may have been
Our parting cast by shadow, bittersweet
Saved harmless from damage, absent refrain

LOVE IS
Love is life in all its blessings
A coddled sense, a kinder soul
Fingertip dance with gentle touch
Fond strokes caress, anticipation
Gaze upon eyes to probing depths
To see, to feel, to understand
Pining, cravings, sweet tenderness
Devotions beyond imagining
A kiss so longing teardrops fall
As cleansing bathe a lonely heart
Overwhelming feelings embrace
This heart, this mind....everything

TEMPTATION
Our eyes voiced unspoken questions
Of what we held so deep inside
Smouldering sense of endearment
Passionate stirrings, confusion
Breathless images wavering
Hesitation unforgiving
My gaze excites, penetration
The images my mind portrays
Shuddering expulsion takes you
To dimensions you've never seen
Touch me with unspoken pleasure
Release carnal instinct within
Imagine the intensity
Two lovers, silent, fornicate
Lips in tenderness embrace
Our moistness fills and permeates
For this I want yet shall forsake
Lest we flounder in damage done
Our heart and soul in weakness yield
To temptation, unforgiven

TENDERNESS
Your words soft as a midnight caress
Touch my soul as a gift, tenderly
Fragrant, the syllables permeate
My sense of allure, imaginings
Fleeting inhibitions my refrain
Waiting for a signal approving
Racing in a fury uncontrolled
A heart's infatuation, yearning
Requisite gestures will orchestrate
Our intentions, desires, destiny
To savour a kiss, the aftertaste
Of unspoken favour, loverspeak
Your hand pressed to mine anticipates
Unspoken pleasures by fingertip
Our lips meet in exquisite transfer
Of delicate witness, ecstasy
A song in its silence capturing
The essence of our thoughts in cadence
The passion of our embrace lingers
Into night's passage as candle burns

A DREAM FOR TWO
By the lakeside we held hands and were kids for a day, a stroll on the beach, come what
may. Wind whispering gently sweet love in our ear, romance by water's edge, a dream for
two.
Sparkling waves in a cascade roll in
Stroking the shoreline, then slip away
A romance rekindled, two spirits unite
Flickering candlelight, whispers of love
Moonlit waters dance into the night
A rose cast by lovers adrift tenderly
Earth's sandy blanket, so soft underfoot
In our shadows leaves a trail far behind
This dream reserved for a party of two
A tale of passion, desire and grace
Lingering memories, warm afterglow
Sweet slumber follows a fireside kiss

A VEIL BETWEEN
So sweet and tender was their love, care and giving, deep respect. Lost in quarrel,
misguided words, two lovers drift apart, resigned.
Awkward moments paralyze
Veil of silence, tears oft fall
Languish ever, lost embrace
Laughter stilled ungraciously
A lover spurned, tempestuous
Disdainful words in anger cast
Open wounds in festered bleed
Disaffection, saddening
Longing tenderness ensues
Distant memories prevail
Tender kisses, gentleness
Dissipate in painful haste
Divisive glances, eyes avert
Avoidance by a curtain drawn
Parting without reconcile
Forever closed once open door
Past open window curtain sways
Obscure, beyond a vacant room
Unanswered questions long persist
What could have been...forever lost

MEANT TO BE
Each moment spent together...each moment meant to be.
Lonely nights bring emptiness
Two lovers drift apart
Tears of anger, hearts of stone
Defeated in the end
Words avoided, cast in fear
In silence burning pain
Mistrust and apprehension
Wearied soul within
Broken union, letting go
Now closed once open door
Wilted flowers, petals fall
Few remnants in their wake
Passing time heals bittersweet
Love blossoming anew
Anxious glances, awkward smiles
First moments spent with you
Blessed feelings welling deep
A sense of life returned
Loving splendour, happiness
Together, meant to be

OF WHISPERED THINGS
Two sweethearts huddle, clandestine they speak, words between lovers, secret, discrete.
Soft lips touch an earlobe, whispered sweet words
Inner warmth cast from a heartbeat afire
Enchanted, two lovers into eyes gaze
Salacious renderings, mischievous, bold
Finger tips touch in romantic allure
Affectionate banter, clinging embrace
Young romance budding, lingering smiles
Barefoot by water's edge, walk aimlessly
Footprints in sea wash dissolve magically
Sun falls to horizon, amber retreat
A glimmer of starlight beckons the night
Shrouded in darkness sweethearts slip away

SHARE THIS DREAM
By summer's night in darkness shone
A candle's flicker, silhouette
Subtle play of sculpted shadow
Illuminance accentuates
The softness of your wanton gaze
Through moistened eyes reveals
This unspoken hesitation
A voice of unsatisfied cravings
I ever cautiously approach
But just one chance to share this dream
Your searching glance betrays refrain
A nervous shyness becomes you
Fingers elegant, gracefully
Draw silken strands of wayward hair
Revealing neck of swan-like pearl
Beneath, a handsome cleavage
Our breath now heightened, anxiously
Lips part in anticipation
So gentle, fingertips unite
In nervous foreplay, share this dream
A gentle breeze past window's edge
Temperance to our warm embrace
Hands glide in earnest splendour past
Trembling softness, probing caress
Dance with me through an endless night
A barefoot waltz, sweet serenade
Whispers dispel unspoken needs
Two lovers give in to desire
Dawn's rising light past curtain falls
In peaceful slumber, share this dream

CHAPTER 2:
INSPIRATIONAL & DREAMS

HER NAME WAS AYANA
Although the names in this poem are fictitious with respect to the accompanying photo
here they nonetheless once belonged to beautiful young children of Ethiopia. Subject of
this piece are the millions of hungered humanity who have perished out of starvation and
its endemic disease. Pockets of African regions have been besieged by drought and
poverty to the extent that human survival is precarious to fatal. Life hangs in the balance
there as hungered mouths and outstretched hands want and beg for morsels of food and
droplets of water. Drought, global inflation and armed conflict complicate an already
desperate situation. International food aid has brought relief, largely from the US yet
hunger remains for many a daily struggle to defeat the ever-present threat of death.
Tears and desperate prayers simply weren't enough...to save Ayana.
---------------------------------------------------
Her eyes deeply set in hungered hollows
Soiled stringy hair strands so long ago bathed
Sad vacant stare weeping waterless tears
A smile forever lost, defeated dreams
Ayana birthed a child, name of Dahnay
Whose papa lays silent of malnutrition
Gripped by the plague, sweetest wanton gaze
Prayers for but few morsels he never consumed
Ayana laid Dahnay to rest this day
Emaciated remains, open grave
Scorching sun glaring so unforgiving
As baby lays silent, his mama sobs
Gripped by a poverty, living in slums
Injera flatbread their only staple
Their shelter a mud hut of single room
Earthen floors a place of broken slumber
On blistered foot walking many hours long
To market they carried sorghum and maize
Over parched grasses dry, infrequent rains
Relief by the droplet long ago seen

HER NAME WAS AYANA cont’d...
Bitterness replacing glimmers of hope
Distended ribs skeletal, starved remains
A toxic cocktail of pain, misery
Life's eventuality, death's redress
Look into Ayana's eyes...if you can
Vacant by their witness, her soul bereft
Her heart once torn to pieces, dignity
Ravaged by failings of humanity
Baby Dahnay's cries sadly unanswered
He clung to mama's breast, his dying thirst
Left un-satiated, he'd look away
His lifeline to survival dried up, gone
Close your eyes now baby Dahnay, look away
From a life not of your choosing sadly
May your afterlife be more plentiful
Without hunger, pain, and rampant disease
Mama Ayana will be there for you
Where papa awaits, a family again
In happiness always you will all stay
By your hut where once you gathered in prayer
...may the hunger cease to exist some day

YOU DIDN’T NEED TO
For all those times you didn't understand
My attitude and all the things I said
Constant in your tolerance outwardly
You'd resist the temptation to fight back
Against your better judgment, had my say
Firm in your resolve yet never by your hand
From molehills to mountains you let me climb
Unsure of steady footholds, let me be
The person I aspired, broke my fall
Unsure of my direction, constant change
Even walked from college, never my scene
Disappointed as you were, held your own
Afforded me decision, my own time
To choose my own direction, find my way
Mom standing at the door, tears streaming down
And you by her side, with a handshake and a nod
Bidding my good fortune through open door
You didn't need to fuss over me so
Yet your guidance was my inspiration
My roadmap to discovery your grace
Your goodness and wisdom my answered prayer

UPON LAYERED SOULS
As tiered as in lyrical verse
Thoughts linger in layered repose
Recessed in memory shaped as
A Bonsai painstakingly pruned
Intrinsic limbs of solitude
Hang lazily in altered state
Buoyant transitions of stratum
Void of cognitive dissonance
Photographed images shaping
A lifetime of moments we shared
Eclipsed by a passing notion
Draped in a moonlight serenade
We gaze with longing wonderment
Through the eyes of a layered soul
Our destiny shadowed mirrors
Prophesy of things before us
Stepping stones pattern our journey
A heartsong forever embraced

FOR ALL THAT INSPIRES
In a world ever craving repentance
Unsettling disquiet blemishes
Our very existence and just resolve
For better tomorrows than yesterday
Just beneath the surface of reality
Suspended yearnings in poised refrain
Awaiting each moment of appearance
For all that inspires, they postulate
A singular wall stands before tempest
Remnant defiance to a tragedy
A newborn child's tears mark new beginnings
Our future cradled in a basinet
Heroes raise a flag amid fallen ruins
A cease fire compelling silent prayer
Buildings raised from flood and devastation
Sun's rise on a landscape darkened by fear
A poet's words, a songwriter's ballad
A people's embrace of cultural change
Freedom to voice without reprisal
Courage in the face of adversity
For all that inspires, the grace of hope
A head bowed in prayer on bended knee
Eyes slowly turned to the Heavens above
Looking for answers, reason for being
Enlightened we walk a familiar path
To so many places we've longed to be
Facing each other, our arms open wide
In acceptance, a world that ought to be

NOT ENOUGH HEROES
...dedicated to Burton Cummings, singer/songwriter/producer.
Whether real or imported from myth, most of us have our own heroes in this life. Those
heroes may be current day or remembered from long, long ago. Regardless, we see heroes
as someone we hold in high regard, perhaps the highest level of recognition and notoriety
for an act(s) that this person has bestowed to the benefit of others. Whether in relative or
figurative terms there are fewer instances today where an individual is held to such a lofty
standard...yet they do indeed exist. Whether that hero is a great thinker, a person of epic
or monumental faith, practitioner of medicine saving lives, an officer of law enforcement or
firefighter, a musician who has left a deeply personal mark on one's psych, an author of
profound examinations, a scientist, a holder of the Nobel Prize...whatever personal
standard one holds to in their perception of another as a "hero", those heroes seem harder
and harder to find.
Those heroes do exist and our lives the better for having been witness to their
achievement, their story, their awareness, their sacrifice.
Not Enough Heroes
For the voice of many a savoured few
Extolled for their vigilance save demand
Forging ramparts against disregard
Where amusement is borne of ignorance
By the grace of miracles angels watch
Our energies conflicting with powers that be
Saints beguile sinners with little refrain
Their charge handed down by a higher being
Visions of tomorrow mark destiny
Our faith in life a lofty state of being
To climb every mountain, wish upon stars
Overcome the impossible, lo, to dream
Deception shall be scorned by recompense
Let truth be our saviour, indemnified
Against intolerant attitudes
That would be our destruction otherwise
Our heroes' footsteps measured destiny
Belief in tomorrows come what may
The courage to differ, wisdom to fear
Daring to dream, exploring new frontiers
A hand raised in challenge, the warrior's cry
Tears shed in resplendent victory
The driven may dance to lonely a song
Ambivalent to their fortune, envy

ALLOW ME THIS
But few moments span a lifetime
A fissure sinks unmeasured depths
Solar flares rage from distant sun
As tail of the lion, daunting
Chilled air of morn, melon drop dew
In glistened meander falling
Speckled doe in placid forage
Draws water's cleanse, a pristine brook
Mine eyes reflect the shimmering
Ears touched by reclusive silence
Allow me this gift of wanton
Extravagance, not forsaken
Eyes closed, feel heartbeat quickening
Mind's parabolic mandolin
Symphonic cadence, elegance
Allow me this time, this moment
Be this my forever bounty
Upon prayer I cast forth my will
Lay trust and favour at my feet
Allow me few moments to live

APEX
In foothills I wade through tallgrass deep
Windswept gyrations of golden weave
Pine drops nestle gently, colourscape
A Weeping Willow shrugs forlornly
My breath now hastened by steady climb
Craggy rock projections imposing
Footholds marked ever so carefully
As danger threatens each forward step
Sagebrush skittering as cotton drift
Carried by gusts of transparency
Seedlings whirling in cadent freefall
Over bedrock soiled and moss laden
Silence surrounds, nature's utterance
Caressingly mute, an abeyance
Rising crescendo echoes heartbeat
The imposing ascent challenging
Thoughts linger now of life's consequence
Time in a capsule, suspended dreams
Prayers left unanswered, aspirations
Before me as this mountain, calling
Within sight this towering apex
Seeming unreachable destiny
Beckons my conquest, dares my resolve
To rise above obstacle, victor
Below a world marks its history
Moments in passage predetermined
Or random occurrence naturally
Unfolding in a world ever changing
At piece observing a universe
Beyond stars that bridge a galaxy
Visions born of imagination
Inspired on a summit, snow-peaked

CLEANSED
Disrobed of my shell I pause beneath
This outpouring, frenzied maiden mist
Chilled fusion of droplets, constant flow
Follow my contour in cleansing swirl
Churning in torrent past naked limbs
Snaked in fury abound, bedrock smooth
Each molecule scouring pores inflamed
By deception, pain, intolerance
In a hiss of contempt froth away
Discard of torment, purify soul
Cascading sparkle bid recompense
A lifetime of failure, discontent
Cloak me in softness and purify
This heart defiled, this mind cast in stone
Dispirited, though, with passion rise
To face tomorrow with cleansed goodbyes

DELIVERANCE
Disquiet of living beckons my
Withdrawal, perhaps escape as it were
Sameness does beg of duplicity
Assimilation a distant dream
Comfort surrounds upon easy chair
My reticent demeanor calming
Eyes drawn in closure indemnifies
An insubordinate blindness
Breath tapered gently in rise and fall
Consciousness yields cathartic daydream
In distant theatre river flows
Shimmering waves of deliverance
A cleanse of undaunted magnitude
Easing this burden, ineptitude
Clouds disburse in drifted abandon
An admonition of guilt released
Exhaling intently, moments stilled
Here I discover deliverance

DESTINY
Lay out a course upon the stars
Where future plays in mystery
As solar flares in distant reach
To darkness from a blazing light
Thoughts pattern limitless regard
Obscure, our seamless path unfolds
What higher entity expounds
Our portion in this galaxy
Eyes closed in expectation seek
Response to query unanswered
Drifting into sleep disrupted
By inept proclivity
Footprints cast upon the sands
In haste withdrawn by sea's erasure
Nullify our brief existence
A chosen path in disarray
To measure life by destiny
Embrace forever that believed
Embark upon uncertain journey
Realize the impossible dream

FRAGMENTS OF A WHOLE
Cathedral spire pierces darkened sky
Shadow's mimicry past window sill
Moon's crescent penetrates starlit night
Dew-glazed cobblestone bridge glistening
Echoed laughter drifts aimlessly by
Spilling from a tavern, drink inspired
Tuscan pre-eminance, centuries
Preserved infinitum, forged in stone
Weary villager, weathered his face
Alone amoung many, singular
A pebble tumbles in pantomime
Black raven's flight in silent retreat
Coleman's stove ambers, sinewy smoke
Heavenward whisps, haze of serpentine
Distant, a church bell tolls resolute
Confiding late hour and timeless faith
Rooftops converge in Gothic camber
Prominent edifice in abstract
Sun's radiant glow beckons dawn's rise
Discipating morn's blanket of fog
An infant's cry, whispered morning prayer
Cowbells clang noisily, children chatter
Horse drawn carriages, elegant dress
The village concession, corner store
Fragments of a lifetime captured still
A sound, a vision, caricature
Edifice of whole, concept or true
An entity separate, distinct

HOPE AND DREAMS
In clearly troubled times the peoples of a nation seek a new direction, a new faith and
inspiration from a chosen leader. First with adulation, a triumphant and historic
election bring in a man of great vision, empowerment and life force who embraces
hope, prosperity...and dreams.
May this courageous new leader move forward to set his own legacy with renewed
stability and security for his nation and may he find answers that have alluded so
many who precede him. May he also walk in safety through his long journey ahead.
Godspeed.
Time draws upon a legacy
Of passages, unanswered dreams
A fallen soldier, lowered flag
Institutions left in ruin
We look to everlasting peace
In God we trust unwavering
A hungry child in sadness sees
Faltering of humanity
Dawn breaks to stark realities
The challenges ahead we face
Emboldened by a vision clear
Of hope and dreams, our destiny
With passion lay the cornerstones
Of future, life and liberty
From fading footsteps trail behind
The path ahead, a new frontier
Save harmless those in destitute
The homeless in a troubled land
Disparaged by a hatred seed
Planted blindly, hypocrisy
Long unabated bigotry
Stains the face of equality
One and the same we forge ahead
Our nations bound, our peoples pledge
Courage, conviction, fortitude
Crossroads meet, future unfolds
Laying framework, vast bridges span
Global derision, posturing
Resurrecting belief and trust
In church, in state, in governance
Burdens' pallor, uncertainty
New beginnings, hopes and dreams

SOLITUDE
An inkless pen pressed upon blank pages
Voiceless ideas as yet to be scribed
Cloudless skies darken to infinite space
Where shooting stars streak in silent journey
Quarter moon's ridges, iridescent glow
Splays awkward shadows upon earthen plain
A windswept threshold echoes faint footsteps
Particles of sand embrace impressions
Far beyond eye's reach, an eternity
Of life, of living, internality
Presence of mind, with commonality
Relieved existence, I lay in repose
Excepting a heartbeat none that I hear
Save for solitude, alone with my thoughts
At peace with one's self, in quiet I sleep
Mind in separation, to dream...escape

TREASURE
In darkened depths by coral reef
Treasures golden, silver earrings
Pendants glitter, long strings of pearl
Lustre, polish, these sunken dreams
This chest of destiny fallen
To darkened depths of salten sea
But a chance, a dream, a fortune
Lost to a tempest, drawn beneath
Its guardian host, fleshless skull
Lays prone in silent gemstone watch
A voiceless soldier cast seaward
Testament to emboldened past
Jewels of lore in legend's verse
Crystallized gems and serpentine
Diamonds and saphire, opulent
Rings and goblets, shimmering coins
The hopes of many, gift of few
Treasures of fantasy, mystic
Sunken burial, ocean's lair
A future, a past, treasured things

A POET'S PLACE
Possessed by the grace of poetic mind, unparalleled thoughts one of a kind. Long to be
cherished this online space, words gifted from poets in this magical place.
Dedicated to all our friends here, writers of verse. Have a safe and happy holiday season.
Best wishes to everyone who shares in this, out poetry place.
A gift of expression, on page life unfolds
Of style and elegance, pageantry, bold
Visions explored, reminiscent within
Life's song in verse, words poetic begin
Tears from tragedy, sadness from loss
Two lovers quarrel, words in haste cross
Splendours of nature, beloved sounds
Places of wonder, true friendship found
Emotions poured out, our true feelings shared
Touching accounts, our heart and soul bared
For love of the poem, words crafted with grace
A beloved journey, this poet's place

AT PEACE
Silent moments comfort
As beside you I observe
Your dreamstate calm
Eyes closed, move still
Tracing footsteps past
Fantasy, what's real
Lips part in exhale
Dispose of unwant
Whispered thoughts
In quiet prayer
Fingers grasping
angel's touch
Tenderly lay
In blessed
Peace

HOPE IS
Hope is the foundation of all that we aspire to throughout the course of our lives,
what we desperately cling to during times of medical crisis, what we embrace as we
look to our future…and so much more.
The silent force that flows within
Blessed moments of faith endured
Through sickness and health, warm embrace
Few moments passed, hours remain
Loving words heal a broken heart
Answers came where once there were none
Budding branches on lifeless limbs
Sunrays’ pass through a blackened sky
Healing wounds close on battlefield
Gun turrets silent, peace prevails
Medical breakthrough lifelong dream
A newborn’s cry drawing first breath
Child of tomorrow birthed today
Wilderness saved from destruction
Seedlings planted, forestation
Birds of extinction taking flight
Salmon spawn, in abundance drift
Upstream clamber in purity
Falling tears yield a soothing smile
A friend, a loved one, a promise

CHAPTER 3:
A PLACE TO REMEMBER

A MOTHER LOST
...for you mom, love and miss you so much.
Fairest one that passed beyond
Who gave so much, return for not
Rise up to meet your own long gone
Embrace your peace that is your due
What grace and caring ways you've shown
Now gone from us, but memories embraced
Meet the heavens your faith did hold
And shine upon us, save our souls
Be blessed for all that you did give
Tireless love and endless care
To dedicate your life to those
Who cherished all you had to share
Your partner will ever miss you now
His heavy heart and sorrow shows
A lifetime shared with one so fair
You'll meet again, the time you'll know
Beloved by all that you did know
Tender moments gone we won't forsake
Stay in our hearts forever more
We that were loved by an angel

MISSING YOU
I have a precious photo hanging on our dining room wall, lovingly placed among a series of
family photos...family we have lost over the years. We call this special wall section our
'memory wall'. The picture that I am looking at now is my beloved grandfather who we lost
so long ago.
So tall you stand, brimming with pride
Eyes of clear focus, sound of mind
So gentle inside though oxen strong
So long we loved, looked up to you
Conviction and valour cherished
As you served upon stormy seas
Gazing in wanton glory to
New concepts and realities
Your smile would touch a stone-cold heart
Your words assuring, kindly warmed
Lines of the ages etch your face
Quiet reflection was your grace
In waning years your tears did flow
A body failing, frustration
Such dignity you once embraced
Then slowly slipping from your grasp
Your song so blessed with remembrance
Of better times that passed you by
A bagpipe ballad sung in prayer
'Amazing Grace' your epitaph
For love of right and just reward
Determination marked your way
A lifetime serving others was
Your passion, first love, destiny
I miss you gramps
Love always

Immortality
You said you would never leave me
But now I have to let you go
Here for much more than a lifetime
Your eternal heart and soul flows
Memories through the ages shall pass
Long after all the sad goodbyes
The tears I shed in agony
All the sweet songs and lullabies
Live this never-ending journey
Through life and through death evermore
Blessed by a kindly existence
Move forward as never before
Cherished each moment you gave me
The memories shall ever be clear
The love and gentle words spoken
All things that you ever endeared
For all who have passed before us
In our hearts you will always be
The song and the life and spirit
Essence of immortality

9.1.1. - A SAD DAY
The horrors of September 11, 2001 will stay with us long. This poem is for the little
ones...whose parent won't come home.
Two little siblings kneel bedside at prayer
Hands clasped so tightly, in unison share
Wishing their daddy would come home real soon
To tuck them in gently and kiss them good night
Teardrops are all that they see on this night
As heartbroken mommy sits quietly, close
Stroking their hair with a sweet loving smile
Tearful, she whispers "I miss him too"
Mom and her little ones won't sleep tonight
As they gaze into darkness wondering why
This man they so love will never come home
Their last hug together the memory they share

YET ANOTHER DEAD SOLDIER
Newscast of the day breeds fear and contempt
Breathless anticipations taunting me
Hours spent staring at a silent phone
Time my worst enemy, I agonize
Day after day this bloody misery
Eating my insides to the very core
Tears shed upon pillow night after night
My cleansing relief from this suffering
Finally exhaustion will cause my sleep
Restless avoidance of his images
Cautious steps testing, eyes ever cast down
Breath shallow, fast and burning dissipates
A flash and rip concusses, eardrums flare
Numbness overcomes, vision fades to black
Noontime stirrings summoned, telephone rings
Words of solemn sympathies tear my soul
Phone slams to wall, I crumple to the floor
Uncontrolled weeping my only console
Yet another dead soldier is buried
My son laid to rest upon foreign soil

ALWAYS WITH ANGELS
Your eyes animated, so broad your smile
Heart of an angel, so much sacrificed
Barbershop song brought you so much pleasure
The skill of a craftsman with tools in hand
Unkindly words absent the words you spoke
A gifted person, so much that you shared
Moving forward with vision, tenacity
In little found treasure, new beginnings
To family you offered unwaning love
The warmth of embrace, reassuring glance
A positive energy, strength you bore
Treasured always by loved ones near and far
It pained us to see in your later years
An inner disquiet, lost memories
Tears that often surfaced, a vacant gaze
Yet through it all came laughter and a grin
With your lifetime partner so much you shared
The love, the friendship, the moments so dear
Always with angels you were meant to be
Go now in peace and forever more

LEST WE FORGET
Since the early beginnings of recorded history and beyond there has been conflict between
peoples. That conflict has turned violent, whether between individuals, tribes, factions,
organizations, and the military. Whether for personal, religious or political reasons the
results are often tragic. We subscribe to ideologies that at times become an obsession,
fixating on what we deem to be correct, moral, just or rational. We are no longer a
peaceful, patient people. Instead we let force navigate our existence, our fate. We loath
banal indifference preferring a call to action, the consequences be damned. We take life as
a means to an end begrudgingly, resignedly.
But what of the lives that are lost and the devastation left for surviving loved ones to deal
with? We cannot and must not ever forget about the consequence...
Death by precision justifies
Killing field's slaughter, consequence
Limbs strewn in bloody disarray
The stench of war suffocating
Tears stain a soldier's uniform
Streaks of anguish shed in vain
Abated fear haunts silent graves
Where the fallen rest, prayer's refrain
A nation mourns the deathly toll
Mounting daily through unresolve
Row upon row of caskets draped
With flags of homeland awaiting
Courage, conviction marked their way
With honor dispatched, homeward bound
While loved ones gather far away
Distraught, they grieve their painful loss
Lest we forget the brave who served
Pause to reflect their selfless acts
Preserve our freedom and protect
Our way of life, to live in peace

OF CHERISHED THINGS
With but a matter of hours remaining before moving day I sit in the early morning sun, so
tired, so sore, yet so content. I stare at a sea of cardboard boxes bearing our entire life,
our existence, our worldly possessions. I can't help but reminisce about what each piece
within those boxes has meant over the years. All our tireless daily toil through the
perpetual working day to produce what lays within these walls. Purchases, gifts,
castaways. These items we so proudly display, speak of, ponder over, contents of our
dwelling...the things we cherish beyond all.
Time's passage bears, these gifts adorn
Framed likeness hung upon bare walls
On mantle rests his remnant ash
A father passed, a kindly man
An easy chair where mom once sat
Her gentle laughter still I hear
A television, computer
Conveys news from another world
Electronic things that entertain
Books of romance and mystery
Cooking appliance to sustain
Plants to flourish, a floral vase
Intimate moments, long embrace
A kiss, a touch, sweet memories
Left behind though forgotten not
This refuge, home, of cherished things
The arguments, harsh words cast out
Tears of anguish, pain and torment
Impassioned laughter photographed
Still moments saved of better times
Moving on to another place
To nurture, grow and cultivate
New beginnings, continuance
Life, living, and deliverance

ALONE TOO SOON
A heartbeat stilled, too soon they're gone, a loved one, cherished, passes on. Such
emptiness we feel inside, longing for just one more goodbye. Perchance we'll some day
meet again, till then sweet memories...comforting.
Silent memories, sorrowed dreams
Burning teardrops endlessly
Emptiness, consumed, unease
Vacant whispers hauntingly
Lifelong wishes, what will be
Succumb to fate, destiny
Inner sadness, outer faith
Loneliness proliferates
Captured images portray
Tenderness, humanity
Blessings treasured, endearing
Void of colour, motionless
Long-stemmed rose and photograph
Love and beauty, everlast
Hastened passing, brief goodbyes
Sleep well angel, missing you

HOURS BLEED ETERNAL
...for loved ones lost everywhere
Nightmares frequent, relentless remind
The torment of your passing scars
A heart crippled in anguish now
By your leave tears burn without end
Pangs of sorrow haunted your soul
Agonized by fear, suffering
Borderless pain, anxiety
Left your blessed world torn apart
A faceless image in mirrors
Inconsolable, looked away
Clouds of uncertainty blanket
A mind forever locked in chains
You fought invisible demons
With courage and dignity won
Before succumbing to weakness
Too weary now to struggle on
Trapped behind a seamless glass cage
In desperation hands against
Cruel translucent barriers
Drawn in a curtain of refrain
Vision singular as Cyclops
Impaired by forged entities
Distorted reality grips
A mind eternally besieged
Absent your laughter, calming words
So gentle your touch, warm embrace
Lost, the silken flow of your hair
Fragrant in scent caressed your face
Your stride with such purpose told me
Of life's meaning you once possessed
Now the hours bleed eternal
Your spirit, your life ever lost

CHAPTER 4:
THE HUMAN CONDITION

WHAT I CAN’T BE ANYMORE
The onset of dementia is a critical progression of cognitive challenges that are
frustrating and debilitating. Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease has been prevalent in
my family. Perhaps our genetic makeup is such that we are sharing a systemic and
ravaging illness that will eventually take each one of us (our family) beyond a point
of reckoning, beyond sensible awareness, beyond the capability to understand what
it is that is tearing us down.
Here, I write this piece in the first person, one who has been afflicted by dementia,
in an attempt to help others understand what dementia does to a person as it runs
its course. I pray that I will never know what so many of my family have come to
know of this illness...yet I fear that someday I too will succumb.
So damn restless, this constant shifting
Tossing and turning, sleep evading
Insidious tension engulfs me
The voices beside me confusing
Time dragging endless as the dark night
Yet the clock tells differing stories
Numbers, they will change but are constant
The second hand sweeping eternally
Goddamn, I can't bare this long silence
So tired…just sleep…so damn tired
With jarring consternation I rise
Half blinded by brilliance of morn’s light
Shut the blinds, shut the blinds…hurry up
Was that the phone? Hello, who’s calling?
No-one’s there, someone’s playing their games
Did it ring, damn it, I know it rang
My eyes so heavy, just want to sleep
The bathtub begs my linger to soak
Bubbles and steam, soap in tiny swirls
Stinging, I ease down, is it too deep?
Drops from the spout leave concentric rings
Growing wider, ever wider save
Those breaking upon my skin as waves
With silent crash as a surging sea
Laying back sudsy water by chin
Soothing aching muscles in spasm
The shower head looms, a silent snake
Coiled in readiness…just a shower
Now rising, water cascades to floor
Where’s my towel, oh God, my towel
Why am I crying, what’s the matter
Sobbing, I can’t even remember

JUST FOR BEING...AMY
Dedicated to Amy Wood...
But for your words would I understand
Engagement of realities seen
Through words of angelic messenger
Embraced reassurances written
With delicate touch you permeate
An existence shared so openly
Tears cleansing a heart so deeply touched
By misgivings of humanity
Know love and affection, blessed child
And light over darkness guide you
May your dreams hold comfort eternal
And your eyes be delivered from pain
Your heart bears delicate witness to
The cruelty of shattered innocence
Gifted are those whose lives you touch
Ours to cherish for now and always
Bless you Amy Wood

OPENWORKS
Our lives a web of transparencies
Openworks of configurations
Flesh blanketing a skeletal frame
Beyond cells of propagated limbs
Extended courtesies, obliging
Kindly words of forgiveness spoken
The wounds of life's bitter offerings
Fester without bandage or dressings
Eyes castigate in hateful judgement
Lo reasonable considerations
Would now behest our swift attention
Save unintentional consequence
May substance flow in unrestricted
Chaste embellishment for adorning
....this mantel of our integrity
Neurons in a cacophonic transfer
Teeming familiarity to
Infinite networks interwoven
Electrified by outward senses
A mind in all its complexities
Disseminating alterations
Divergent streams of great distortions
Fabricated to unkindly end
The human condition challenges
By virtue of our imperfections
Blood coursing through constricted veins
Life force of variant energies
Whilst heart and soul in deliverance
Congeal in functional accordance
....the very essence of our being

SAVE HARMLESS EXCULPATORY DELUSIONS
Lo fire and brimstone may burn as in Hell
Nay where knaves and thieves in deception fall
Lusting for injurious withholdings
Trickery forged by the magician's wand
Distortion in all its likeness does bear
Semblance of reasoning abandoned still
Psychoses of disproportionate form
Disengaged realities, thus delusion
Would I intercede your malcontent
Nor exculpate your alleged guilt
Acquit, lest I bear feigned innocence
Your pillage of soul without consequence
By the visage of your damning grace
Do I bow in gentle acquiescence
Doth my soul in plundered poverty speak
Of divine interventions knowingly
Predators loom in the darkness of night
Cloaked in shadow yet valid silhouette
Preying on the meek, complacent of woe
A preponderance, new realities

SEASONS FOR CHANGE
Your eyes glaze over in idle curiosity
A banal silence washing over your voice
In this moment pain and anguish reigns
A heart that slows after timeless beats
Thoughts that wander impatiently
Between now and nowhere searching
Tears that burn as ducts run dry
Diffusing anger of what could have been
Little ones lost that never grew up
What I'd give to make it go away
The tidal ambivalence, nothing gained
Does a day fall so heavily into the night
Without sunshine nor stars would you see
In your autumn your hand now unsteady
Your walk without purpose and stilted
Jaded by losses with time you forsake
Accepting what life so unkindly unfolds
Unlikely reason, untimely reprieve
Rest well upon nightfall, divine is your grace
For the change of seasons fills your dreams
Embrace with dignity whatever must be
The night is still yours, the dawn of days

STATE OF BEING
To embrace the seemingly out of reach
What eludes our cognizant state of being
Fervent intentions, ever kindly grace
Your words, always offered in constancy
Gentle your touch that transcends from the heart
An unspoken gift, telling glance and smile
Endure my unsavoury utterance
Insipid ranting and misplaced anger
Intolerance wagered without regard
For life and its giving I cannot change
Your eyes glazed over in disappointment
Disheartened, yet in silence you digress
In my favour, you gesture willingly
Friend without condition, will always be
My strength, my endurance, my state of being

OBSCURE NOTIONS
Random passages, syllables
Words of feigned manipulation
An awkward touch enviously
Tear-filled pupils' focus narrows
Questioning, always questioning
Self-absorbed in the obvious
Prophesies rendered absolute
An occurrence absent intent
Defiant gestures, sacrifice
Void of existence, mystery
Endless the possibilities
A muted voice of ignorance
Fleeting moments, indecision
Possibilities so cluttered
Familiarity consumes

PROMISES
Promises
Anticipated truth
Eyes Meet Utterance
Words flow with acceptance
Avowed

ALTERED STATE
This corner of confinement my essence
Where images converge and battles wage
Forever drawn to fatal attractions
A player upon formidable stage
Fearful parlay conjures up altered states
Innocence denied by contradictions
Tears flow in silence from duplicity
A voice without words in abdication
This parallel gaze through veiled reflection
Sweet child's acceptance will exonerate
The wayward condition taunting her still
Justify her existence, vindicate

BY WATER’S EDGE
Gentle the mid-day's winds caress
Transparent massage upon face
Eyes cast outward, seas cascading
As upturned waves cresting white
Silence permeates endless thought
Ghostly heartbeat's echo intense
Naked toes stroking weathered floors
Fingertips trace salt-laden sill
Searching for answers ever lost
Swept away, unforgiving tide
Staring long into darkened depths
Of an ocean despairingly
Wondering what will tomorrow
Bring forward from failed yesterdays
By water's edge so long I wait...

FRAGMENTS OF A SHATTERED SOUL
For those who are burdened with an anxiety disorder, depression or highly debilitating
psychotic episodes the world around can be a very discomforting place. These disorders
are rapidly increasing in occurrence. We have much still to understand in order to heal.
Torn from reality once I knew
Claimed by anxiety, lost to fear
A strange separation, barriers
Blinding, eyes closed in this altered state
Erupting internally, displaced
Weakened, fragments of reality
I cry out in silence, distilled pain
A soul in abandon confines me
Surroundings clouded, unconsciously
Feigning security, locked in chains
Eyes cast in judgement, paranoia
Penetrate as darts through open wounds
Piercing a body bled out by pain
Overwhelmed, a lifeless entity
Endless denial, this shattered soul
Shall vanquish, indemnify and heal

ON A DISTANT STAR
On a scale as grand as rivers fall
With salient prominence witness
Lost the very goodness of mankind
Yielding to eternal damnation
We fight, we pillage, we extricate
Our conscience defiled by human souls
The spoils of our excess destroying
A fragile ecosystem failing
Taking up arms as matter of course
Killing for the sake of posturing
Park lands paved in the name of progress
A towering highrise testament
To a nation of thieves squandering
The notion of simple existence
Our sights transfixed to a distant star
Searching for answers that may not come
In time to save harmless our conduct
Ignorance, greed and intolerance

SHE
By darkest hour of midnight past
Wave upon cresting wave's caress
Sands of a shoreline glistening
A froth in great turbulence churns
Silent she strides in mournful gaze
Undefined footsteps dissipate
Eyes cast in languish, longingly
Searching, for answers, anything
A maiden mist wraps her bodice
In a mystic foray trailing
Drifting ever further wordless
A dream, a temptation, surreal
Obscure, the cloud-draped horizon
Falls away, prolonged disquiet
Aberrations befall her soul
She drifts, this angel of darkness
Moments become eternity
As salt-laden tears whisper tales
Lamenting her endless journey
This child of the night walks alone

A FACE IN THE CROWD
In a sea of many faces each person stands alone, a history of being, in multiplicity as one.
A streetscape of density, urban sprawl
Dotted by humanity, faceless crowd
Hastened footsteps, anxious, shifting eyes
Life in the fast lane, avoidance, mistrust
Towering highrise, storefronts obscene
Back street mentality, threatening
Cutting blades hidden, boys in the hood
Stolen possessions, trash talk, disgrace
Onlookers gaze, eye contact by chance
Dogged, determined, uncertainty
Searching wantonly, a vacant stare
Fleeting, disappears, ghostly retreat
Reflections of self in startle reflex
Damaged imperfection, bleeding within
A cry for acceptance, endless I wait
Alone in the jungle, man without face

A PLACE OF SHELTER, NOT A HOME
Feelings of emptiness, cast out alone, nothing but the street to call their home. Hungry,
disillusioned, the elements feared, life on a doorstep, a prisoner to the cold.
Huddled in the din of lamp post glare
Cold of the night grips of my bones
Fluid on fire rages deep in the lungs
Sickened, alone, desperate for sleep
Passers by vent disdain for my kind
Downward glances, grimace of hate
Vilify my being, cast me aside
Ignore my reality, turn away
Untouched by my hunger, void of guilt
Not a penny you spare from pockets deep
Angry avoidance, eye contact forbid
Apologetic for un-acceptance
A concrete doorstep, shelter awaits
The poor and forgotten, scourge of life
Raise not your hand, impoverished one
Unwelcome castaway, disappear
Tears well in eyes shadowed by pain
Defeat engulfs this forgotten soul
Death be my demon lurking near
I'm stricken, empty, resented, alone

CHAPTER 5:
NATURE & THE ENVIRONMENT

PEBBLES AND SAND
An amber sunset clings to sea's horizon
Hues of molten lava bathed in coral pastel
Tall masts piercing stillness of unburdened sky
Gulls in playful banter navigate shorelines
Etched in waves' caress amid pebble and sand
Naked toe impressions tell of lovers' pass
Cautious steps in avoidance of nature's things
Tiny crab in petrified scatter abound
Gulf winds drifting in ambient intrusion
A taste of salty maiden mist drifting in
Kelp and driftwood strewn in artful disarray
Markers of tidal discharge, banal existence
Now dotlets of humanity in twilight's glow
Flicker intermittent as stars upon nigh
Sound fails save water's ripple, at last alone
Skipping stones in ambivalent reflections

HAIKU
hummingbird
frenzied wings whisper
flight's hungered hesitation
tongue's flutter sipping of sweet nectar
sea waves
A frothing camber
Systolic after cresting
Ocean's response in cadent freefall

DRAWN TO THIS PLACE
In afforded seclusion I reflect
The pureness and sanctity of this place
Silence precedes constant waves announcing
Transient passage upon sandy shores
A horizon bathed in the richest hue
Of purest intensity, virginal
An island of resplendent desertion
Aproned by centuries of weathered stone
Ever am I drawn to this place by sea
Refuge to my innermost unsettling
Clouds linger as gauze beneath bandages
Absorbing the excess of bleeding wounds
With gentleness touches a calming breeze
Forbidding tears wept in painful release
Heavy burdens linger where footsteps trail
Impressions withdrawn by tidal retreat
It is here that I pause, my thoughts transcend
Without limitation, absolution

BEAUTY IN SILENCE
Air embraced with winter soaked chill
Sounds of silence meandering
Water drop riplets' outbound waves
Snow dusting's flutter powdery
Icicled tree limbs lazily
Slumber, exotic ecstasy
Crisp waters mirror majesty
Fox and white owl, soaring eagle
Pebbled shores romance snow-capped banks
Dimpled with doe trail mystically
Whiffs of cloudburst ambling by
Timber strewn backdrop, frost-tipped fir
Breathless serenity, sun-bathed
Beauty in silence, comforting
Reverent in its glory bathes
A mind, a soul, inwardly peace

FRAGILE EXISTENCE
I would preface this piece with the reflection that although the world and all that lives upon
it is enduring our existence is highly frangible, wrought with threatening occurrence that
places us in a precarious position, exposed to distress and eventual failure should we not
recognize the things which may one day render the globe a lifeless entity.
Towers of igneous touch upon sky
Extrusions of might pierce cloud canopy
Victor to eons of weathered storm
Untouched environs in boldness surround
Seas embrace foothills of arid and sage
Windswept fragility by its witness
An eagle careens upon downdraft force
Taking refuge upon cavernous ridge
In distant lands instability reins
As precarious existence unfolds
Life's breath nullified, an ecosystem
Distressed by our own reckless abandon
An ozone depletion circles the globe
Acid tinged raindrops upon the earth fall
Refuse discarded in careless abandon
Non-degradable degradation
Munitions target with deadly precision
While fragments astray serve to victimize
A child lays silent on a killing field
Bled out and expired, miserable failings
Devastation echoed by a mother's cry
A faith long displaced by anger and fear
Prayers go unanswered, tears crimson will fall
Yet hope rings eternal, lest we forget
Far away sits an eagle in silent watch
O'er a land so sacred yet so fragile
Existence threatened by a wary hand
Looming in abeyance by our command

A FALLEN LEAF
Many the splendour of a cool autumn day, yet a sense of betrayal...death nature's
way.
A chill embraces this autumnal day
Dense cloak of fog hangs heavy at dawn
The scent of decay, a dewdrop-soaked leaf
Loses its grasp on a half-naked limb
Feelings of sadness, a coldness within
Lost summer days, clouds of anger in sky
A blanket of frost in darkness clings
A sparkling demon shines crystalline
Once vibrant flora now sag as in pain
Lifeless reminders of winter's approach
Small creatures storing sustenance deep
A bear soon in slumber will hibernate
Lowly of spirit, I witness decline
The Maple Leaf shed as if by disease
On the window sill lays a fallen leaf
A victim of coldness, death nature's way

A MEADOW SONG
Alone with my thoughts in a meadow walk, sauntering lazily, hearing meadow
songs.
Tall grasses dance to a valley breeze
Fragrant, inviting, tranquility there
A bumblebee hovers, then swiftly gone
Cattle stand grazing, my presence ignored
A pasture lined with serpentine oak
Statues of nature, limbs heavenward reach
The farmhand labours tilling the soil
A plot for the garden and wheat fields grow
Whispy clouds sweep a powder blue sky
Bathed in sunshine, an artist's dream
Splendour on canvass, a stroke of the brush
Sweet sounds of summer, a meadow song

MINSTREL’S SONG
On weathered leather of piano stool
Postured songster croons a poetic churn
Smooth as butter yet with a rustic spin
Octaves played out, slow pentatonic verse
Ivory keys dance by gnarled fingers' touch
Blistered, weeping digits play minstrel song
Notes of pain and anger, words bitterly
Interrogate, chastise indifference
Of benign passersby, a wary glance
At this wordsmith decrying modern man
A scourge of society, whispered prose
Faint samplings of humanity eagerly
Bemused, his angst tempered by waning smile
Rhythmic notes linger, foot pedal caress
This barter of utterance lost in time
Walks to a beat of a different drum
Eyes turned away, tears fall in misery
His blackface painted sombre, minstrel sings

A FATHER'S PRIDE
It seems like only yesterday my sons were born. So tiny, fragile, innocent,
clutching for support. Dependent and unaware, these small bundles of joy are
now young adults leading lives of their own.
For Devin and Brendan...
Anxious were the days after
You came into this world
Tiny, wrinkled lumps of love
We all endeared you so
Cuddle close, my arms surround
My hand your fingers grasp
Trusting of my loving care
Sweet dreams my precious ones
Good health and happiness be
Your blessings from the start
Know how much you mean to me
My pride, my joy, my sons
Now grown up, so strong and sure
You need to go your way
Just remember dad is here
To help, to hold, to love
Stay close wherever you may go
My heart is always near
A warm embrace, your knowing smile
The love and friendship that we share

MAKE THIS NIfGHT LAST FOREVER
Tonight we shared moments as sweet as can be
The candles burned long, we made love tenderly
A cooling wind passes the window sill now
The curtains stirred ever so slightly again
Cool is the night wind caressing our bodies
A moonlight shines brightly, dark shadows they dance
To a song that consumes us till sleep overtakes
Make this night last forever, not fade away
Our hearts flow in unison, beat to a rhythm
Breathless we lay in a passionate embrace
Fingertips tracing in a frenzied exchange
Our lips play to a silent lover’s refrain
Whispers break silence and tears tell a story
A burning desire makes the hurt fade away
Whenever you’re near me nothing else matters
I love you more now than I’ll ever again

Throughout our lives we expend great energy establishing and maintaining friendships.
Our relationship with friends blossoms from a seedling, maturing to a point of intimate
fondness reserved for a select few. We nurture that relationship as something so sacred,
so close to our hearts that seemingly nothing can stand in the way of that friendship. Sadly
something happens along this journey and the relationship changes...the flower withers
and dies or that intimate friendship suddenly disappears, sometimes for no apparent
reason.
How do we let such precious relationships slip through our grasp? Now all that's left is the
pain.
YOU WENT AWAY
All that we had I thought was a lifetime
The days and nights spent, the laughter and tears
So many moments, so many memories
All of a sudden you just walked away
How can I change what must have been broken
So wrong that forever you went away
Time and great distance now comes between us
Unbelievably close, now torn apart
The warm embraces, unspoken glances
Kept all that we had forever in place
What did I say that brought separation
All of the miles that we walked in silence
The paths that we chose so easy to climb
Words always came to us without effort
The memories linger of better times
Can something so good slip through our fingers
All I feel is regret for whatever
Suddenly severed the bond that we had
Am I mistaken, was it your doing
How can something so right turn out so wrong
Just one more chance is all that I'm asking
Make up for the pain that sent you away...
How can I change what must have been broken

A FEW MOMENTS APART
So strong is our love, so missed when apart, we gaze out the window, tender
of heart.
But few times we travel a different path
A void looms heavy upon our heart
To glance out the window, wishing you near
I long for you sweet one, return to me soon
Whisper your love song, cast out in the wind
A hint of your essence, your soul within
Send to me love notes adrift in the breeze
I hear you, I feel you beckoning me
Be safe where you go, rest well where you sleep
Place petals of rose on your pillow tonight
Sweet dreams fill your night, awaken at dawn
Eager for wonders that bless your new day
Come home, precious flower, I need you near
I hunger your closeness, embrace your cheer
Familiar your kiss, the touch of your hand
Say again that you love me, tender dear

MIGRATION OF THE DUNES
Off the east coast of Canada amid the deep, dark waters of the
Atlantic rests Prince Edward Island. To experience P.E.I. is to know a
people whose heart is cast in gold, treasures in of themselves upon a
land that is steeped in historic significance. Their existence hangs by
a thread of balance, or imbalance, a dependence upon the goodness
of land and sea. Their fate rests in their bounty and stronghold of
their governance.
‘Tween the emerald tallgrass and wheat fields
In a quilt works of golden profusion
Rise the dunes by the sea they call Greenwich
Where the deepest of blue waters shimmer
Windswept sands creep on an inland traverse
Where the marshes and woodlands be buried
Shorelines in splendour hold fossils of old
Tiny crab in a tremulous foray
The ridges of sand known as Gegenwalle
Meander in sculpted severity
On the isle amid Atlantic waters
Where lovers strolling barefoot enchanted
Gulls caw to the winds and the dolphin swim
By the shores of the dunes in migration
From northernmost shores beyond Seacow Pond
To the southerly docks at Wood Islands
Victorian mansions of heritage
Grace the hills amid forest and homestead

MIGRATION OF THE DUNES...cont’d.
Roads of red clay in meandering twist
Binding farms to the fisherman’s village
Where lighthouses blink to offshore boats speak
Through the mist in the moor of white darkness
The red sandstone cliffs rising ominous
Forewarning the dangers before them
In the forenoon the sun towers over
Aged boardwalk of sea-gnarled gangways
Villagers amble in solemn content
Amid kibitz of islanders’ prattle
The lore of east coasters forever holds
In abeyance to life passed before them
The outrigger’s cry as he battles seas
In the fury of a mid-summer’s storm
The mainstay would totter in gale force winds
And the bow, she would list to the leeward

MIGRATION OF THE DUNES...cont’d.
Native bands settled this isle long ago
By the resplendent shores of Atlantic
Acadians set about tilling the plains
And the Scottish would pioneer steadfast
It is here where the easterly winds blow
Their might upon the white dunes of Greenwich
Sculpting a landscape for centuries long
Peoples remain though the fisheries gone
Land so beloved, the dreams that they share
In their heart and their soul forever more
(repeat chorus)

FOREVER WOULD BE TOO SOON
For my rose...lyrical verse
Could these days become a lifetime
Would our forever be too soon
Nights would fall with endless pleasures
Savoured moments as lovers do
Lay your dreams upon my pillow
Close your eyes until the dawn would rise
As we dance on wings of angels
Our song will serenade moonlight
Tender kisses once a memory
Linger so gently on your lips
As song notes of a melody
Sung an eternity too soon

FOREVER WOULD BE TOO SOON cont’d...
Hand in hand we’ll walk the distance
Barefoot strolls upon sandy shores
Waves of love shall be our saviour
Two hearts as one forever more
Forever, my love, would be too soon

'A Touch of Rose' © 2011 Don MacIver on Amazon.com, poetry, poems

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