A futile plea!

I want to see smiles when I walk in the town,
I want to hear laughter and banter and joking.
I am sick of the everyday face and its frown
I am tired of the way all that is good is now broken.

I want to stand should to shoulder with men,
I want to feel proud of the people we are.
I want to hear positive news once again
I want to know peace in this world near and far.

I want to feel safe wherever I walk,
I want to know all men are happy and fed.
I want to listen, and to be open to talk,
I want every person to sleep sound in their beds.

So an end please to profit, and to greed and to pain,
Let's all work together for contentment again.

(c) 2ndwitch 02/01/17

In memoriam

so kiss goodbye to romance
let her dance where the dragonflies dance
in the flash of clear light
where the day meets the night
let her dance where the dragonflies dance

let the mourning bells ring
and pause while the mockingbirds sing
where that one final tune
wreathes stars round the moon
and pause while the mockingbirds sing

stand and wait at the edge of the grave
while grass whispers and red poppies wave
the soft sigh of the breeze
calls to oceans and seas
while grass whispers and red poppies wave

breathe farewell on one last longing sigh
send your love where the butterflies fly
cast your grief to the clouds
wear your black cloth like shrouds
send your love where the butterflies fly

and take this, then, the last chance
to dance where the dragonflies dance
in that flash of clear light
where the day meets the night
you can dance where the dragonflies dance

© 2ndwitch, 24/06/15

Starting Over.

Please let me live in land of dreams, where the weather is
Always in keeping with the season and the available
Choice of clothing.
Please let me live in a land of my imagination, where
I always have friends who never lie and who
Are there when I need them, and I for them.
Please let me live in a land of make-believe
Where no-one is hungry or homeless,
And where all can work according to their
Ability, whatever that is, for all are able at something.
Please let me live in a land where the will of the
People is the sovereign will of those who govern,
And where none is set on a pedestal.
Please let me live in a land of plenty, where
I can always eat food that I like and that likes me.
Please let me live in a land where doctors and dentists
Treat everyone regardless of their colour, shape, gender
Or bank balance.

There are those who would say I ask for too much,
But I do not think so.
I think we can create a world like that, and we can
Imagine a world where there is peace.
And we can, because we are infinite, take
Control of life, and using our own hands,
Make it real.
Please let it be.

© 2ndwitch, 31/0/14

Inspired to some degree by the optimism of John Lennon, and by the people who want change.

Trying to make the grade . . .

I try not to see only myself, but
To look beyond, to the horizon, and
To see
The real colour of chameleons.
The cries of those who cannot speak,
The tears that blur the vision of those
Who cannot see,
For them,
There is no hardship in seeing
The real colour of chameleons.
The shouting from the voiceless,
The music that taunts the ears
Of those who cannot hear,
The time for those who are
Dying,
For them, it is easy to see
The real colour of chameleons.
Those for whom pain is an
Everyday existence, they
More than anyone, are the ones
Who can see
The real colour of chameleons.

© 2ndwitch, 18/10/14

(With thanks to Jim King, whose song 'Colour of Chameleons' inspired this poem. See http://www.jimking.me.uk)

I want to do nothing.

When the day has faded from gold to soft grey,
And the twilight sings with the evening songs
Of the leaves, and the whispers of bat wings
Tell each other the secrets of the day now ending,
That is when I dream.
I dream of being accepted, whatever I am,
Whatever you are, and whoever anyone might be.
I dream of peace, and smiles as we pass on the street.
I dream of kind words from the people we meet.
I dream of silence, and contentment as the blanket
Of night falls onto the sleeping day,
And the stars, bells in the velvet sky, chime
A lasting lullaby.
I dream of one day, one future day,
When you and I, whoever you are, can sit
In silence and do nothing together.
When all the world can halt, and watch in peace
And understanding, and when no-one will be alone
As the depth of night descends.
I dream.

© 2ndwitch, 24/09/14

By the Clyde

There are days when the sky is just grey.
Not steel grey, no drama, no rolling clouds,
But flat, dull and simply grey. Today.
And on that day I sat and watched the soft sunlight
That sneaked past the cloud, as it played with the leaves,
The leaves that the wind made to dance.
I listened to the birdsong, the harshing call of
The crows, and the insistent chatter of the great tits.
I saw the skeletons of pine cones left by
Hungry squirrels, and saw the golden crested flash.
I walked beside the water, slowly, but steadily,
Pausing to listen and watch, to see the dipper bob and
Dive against the stream, and walking on in silence
That demanded no disturbing words.
On this day there was peace.

© 2ndwitch, 14/09/14