i was standing over the sink
considering the drain
wondering
there’s a lot of DNA in there
beard trimmings,
skin cells,
saliva.
it got me wondering
how many people
have left themselves
here in this 135 year old house
a loose tooth here,
a toe nail there…
evidence of lives
left as ghosts
that sit quietly
waiting on oblivion

these are the thoughts
that pop up
when i step from the shower
stand over the plumbing
and wonder

She said
“Hope is the thing
With feathers”
And she was right
Hope flies
Before our eyes
A wild and free thing
Tempting us
To join it
In the wind
Hope beckons
With soft whispers
So that sometimes
We cannot hear it
Over the noise
That fills the air
But it is there
All the same
Hope continues
And outlasts pain
It is the sun at noon
High in the sky
Banishing shadows
Calling us
To reach up

These pictures

Memories stored

Once on paper

Now in bytes

Still the same

Flashes of life

Things that have been

That could be again

Or never will be

Lean in close

You can almost hear

Voices of our loves

Gone now

Still somehow here – hear

String then together

You have music

Listen

Depression is a mountain. You climb it whether you like it or not…or… you fall… you let go, and you fall into the dark because letting go feels easy. But if you keep climbing, eventually you get to the top… despite the hard work… because of the hard work, and through it…it’s still depression. It still sucks but climbing equals progress.

Keep climbing.

Too many

Step away

From their day to day

And fade away

I’ve watched men die

Leave the job

And become undone

Let me be the one

Who steps aside and lives

Takes remaining days

And gives

I hear voices

They sing sweet in my ears

And i see pictures

Moving like dancers

Before my tired eyes

And I will miss the beauty

If I’m able to miss anything

There’s still sweetness

In this dark and aching life

listen
do you hear?
there is a storm
unleashing upon us
you can hear the thunder
from a million miles away
and we will be washed
from the face of the earth
swept away
like so much sand
beneath the endless waves
and carried out to sea

May you be absorbed

Into the welcoming earth

Whose grey stone arms

Are warmer than you thought

And her breath

Is the breeze of dreams

That brings you to life once more

Because we are here and gone

Quick as lightning

Only to come back

Again and again and again

I learned

Never call a man dad

Cuz god love her

Mum burned through men

Like dry brush in a forest fire

As if searching for something

They never knew

They never had

And she wasn’t the only one

Left empty in the end

Front-line tired

You fall asleep in the trenches

And the bombs exploding

Cannot rouse you

Except to say:

Call me when the war is over

And we will sign the armistice

Cone what may