Storm

The storm that was us
The words that we used
In rain we shed our anger
In the dark, our hearts confused

Standing, against the noise
Burdened by these dreams
We move closer to the edge
Our love tearing at the seams

Was I blind to your trouble
Did I find it hard to resist
The heartaches, pain and breaks
I took as evidence that love exists

In sheets, this thundering rain
The rising smell of bittersweet
Our fingers laced and tore apart
Again and again, love and defeat

This chaotic constellation
Our battered souls and hearts
Wrapped and rolled in madness
Nothing like how it was at the start

How is it only now that we remember
All the things we could not see
When in the storm we were not us
But now, apart, we can finally be?

It's the storming that we remember
But all the little things we miss
Now apart and away on our islands
We regret and hang on to these

When shall the heavens show again
When comes the sun to stop the rain
Apart, between the hands and the heart
We stand, like weary night watchmen

When Love Has Forgottened About You

You see someone
You'd love to hold
You see a heart
You'd love to know

But you see someone
Already in that place
You see someone
Loving that face

When you feel
Like there's no plan
And love has forgotten
Left you where you stand

Don't walk away
Don't walk away
Not yet
Don't walk away

I've been afraid
To tell you
That when you see someone
I only see you

I've been wrong
About losing you
When holding back
We would never know

So when you feel
Like there's no plan
And love has forgotten
Left you where you stand

Just turn around
Right where you've sighed
Just take my hand
We could yet make this right

Don't walk away
Don't walk away
Not yet
Don't walk away

Memory

I heard your name today
They asked how you were doing
But I could hardly even hear them
Over the sound of my heart thumping

All at once the memories
They came rushing back
How we used to laugh, used to run
Our hand in hand

I quickly searched my face
For a good excuse to answer
Said that you were doing great
But inside I knew I was a liar

How could you be great
After where we have been
Tearing down dark alleys
Lost and lonely now we stand

And so I turned to go
Like how you say I do
Hiding the pain in my eyes
So they won't know the truth

I know that I don't have
Much more to hold on
I would tell them all about
How we went wrong

As I step outside
Into the cold damp air
My hands still shaking
While my eyes just stared

I feel you
With every breath I take
The living rock in my heart
Our memories, oh they ache

All we wanted
Was for this to work
But what we got
Was love and hurt

And the memories
And the memories

Nothing

When I stand here with you
When we're here close together
I remember all the words
And how we used to whisper

Oh those days and nights
We swore would never end
But now on the sidewalk
It's the hurt that I can't pretend


I still feel a shiver in my hand
When you hold me near
With my fingers in your hair
It brings me close to tears

How did we ever
End up so far apart
Throwing in the towel
Before the time was up

You say that you'll wait
For me to come around
And that you've made up your mind
Never to let me down

Oh, if you could only
Read my heart right now
I loved you but this love has
Left me with nothing (nothing)


We stumbled through
Almost three years we've taken
From a twist and fearful start
To the fireworks we were making

All along those streets
And dreams that we have shared
Hiding all the tears and words
That make us now despair


How could I shake this shiver
When you hold me near
The thought that we're all over
Brings me close to tears

How did we ever
End up so far apart
Throwing in the towel
Before the time was up

You say that you'll wait
For me to come around
And that you've made up your mind
Never to let me down

Oh, if you could only
Read my heart right now
I loved you but this love has
Left me with nothing


Oh, nothing. Nothing.

The Hardest Part

Perhaps the hardest part
Of living
Is the fear
Of losing it all

Perhaps the hardest part
Of losing
Is the anguish
Of picking up pieces

Perhaps the hardest part
Of picking up
Is the aching
Reflected in every wound

Then yet comes healing
Oh, so slowly
Is the tingling
An impatience or infection

Yet the harder part
Of healing
Is the wait
Before moving on

Perhaps the hardest part
Of it all
Is the choice
To always live, love and forgive

Cropped Stopped

Clipped wings
Though for a day
For any bird
Would seem a lifetime

Cropped short
My mane is no longer
My crown
Lynched and shamed

Burned black
My eyes hot with anger
The reins
Have been lashed again

Nameless
This cause we're sold
An idea
Noble, until it unfolds

Fruitless
The stubborn sparks of hope
Ignite again
Against stoned jaded souls

Disappointed
In the rewards for the just
Frustrated
By systemic pessimistic rust

I concede
That I may heed your orders once
My loyalty
Will not be easily earned

Not until
There is more than just a promise
At last
We speak not only to your shadow

Things I Learnt From My Father

He showed me what it was
To finally learn forgiveness
A 28 year lesson
I finally did learn

Now I have the grace
To watch his face
Forget how we had once
Fallen far from grace

Scribed on sand
The lines will wash away

One day it'll come by time
And turn to stand there
On the edge of hope
And the unknown

I'll remember all the
Lessons from my father
And teach my son
To write it on

Tell your kids the stories
That your father told you
Pay it forward
Like an idea when it's due

Teach them how to dance
And find their voice
Teach them how
To make a choice

Never be afraid to say
No, or I was wrong

One day it'll come by time
And turn to stand there
On the edge of hope
And the unknown

I'll remember all the
Lessons from my father
And help my son
To write his song

Earned

Of a heart, though alive
One half alone is cold
The other is to be earned
Said Love, from which I stole

There can be some forgiveness
Your half is yours to keep
This other you must earn
From the lessons that you weep

I'm sorry, my dear
These steps I take now
There's been just too much pain
I've lost it all some how

I believe you love me very much
Maybe in time I'll really know
But when words and actions live divorced
Our love child lay abandoned so

A fresh start is not possible
It scares me when you ask
I remember all our fresh starts before
And how we have taken them to task

How we tore down what we built
How we burned each other with guilt
Angry words and actions spite the soil
That made our love seed wilt

A fight against a gust of wind
An argument with echoes
In back and forth we push and pull
To overcome these woes

Alas you cannot change the tide
Nor stop the sun or rain
I've lost my will to fight
To war against your lovely pain

So I give up, give in
I made my choice to surrender
I confess my crimes to love
And await the lonely hammer

Love

When the Gods
Speak of Love
They speak of life
And her truth and magic

When a couple
Speaks of Love
They share in life
And shape themselves by it

When a woman
Speaks of Love
She looks on life
With heart and hope romantic

When I, a man
Think of Love
I remember You
Life's beautiful creature

Your playful eyes
Lips of subtle poetry
Your loving heart
How they quietly inspire

Alas, these thoughts
Memories and dreams
They haunt this quiet
These spaces in between

Until Love's coming
When you again shall light
This soul and leave no mark
But a lingering kiss within

Away

Run away
Into the skies
Let it fly away
Beyond these lies

Let the bitter talk
The idle walks
Just go
Alone

If the black
Is what they try
To spread
To our bones

Then it's anger
Only anger
They will
Know

We'll be running
We'll be flying
Our hands
Held close

So baby let them go
When the day
It hasn't kissed
You dear

They'll never know
That I'm right here
Waiting, ready for
You dear

When it's been tough
Oh hell, we know
We can't always
Share it

The look in your eyes
You're strong and
You try to
Hide it

You won't have to say
A word, no you don't
Need to say
It hurts

Just raise your glass
Up to your spirit
To your lips with
Love's words

And I will know, oh
Yes, we both know
At a touch
We must

Run away
Into our eyes
Let it fall away
From us tonight

For One More Time

She lies awake
Toss and turning in the dark
Wondering why things
Got to be so hard

(He's always so far)
Why is it that we got time for fighting
But never got time for loving
They only seem to talk
When tears are bursting out


He picks up the phone
For the 7th time tonight
He' trying his best
With these struggles in his life

(But he don't know how)
How to make it right and stop all the fights
Pick the pieces up and make it through the night
He's trying his best
But man, these times are hard


We could never stop this
Drifting on between the lines
When nothing works out right
Seems like we're always out of time

Smiling on through the tears
Holding out against the fears
All you got is hinged on a feeling
That one day, the sun's going to shine


Now it's my turn to lie awake
In the dead of night
The sound of heartbreak
Echoes through my mind

(I don't know how)
How to build this bridge across this ocean
Reaching out inspite of the hurt and frustration
Dusting myself off
Crawling back for one more time


We could never stop this
Drifting on between the lines
When nothing works out right
Seems like we're always out of time

Smiling on through the tears
Holding out against the fears
All you got is hinged on a feeling
That one day, the sun's going to shine


Oh, don't forsake our hearts
Yeah, they're making us crazy
Love and pain always hazy

Oh, hold on to our hearts
Yeah, we'll find our way baby
Love is more than a maybe

Go

From the beginning
This will be a fight
A slow personal struggle
To get everything right

At the beginning
Before our blood rose
With deliberate harness
Our will upon our toes

Let go, no weights
Shall slow us down
Let go, no fear
Shall matter now

Our fingers like soldiers
Rythmic and hard
March on each step
To the beat of our hearts

These arms shall muster
The serpents of fate
Whose colours follow close
Our fall their await

Let go, feel the beat
As we coil to strike
Let go, it is time
Our heart raised in flight

Honestly

Have you had ever had
A feeling so deep
Your soul could cry
Even if asleep

I tingle with this feeling
Each time I pass that way
Each time I pass that hill
Since we met that day

I took a turn again today
The second time around
A way I didn't need
As if I heard a sound

A whisper, perhaps
A tug at my soul
From the void of memory
And into my world

Honestly, I miss you
But I am now afraid
While you are there
I stay put and wait

Not for a call
But for a sign
A quiet stuboorn hope
That I am still alive

What we would have given
For love and its consequence
What we'd never know
Of life and its coincidence

When the next step up
Speaks of duty and faith
When the next step beyond
Is closer to the edge

The edge of me
The edge of imagination
To grab you by the dreams
Into a new religion

This step that we could make
Our dig at ever after
Too soon? Too long?
I'm afraid of what's after

I took that turn today
Perhaps I will again one day
And I will still hear that sound
Of a heart that cannot be bound

Enough

When today was not enough
When love leaves you wanting
When you find it tough
And your heart feels fast sinking

Wise you already shall be
Should you consider slowly
With calm heart and hands
To part the fog firmly

Our souls have much strength
Our hearts much forgiveness
If we should still be kind
When today was not enough

Complete

Let passion burn you
And dreams bear truth
May love be in your favour
And kindness keep you

Perhaps most of all
I hold with faith still
That love shall seek you out
And she shall complete you

All this I can do without
More than I forgave
No more shall I want
Not my soul to save

But for you, love
For you it shall be
That roses were for you
And the thorns, for me

Hands of Time (1)

At the turn of a sigh
A life will be taken
With no gun and no knife
But small decisions

These are the things we feared
They would happen
These were the things we swore
We'd never be

Given the gradual
Touch by the hands of time
Before it's time to leave
We eventually see

In the view of what's right
Action must be taken
We punch and we fight
Till we hear our truth spoken

In defence of our fears
In revenge for our tears

These are the things we said
That would happen
These were the things we swore
We'd never be

Given the gradual
Turn by the hands of time
When it's time to leave
We hope we will see

The verge of madness draws nearer
The light and dark as one

We mend our ways with fervour
In hope we're not too late

These are the things we sought
Not to happen
These were the times we learnt
To let things be

Given the cleansing
Touch by the hands of time
When it's time to leave
We will come to see

Young Love

Today I felt
A youthful mind
Her secret language
Of whats and whys

About the wind
Rain, stars and sky
About animals
And bugs that fly

She saw pretty things
Dared to laugh out loud
She saw ugly things
And did the same

She asked me why
I knew everything
All the while staring
As if into my brain

We played and she learnt
About this world
While I held high
My guilty pride

For while we played
It was she who taught
While letting me
Pretend to guide

You see, she's young
While I feel old
Pretending that
It mattered not

I think, she'll grow up
Faster than she knows
Alas, slowly
The apple's core will rot

My time and meandering
Story line
For years, like rocks
Developed mould

I shielded myself
Against the fears
I slowly let
My heart grow cold

Do not give up
Give in, or give out
I've learnt to keep
So very still

To stand like grass
Against the storms
To hide a soul
That was slowly ill

I thought for years
That I was fine
When I've lost
My will to be alive

Until I felt
Her youthful mind
An inspiration
That was only nine

Today I loved
A youthful mind
Her secret language
Of smiles and laughs

She asked me to tell
Everything I knew
And in return, she
Showed me all about love

Parallel

I miss how the strum
Of your words
Fall on my ears
Through to my heart

So inspired to live
Without hope
Of living without
Your love as an art

My world was complete
Inside your eyes
Your smouldering sigh
Of pure Autumn gold

So clearly you see
I believed
All along
That we'd never be wrong

For you, I believed in a fairy tale
For you, I believed in a fairy tale
With you, I belived in a fairy world
With you, I would try


One night I received
A dream
A whisper of hope
That you'd be the end

The end to my questions
The doubts
The whos and the whens
With your touch I'd mend

But I woke to find
You were gone
Already awake
And staring away

That's when I knew
That I had loved
Given too much
I was too scared to stay

Because you had become my fairy tale
I had built up my fairy world
To keep you safe like a pearl
Only you, could make me cry


Nothing could change
The way we once were
Not him, or Him
Or any other lover

Still I lie awake
And long to hear
Your gentle dreams
Of home in my ear

I remember

That you were more than a fairy tale
That I was part of your fairy world
Now you've grown beyond just a fairy girl
It's your time to fly

God-less

They came here to share
What One had spoken
They told me that all wrongs
Would now be forgiven

I heard how they called
To faces unseen
Their voices sang praises
Both aloud and within

They asked for me to pray
They asked for me to try
They offered me new ways
To leave my doubts behind

I looked upon their faces
I could see no lie
I smiled my awkward answer
But envied their burning eyes

I played my part and followed
I stepped on to their beats
A heart that once was hollow
Is trying to be complete

Alas, their faces have shown
That I did not do well
I could not hide my yearning gaze
My struggles they could tell

There were so many questions
That kept my door closed tight
I've had too many friends
Like reason, doubt and pride

I parted feeling God-less
Not fit or meant-to-be
I wondered about my lost ticket
For their spritirual journey

For them it must be simple
A complete divine surrender
I wondered how I should have felt
When I received their offer

Should I stop this believing
In all that's here and now?
Could I ever give up this magic
Through reason which I've found?

One day Love came around the same
And offered me her ways
Again I smiled my answer
To her come-what-may

Alas and again we parted
My door stood tightly shut
Her key could not undo the hurt
Or fill a missing part

I swore I'd not do this again
She swore she'd never stop
A promise to keep trying
Like waves against the rocks

Could love and God be one
My door has kept shut out?
Condemned to search an eternity
Before the key is found?

Today I still feel God-less
Not fit or meant-to-be
I wonder about my lost ticket
And Love's promise to me

A New Year

It's 20 past the one
As I write this line
I know it's getting late
But who's keeping the time?

Today we let it go
Today we'll stay up late
To usher out the unrenewed
And welcome fresh Spring fate

In lights or in red
In tradition's buzzing glee
Some shake, some touch
And some we simply let be

For not all gaps or rivers
Were meant for us to bridge
Just as lovers will fight
Before love's bounty reached

Hands and arms held open
Or closed in bowed greeting
Let us receive this canvas
Of shades that we all bring

So out not only with the old
And cheer not only for the new
But keep instead a heart so bold
With dreams and living, fresh as dew

Happy Birthday, P!

Today we age a little more
Some lines, some stories
And some behind the doors

Just yesterday
We thought
We knew and wanted more

Today we know
We love
And kept our scores

So let these candles
Chatter
And dance and soar

Happy birthday, babe
Our gift shall peer
Through love's open door