Thursday, 24 August 2023

Summer Songs

As another summer draws to a close and we prepare for the fluttering colours of autumn, I decided to mark the changing seasons with another poetry collection. I am once again delighted to have teamed up with my friend and talented poet Joe Praks. 

Joe and I are both inspired by the wonders of nature. I have woven our poems together to give a different take on a number of themes. Joe's poems are in green and mine in blue. I hope you will enjoy reading.

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Three beauties watching over me
Tiny beauties, so small, so wee
Yet I feel they saved me for real
They did it somehow
They rescued me from myself
Protecting me against my bad self
Allowed me to forget anybody else
Allowed me to clean my mind
Allowed me to forget the pain
Of time.


I watched you pick daisies
From long blades of grass
On buttercup summer days
With childlike dexterity
You painstakingly made
A long floral chain.

You placed it carefully
On my head
Said I looked 
Like a princess
Painted pictures from
Colourful story books
Then crowned me 
With hope and happiness.

Concentration reflected
In soft warm breath
As you touched 
Feather-like petals
Golden wonder in
Your innocent face
A moment captured forever.
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My love is a lonely ship
Sailing a deep sea of my mind
Your smile is my safe harbour
The only anchor that works well
Against the dark undertows
Hidden in my soul
I am but a sailor
Sailing in a sea of
Fast running time
I'm thinking of you
While humming your name
Sailing away.


Every time I see the sea
A brand new love affair starts
We court each other
We flirt for a while
He soothes my aching heart
Surrounded by darkness
I miss him so much
I hear him whisper my name
Until dawn beckons
And I follow the path
To be by his side
Once again.
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Just a beautiful moth
My tender angel of midnight
She's often feared
And misunderstood
She's craving for the Sun
She's not to see
We owe her so much
Apologize we should
She's silent in her dream
When night has borrowed from
A new day its white curtain 
Is she happy?
I'm not certain.


Close your sleepy eyes
Whilst a breeze gently rocks
Your leafy cradle.
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I was promised a rainbow
Yet somehow I've
Ended up with the world
Lost in monochrome
And cold wind with the pouring rain
It's so dark now during the day
As if no Sun has risen at all
I won't raise my head
Nor will I raise my voice
I close my eyes and mind instead
As my dream
Gone mad.


She took a walk
Along the path
Where the river
Meets the sea
Opened the letter
With trembling hands
Wiry writing
An extension of him
A sense of monochrome
Foreboding
As she read the
Opening lines
Dark clouds engulfed
The hazy sun
Like the tears
Blurring her eyes.
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They call me a thistle
Unable of a tender feeling
Or touch
Yet I know my heart is full of love
But I won't tell a word
I hate to show off
But what I feel is real
It means to me so much
They call me a thistle
But it's alright
At least I'm a flower
I hope I don't offend your sight.


Industrious bee
I hear a nectar love song
When you hum to me.
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Another sunset photo
Yet another cliché
I know
It's all been here before
The world needs to
Be reminded over and over again
For each and  every sunset
There's a new sunrise awaiting
Everything must and shall pass
For each and every broken heart
There's a flower blooming
For a new start...


Fusing into one
Silent synchronicity
Souls reunited.
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Sailing away with you
And only you on my mind
From and towards my dream
Holding you near like in my memories
Can't wait to see you
Can't wait to hold you
Can't wait to kiss you
For real.


That delicious
Moment
Of stillness
And calm
Before
Thoughts are
Dominated
By a thunderclap
Of waves
Crashing on
The helpless beach
Curling 
Swirling
Unearthing emotions
Then retreating
Disappearing
Like glistening
Windswept 
Teardrops 
On my cheek.

Thank you as always for taking the time to read. Please do feel free to share with others using the buttons below. 

If you would like to read more of Joe’s work he posts regularly on Twitter and  Instagram


Links to my social media channels are as follows:



Friday, 3 February 2023

Friendship

This post is a celebration of the friendship I have developed with gifted poet Joe Praks. Joe’s eye for detail has been such an inspiration to me. It’s a pleasure and an honour to join forces with him. I hope you will enjoy reading our poetry. 

The first five poems are Joe’s creations. The remainder are my own.


So glad it's here

Here it came, another new morning

Sleepy like a new born baby

Angels are reigning the skies

It's safe to wake up

It's safe to listen to the wind

It's safe to start anew

It's safe to to feel a wee bit insecure

It's safe to leave my comfort zone

It's safe to dream.




Beautiful snowdrops growing

They're trying to call in 

The spring Sun

Courageous little beauties

I wonder what they do now

As it was freezing in the night

And the snow appeared again

Did they just fall asleep, awaiting

Their big day

Or are they just dying dreaming

I'd like to know.


I see you within my heart

I see you in the shimmering light

I feel you as the night is getting

Near me now

Ready to go by

I see you always as if the first time

I feel it as if it's been the last ever

Thing on my mind

I see you in colours as I travel

Into a dream and out of my time. 



 I had a dream of tulips blooming
The clouds were weeping

I'm not to see your smile ever again

They didn't know it they were wrong

They lied all the same

Sometimes the most silent thought

Roars like thunder

You with your smiling eyes

You destroying me with your smile

Like no other. 



The Sun is about to set

I remain silent

But I'm still the same

All my thoughts belong to you

All the words we shared

I cherish them in my heart

Memorising them when

I'm alone and

Much darker reigns the night

I remain silent

As all might have been

Said and done

But you

You are the one. 


(C) Joe Praks

***


Whilst lost in a moment

Of serenity

I found a piece of myself. 


I wonder what stories 

You could tell

In tones of 

Blue and pink

I wonder what dramas 

You’ve seen unfold

Words recited 

Without a script

Every wooden 

Laughter line

Hides a thousand 

Lonely tears

When I touch your 

Sand encrusted bark

I see memories 

Of falling leaves.



Come and sit with me
For a while

We don’t need 

To say a word

Surrender to 

The here and now

Senses caressed 

By the gentle sound

Of waves washing over 

Pebbles and rocks

Worries dissolving 

In ripples of gold

Rainbow clouds, 

A pastel backdrop 

As we watch 

The sun go down. 


When you see

Rays of hazy sun

Emerge from 

Behind dark clouds

When you feel

The onshore breeze

Gently smooth 

Your furrowed brow

When you hear

A voice in your dreams

Don’t ignore it 

For one minute

When the rain

Merges with your tears

Know that I 

Am with you in spirit.



Remnants of summer

Smile and tumble over rocks

Defying winter.



Weave me an intricate story

In threads of silver silk

Set against a colourful

Kaleidoscope of dreams

Ignite my imagination

From the beginning to the end

A world of flight and fantasy

Caught in a spider’s web.



Inhaling deeply

Fresh sea breeze

Waves crash

On to what remains

Of wartime bunkers

Ghosts from the past

Voices echo through

Sun and rain.


Chasing shadows

Across the beach.

Lonely figures

Materialise

Facing the sea

Embracing the wind

To dry the tears

In their eyes. 


You hovered timidly

On the periphery 

Of an unknown world. 



All consuming

Crashing waves

Please tell me

How can it be

You dominate

My thoughts

My world

To the exclusion 

Of everything else

You excite

Mesmerise

Immobilise

Yet in a split second

A crash of thunder 

A fountain

Of  sea spray

You disappear

You leave

Without a trace.


(C) Jill Webb

***


If you would like to read more of Joe’s work he can be found on Twitter and Instagram


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   Jill Webb Words