Long Gone (working title)

Gone is the thought that I longed to voice,
Receded to the depths of my mind,
Never gracing the air, though lips remain poised,
For the words my tongue yearns to find.

Old Man

I saw an old man sitting there,
Whispering words no-one could hear,
Closed his eyes and faced the sun,
I saw him see each memory,
Of all that was or could have been,
And every race that he had run.

I saw his fingers bend and touch,
An unknown task, the hand of his true love,
A heart, hard-fought and won,
And I seen his smile break through the light,
He couldn't hide it if he tried,
And I knew then, that he was done.

I wondered just who he was,
Content to sit there and just watch,
And guess at how he had become,
A man whose face had more to tell,
Carved of stories he'd never sell,
Himself a tale, untold when gone.

And now and then when I'm alone,
I close my eyes to up and go,
To that place for a little while,
Where moment and memory are lived again, 
Where the old man found his end,
Far away beyond any minute or mile.

As and when my own time comes around,
I'll look for a comfortable place to sit down,
I'll rest and close my eyes a while,
And as I turn my face up to the sun,
I hope to see everything and everyone,
And see enough there, to make me smile.

Just Another Fucking Poem

This is just another poem by that guy you know,
Who gives rhyme to his thoughts then puts them on show,
And if you've read this far, chances are you'll go,
All the way to the end as you've probably done before.
But here's the thing that you really ought to know,
With only a few lines left, there's precious little to show,
Of the thought and the time he's put into this rhyme,
Of the stolen moments he took to refine,
And the recesses of his mind he chose to trawl,
To essentially write a poem about nothing at all.

Myself to Myself

I was given to giving, both in word and in deed,
For seeing you right, satisfied my own need,
To be more than the man you perceived me to be,
And leave behind more, than a simple memory.

But of all that I gave, from this heart of mine,
Nothing seemed bound, to stand the test of time,
So, keeping myself to myself and hidden from view,
I watch from afar as I'm forgotten by you.

Dark Sunglasses

Because, they hide those lines that betray my age,
And silence everything my eyes have to say.

Because, through dark sunglasses clouds appear defined,
And no-one need know, the sky occupies my mind.

Because, I get to read you and the life you lead,
An anonymous spy fulfilling an unspoken need.

Because, in the watching of you and all that I see,
I hope no more, than to discover a little of me.

The Measure

The measure of strength cannot be found in the arm,
In what you can lift, for how long or how far,
Putting thought to tongue and speaking your mind,
Shows your strength in truth and sentiment you'll find.

Let them all see you and guess who they've found,
But let them all hear you and be in no doubt,
That the person they chose to believe you to be,
Is far from the courageous person they now see.

So behold those beauties that come your way,
And share them with others by voice or by page,
Whatever they say, now or after we depart,
They'll never exclaim we didn't have heart.

The Break of Day

Cradled by the Brackens of, the foothills of Glencoe,
With a blue sky overhead and the green of grass below,
I marvelled at the day and the colours of it's close,
And with the setting of the sun, my heart truly rose.

A promise in the orange kiss'd clouds, of a beautiful long goodbye,
Faded with the purples and pinks, that soon stole away the sky,
And as the shadows blossomed, ushering out that remnant light,
I lay content in wait, for the coming of the night.

That blanket shot with moon and star, gifted wings to my every hope,
That a life lived free of all I've seen, would be closer than I know,
In a breath of breeze my thoughts took flight and to the sky they spilled,
And somewhere in the black between, the stars they nestle still.

Lying in the darkness, I found I feared no more,
Than the closing of my eyes into which the starlight poured,
I drank my fill of this vision, and fought to stay awake,
If only for the colours, announcing break of day.