HOW I SURVIVED THE STORM

By Mandy Kocsis 

I’ve lived my life in Wonderland

It’s a place that’s like no else

Full of darkened fairy tales 

Where one must save one’s self

Each journey to survival

Is different from the rest

To each one there’s a lesson 

And you’ll have to pass a test

There’s rabbit holes and rainbows 

There’s madness with a blade

A royal heart to kill you

And a place where dreams are made

I’ve lived my life in  Wonderland 

It’s where my soul was born

And here I’ll write my story

Of how I survived the storm.

@2020 “Soul Survivor “ /FB

TO THE BEREAVED

By Patience Strong 

Trouble not your weary eyes

with gazing after vanished dreams.

Follow not into the past

echo of forgotten themes.

Burden not the memory

with too much dark and heavy grief.

God is good and offers you

the balm that gives the heart relief.

The dead have passed into His care,

What more could we desire to know?

They have travelled on ahead

unto the place where all must go…

Links with heaven we possess

through those dear souls beyond our sight.

Through their passing we, too, move

a little nearer to the Light.

GREAT THINGS ARE YET TO HAPPEN

By Doe Zantamata 

I look back with forgiveness,

both for myself and others.

I look to the present

with appreciation,

For those who are in my life

as well as those who are not.

I look to the future 

with faith and optimism

that things which never made sense

someday will.

And that great things

are yet to happen.

Source: POEMS/FB

MY FIRST LOVE

By John Miles 

Music was my first love

and it will be my last.

Music of the future

and music of the past.

To live without my music 

would be impossible to do.

In this world of troubles,

my music pulls me through.

Source: Ups, Downs and Roundabouts/FB

RETURNING ONCE MORE

I love you like a river which understands that 

It must learn to flow differently over waterfalls 

And to rest in the shallows.

I love you because we are all born

At the same source, with the same joys

And fears.

But when we feel weak, 

All we have to do is wait a little.

The Spring returns,

The Winter snows melt

And fill us with new energy.

Thank you, Spring,

For returning once more.

~Paulo Coelho~

WE ARE WARRIORS FOR THE GREATER GOOD

We use not guns, we use a hoe
We drop not bombs, but seeds we sow
We don't kill, we make things grow 
We don't pretend, we are what we show

We wage not war with our fellow mankind 
But with their affliction in body, heart and mind 
Poverty, ignorance, apathy and despair 
To destroy these things we will dare

Our heart is for the people and the earth 
We see them for what they're really worth 
Setting all the energies we have in motion 
Towards single-minded devotion 

We are a few persons in this existence
But as focused rays of light are intense 
And can burn a really big hole 
Such is the greatness of the human soul 

We are warriors for the greater good 
Yearning for a loving brotherhood 
Across the world with hearts unfurled 
We can make this real in our world 

We call upon all the people alive :
Do you just want to survive or to thrive? 
With your life you can make a difference 
One that will last ages and ages hence 

What you choose and what you say
They really matter alot 
Show us your answer to this today :
Do you want to change the world or not? 

We ask you this , our friend 
What will be your life's end? 
What will you make of your biography? 
What will you have given to humanity? 

We challenge you while you still have time 
In this short life of ours and thine 
For your own generation and the children
Make a difference... you'll thank me then

Get involved. Take a chance . Make change. 

BY FELIX AKICHO

Source: FB

September 6, 2020

JOURNEY THROUGH THE SPRING

Photo Credit to Karen Smeed-Verschoor

Snowfall in Bathurst NSW

June 10, 2021

By Leah C. Dancel

Days hasten towards dusk;
Cloudy skies chasing daylight.
Soon twilights settle in revealing,
What veils the mystic darkness that deem.

Snow clouds feather the air;
Wafting freezing blows of wind;
Ready to imperil the cautious days;
Icy drops pelting without mercy.

Like a lazy kite, it's movement seems
Confetti of snowflakes flying slow;
Like cotton balls from the pillows;
They dance amidst the unrelenting gales.

The blanket of dense whiteness
Fills the ground neatly trimmed;
Capping mountains, covering the hills
Spectacles of beauty; fresh and crisps.

Days are short, nights are long;
Shiver sends thrills to the bones;
Patient notes of enduring anticipation;
The journey ends as coldness reels away.

Author's Note:

I wrote this poem years ago reminiscing our Winter in Orange NSW. I took a mental note of everything that happened during snowday that occurred at daytime. We happened to live in a house on top of an elevated ground (that could be a hill way back) and I was fascinated watching from our loungeroom window  the snowflakes gracefully gliding on the air as if they were dainty Ballerinas. I was full of curiosity as it was my first time to experience winter, let alone seeing the snow until they settle down on the ground, in my whole life. ❄️❄️❄️.

Submitted August 31, 2020 to THE DIARY FILES-DX Lab STATE LIBRARY of NSW

PS.

Written in August 2006 and finished it off in September 25, 2006 when my poetic muse resumed to work after a temporary hibernation. I have had originally titled it Journey Through The Winter. 

TILL THE STORM PASSES BY

Till the storm passes over
Till the thunder sounds no more
Till the clouds roll forever from the sky'
Hold me fast, let me stand
In the hollow of Thy hand
Keep me safe till
The storm passes by.

Source: The Journey of Faith

Photo Credit to Elizabeth Martin via Bohemia Rain

MAKE YOUR MOVE

"As you're reading this,
your life's getting shorter.
Its ticking away.

I'm not saying this to frighten you.
Or even scare you. Though it may.
I'm saying this to awaken you.

To inspire you.
To rise you out of your deep slumber.
To really know you wont live forever.
To share your unique gifts.
To ignite your great inner fire.
To ignite your great inner strength.
To ignite your great inner light.
To shine. Brightly shine.
To awaken your great inner beauty.
To motivate. Yourself and others.
To love. Yourself and others.
To paint. To write. To teach.
To innovate. To sing. To dance.
To care. To feel. To listen.
To learn. To laugh.
The clocks ticking.
The world needs you.
Make your move."

~Mike Litman

FAREWELL MY DEAR SISTER RUTH

In memoriam of my younger Sister Ruth
(Interred on this date as written)

Today I am going to release this butterfly
Up into the air, to the highest sky;
I am going to let go all unkind remembrance of you:
The spites, the hurts, the agonies of the scars;
Once you had inflicted in me without closure.
I long have chosen to forgive and forget.
What will stay are memories of you
When life hit you hard on the road
and I couldn't close my eyes over you.
It was hurting us all when you left us
Without leaving a trace or a clue
Of where you were, no words to know
where to find you, as we lost you.
The only occasion you showed up
unannounced, unexpectedly were the times 
when we sent our folks to their resting place.
I had done my part - now you're ready to depart
Forever from our sight, from our life.
I bid you farewell today, as you return home
To the Eternal who gave you the breathe of life.
HE has taken it back so you'll go and rest in peace.
In us who are left behind, we will have our turn;
It maybe soon, it maybe later, we don't know.
I just hope we will all be ready to meet you
Somewhere beyond the blue and be together
Once more in peace, and in harmony.
Where the Land you are going is Bright and Fair,
It's just OVER YONDER!

Leah C. Dancel
Copyright@2019
August 23, 2019
Friday
Australia

HOW CURIOUS IS THE HEART

By Shadowjo

*

*

How Curious Is The Heart?

*

It has the strength to give life

*

It has the power to take it away

*

It can make your world shine 

*

It can make it all so dark

*

It can make you feel the magic

*

It can make you feel the miseries

*

It can place you on top of the world

*

It can drag you down to the abyss 

*

It can make you believe the impossible

*

It can blind you to the truth

*

It can hurt from so much pain

*

It can hurt from so much love

*

Oh this curious heart of mine.

Source: Shadowlands
December 07, 2010

THE GOLDEN YEARS

By Shadowjo

The sun is setting

My youth has vanished

My dreams have passed.

I pass on to you
My lessons learned

My wisdom earned.

Do not see me failed
My dear young child,
My heart is still wild.

Learn from the lessons

My bitter fights taught,

My body blows caught.

Go forth and be better

My disappointments be

My pride, in you I see.

Live long live better
My story, your teacher

My soul, your preacher.

Source: Shadowlands
November 21, 2014

TWILIGHT SKYLIGHT

By Shadowjo

*

Before the daylight

Is subjugated by darkness

There ensures in the sky

A mighty celestial battle.

The forces of light 

Are locked in a pitched struggle

Against the coming dark.


*

Where they meet,

The sky is drenched

In blood red 

And bruised purple. 

But with each victory

Comes a not too distant defeat.


*

The very next day

This recurring theme

Is witnessed again 

And the battle recedes

Into an sempiternal fight

That inspire lovers and poets alike.


*
Source: Shadowlands

January 30, 2015

THE STORY OF TREES

by Rado Gatchalian

inhale exhale breathe the air

that is commensurate

to life, eternal.

follow the wave of its arms
~
see the rays of contemplative gesture ~

touch the earth and feel its roots

where tomorrow’s may

you and the trees are one.

inhale exhale breathe the air

that is more profound

than any truths.

today’s rain and tomorrow’s sunshine:

lift yours hands like praying leaves —

and never doubt

that such glory

is always found in your roots.

believe

and you shall grow...

THE TURMOIL WITHIN

By Shadowjo

*
A strong outward facade

Does not always sustain

A strong inner self.


*

A deep turmoil within

Often over-compensates

With false strength without.


*

Only a healthy inner core 

Can sustain indefinitely 

A flourishing body and mind.


*
Source: Shadowlands 

August 02, 2020

THE PATTERN OF LIFE

We met and married a long time ago.
We worked long hours when wages were low.
No telly, no bath, for times were hard.
Just a cold water tap and a walk in the yard.

No holidays abroad, no carpets on floors,
We'd coal on the fire, and didn't lock doors.
Our children arrived (No Pill in those days).
We brought them up without any state aid.

They were safe going out to play in the park.
And old folk could go for a walk in the dark.
No Valium, drugs and no LSD.
We cured most of our ill with a good cup of tea.

No vandals, no muggings (not much to rob).
We felt we were rich with a couple of bob.
People seemed happier in those far off days.
Kinder and caring in so many ways.

Milkmen and paperboys would whistle and sing.
A night at the pictures was quite a mad fling.
We got our share of troubles and strife.
But we had to face it - the Pattern of Life.

Author Anon

From a paper cutting of anon source under a title heading:
"A poem about life as it was"

INSPIRATION

Within the ancient city walls
Our great cathedral rise,
Towering over time and change
To point us to the skies.

~David Hope~

Source: The Friendship Book of Francis Gay

THE ESTRANGEMENT OF MY DERANGEMENT

*
My soul almost died in those days of shame,
It came close to death on so many occasions
Its survival is a miracle to me
One I never quite comprehended.
*
I was always the stranger in a strange land
The new boy that never stayed long enough
To be humiliated into submission,
Or assimilated into admission.
*
I refused to bend under the weight,
Or to snap under the strain.
But the price for my personal state of isolation
Was the capitulation of my soul.
*
The battles were many and the victories few
Towns, cities, states, and counties,
Like a carousel of hate and humiliation
Came and went and tore at the heart of my soul.
*
As the years passed and the body hardened
My one determined goal never strayed off course.
The body may bleed, the heart may cry,
But my soul will never be lost.
*
I swore allegiance to that battered soul
Took an oath and professed forever on
Whatever this world had in store,
I would not change to save myself from hurt
*
So here I am, battered and bruised.
Among my raddled but still noble anamnesis
With elysian pride and a peaceful heart
I watch at last, the renaissance of my soul.

By Shadowjo
Source: Shadowlands
30 June 2014

A PHOENIX FROM THE ASH

They crushed your spark,
Put off your fire,
Laughed at you,
When you lay there as ash.

Little did they know,
The more they burn you
The more you'll rise
Like a Phoenix from the ash.

~The Luna|

THE HONEY BAR HOTEL

By Shadowjo


*

The air hangs sluggishly in the room

The lights are dim and flickering

Spiders have long ago abandoned 

The stench and the bickering.


*

There once was much love here

Many-a-heart danced and fluttered

Where oaths and promises

Were frequently uttered.


*

But now the color has turned beige

It has lost the magic of its spell

All that lingers are the shadows

At the Honey Bar Hotel.


*

Source: Shadowlands

June 30, 2014

THE SERMON OF THE TREES

by Rado Gatchalian

i see the veins of man flowing

in every branch of a tree,

rushing through from earth

to the sweetest eloquence of air.


beneath the inhale, exhale, of life —

all roots speak of an immutable decree

that every matter shares the same ingredients,

as a leaf enthroned in the sky

so as the genius of a child.


whether you deny its existence

or glorify its infinite power —

a tree looks at you, and you look at the tree:

and a beauty is born in eternity.

ALL GOOD WILL COME BACK TO YOU

Sometimes, you are unsatisfied with your life,
While many people are dreaming of living your life.

A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead
And dreams of flying
But a pilot on the plane sees the farmhouse
And dreams of returning home.

That's life!
Enjoy yours!

If wealth is the secret to happiness,
Then the rich should be dancing on the streets.
But only poor kids do that.

If power ensures security,
Then officials should walk unguarded.
But those who live simply, sleep soundly.

If beauty and fame bring ideal relationships,
Then celebrities should have the best marriages.

Live simply, walk humbly, and love genuinely …
All good will come back to you.

~Anon~

THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

By Wendell Berry

When despair for the world
grows in me
and I wake in the night
at the least sound
in fear of what my life and
my children’s lives may be.
I go and lie down
where the wood drake
rests in his beauty
on the water,
and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace
of wild things
who do not tax their lives
with forethought
of grief. I come into the
presence of still water.
And I feel above me the
day-blind stars
waiting with their light.
For a time
I rest in the grace of the world,
and am free.

A MESSAGE FROM HEAVEN

By Robert Clancy

Just because you can't see me,
doesn't mean that I'm not there.
I'm the gentle breeze that kisses your face;
I'm the warmth of the passing air.
I've become every note
of beautiful music you've ever heard,
I'm the songs of love in your heart.
I know how much you miss me
And how hard you've tried to restart.
I'm always right there beside you,
I've become what we're all meant to be.
I'm the essence of every precious flower;
I'm the blossoms on every tree.
If you look to the heavens you might see me;
I just might be that bird passing above,
but the best place to see me
is the place we all call love.


🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊 🕊

A LIFE OF JOURNEYS

*

I have flirted with damnation

I have danced with the damned 

I have cried with the angels

I have laughed with the lost

I have endured with the sufferers

I have fought with the peaceful

I have lost to the rich

I have shared with the poor

I have dreamed of freedom

I have hurt with loved ones

I have learned from the ignorant 

I have taught the uneducated

I have drunk with the thirsty 

I have fed on crumbs

I have loved the loveless 

I have been loved with magic

I have lived a life of journeys

And now I have finally reached

My far horizon.


*

Words © by Shadowjo
April 16 2015

Source: Shadowlands