Leaf

If I were a leaf
I'd be a thief
Stealing sunshine from air.

Some other plants
Would envy my grants
Others wouldn't care.

For when I pass
Down I dance
Carrying gifts from toil.

My days in the sun
Now I've won
Nutrients for the soil.

New leaves grow
They will know
From where their bounty came

From sun and air
The soil we share
Life is renewed again.

The road

A road has too many choices
A road can lead you astray
Too many branches
Too many chances
Are you sure you want to go that way?

Far safer to stay at home
Never to open that door
Hide from sight
Fear the light
Else you’ll always want for more.

A stone statue may last forever
The sands of time drifting away
Step into the world
Ignorance unfurled
And then you'll surely pay.

Do not ask the questions
The answers may not be yours
Self battered
Certainty shattered
Discard the beauty, see the flaws

Journeys are best untaken.
Stick to what you know
Better to be a fool
Than to break a rule
Who can tell how far you’ll go?

How long will you end up wandering?
What lies around that bend?
Another choice to make
Another path to break
Never to reach the end.

A road has too many choices
A road can lead you astray
Too much to see
Too much to be
Do not go that way.

Brexit

Wind dies down
Bad choices
A mess remains.

Delays

Raindrops are glass snakes
Trains slither slow and blind
Signal failure again.

Grey clouds weep
An urgent need to sleep
Trust in failure.

The thought

I had a little thought
It popped into my head
Round and round inside it swam
On other thoughts it fed
Consuming, growing, crowding out
Though nothing was ever said
Then I cut myself with a knife
And out that thought bled
Now I have no more thoughts
Uh oh, I'm dead!

(No, I'm not depressed, self harming, etc. etc.)

Admonishment

Caucasian
Cocky Asian
Just labels
Inaccurate
Lies

Time

Was early yesterday
River of red lanterns
Rain

Overheard

Interesting conversations overheard
Shh, I want to hear that word
Sentences fragments, a strange sound
Random ideas thrown around
Some like actors in a jumbled play
Others with secrets they should not say
Whispers, murmurs, sometimes a shout
I wonder what it's all about.

Menzies' Child

Go to war says the Menzies Child
The cause is just, it cannot be denied
Mind your daughter, send your son
To join in with this glorious fun
While I shall stand here full of pride
But do not expect me to risk my hide
For leaders are bought and not made
Sons for whom their parents paid
War is built for younger men
Not scions of society who must then
Serve our nation on a board
Wielding their financial sword
Why do we fight? Why do we go?
Sorry, that's only need to know
Suffice it to say, Menzies would
And that is why we must and should
Stand with our friends in a fight
Never minding what is right
A looming loss says the polls
And so I must commit your souls
To pass away in a distant land
For democracy, you understand
Like Menzies so many times before
That is why you must go to war.

Lonely Land

Lonely train through a quiet place
Take your time, no need to race!
Wind whispering through the reeds
Bending to its silent needs

Along the fields made of dust
Past the towns becoming rust
Platforms devoid of people now
Nobody around to tell you how

The trains came to take them away
Children left to elsewhere play
To cities tall and full of light
Never knowing the stars at night
Nor hearing peace amongst the noise
So busy playing with their toys

Yet here I am in their wake
The slow path I choose to take
Wandering this decaying land
I hear myself and understand.

(Originally published at travelling allrite)

Commuters

Pushing ahead to get a place
Wearing a suit doesn't hide your bad grace
Smoking at the station makes you stink
Reading the Tele shows you don't think
Judgements made on the train
Tonight we'll do it all again.

Look outside

Look out the window,
See what you can see.
A myriad of changes,
Involving you and me.
A world in flux,
While you are stuck,
Commuting to and fro
Look outside, just for once
And then you'll finally know.

When

Pink dawn
In the time of the storm
What adventures await?

Treading day
So little to say
Nothing revealed in the light

Fall of dusk
Out of the husk
The seedling seeks no Sun

Coming night
Eyes find sight
A world made of dreams.

End of the line

Where is that, the old track going?
Where is there, I want to know
Running away, I want to follow
Far away, I want to go

Into the distance, the old track leading
Into the unknown, I will follow
Hidden away, I will seek
Beyond horizons, I will go

Comes the time, the old track ceases
Comes the place, I find the end
Where it goes, I cannot follow
The passing of a dear friend