A Potted History – Magna Carta

Once upon a time ago
The country was a mess
With King abusing all his powers
And getting in a stress
He’d lost the grip of land in France
Upsetting one and all
Not caring what was going on
Nor seeing the downfall

And Rome effectively had said
Go burn in hell you brat
Whilst back at home the Barons had
Thrown down the gauntlet flat
For they’d got into fisticuffs
With John – the then crowned King
Who thought that all else would pay for
The mess he’d made of things

He’d raised the taxes sky high
Made up his own new rules
That said I’m Lord, I’m King and I
Won’t suffer any fools
Yet in the process failed to hold
Onto old London Town
As Barons now all angered said
“We’re gonna take you down”

So into the frame a Lincoln lad
Archbishop of Canterbury
Stepped up and with scroll in his mitts
Suggested John agree
To sign off a brand new charter
That put him, the King, below
The law; made him accountable
For how he acted so

And to that end they made him sign
A document that sealed
A more just, fair and honest realm
Where John’s powers were repealed
And though he had a sulk and thought
“That flipping cannot be”
At Runnymead he signed the script
That brought ’bout liberty

And so that is the story
Of how the old King John
Was bad as bad eggs fester
But strangely his swan song
Is now linked to our freedom
That gives each one their worth
Whilst holding Magna Carta as
The most prized scroll on Earth!

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Free Once Again

Let the brume of oppression

The dark clouds go back

To the tree that lies cast

In oiled waters so black

Where the hated and venom

Are carried away

In a flight to an island 

A long way away

And the atmosphere clears

So that peace once more reigns

As the heavens breathe out

To live free once again 

The Dream

He had a dream and I do too
Where blame and judgement cease
And truth, responsibility
Are set to fly; released
Where lives are lived with pure respect
For fellow humankind
And stress from others bearing down
Is gone from every mind
Where joy is seated in the hearts
Of those who walk the earth
With peace and love in harmony
Contentment given birth

And though some might declare this dream
Utopian; not real
It could exist if we all thought
Just how the other feels
Take time to see the other side
Have space to include you
And let the I, the me, the self
Perceive altitude view
Whilst honouring the standards that
We hold; those we esteem
As freedom and autonomy
Present out of the dream

 

Emotional Abuse

You constricted and contained me
Confined my will by yours
You held me hostage for a lifetime
Suffocating; shutting doors
You blinded me; you stifled me
Suppressed me from within
You anchored me to your ways
To ensure that you could win
You couldn’t stand to lose at all
Nor could you just let go
So emotionally you kept a check
To limit me you know
You bound me with tight ropes
Invisible though true
That held me; took my freedom
Everything was about you

But now I sing a different song
That plays off brighter stave
A bird with wings no longer clipped
In essence I’ve been saved
With a spirit now released and free
With choice there in my flight
No tethers to your grappling ways
No leash that holds me tight
And you?  Why I care I don’t know?
But sad you seem so lost
Unable to see what you’ve done
The price; such high a cost
For now you pay your penance
How much? Nobody knows?
For the truth that rumbles deep within
Won’t sleep or find repose

And my prayer?  I pray you’ll recognize
I pray you’ll see just where
You went wrong and will never do
Those things again – beware!
I pray that I will have the strength
To rebuild; to survive
To live the life I’m worthy of
One where I will then thrive
And then I hope you’ll disappear
From the contents of my mind
Instead being replaced by thoughts
More wholesome and more kind
For life is for the living
Not the dead as you made me
For though you took my soul captive
I now claim liberty!

 

 

Emotional Slavery

There’s a new form of slavery
Rife in society
The trading of emotions that
Deprive all liberty

The influence of money
Where some are bought and sold
Friendships, loyalty all priced
Against the cost of gold

Whilst some will buy your silence
Others treat you to ensure
You like them or rely on them
Save shoo them out the door

Where cash is now the thing that speaks
And you; commodity
But consider this for you have worth
And that just comes for free

Forgiveness

There is only one way to go
One road to just traverse
One path to freedom, liberty
Away from pain and curse

Not backward but ahead intent
Without revenge or hate
One channel that can so empower,
With contentment create

A life restored emotionally
With positivity and peace
A life that moves us onwards where
All bitterness might cease

Where reigns of bullies fail to hold
Oppressive clasp depletes
Where venom and despite then fades
Their power then obsolete

Where those who don’t apologize
Who fail to see their wrong
No longer matter; run the race
Of life that takes us on

For through the power of forgiveness
We walk a freer way
With liberation; empowerment
Towards a brighter day

Free!

Shackled by society
Enchained within the mind
Bound to expectations
With eye on back behind

Enslaved by thoughts and bias
Held back by prejudice
Constrained by ego’s damning
Confined by selfishness

Imprisoned: where’s the justice?
Judgement’s hostility
Throw off the chains that bind you
And stand up for liberty

Liberty – oh freedom’s legacy
Altruism’s sovereignty
Step up autonomous in truth
Live lives that sets you free

 

I Had A Dream

I had a dream about the world
The world all cloaked in fear
Ruled by this overwhelming force
Or so it would appear

But then came a brand new order
That took hold of all the fright
Caressing it with kindness
And bathing it in light

And with compassion’s touch
Doors and ceilings opened wide
To conquer all the bounds of fear
Washed over by the tide

And liberty and freedom
Were released to roam at will
Subduing guns of terror
Scaling up the highest hill

For bullets held no power now
Unable to do harm
As peace reigned in magnificence
Together with a calm

And although fear still existed
The feed was love and honesty
With openness and pureness
Wrapped up in tranquillity

And so fear’s self just vanished
Replaced by universal care
Shining with a luminescence
That was forever there

And in that very dream
The heartbeat of the world restored
Turning from the pulse of violence
To one of acceptance and accord.

Emotions

There’s the nice or there’s the nasty
There’s the good or there’s the bad
There’s the fun or there’s the serious
There’s those who are happy or who are sad

There’s the content or there’s the angry
There’s the pleasant or unkind
There’s the elated or the grieving
There are those with hope or fearful mind

There’s the surprised and the indifferent
There’s the proud or the ashamed
There’s generous or the greedy
There are those known and those unnamed

There’s the relieved and the frustrated
There’s those that restrict or give liberty
Lives of contrasting emotions
But which today will set us free?

Truth and Responsibility

There’s a culture of blame apparent
That’s swept across the land
Paralysing the sense of freedom
Taking truth hostage in its stand

There’s a move towards complacency
That’s asphyxiating hearts
An inability to apologize
Segregating into parts

There’s a harbouring of hatred
Suffocating liberty
Depriving love and laughter
Detaining in captivity

There’s an ethos of rash judgement
That fails to understand
Neglecting to appreciate
Different perceptions hand in hand

There’s a path of destruction
That stifles global breath
Draining empathy and compassion
Leaving a trail of death

There’s a choice to be made?
A subscription to integrity
Upholding honour daily
With truth and responsibility