Poems written by Nicholas Rowe, from the small island of Guernsey in the Atlantic Ocean.
Leaves whirled fast, scraping
in receding currents, to
gather by the oak.
~
The world was such a wonder.
I doubt I thought how small I was, nor
of my life beyond the fence.
~
Puddles freeze. Clear ice
is cracked, chipped, then pressed opaque
by new probing toes.
We are
lost.
Found.
Free.
Full.
s a i s
w w n t
e a o
p y r
t m
s.
Lost.
Washed up
in the lee.
~
We freeze
as sheer
translucent
waves,
pounding down,
atomised,
clothing
savage rocks in
seething
white.
~
We
matter.
~
Let’s
fill
our
hearts
and
face
the
future
walking
hand
in
hand.
~ ~
Note: this poem is a spin off concept from the poem ‘Who Matters?’ (Menu, Poems, Who Matters?)
(Also see Menu, Poetic Adventures, ‘Who Matters?’: An Adventure Exploring Poetic Technique)
Brave? Foolish? Which is
it? I don’t know. But I know
I want to find out.
The world inverts, and
thick clouds dim the path I tread
with trepidation.
Clean air.
Calm.
No rush.
Family.
Friends.
Time.
Nature.
Creativity.
Great tide. Glass water
melts across the sterile fields,
as land becomes sea.
~
Note: this Haiku is a spin off concept from the poem ‘Let’s Save The World’ (Menu, Poems, Let’s Save The World).
Also see Menu, Big Triku, Big Triku ‘Berg’ 🙂
Our world’s a ship, a steel Goliath carving
forward softly through the icy sea,
and somewhere far ahead the horrid berg,
a lurking Monster, draws our destiny.
And if the sighting cry of lonely terror
marks the moment when we first take heed?
Then jam the engines, force reverse, slam
the rudders sideways, fight until we bleed.
Forward to fate. Fearless, blind inside,
the hulk continues on its forward glide.
Soon the futile struggle, streaming from our glittering caves,
on to our certain end, to slip beneath the swirling waves.
~
Will William’s tiger only live in the forests
of our minds? Will the lion be betrayed?
Will the last one hang its tail, survey the world,
lie down to die, its doom by humans made?
Will fields lie sterile, void of insects, birds
or bees? What of diverse ecology?
Will we watch as we poison the flowers and waters of hope?
Will we wait for our lands to be swallowed by the sea?
We let our systems steal our time. We hide.
But time proceeds. It is not on our side.
What on earth are we thinking? That this is even a possibility?
~
We see the peril.
~
We know we could avoid catastrophe.
~
We find we are spinning in a vicious rapid,
can we miss the rocks and rise up to the air?
It may seem too much, but it is not the time to submit
and betray ourselves, to the evil that is Despair.
We cannot leave David to fight the giant alone.
Much is done already so we know
the paths to tread, we know that we must lead,
must vanquish Greed, our follies now must go.
And think, if we can change our foolish course,
how we will stand, imprisoning Remorse.
And how we’ll know, before our time on earth has reached its last,
our stewardship will shine when our children look upon their past.
