Wednesday 28 May 2014

Not the same thing.




What I say and what you hear
are not the same thing.
My words, shared, become yours to interpret.
You may take them and wrap them around
Your perspective, and make it look prettier.
You may decide that my words polish your armour.
But if you stop, and think, and question,
you may find that my words don’t belong there.
You may want to put aside my words,
or, I hope,
you may want to put aside your perspective,
and look from mine for a while,
and see which way sees truer.

Thursday 22 May 2014

Beware



Beware, oh seeker of the Truth!
It is a fearsome creature.
Sharp of tooth
and strong of jaw,
it holds steadfast
to nature’s law.
It will not kill you
nor leave you alive,
and yet somehow
you will survive.
For a time, that is.
For a time, that is all.
No questions asked,
no trumpet call.
Death, and that is all. 


Beware, oh seeker of the Truth!
Do not go out in glory.
Crusader,
warrior, you will not like
Truth’s ending
to your story.
And once Truth scars you,
and it will,
there is
no going back.
Stay home, where you’re safe.
Stay home, where there’s love.
Ask no questions,
call no bluffs.
Live, that is enough.


Beware, oh seeker of the Truth!
Your armour is your lie.
Once you lay it down
you’re light.
You may dare
look Truth in the eye.
Will it harm you? No,
but it will wound.
Will the pain
be worth what you gain?
Can you stumble to a fresh start?
Bear the burden of your broken heart?
Do you need to be free?
Is it vital to see?
Seek then, with me.
 

Wednesday 14 May 2014

Solace for the dumped.

Although it is true that first loves may make us cry, let us not forget that first farts also often make us cry. And scare the shit out of us. So to speak. There are plenty of clips on YouTube that capture those terrifying moments in a baby's life:  adorable little big-eyed munchkins, gurgling happily one moment and then startled out of their wits by their first experience of what will one day become a pretty ho-hum bodily function.

Oh you who have been dumped - and I've been there, too - know this! We survived the first fart. We can survive this, too. No one will stand around laughing at how cute your tears are. No one will gleefully retell the tale to your potential spouse one day when they first meet him (or her). Nor will the family erupt into hysterics around the dining table twenty, thirty or forty years from now (if they're like most family reunions, they'll be more likely erupting into farts after stuffing themselves silly). No one will immortalise your humiliation on camera and share it with millions of strangers around the world.

We survive these things, all of them:  love, farts, oh and even family reunions. Cry your eyes out now, listen to your sad songs, and remenisce about the "perfection" of your first lover. For now. There will come a day when you will treat the memory of your first love with as much giggling as your first fart.

Even if you're masochistic enough to post a video-selfie of your current angst on YouTube today, it'll still just be a fond little embarrassment to look back upon one day, because the only other people who will click on that YouTube selfie will be another generation of equally lovelorn adolescents with raging hormones and incompletely developed brains.

Now you know. You'll be safe. You'll be fine. Aren't you glad you read this? So go get some chocolate or ice cream and have a nice day. This too will pass. Like the wind.

Sunday 11 May 2014

Please don't break the children.

The family that makes you
will be the one which breaks you.
They'll torture you
but that's not all.
Then they'll get mad
when you stumble or fall.