A Mothers Lament

Lie close to Earth Mother, feel her heart beating 

Pulsating rhythm constant and strong 

Feeling her warmth, as she watches us sleeping 

Dreaming and knowing, we’re where we belong 

Within her embrace all hope springs eternal 

Hope for a world that is for all to share 

Nurtures her children our Mother maternal 

Despite indifference and ignorance there 

Longer than memory her patience is endless 

Always protective, provides all we need. 

Forgives the weak, the mean and the mindless 

never judgmental or tempted by greed 

Is there a chance we can make compensation 

Not for ourselves - but tomorrow maybe 

Can we leave hope for the next generation 

And leave them some kind of future to see 

Keeping the faith needs a strong special magic 

To take all the suffering and sadness away 

Hoping that out of the pain and the tragic 

A global awakening may happen one day

Poetry - My Life

I’m in a moment on my own, just thinking how the years have flown

I ask myself what have I done – that’s brought a change to anyone

The answer comes in very clear, the one thing that I hold so dear

My friends tell me I have a gift that always gives their lives a lift

I write, and when I’m in that space, there is no other time or place

I live and breathe in poetry, the one true thing that sets me free

I think that I have always known, that depth and passion in a poem

Changes words from ordinary, into extraordinary

Inspires thoughts, expands the mind, word imagery clearly defined 

Emotional, historical, political, rhetorical 

Whilst trying to wax lyrical, some even are hysterical,

The darker side of life is there, tormented souls in deep despair

Some may be borderline insane, through poetry reveals the pain, 

Classical, contemporary, even revolutionary

There’s those who write in torrid verse, to some a blessing, some a curse

However one may view that style, it never fails to bring a smile

Always there is that special part, exclusive to my seeking heart

Those loving verses sweet to me, found in romantic poetry

Poetic friendship never ends, I’ve made some truly lovely friends 

Nurtured by our art with care, those friendships always will be there 

It would be nice to really know when it becomes our time to go

Like poets from another time, we all may live on through our rhyme

My poetry gave me a life, relieved me from all stress and strife

Whatever the future may bring, I owe my poetry everything

Shadows

I love the shadows, the secrets they keep

Inside those portals, so private and deep

Feelings surround like a circling shark

Stalking my thoughts under blankets of dark

Reality fades with the receeding light

Shadows appear, silhouettes in the night

Bringing a culture of multiple choices

Silently speaking in multiple voices

Yet in this twilight world sanity rules

This is no playground for idiots or fools

Come with a knowing that what you may find

May change perception, once previously blind

All that is part of that part never seen

All that I will be or already been

Inside those portals so private and deep

I love the shadows - my secrets they keep

Summer Song

Shimmers from a thousand colours 

humming everywhere

Fragrance of a thousand flowers 

permeates the air

Lady Summer at her zenith, 

glowing high above

In my garden all around me, 

Mother Nature’s love

In the water feature 

little sparrows splash and play

Feeding on the million gnats, 

too fat to fly away

Hovering above the water, 

gauzy dragonflies

Everywhere you look 

always a beautiful surprise

Lying on my lounger 

underneath the shady oak

All around me chirps and twitters, 

buzzes, squeaks, and croaks

Summer’s sweetest symphony

my eyes begin to close 

Intoxicated by it all 

I have a pleasant doze 

This is such lovely way 

to spend an afternoon

Time does move so quickly on

and summer ends so soon

Cooler days will soon be here

these warmer days be gone

But for now time to relax

enjoying summer’s song

Empty House

An empty house is full of noise

The silent, secret kind

And if you're standing very still

before too long you'll find

The noises of the empty house

Will penetrate your mind

As it shares with you its secrets

this is all you need to do

just stand quite still and listen

as it shares what it's been through

and you will feel the house's soul

connect itself with you

An empty house may look forlorn

Weeds up the walls may grow

but laughter echoed all around

those walls once long ago

An empty house is full of noise

And it will tell you so

Coming Down

As I lie down to sleep at night before I close my eyes

I look out of my window at the dark and distant skies

And in the silence of the night I turn my thoughts to you

And wonder if somewhere out there you’re thinking of me too

Within the confines of my mind I know my lover’s face

I “see” the colour of his eyes, by "touch" his lips I trace

I “feel” his body over me, his breath upon my skin

And through our heat, with each heart beat, I willingly give in

Time is of no essence here, the shadows are our friend 

For in the kingdom of the mind there is no start, no end

All there is are heightened senses leading to somewhere

Knowing at the journey’s end are dreams beyond compare

Sighing deep, I turn to sleep and gently close my eyes

Softly on the winds of night my lonely spirit flies

Taking me to that somewhere, with dreams beyond compare

Where in my mind, I know I’ll find, him waiting for me there

Fact! - Impact!

   A river never flows direct it always has a bend               Another year passes and some things come to an end

As seasons change, traditionally, the world is changing too

These things impact, and that’s a fact, on everything we do

We may find there is something more when we are laid to rest 

That everything learned through our lives prepares us for a test 

But somehow if enlightenment comes through to let us know 

These things impact, and that’s a fact, as living life will show 

The natural disasters and the lessons that they bring 

The power with which they educate conceals a painful sting 

The world is not invincible, and even less are we 

The deep impact, of this real fact we very soon may see 

People come into our lives and that effects a change 

Perhaps they’ll stay, we cannot say, but life will rearrange 

It’s what we do within that measured allocate of time 

That will impact, and that’s a fact, on you, and yours and mine

Me And Barack Obama

ME: 

 Mr President, to me you are everything the world has said you are in terms of a great leader and I could not resist creating an opportunity to explore your life through the eyes of the world via a surreal interview between you and me…. I thank you for the magic of your brilliant inspiring words and thank those who recorded them that has allowed me to respectfully put this together for my own love of you as a great world leader and for those millions who know that change will come to your great country through your leadership. I would like know what it is that drove you and inspired you, to pursue your dreams.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:
I usually have a minute to sit quietly and collect my thoughts - and recently, I’ve found myself reflecting on what it was that led me to public service in the first place.

ME:
Where do you believe the starting point for those reflections began?.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:
In Chicago - but I am not a native of that great city. I moved there when I was just a year out of college, and a group of churches offered me a job as a community organizer so I could help rebuild neighborhoods that had been devastated by the closing of steel plants.

The salary was $12,000 a year plus enough money to buy an old, beat-up car, and so I took the job and drove out to Chicago, where I didn’t know a soul. And during the time I was there, we worked to set up job training programs for the unemployed and after school programs for kids.

ME:
So you worked at the grassroots as they say – that is something I personally can relate to, my work in community law takes me constantly to those social issues.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: 

 It was the best education I ever had, because I learned in those neighborhoods that when ordinary people come together, they can achieve extraordinary things.

ME:
I believe around that time you also visited your relatives in Kenya. You had a very emotional experience when you visited the graves of your biological father and paternal grandfather.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: 

 For a long time I sat between the two graves and wept. I saw that my life in America—the black life, the white life, the sense of abandonment I felt as a boy, the frustration and hope I'd witnessed in Chicago—all of it was connected with this small plot of earth an ocean away.

ME:
…and that sad experience would have added to your passion and commitment to make a difference. Did you work very long in Chicago?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: 

 After three years, I went back to law school. I left there with a degree and a lifetime of debt, but I turned down the corporate job offers so I could come back to Chicago and organize a voter registration drive. I also started a civil rights practice, and began to teach constitutional law.

ME: 

 So the inspiration to a possible career in politics began there?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: 

 After a few years, people started coming up to me and telling me I should run for state Senate. So I did what every man does when he’s faced with a big decision – I prayed, and I asked my wife. And after consulting those two higher powers, I decided to get in the race.

ME: 

 Hmm.. you must have made an amazing impression – so what happened next, what kind of a reaction did you get as you started moving into the political arena?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: 

 Everywhere I’d go, I’d get two questions. First, they’d ask, “Where’d you get that funny name, Barack Obama?” Because people just couldn’t pronounce it. They’d call me “Alabama,” or they’d call me “Yo Mama.” And I’d tell them that my father was from Kenya, and that’s where I got my name. And my mother was from Kansas, and that’s where I got my accent from.

And the second thing people would ask me was, “You seem like a nice young man. You’ve done all this great work. You’ve been a community organizer, and you teach law school, you’re a civil rights attorney, you’re a family man – why would you wanna go into something dirty and nasty like politics?

ME: 

 And what did you have to say to those?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: 

 I understand the question, and the cynicism. We all understand it. We understand it because we get the sense today that politics has become a business and not a mission. In the last several years, we have seen Washington become a place where keeping score of who’s up and who’s down is more important than who’s working on behalf of the American people. We have been told that our mounting debts don’t matter, that the economy is doing great, and so Americans should be left to face their anxiety about rising health care costs and disappearing pensions on their own.

ME:
When you took office you inherited a global economic recession, two ongoing foreign wars and the lowest international favorability rating for the United States ever. Your campaign agenda was deemed to be ambitious – financial reforms, alternative energy, and reinventing education and health care – all while bringing down the national debt…quite challenging decisions to make.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:
The challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. Because these issues intertwined with the economic well-being of the nation, I believed all would have to be undertaken simultaneously. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, they will be met.

ME:
Speaking to you has been just wonderful and if I may I’d like to continue this conversation in the near future if that’s ok – I’d love to know a bit more about the family man behind the powerful public role.

PRESIDENT OBAMA:
I would not be here without the unyielding support of my best friend, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love so much, and while she’s no longer with us, my grandmother, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them and my debt to them is beyond measure.

ME:
Mr President this has been an honour beyond anything I have seen or done and barring objections to my using this as my personal tribute to you for the inspiration you have given me I look forward to our next meeting ..do you think we can meet up again soon?

PRESIDENT OBAMA:
Yes we can!

ME:
Thank you.

(This is my tribute to President Barack Obama - who is alive and well and making a difference to our world.)

Tane Mahuta

Impressive beyond comprehension

Ancient giant of the forest, invincible..

Wise and wonderful living ancestor

Illustrious, primitive;

What do you know?

Leafy arms reaching, heaven your goal

On high, life on the wing visiting,

Below, bush life, snuffling, hiding

sheltering, sleeping;

What have you seen?

Once was a million, a family of strength

Now fallen, like brave warriors in battle;

To a weaker foe, with hidden agenda

Blind to your beauty, your mana, prestige

What is their point?

Biculturalism A Threat?

I may be the one living within today 

But always my ancestry will have things to say 

Whenever there’s controversy in our lives 

In terms of the ignorance racism drives 

I turn to my past for the strength that lies there 

That inside those values are ‘taonga’ to share 

Descended from chiefs is my proud legacy 

I carry it proudly for the world to see 

Pre European our people were strong 

Proud to be Maori and proud to belong 

Enter another, extending a hand 

Mouths salivating with eyes on our land 

In good faith cultural exchanges were made 

Huge lands were sold and in blankets were paid 

Some land was stolen with no “may we please?” 

Our culture polluted with filth and disease 

Next comes this Treaty that my people signed 

A partnership built with two cultures in mind 

With clever wording the deal came across 

All that it celebrates is Maori loss 

More than a century later - for shame! 

All of a sudden - the Maori’s to blame? 

We are one people?..yeah right, never be!! 

Let’s put the blame where it rightly should be 

I'm On Holiday

I’m lazing around having just had a feed 

Full up with all good things I sure didn’t need 

My willpower sadly has never been strong 

I usually ignore it when it comes along 

Been giving some thoughts to this shiny new year 

Wondering what to keep and wondering what to clear 

It’s really deciding on where I should start 

With everyday issues or those of the heart 

And then if the heart is the point to begin 

Deciding the strengths of my yan and my yin 

Just how much reviewing would be good enough 

And how would I know what is left is good stuff 

Well, okay, let’s say that I put that aside 

Can’t be wasting time with the summer outside 

And speaking of summer-before it’s too late 

Let’s take a hard look at my physical state 

My friends, (lovely people) all tell me I’m fine 

Well that’s what they say but my mirror ain’t blind 

I think to be honest I’ve had a good life 

Lived straight up the middle, avoided all strife 

Ok, so the waist isn’t tiny no more 

And no 30 year old dudes come and knock on my door 

Well even if by some chance they actually did. 

What ever would I do with a 30 year old kid? 

Well never mind that better things here to do 

The out with the old and the in with the new 

Think I’m physically ok, emotionally too 

And really there’s nothing immediately to do 

So reading this back, think it could get quite deep. 

Let’s leave it for now, (yawn), I’m off for a sleep. 

Stories My Mother Told Me

Grandfather was a hunter as his father was before

Meat and fish to feed his family, kept wolves from the door.

Pacific Ocean his back yard a child of the East Coast 

Of ethnic mix his Maori side’s the blood he loved the most

Grandmother was a little lady barely reached his heart

Met him on their wedding day, and never did they part

It was a marriage pre arranged between two families

Traditionally to unite tribes a way to keep the peace

Over thirty years eleven children came along

And with so many mouths to feed Grandpa worked hard and long

He taught eight sons to hunt and fish and work the farm each day

Watched them grow to healthy men as he slowly turned grey 

His daughters three learned lovingly from his adoring wife

Even though the times were hard they built a happy life.

And as the years passed and all the children left their home

One or two stayed with the farm and raised kids of their own

Sadly Grandma got quite ill and had to move to town

To get treatment for the cancer that in her breast was found

Grandpa watched her waste away and never left her side

Then one fine day in early Spring, she smiled at him and died

He took her body home, and laid her peacefully to rest 

Back to where they’d built a life, the place they loved the best

And when he passed away at the great age of ninety two

They buried him beside his love, where he had asked them to

I love to hear those stories from the times before my birth

Of times when men and women took great care of Mother Earth

Is from the Earth all life begins and to her will return 

And from these stories told to me I listen and I learn.

Ins And Outs

Inside each past one leaves

-a tragedy

Into the future one takes

-a memory

Whatever happens, happens

This is the reality but!..

- out of the living of life itself

Whatever will be, will be!

Out of so many things there grows

-a chance to review

Out of eternal hope there springs

-a chance to renew

Whatever happens, happens

This is very true but!...

- out of the living of life itself

The one in charge is you!