THE REWARD

To play a part, an actor’s dream,
To feel like him, see what he’s seen,
No greater reward can come our way,
Other demons to try to slay,
Your mind is open to other thoughts,
To not do this, life is naught

WORD POWER

Ubiquitous words fill my head,
Everywhere and often they are said,
So natural but what do they really mean?
Such a burden, prevalent meme;
Always there to direct your way,
To another’s idea of where you lay

KARMA

Lived before, I must have done,
Too much life overcome,
Wisdom always being my guide,
Previous lives in which to confide,
Grounded by a moral code,
Karma stopping me being a toad

SMOKING GUN

It was in his hand, I know it was,
He’d fired it, just because,
Someone said something he didn’t like,
He could have just said ‘take a hike’,
But he had the gun – he always did,
So he used it – Bang!!
He’s just a kid

DROPPED

They dropped him from the faculty,
Wouldn’t listen to his plea,
No matter how illogical the act,
He was out – that’s a fact;
‘Twas his fault, having an original thought,
Should have kept quiet – he knew he ought,
The future’s intolerant, he knew that,
So they dropped him – from the roof -
Splat!

MEMORIAL

Look out the window, my spaceman friend,
The memorial is there, don’t let it offend;
Here we are, safe and very secure,
Just as before, we were sure,
Mis-using our brains and technology,
No point, now, in apology;
But it’s there forever, telling of our dearth,
Stuck here in space, above a dead Earth

COMBOPPOSITES

I’m a good person, I know I am,
Yet sometimes I get in a jam,
When evil raises its ugly head,
Strange thoughts – must fight – it cannot be fed!
Possessed of ideas, nightmares true,
Hopefully I’ll never come for you;
That monster inside we all have seen,
The flip side of the human being

NIGHTMARE POET

The nightmare poet is in your head,
You can’t resist what he said,
His names are many from Poe to King,
A macabre danse, they do their thing,
No matter that you put up a fight,
If you’ve read them, pleasant dreams …
And nite, nite

RETRIBUTION

Retribution, a terrible crime,
Be happy ‘cos they’re serving time;
You see, crime may be a personal thing,
But here, there’s a simple sting,
Punishment must remain detached,
For emotion in law, lynch mob hatched

SMILE

Give a smile, you know you can,
Even if it isn’t part of your plan,
Feeling down? Get a grip,
Give a smile, an emotional trip;
Give a smile, it’s so sublime,
To not do so is … well
A crime

TO BE BRAVE

Terror, chilling, oh my word,
What is this feeling I’ve incurred?
How can I take this heavy load,
As we return to our abode?
Life is changed, but not so bad,
I’m brave, I can do it – I’m now a Dad

TOLERANCE

I have my ways, I sing my own song,
I don’t have to listen if you tell me I’m wrong,
I don’t look at you and think you should conform,
There’s nothing more stupid than enforcing a norm,
So to you I say, live as you will,
Just be tolerant to others, it’s such a thrill

PETALIFE

Petals fall, petals bloom,
This is life, from joy to gloom,
Analogous to our own stay,
On this planet as we sway,
From one experience to the next,
So let’s stay rooted, not perplexed

DISCONNECTED

Where am I? I cannot think,
My world is going – I dare not blink,
Nothing left if I do,
It’s all lies, nothing true;
Disconnected from all I hold dear,
Insanity! Can you feel my fear?

WHAT’S YOUR TASTE?

Welcome to my psychic shop,
Everything here, never a flop,
Ghosties, vampires, werewolves too,
Tell me – what interests you?
Is your taste telepathy or more?
A psychic test? Find your score;
The directions here are easy to find,
All you need is to open your mind

LIVE WATER

Live in the Water, the way to be,
Swirling around, my destiny,
I must be a fish, at home in here,
Nothing to worry about, nothing to fear,
But what’s happening now? Who pulled the plug?!!!
Oh! I’m a baby – Mom’s giving me a hug

SCISSORS

Cut it here, cut it there,
Cut it out, don’t despair;
Cut it down, cut it round,
Cut it now, that’s profound;
Cut it short, cut it long,
Cut it from your memory, gone;
Cut it back, cut it, splice,
Cut it into shape, your life

FLAKES

They flutter and fall with total grace,
no need to rush, there is no race,
gently, gently, hushing down,
upon the ground they form a crown,
of brilliant white, a perfect hue,
what I need is dandruff shampoo

THE KEY

We need a key to save the world,
Something eco to be unfurled,
Upon the planet to let it heal,
Something good we all can feel;
Where will we find this magic key,
Is it enough to go hug a tree?
Maybe, if the politicians do,
Then tie them to it, and to ourselves be true

CELEBRATE

The world is saved, hip, hip hooray,
Climate reversed, no need to pray,
pollution declining, animals saved,
A whole new way is being paved;
Reawakened, is it all it seemed?
No, not really – but it was a nice dream

SOLITUDE

All alone, nothing to say,
nothing to entice, no waylay,
All alone, is there anyone alive?
Why do I feel I’m in a hive,
People buzzing this way and that,
No time for me, that’s a fact,
Crowds are of people, but not intact

A VARIED LIFE

A varied life I’ve lived, it’s true,
Lots of different things to do,
In youth a crush for many a girl,
Later lots of jobs unfurled,
Until I found the knack to write,
Now let poems come forth without respite

KISS ME

Kiss me! I was a Prince,
Long ago – you’re not convinced?
Yes, the wrinkles have advanced,
Don’t you think my character’s enhanced?
Kiss me! Let’s do our thing;
Cellulite swingers can really zing

DENOUEMENT

The last line …
So important, often sublime,
or maybe horrific, or answering a crime,
It could be the twist of the ultimate tale,
Get it right and you cannot fail,
But forget to do it, finish the scene …
….
Terrible!
See what I mean?

COVERT STORY

A twisted story, it surely is,
What’s the answer to this quiz?
A covert truth, it has to be,
If you knew it would be glee,
But if you realise before the end,
My tricky abilities you would offend,
So are you ready for the twisty truth?
It’s a poem not a story! Streuth …

VAMPIRE’S DILEMMA

So much pain, no respite,
To inflict, such delight;
But no more – it just isn’t right!

No matter how much I fight,
It’s no good, I cannot bite!
Must find a dentist who won’t take flight

SILENCE

Fast and furious, modern life,
Noisy, fevered, full of strife,
Cities humming with the buzz,
Give me peace! Clear the fuzz;
Countryside, so tranquil, peaceful,
Time to think, away from people,
Silence; nature’s precious steeple

WHAT’S PHILOSOPHY

What is it? Work it out,
Try to think, cast off doubt,
Decisions simply have to be made,
From the alternatives there displayed,
Once you’ve done it the mind will fizz,
And you’ll know exactly what philosophy is

ATMOSFEAR

Atmosphere, a marvellous shroud,
Look after it – feel proud,
That you’ve done your bit for the world we love,
Not just nature, but that above,
‘Cos if we don’t we’ll shed a tear,
It’s the one thing we should at mos(t) fear

TAKE ME WITH YOU

What is real, what is not?
My mind descending into rot,
Visions fill my destiny,
Offer a wave; is that ET?
I realise, now, a universal glue;
Such happiness
Please!! Take me with you

MEANING … WHAT?

Into the light, nothing to see,
Dead of night, all’s a tree,
Ultimate knowledge, fades away,
All the answers on display,
Wrapped in a riddle, a paradox, a lie,
I grasped it! It escaped me!
Sigh

INDIVIDUAL v EVERYTHING

A mind of my own, the genuine thing,
Thoughts are whole, never ramble, sing,
Until invasions pollute it all,
Possessions from where individual’s fall,
Into a universal, collective mind,
Leaving sanity far behind;
But is this how it should always be,
The individual the avenger of mystery?

WORD FIRE

Linguistic sensation, sending it home,
Words with meaning perfectly honed,
Guided phrases to activate mind,
Meaning, story, in which to confide,
Writing, reading – satiate desire,
Word bombs launch, neurons fire

ROUND AND ROUND

Round and round destruction goes,
When will it end? Who knows;
Societies crumple thru illicit thought,
What a nerve, ending in naught;
Maybe we dream of the perfect world,
waiting for Utopia to be unfurled?
Problem is, if we could ever afford,
There’d be nothing to do!
We’d end up bored

TURN THE PAGE

Turn the page, the story moves on,
Following the character, where he’s gone;
Turn the page, follow his trysts,
A bit of a charmer, he does entice;
Turn the page, it’s never a chore,
‘Cos the character’s a cad, never a bore

OVER THE HILL

On one side sanity, the other insane,
A normal life I try to feign,
A hill between two different minds,
I stand on top, trying to define,
Below me the conflict of my troth,
I feel I’m falling, but down which slope?

BE STILL

Be still as you run so fast,
Be still, escape is in your grasp,
Be still as you fight it out,
Be still, you’re the last redoubt,
Be still as you absorb, are hooked,
Be still as you read the book

INEFFICIENT WORDS

Words are such inefficient things,
Unlike films, where images zing,
Letting you know just what’s going on,
Where words don’t tell, don’t always belong;
This is why reading is such a joy,
Making you think, work it out, engage in the ploy

LOVE BOOK

Reading a book is a passion indeed,
Descending to plot, ‘don’t leave me,’ it pleads,
The words – their power – you are engrossed,
Which character or thread intrigues you the most?
Finally, the end, outed all misdemeanour,
Then you swap for another – you’re a serial reader!

THE NEW DAWN

Apocalypse comes, apocalypse goes,
Survivors few, a new man rose,
Back to nature, all is good,
Fruit of the ground, house of mud,
All as one, everything dear,
Then came a man; said: ‘I’ve got an idea!’
Abstract thought was here once more,
On the road again to apocalyptic jaws

BOOM-BLAST

Books are love affairs, forever entwined,
Mind and words, they’re divine,
A combination to lust forever,
Assignations with the writer, clever,
Forming thoughts within the head,
Then Boom-Blast!
Neurons spark – ideas said

VALIDATION

A book is more than just for you,
Society’s disarray, quite a stew,
Rabble rule, we’ve lost our way,
A writer must come without delay!
A book appears telling of our fate,
We read, we learn, we validate

WILD IS THE WIND

Wild is the wind as the hot air grows,
heralding the planet’s malign death throes,
Wild is the wind as the hot air grows,
from our pathetic politicians who think they know,
Wild is the wind as the hot air grows,
to the furnace of self-genocidal blows

A COMMON THREAD

People are different all over the world,
Diverse cultures forever unfurled,
Offering infinite variety,
Things to learn for you and me;
Yet underneath this unique tread,
We’re united by a common thread

THEY CONTROL YOU, YOU KNOW

Got to be careful what I write,
Adjectives put up a constant fight,
To define all that really is,
Letting you know what is the biz,
Deciding, through words, how you will think,
Without them, to confusion you will surely sink,
And that could cause a terrible stink

WAFFLE THOUGHTS

I think it through; I try to do,
But strange invasions rise anew,
This isn’t me, where have I gone?
Why am I singing a different song?
My mind, disjointed, fevered, lost,
Waffle rising, insanity embossed

CHORES BORES

Am I a mystic? Washing to do
Found the truth? Clean the loo
As one with the Cosmos? Oven on
Above is below? Routine’s song;
Living in spirit is marvellous joy,
High in the clouds, nothing to annoy
Until the material re-connects,
My mind’s lost – it can only vex

TASTE THE FEAR

Little ghostie, why are you here?
Don’t you know you’ve nothing to fear;
If in our minds it isn’t your fault,
It’s our fears we must assault;
And if you are an entity,
Heaven awaits for you and me

TRUST THIS WRITER

Writer; linguistic illusionist,
Always in search of the perfect twist,
Can you believe what I say,
As I try to lead you astray?
Trust this tale in which I immerse?
You do?
But surely, not a tale; a verse

I COME FROM

I come in peace, my alien friend,
Is this greeting right? Don’t want to offend,
I come from a planet far away,
It took some time before we strayed;
I’m a human from Earth; I came at some cost,
Can you help me, please? I’m lost

All © Anthony North