Credo

Do you believe in laughter held in truth,

In knowing that words spoken find their mark,

That a look, a touch, the gentlest hand may form

A smile that grows within, ignites a spark?

 

Do you believe that gladness grows inside,

Overflows to others open to

Receiving joy as recompense for living

When its trials and labours overwhelm and threaten you?

 

Do you believe that hurting ends in time,

That inner worlds are balanced by all love,

That questions yet unanswered cause a thrill,

Their discoveries a golden treasure trove?

 

Do you believe that somewhere inside light

The heart of matter hides a great reveal,

That nothing happens without cause effect

And perceptions make our own world feel what’s real?

 

Do you believe that logos is the word

Or that words alone confuse a greater thought,

That lips that speak the lies betray the way

And sometimes guidance dwells in what’s not sought?

 

Do you believe in fairies and in trolls,

In monster lochs where hidden depths conceal,

Do you believe in equine wings and angels,

In many wondrous stories though unreal?

 

Do you believe in suspending disbelief

To enter into fantasies that pleasure

While still inside you know factual from dream

But recognise you owe some childlike measure?

 

Do you believe that living is worth living,

That each breath you take admits a purpose here,

That nothing’s yet decided or completed

And that only you can change your greatest fears?

 

Do you believe in worlds you find in books,

In scenes unfolding on the movie screen,

In comic superheroes who astound,

Unveiling attributes too rarely seen?

 

Do you believe the essence of all stories

Conveys some truth distilled to purest form,

That much of what we honour most in tales

Are aspirations we would wish as norm?

 

Do you believe that children hold the key,

That complications thwart our best intentions,

That simplicity and innocence are essential to all meaning

To underwrite and clarify the best of lessons?

 

I do.

 

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The Gatekeeper

The door is ajar, oh so slightly,

But the gatekeeper guards it well.

Is it push or pull to gain access?

Only the gatekeeper can tell.

 

Are there treasures within to be defended?

Do these riches belong to himself? or

Secured for another, what lies inside?

Only the gatekeeper can tell.

 

Will pushing reveal his story?

Hidden, a story of self? or

Teasing with tempting persuasion?

Only the gatekeeper can tell.

 

Is pulling at door the answer?

In effort to see so much wealth?

Perhaps it’s revolving, a spinning collusion?

Only the gatekeeper can tell.

 

Connections within and without there,

A maze that leads to deep well,

A thread to return to safe haven,

Only the gatekeeper can tell

 

If sentinel shields with fierce fury,

Custodial protection against peril.

Is guarding the gate the price of his fate?

Only the gatekeeper can tell.

As Lemmings

Some things I relinquish,

Like motorway driving –

I hate it.

But not love, never love.

Even when it hurts,

I rate it

 

As way up there

With angels

And such.

Fantastical, almost magical,

I love love

So much.

 

It’s a wonder,

Curiosity,

A conundrum unsolved

But found,

Valued intensely,

In love, all absolved.

 

Unrequited, it sucks

And hurts,

Feel the pain.

Lovers fall,

From great heights,

Again and again,

 

Like suicide mission

Or lemmings

To cliff,

Thrown into orbit,

Glide momentarily

Then drift

 

Aimlessly,

Through space,

Before crashing, taking stock,

Splattered and battered

By love

On the rocks.

 

Some hurting

So keenly,

Formidably endure

But willing to

Test, to try

To ensure

 

New futures,

Gratifications,

From love with a soul,

In searching,

Believing,

Hope has a goal.

 

Unfailing

This feeling,

What it’s about,

Love and its merits

We sense,

Seek it out.

 

Be hopeful,

Persistent,

Strive to that end

In loving,

Acceptance,

We find and we mend

 

In hearts

That once broken

A new dawn begins.

Love never ends,

It feeds

From within.

 

It travels

Through heavens,

Scopes out the land,

Seeks those in need,

Resolves,

Takes in hand

 

Till two are united

Hands reach,

Hearts on offer

To those,

Such as those,

Love will proffer

 

And soon,

Without looking,

Or searching too far,

Love’s endless journey

Arrives

And our star

 

Is brightened,

Unblighted

By earthly endeavour,

Embraced

By all willing,

Love savoured with pleasure.

Knock and Seek

I move through rooms,        

Through different doors

On different levels,

Different floors

Of consciousness

In flightless mode,

Testing ground

On different roads.

Tapping surface just ahead

With sightless eyes

Within in my head.

Earthly tremors

Make me shake,

In moors of mire

I do quake

And flounder,

Drowning, gasping air

For evil monsters

Hide down there.

They grab my legs

And pull me under,

Spirit, mind

Are torn asunder.

Hands reach out

And pull me up,

Then offer me

The golden cup

To sip of life,

Not gulp so fast,

To savour it,

So it may last

A lifetime of

Exploring meaning,

Cherishing,

While also leaning,

Heavily,

On others’ might,

Struggling less

With what is right

And wrong

Or bad

Or good.

Implicitly,

They’re understood.

Some doors are locked

For my own sake,

May open when

Sleep does take

My soul to

Regions unexplored,

Found by some

And so, adored.

If I knock

And no one comes

I’ll figure this

Is one such one

That hides its truth

For later days,

When, creaking,

It will open wide,

Revealing treasures

Now to hide.

Through this mansion

I explore,

Tapping each

And every door.