A Place of Tranquility – 1994 (re-edited 2014)

On 11 Jun 201411 Jun 2014 By jovisgoesIn Loss, Love, Personal, PoetryLeave a comment

The wind was howling and the trees were bare
I called your name, there was no one there
The darkness gathered all around
And stillness – there was not a sound.

It was then I saw Him watching me
With eyes so sad that I could see
He felt the sorrow and sensed my pain
He knew I’d not see you again.

He surrounded me with a kindly peace
As if He knew there was no release
And all my tears welled up inside
Emotions that I’d tried to hide
All came tumbling, tumbling down
And fell like raindrops to the ground
And in that moment I think I knew
What He, Himself, had once been through.

I stood and looked into the night
Of Him there was no longer sight
And thus I left that Holy place
Myself at peace, and you in grace
And though my life will just go on
Forever now we’ll be as one
But when I go back to that place
I’ll hope to see His peaceful face.

©Joe Wilson – A Place of Tranquility 1994 (re-edited 2014)

Thoughts of Old Age

On 3 May 20143 May 2014 By jovisgoesIn Loss, Love, old age, Poetry, Point of View, PovertyLeave a comment

Photo by: Ahmed Al.Badawy, Cairo, Egypt

He was a very poor and sad old man whose pride belied his fear
That one day he’d be a burden to his folks who held dear.
He’d worked hard every single day, now he didn’t cope so well
He knew that his ears were a problem too, he was going deaf he could tell.

He guessed it was just a sign of his age, he’d soon be eighty-one
He’d been fitted with a hearing-aid, but he forgot to switch it on.
And though he had his radio on to listen to all the news
He struggled to tell what was being said, he rarely heard their views.

And so from time to time he sat and enjoyed his garden flowers
He didn’t need to hear them grow, he’d watch them sway for hours.
He’d take his paper and his specs and go down to his shed
And often not read anything as he’d fall asleep instead.

There are times when he forgets though and he sleeps in there all day
When his son or daughter find him, it’s getting more that way.
And he sometimes can’t remember what he’s supposed to do
It’s when his mind goes like this that his thoughts feel stuck in glue.

His son told him the other day he was looking for a place
Where others could look after him, but he’d still have his own space.
He’ll never want to leave this house, his memories are all here
His dear wife still lives in its heart, he won’t go, is that clear!!

But now the odds are against him as he struggles every day
He sometimes doesn’t dress quite right and he cannot properly shave.
And he’ll sometimes sit and weep the tears of a man who feels marooned
He’ll sit and wonder when he’ll die for it cannot come too soon.

©Joe Wilson – Thoughts of Old Age 2014

An Inadequate System

On 18 Apr 2014 By jovisgoesIn Family, Illness, Loss, Love, Poetry, Point of View, politicalLeave a comment

He sat there, always looking out of a small round window
That could easily be a reflection of his tragic mind
Since the day he knew he’d been left on his own
It seemed like there was nothing in there left to find.

Every day from half-past eight and all day till five-past five
He sat immobile staring out, a sad look on his face
He’d never notice anyone, nor speak a single word
He’d sit there never stirring from his lonely lonely place.

He may have wondered where they’d gone, for they looked after him
But his parents, both of them now dead, had done their very best
Now here he was at fifty-three, an only child yet still
Just left to stare through windows, in old pyjama bottoms and vest.

He’ll be swallowed up by the system, and churned back out to the street
He’ll wander about in his own little world, and we won’t understand
He’ll be doing his best with what he knows and what he tries to follow
But our complex welfare system just won’t deal with his demands.

©Joe Wilson – An Inadequate System 2014

War and Death and Greed

On 2 Jan 20148 Feb 2014 By jovisgoesIn Poetry, Point of ViewLeave a comment

War is a cash-cow, there will always be war
– and people will die in the bloodlust and gore
But those who decide on such things never go
– to the battlefront, armed, and frightened of foe
For they’re in their offices making decisions
– as the blades cut the air and men die from incisions.

War is foolish and madness, obscene and absurd
– differences need solving not by bullets, but with words
Sitting round the table for as long as it takes
– and negotiating wisely, no foolish mistakes
But as long as some profit from other people’s death
– they’ll make more blooded money till their own dying breath.

Can we afford to continue to fight in this battle
– racing to slaughter each other like cattle
We cannot keep falling out with our neighbours
– death can’t be the only reward for our labours
Man seems to have battled for two thousand years
– and innocent lives get drowned in the tears.

Stop now…stop now, before it’s too late
– destroying each other leaves the planet to fate
The hatred that spreads through the ill chosen word
– we need to address this, surely peace is preferred
The world needs to stop fighting, we have to do better
– to put an end for the need for the widow’s sad letter.

©JRW2014

Life in a Year

On 29 Dec 20138 Feb 2014 By jovisgoesIn Family, Fun, Poetry2 Comments

My journey began many, many days ago
I’ve travelled through so many lives
Some are so sad that they break my heart
Some are full of joy and I’m loathe to part

But move I must as I journey on
Throughout the seasons from one to one

Till one day I arrive at my journey’s end
Where I hand the day over to my closest friend

I am a full year…now completed.