Upon the pikes

Upon the pikes I stand
On the roof of the world
Where all lands seem in reach
No journey beyond me

The well-trodden path

The climb greater than the descent
The mountains have declared

Gaia's tapestry is resplendent

The land beckons
The next rise, the next turn
Each is a joy to the eye
A new song to the heart

The pikes stand guardian
Knots of rock and earth

Custodians of adventure

Watchers of aeons

Cruel masters of fools

Kind friends of the wise

Confronting every walker
Challenging every climb

Upon the pikes I stand,

Discovery calls me, and

From this resplendent solitude
All paths may lead

Based upon my love of walking in the Lake District, and in particular walking in view of the Langdale Pikes

Headrest

Mind how she curves, and turns

The colours of your world

That circumscribe your vision

Bringing parity to your intuitive anarchy

Mind her movement

Her head at rest, but

Her body reaching across

The stage of your perception

Mind the manner of her smile

That your emotions be not overcome

That wisdom does not give to frustration

That longing does not give way to lust

 

Always mind your surroundings

That every moment you see her

Does not risk the delicacy

Of the fragile casing of your heart.

I leave you to guess...

The Toilet Door

Couldn’t you first have made sure?

Now both our jaws drop to the floor

Aghast! I left the room unlocked

The toilet door bolt only half-cocked

 

I’m sat on the throne,

Causing my bowel to groan

Our faces creased with an embarrassed frown

You sure got me with my trousers down!

Just a quick, light-hearted piece for you all.

Ashen in my mind

The lake is blue, as my eye

But I cannot see

Steel, denim or navy?

I have seen the cobalt water

But it is grey in my mind

I remember the rush and the roar

The crowd; the agony and ecstasy

Shouts, chants and cries

But I don’t see them now

The golden moments scored from my mind

I can see the school building

The vast field, trees and sky

Red, white and black streaks of uniformity

But their faces are a blur

Gone from my mind

I remember the first time

The touch of the skin

The heat of her body

But her aspect passes by

A silhouette in my mind

I am the sum of my experiences

I remember the thoughts

And the feelings

But the sights that I have seen;

Ashen in my mind.

This poem is a reference to my general inability to visualise my memories very well; probably a primary motivater for my budding interest in photography. in my eye

The fractured dawn

The dark fractures the dawn

The day made opaque

The stars of my sky fall like ash in the rain

All my sense is turned to madness

My hand of wrath falls upon emptiness

I can land no blow on the walls of fate

My mode is frozen and chilled

Bitter words pour forth unto the void

The weave of majesty may linger

The embers of warmth can still burn

But too soon they fade and go cold

No more than echoes of my pain

Fortune favours nought today

Disaster falls upon the foundation of my heart

With your passing, my dawn fractures

And my life is sunset for evermore.


This poem is influenced mainly by my experiences working with people with palliative care needs, and terminal conditions