There Was No Tomorrow
- Details
- Written November 2011
He’d seen a bit of tomorrow and said it was okay
But is now re-living his yesterday as the planet spins
Axially with the clock, emerging from another sunrise
Uncovering the past with the tidiness of hindsight;
Our history archived for apocalyptic review
Of all that’s said and done, but chronicled
By perfect tenses in the kindly judgements of the mind.
We live more comfortably with memories stacked,
To be taken down and relished in occasional browsing;
But less confident about a future that arrives unannounced
Though put on hold for now, zigzagging uncertainly
Across the date-line into the freedom of a new day’s beginning
And the chance to meet the one who said it would be okay,
Only to find that he was there but the day was lost.
On travelling across the international date-line.
November 2011
Waking Dreams
- Details
- Written September 2011
Answering the phone of my own call with my own voice
Hearing only what I’ve said with my own thoughts;
Joined by ring finger attachment to another no-one,
Yet disconnected as the desire for belonging evaporates
With contentment in neutered zombification;
Surrounded by beauty, yet making no sense of it
As the Creator too is tossed out of the window
Stripped of truth in a secular multi-faith melting pot
Leaving us to invent the god of our own making
Who turns out to be just another no-one
In the nightmares of midnight
That freeze in the torment of eternal nothingness
That can only spell damnation.
A yawn, a stretch, and a rub of the eyes
As glacial snows glisten under a morning sun
Melting through forests that keep the stream company
As she empties into the lake of deepest green
With gestures of stillness and smiles of acceptance
From that divine no-one with an unspeakable name
Who turns out to be someone really special,
Present long before and there long after
Eight o'clock rings out from the church
Calling the faithful to the joys of eternal bliss
As we wake to find they were dreams within dreams;
And we start another day in the real world of real people
Saying good morning to each other - by name
And then a cup of tea together.
Ringgenberg
August 2011
Graphic:
Abstract Lines Clipart Vector from: Freewareme.com
The Living Dead
- Details
- Written March 2019
Loved in life;
Mourned in death;
Honoured in eulogy;
Recreated in memories;
They live on where they have been
And with those they have loved,
Always somewhere.
March 2019
In traditional Zambian Tonga culture the dead carry on living with the family, the clan, the community.
Dissolution of the Monastery
- Details
- Written July 2011
Treasures of identity
Destroyed in the thousand moments of madness
Of a corpulent monarch
Asserting divine rights of ownership
And control of the mind,
When all we want is to be left alone
To wander the paths of our own cloisters
Removed from the world
Engaged in the eternal -
Thinking stretched historically
Pruning the past with forgiveness
So that yesterday is forgotten
Dead-heading roses in hope.
July 2011
Photographs of roses in The Priory Gardens, Orpington.
Destroyed in the thousand moments of madness
Of a corpulent monarch
Asserting divine rights of ownership
And control of the mind,
When all we want is to be left alone
To wander the paths of our own cloisters
Removed from the world
Engaged in the eternal -
Thinking stretched historically
Pruning the past with forgiveness
So that yesterday is forgotten
Dead-heading roses in hope.
July 2011
Photographs of roses in The Priory Gardens, Orpington.
Up and Down the Tree
- Details
- Written November 2024
And he'd have slipped down the blue gums
But the steps of the sycamore seemed made
Just for him - an insignificant dwarf
Carrying the burden of the years
That robbed him and others of a true humanity,
Forcing isolation and brooding
Back in his tree and out of the way,
Abstracted, removed from reality,
Daydreaming of a better way to live.
Until someone stops to talk to him
And he hears what is said
So down he comes to make amends
With a word of apology and breakfast together.
November 2024
The monthly men’s breakfast ended with discussion about a favourite holiday. Californian redwoods and Australian blue gums were mentioned, and that some prefer crowds, others being alone. It concluded with a devotional on Luke 19.
The bark of the sycamore tree tends to have ridges, making it easier to climb.