She catches him up and tells him how much
they all miss that laconic delivery,
enthusing about the open mic
at the Abbey Café of a Thursday.

He remembers clambering up on stage
too early, too late, the night hanging on
how loud the crowd was applauding,
or lighting turned down like a thumb.

That utterance of himself being heard,
a piano stuttering down terrace steps;
his mouth dried up and a sideways look
at the bar so reflective and wet.

A lofty state
Soaring
Drifting
Floating
Reaching for the skies
Let it be

In the stillness of the night, a sudden woe,
A heart's betrayal, its rhythm slows,
Breath, once a friend, now a foe,
In agony's grasp, the soul bows low.

Each gasp, a battle, fierce and fraught,
A desperate plea, a silent thought,
Air, elusive, in torment caught,
Life's precious thread, painfully sought.

The chest, a cage of fiery ache,
With every swell, the sinews quake,
Weeks stretch long, a cruel wake,
Of breathless nights and dawns that break.

Amidst the gloom and retracted malaise,
In this batshit phychotic phase.
Darkness sucks the life out of thee,
Employs a normative version of insanity.

Swirling fog sucked the breath of joy,
As a hyenna appears to enjoy.
Or a clown with it's evil laugh,
Trekking down that unrighteous path.

Dragged us through the earthly gates of hell,
Lower and lower down that hole we fell.
And I swear I heard a voice say,
"Twas they who called the wind today".

Preface - I recognize an expressed number of lines decreed by whomsoever built this website, but the following poem written in a flash found me foregoing bathing and eating for a couple hours, whereby truncating a portion would undermine the entire essence, thus heartfelt apology for transgression.

They got the whole world in their hands

If there were
A Roman Orpheus

He would know
My pain

I lost my soul
As he lost his wife

What may have arrived in a whisper,
is lost in momentary lapse.
A clock plays a song to the listener,
then fades in memory's collapse.

Out of touch the ribbons unwind,
reminders become ghostly ashes.
Hiding deep and far from the mind,
floating just below surface flashes.

Sailing as driftwood on tide,
days unravel, they’re tangled in thread.
When your thoughts melt as they slide,
to lose meaning of words once said.

Across the peaks of life I ride,
On mammoth's back, with strength and pride,
A tree saddle holds my fate secure,
Through valleys deep and mountains pure.

With every step, the world unfolds,
A tale of courage, to be told.
Beneath the sky of azure hue,
Onward we march, through morn and dew.

The mammoth's tusks, like ivory gleam,
Pierce through the mists of fears unseen.
His mighty trunk, a clarion call,
To face the trials, to stand tall.

Through winding roads and endless nights,
We stumbled, fell, but reached new heights.
The distance seemed too far to see,
Yet every step led you to me.

The trials came, the skies grew dark,
But we still found a single spark.
And even if this is the last thing I do,
I will stay here forever with you.

Through every storm, through every tear,
Our hearts grew stronger, year by year.
The path was tough, the way was long,
But love like ours is always strong.

I remember a time,
With love and care.
A sense of gratitude,
A time that was fair.

No rollercoaster ride,
Leaving many behind.
But a real community,
Both sharing and kind.

I recall an era,
Of tidy streets.
Respect and duty,
Came to meet.

No entitled attitudes,
Nor selfish behaviour.
And the love of money,
Really wasn't our saviour.

I miss the time,
When society cared.
This rollercoaster ride,
Has us running scared.