Poetic musings from the borderlands

Hazed over Domed in No escape ...stifling ...sweating Day after day ...no respite Energy gone ...no zest ...just surviving Slow shutdown ...closures ...ghost town vibes Sorry but… ...not today ...not in this heat No blame ...I’d feel the same But the moaners ...won’t shut up A nation divided ...generation wars ...culture wars I’m seeking ...coolness ...relief ...an end to strife No bloody chance! The stage is set ...more division ...more bile No one listens ...no one wants to It’s going to be ...a long one ...a tense one ...a hot one

Swept along by life Observing my existence ...strangely detached I’m here but I’m not ...as I stand outside Time rushes by ...casting me aside The year’s half gone ...what have I done? The rush of modern life ...utterly pointless Nothing seems to last ...everything shifts Stranded and flailing ...begging for a pause In a world gone mad ...what can I do? Too many questions ...as I ponder my fate Is this all there is? Do I want to be here? Am I meant to be here? Then I see her smile We share a laugh ...at life’s absurdity I’m here to rebel The only way I can ...with laughter ...with kindness And not giving a damn ...what happens next

Summer is a coming in... Well, so we've been told, but ...flat grey cloud, a restless wind ...tell a very different tale Warmth and blue sky ...somehow feel elusive ...as grey skies drag us down A sense of peace? That's elusive as well Doomers peddle their tracts Demagogues spout their bile Scare after scare wears us down It feels like there's no escape Not in the fields, nor the woods The distant roar of roads ...the wail of far off sirens ...tells us there's no escape An unspoken foreboding ...hangs like a cloud Everyone's watching, waiting ...for the cracks to widen ...for the script to play out Hidden hands pull the strings ...to further evil agendas Whether we like it or not ...swept up we'll surely be So, what to do, what to do? ...in an uncertain world Live for the day ...even the moment Seek joy in the everyday Smile in the face of absurdity Ridicule the bastards Don't let them grind us down

We return and they're still here Year after year The pleas, the entreaties ...written on walls to last ...written in sand to be washed away The aliens, are they still harvesting our sun? Will they stop? Pleas for peace to world leaders Will they listen? Whose words though, whose words? And why? A cry for help, or something deeper? A mystery, an enigma Do we want the answer? Who is this elusive messenger? Or do we prefer the mystery?

All we ever desired was ...peace ...some hope ...a future ...a chance to rest That’s not much to ask But instead... The bastards give us ...fear ...division and hate ...endless turmoil ...eternal strife They never let us rest Overwhelm us with fear Manipulate and lie to us Do whatever it takes ...to stress us out ...keep us down ...drain our spirit ...kill our souls If we let them though ...if we let them Is this really it? Is there a different path? It's for us to find it ...light against dark ...hope against despair ...love against hate ...us against them If we can find our strength ...find our unity ...we can prevail ...we have to There’s no other choice

Tensions escalate Strife spreads A momentum gathers… ...all of its own

Where will this lead? Ask the manipulators Divide and rule… ...is the name of the game

Warnings unheeded Consequences disregarded Thinking suspended ...it really is a shitshow

Just a ‘conspiracy theorist’? Well let’s just see… ...who’s right in the end Not that it matters

Once it spreads ...there’s no stopping it Repercussions? ...they’ll come soon enough

Here’s our grisly fate ...surveillance ...a clampdown ...the digital grid

Could it be different? ...no one’s listening ...wise voices are derided What’s the point?

Keep my head down …stay out of trouble ...don’t take sides ...ride out the storm

You can’t describe it but ...you can feel it You can’t nail it but ...you know it’s there

When you seek distraction ...it’s there like an earworm When you seek escape ...it’s always dragging you back

When you try to relax ...it’s there nagging at you When you try to sleep ...it’s there keeping you awake

When you try to switch off ...it won’t let you When you try to forget ...it’s always reminding you

You can’t describe it You can’t escape it You can’t relax You can’t switch off

That sense of unease ...it’s there all the time The constant background shite ...it’s always with you

Sodding always Always and forever With no way out Trapped forever

There’s a way out but ...it’s final, once and for all So, stick it out ...because that’s all you can do

We come to you to seek peace Hard to find in a dystopian world We need it just to get through We need somewhere to just...stop…

The world won’t let us stop It won’t let us have peace The pressure keeps piling on There seems to be no respite

But, respite is there if we take time Respite is there if we look Respite is there if we switch off We just have to make the break

So, it’s up to the woods It’s switch off and get out Walking across the fields Into the woods where we find you

You’ve been here for over a century Possibly longer than that I’ve been here three score and ten I’ll know you’ll see me out

If you see me out, I’ve one wish That part of my soul lives on with you You’ve been my solace in hard times To be with you would give me peace

Your experience and wisdom Your calming, steady presence Keeps us sane and balanced That...means a lot...

She's here... Blossom bursts forth Trees blush green Lushness returns The days lengthen

Surely we can hope? It would seem not ...demagogues strut ...missiles rain down ...drones attack

The fire of war burns Hope? All feels lost A maelstrom of fury ...sucking us under

Doubt, fear, dread ...always constant Life is on hold How will it end? No one knows

What to do? Surrender not ...to their malice ...their loathing ...their evil plans

Another way? Yes, a wiser one The wheel of life A beacon of hope… Older than history

She’s still here Always has been ...always will be Take heart from her Drink her wisdom

The simple pleasures are free ...walking in the meadows ...along streams, among trees A gentle breeze stirs the leaves ...while birds twitter and chatter Standing still to drink it all in ...thinking of sacred spirits past

The world has no time for free ...no time for standing still ...no time to drink it all in ...no time for the sacred

It’s move, grow, grab expand... Constant pressure, can’t stop No time to think, to recover Distraction to stop us just...being

They rob our souls, drain our spirit They number us, quantify us Relentlessly track us to control us Until we don't know who we are:(

There has to be more than this It’s not too late to change To break free, breathe and live ...a life that’s truly blessed

Well, it’s never going to be perfect is it? How can imperfect souls lead perfect lives? We’re all flawed beings aren’t we? Anyone who says they’re not...well, they’re lying

I’d rather be truthful than live a lie I’d rather be honest than chase an illusion The pursuit of perfection...it isn’t living It’s a treadmill to stop you...living

Chasing likes, chasing approval, chasing...what? Chasing what the bastards want us to chase The bastards who keep us wanting more… More of what though...more of...what?

They try to sell us an illusion of happiness An illusion that turns out to be...a delusion A delusion that only brings...disillusion… Disillusion that robs you of a real life

A real life where we can find our own...happiness? Or, where we can find our own...melancholy? It has to be a life that’s lived on our terms alone Where we can be who we really are, flaws and all

Perfection is living a lie...who wants that? Living a lie isn’t living...it’s a cruel prison Good and flawed...light and dark...that’s reality A messy reality but...it’s one that’s ours…

Warmer days beckon There will soon be ...more light than dark She has arrived but ...where’s the hope? Dystopia also beckons Turmoil, division, hate ...grim facts of life Tensions bubble ...ready to blow With the light ...comes a darkness No one listens The barriers are up Strings are pulled Nefarious agendas ...get set in motion Pushed to the brink ...no way back The coming darkness ...will be lit by flames

That's all it was A brief, bashful smile A teasing hint of warmth Even some blue above And then... The shutters came down Day after day of grey A leaden flatness Hope diminished She saw the world Hubris, hatred, dystopia She couldn't face it Wanted no part of it A desire for lost innocence Would never be fulfilled In a world gone mad Needing escape... She did what she had to Returned to her slumber

Last days of a tense summer Harbinger of a tenser autumn Everything feels...heavy ...waiting for the storm to rage

The baiters are in full flow Ominous battle lines form… No one listens as tensions rise ...why, when you have a tribe?

The flags are going up Territories are carved out As packs are forming up ...divides are ever deepening

No way to end a summer Deep down, something broke Bile and division spew forth ...feels like there’s no way back

It’s getting all too much I need to back off out Go dark and refuse to bite ...keep my own counsel

The woods and fields beckon Nature offers her comforts I’ll seek some solace there ...among the ancient spirits

When the world grinds me down, I come to this wood for solace I come to hear the rustle of the breeze in the trees I come to feel the calming, protective presence of the trees I come to restore my balance so I can face the world again

The bastards hate the idea of sanctuary, calm and reflection They hate it when it comes for gratis, no money required They want us working, stressing, spending, spending...spending... They hate us retreating from their sordid world into the woods

I come to this wood, to escape, think, reflect and wonder The bastards don’t want us escaping, thinking or reflecting As for wonder, the nature hating, soulless bastards despise it All because it adds nothing to the bottom line they worship

You could almost pity them for their shallowness...almost... But, I can’t pity the bastards who would destroy what I love They can’t comprehend anything with a deeper meaning They fear and loathe the secrets of life the wood could tell them

This wood is a web of life, richer than they can ever understand This wood has a spirit and a presence they can never understand When the stress of modern life crushes my spirit and soul This wood is my sanctuary, my salvation, my muse and inspiration

Over the years I’ve walked past, I’ve grown to know you I’ve wondered at your history and the tales you could tell I’ve stood in awe at your defiance in the face of the odds But, I’ve also watched you slowly succumb to the inevitable

A fate that wish as we might, will eventually befall us all One that befell my elderly relatives as they succumbed I gently held their hands to comfort them as they faded away I touched your bark as a mark of respect to them, and also to you

But, as I look around you, all is not lost...life does go on I see saplings in the grass, all with the promise of growth You will succumb, as we all will, but...your heirs live on Although we’ve played our part, the cycle of life goes on...

They scud across the sky ...dark ...moody ...unsettling

Masses of torn greys ...restless ...ever changing ...never still

A metaphor for lives ...lived in doubt ...lived in dark times ...lived in fear

A signal for us all? ...to pause? ...to reflect? ...to reconsider?

Yet I don’t fear them Why should I? Why fear a metaphor? Why fear a signal?

Life is light and dark The clouds tell us that We can’t hide from that Why fear the truth?