A small bright shining candle
All glowing in this world
A ray of hope and happiness
An incandescent pearl
A beam of joy and harmony
A shaft so radiant white
A stream of Godly wonder
A life of love and light
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In circle band of spectral light
In sky illusion’s ring
From clouds to view the loop so clear
Below the arc rising
From red to green to violet
Sun’s rays refracted through
And mirrored in the rain, the mist
Or even morning dew
Still more a second bow appears
Beholden reversed rays
From indigo to yellows; reds
In turn above displays
A covenant to all the earth
Of rich diversity
As Nature’s prism shines; revels
The power of unity
The muted light of dawn awakes and sees
The crisp and fresh air bite at jack frosts feet
Where dew drops freeze upon the verdant trees
And mist rolls lonely down the silent street
Where birdsong breaks the curfew from the night
Where sun arises slowly in the east
The world appears in early morning light
A new morn heralds in the daytime feast
Yet still a slumber holds across the land
Cocooned in comfort quietly in each bed
Where souls of men are bathed in torpor’s sand
In dreams that play throughout their sleepy head
And so as sunrise brings the night to end
The hope of a new day on earth transcends
Painted Sand: Pre-Dawn Colors on Mesquite Dunes, Death Valley (Photo credit: Daniel Peckham)
Your words chafe my soul as if with a knife
That plunges its blade in my heart
Such opinions bite hard and hand out more pain
Such judgement overwhelms to depart
Your prejudice sears like a third degree burn
Discriminating you purge any calm
Your venomous anger and sharpness of tongue
Takes joy from my life to do harm
But my prayer goes to you with openness whole
To wish so deep peace safe to say
To trust that you’ll find the contentment you yearn
With compassion and love on the way
Save understanding and hope that wells up from the seat
Of being at one after all
I bid you forgiveness and pray you’ll move on
Renewed by life’s fresh waterfall
The fresh waterfall washing over with grace
To heal like a balm; to release
To inspire and create a subscription to love
With empathy and so to with peace
And I pray you will drink from these waters again
Lest your words may drain life right away
And hope you’ll encapsulate freshness anew
To shine out pure goodness each day
Divine Machines (Photo credit: hersheydesai)
I spied the Easter bunny
With a cheeky glint in eye
Foraging in the undergrowth
For Easter eggs to spy
And dressed in Easter bonnet
His Mrs stood nearby
To carry all the chocolate
To their warren near the sky
For on the far horizon
Their babies waited in
With fingers crossed and tails all bobbed
Saliva on their chin
From the thought of many Easter eggs
With sassy toothy grin
Their favourite time of year by far
As Easter could begin
And on a nest not far away
A golden hen did roost
With thoughts of other sorts of Eggs
So precious she deduced
For her eggs were all made of gold
By feelings she induced
With special ores of golden drops
That she alone produced
But nearby on that hillside
A knocking sound was heard
Of hammer onto silver nails
A sound that was absurd
A sound that froze the blood of those
Who saw the gallows bird
A man whose flawless life now hung
By virtue of his word
The word that brought new life to those
Who listened; understood
A word of faith and hope and love
Now nailed upon crossed wood
Where all the sins from all the world
Were in one act, withstood
By sacrificing innocence
And all that stands for good!
A subscription to such freedom
Away from bigotries
To tolerance and patience for
All nationalities
Toleration that is a fair
Objective attitude
Allowing different races all
An equal magnitude
The practice of recognizing
Beliefs that others hold
With lenience, forbearance and
Acceptance ever bold
Dispelling with such bias
That comes with prejudice
Broad-mindedness and fairness
Less judgement and malice
Tolerance to accommodate
The you, the them, the me
Committing to a higher plane
A world that is more free
What are regrets?
They are the forlorn branches of a dead tree
Bereft of leaves with no hope of new life
They are the waves that have rolled onto the beach
Leaving a watery trail with no might to go further
Yet drowning the plains of tomorrow
They are the driftwood on the shore
Past existence now broken down
They are flowers wilting in the meadow
And yet too they can be seed pods of weeds
That can grow into new forms
Harbouring the past inhibiting the future
Akin to fuel spent in the tank
Short term motivation, yet then only to exist in a vapour
A scent of something burnt away that lingers without purpose
What are regrets?
They are yesterday holding up today to hinder tomorrow
It’s Christmas! “Yay” I hear you cry
Glad tidings and good cheer
The time for fun and silly games
To celebrate this year
The time to decorate the house
To eat and drink too much
The time to give out presents
To relax with spouse and clutch
The time to see the family
To visit Aunty Sue
And time to wear those silly hats
That come in crackers too
The time to go to church again
To celebrate a birth
Of the Messiah in the barn
With angels over earth
It’s Christmas! “Yay” I hear you cry
Glad tidings and good cheer
But after it, when all is done
You’ll countdown to New Year
For be it too much turkey or
A drop of too much gin
Or relatives that drive you mad
You’ll be bored of staying in
You’ll want your life to then return
To what it was before
For normality to get a grip
For life to start once more
So cherish now the build up to
The Christmas Holiday
And enjoy the thought that it’ll be
Perfect in every way!
Just stop and hear the jingle bell
See reindeer pulling sleigh
As magic fills the air tonight
With Santa on his way
And hear the distant angels’ choir
Proclaim a baby’s birth
That fills the air with wonderment
Good tidings here on earth
Stand still and listen quietly
To families gathering round
With laughter, fun and yuletide cheer
The joyful Christmas sound
And look up to the dark night sky
To see a star shine bright
That led us to a stable bare
And to the Christ-child’s light
Then hush a while and contemplate
What Christmas holds in store
Salvation’s grace in peacefulness
With love and hope and more
Not long now until Christmas comes
And with it all the fun
The warm mince pies and pure magic
And Carols to be sung
The wrapping up of gifts galore
The cooking of the cake
The glasses of mulled wine to drink
And decs to hang or make
The shouting out at pantomimes
The cards to write and send
The fun times with our families
Or with other great good friends
But spare a thought for others who
Won’t feel so Christmassy
For whom Christmas joy is absent
Devoid of company
Those lost or simply all alone
Who need a little call
A visit or a drop in for
Good tidings to befall
To maybe share a Christmas smile
To spend a little time
So that all their Christmases come
At once and so sublime!
So let’s recall Christmas Spirit
With wishes for this day
That raise a glass and make a toast
With happiness to say
We wish you all a festive time
A time of joyfulness
A time where each and every one
Will feel so very blessed
A time where all humanity
Will join with festal cheer
To wish each a Happy Christmas
A jolly good new year
Ginz&Tonic 