Tag: poetry

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 11

On By WinstonIn Bullying Yourself, NaPoWriMo, PersonalLeave a comment

Now and then, I try this theme, and that theme and something else and nothing will come together. Then, the doubt creeps in and I start to question whether or not I’m good enough at this. Is it even worth doing? Does anyone care? Do I care? So today I decided: If you can’t beat your inner demons… put the bastards to work.

Work Demon, Work!

My fingers fumble blindly ‘cross,

The keyboard on their quest.

To link some words, to build a verse,

From chaos, meaning wrest.

There is no hope, that’s long forgot,

Yet doggedly pursue.

With single-minded stubborness,

This simple rhyme I’m due.

I do not write to seek renown,

Ne’er one to grasp at fame.

I’ve no illusion anyone,

Will long recall my name.

The only one I seek to prove,

My skill to is just me.

Yet even I, a skeptic still,

For no skill do I see.

Yet still I write and strive to find,

Some worth within my dross,

A deeper meaning to convey,

To somehow get across.

So bear with me, this phase shall pass,

As night must pass to day.

This self-doubt and mistrust will fade,

And I once more will play.

With pleasant scenes and lighter words,

With confidence and verve.

Until when next, my fear steps up,

And pitches me a curve.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 10

On By WinstonIn Coffee, Humor, Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Pop CultureLeave a comment

I had absolutely no idea what to write about today. I said to Lynn, “I’ll make myself a coffee and see how it goes.” That simple idea provided the impetus for today’s effort.

Magic Bean Juice

How great the joy that I derive,

From just the smallest sip.

That mighty bean, filled with caffeine,

Holds me within its grip.

How long ago, I first assayed,

That aromatic cup.

Not knowing just how strong the hook,

Could never give it up.

Now just the smell of it’s enough,

To brighten up my day.

Most days that brew’s the only thing,

That sees me on my way.

My doctor said I must cut back,

I say he’s quite insane!

No longer smoke, and rarely drink,

Just let this vice remain.

This richly fragrant friend of mine,

That greets me every morn.

Then hangs with me throughout my day,

So I am not forlorn.

Yes coffee is my silent aid,

When life comes crashing in.

I’m sure the thought of cutting back,

Must be some kind of sin.

My magic bean juice sits with me,

Now as I write each line.

And if these words do not amuse.

Not coffee’s fault, but mine.

Cheers, Winston (and his magic-bean-juice)

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 9

On By WinstonIn Bullying Yourself, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, Self Awareness, The Power of WordsLeave a comment

I suffer from self esteem issues and wildly irrational bursts of anger when something I’m working on frustrates me. I am aware of these things and others, and I’m working on them. They gave me the idea for today’s offering.

My Demons

The demons in my head get loose,

Such havoc then they wreak.

In moments when I struggle most,

They strike when I am weak.

They know each vulnerability,

Where they can cause most pain.

Time after time they come for me,

Drag me back down again.

Back where I wallow in the muck,

Trapped in my inner dark.

While voices chorus every fault,

Each word leaves its own mark.

I swear some day I’ll free myself,

From all that’s in my head.

Yet deep inside the demons vow,

They’ll stay until I’m dead.

And even then there’s no respite,

In death they still will hound.

They’ll jape and mock upon my grave,

While I am in the ground.

I know that what they say’s not true,

At least not all of it.

For all folks know that demons lie,

But some tell truth a bit.

How do I tell what is the truth,

And what but foetid lie?

As all my darkest thoughts parade,

Before my inner eye.

I must be strong and learn to pay,

My demons no more mind.

As I move forward with my life,

I must leave them behind.

This is not easy as it sounds,

For they all live in me.

The key is not to let them loose,

Or hell to pay there’ll be.

And even as I write these words,

They say I waste my time.

There is no deeper message here,

Just cheap and easy rhyme.

Yet still I write, still try to trap,

My demons on the page.

If I succeed, perhaps I’ll save,

Myself from demon’s rage.

So now I draw a slow, deep breath,

Release it just as slow.

Repeat, repeat, repeat until,

Some inner peace I know.

And other times, my music is,

The way to drown them out.

For certain magic melodies,

Can grant me peace no doubt.

So here I am, and just for now,

My demons are at rest.

But soon enough I’ll go to bed,

Their new nightmares to test.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 8

On By WinstonIn Loving Life, Memories, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, The Power of WordsLeave a comment

So instead of writing this verse, I was reading today. This turned out to be a good thing as it gave me the subject for today’s project. No it isn’t about procrastination… it’s about books.

On Books

A book you’ve loved is something that,

Will never fade away.

Though some details, time may obscure,

The sense of it will stay.

The way the author made you feel,

Made you give up your heart.

A certain scene or turn of phrase,

That marks your favourite part.

These are the gifts that writers give,

To those who spend their time.

Read as much with their hearts as eyes,

To seek that gift sublime.

It need not be great lit’rature,

Burdened with noble thought.

For romance, action, fantasy,

Are far more often bought.

So light the lamp and turn the page,

New dreams are waiting there.

To grasp you gently by the soul,

And take you anywhere.

I don’t expect that you will love,

Each single book you read.

For only you can choose the ones,

That fit your inner need.

If there’s a book which calls to you,

Yet critics say “It’s bad.”

Well go ahead and read it still,

Odds are you will be glad.

There’s no one else who can tell you,

Just what makes your heart sing.

So read whatever brings you joy,

And leave them do their thing.

Now if you will excuse me please,

A book is calling me.

I do not know where it will go,

Just that’s where I must be!

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 7

On By WinstonIn Embrace the Wild, Loving Life, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Personal, Poetry, springLeave a comment

I know I already did a Spring poem, but it is my favourite season, and I am at work trying to squeeze today’s poem in between actual work stuff. So another poem about spring. Also, it is raining today and I’m not normally a fan, but by looking at it as a process of renewal, I am much more tolerant of being cold and wet.


Come Celebrate


Come celebrate the rising sun,
Now greet this brand new day.
There is breeze goes sighing by.
To bring spring scents your way.


Come celebrate the low grey clouds,
The rain where you now stand.
To wash away the winter’s dross,
Reveal greener land.


Come celebrate all growing things,
It is that time of year.
When life returns to root and bloom,
Replacing winter drear.


Come celebrate the evening chill,
The blaze is large and hot.
Come celebrate the spring with me,
Give thanks for all we’ve got.


Come celebrate this life we share,
How blessed we truly are.
Let spring renew the souls in us,
For we have come so far.


Come celebrate, come celebrate,
This greatest time of year.
It’s spring I love and always have,
Come celebrate my dear.


Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 6

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, family, Friendship, Love, Loving Life, Memories, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Poetry, RelationshipsLeave a comment

To every person who has blessed me with the honorific “friend”, I love you and thank you for the moments we have shared be they many or few. Each of you has helped me become who I am. Time is the only gift that truly matters. Thank you all for this most precious gift you have given me.

Don’t Just Take Time, Give It

Don’t grieve for me when I am gone,

Laugh with me while I’m here.

And then when all is said and done,

Then shed a happy tear.

So call me now or come see me,

While we’ve yet time to spend.

Not leave unspoke the love we share,

My dear and precious friend.

Too many times, someone has said,

“I wish I’d been there more.”

It is too late when we are gone,

Let’s spend the time before.

Let’s laugh and sing or sit and talk,

Or just together be.

Your company a magic balm,

Which brings such peace to me.

So this I vow, I will reach out,

To friends I have not seen.

To chat and laugh and marvel at,

Just how long it has been.

If each of us takes up this vow,

To reach out to someone.

There’ll be less guilt and less regret,

When our brief time is done.

In Kindness, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 5

On By WinstonIn Embrace the Wild, Loving Life, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Nature, Personal, Poetry, springLeave a comment

According to the song, Christmas is “the most wonderful time of the year”. Not for me. For me, nothing compares to the joy of spring. My “New Year” isn’t January 1st. Mine is the first green shoots poking through the winter thatch where the snow has melted off a patch of my garden. The New Year is the first flight of Canada geese I hear honking as they stream overhead. Now is my New Year, my “most wonderful time of the year”. Here is this year’s ode to it.

Ode To My New Year

Good morning to the singing birds,

And to the bright blue sky.

The shoots of green, the gentle breeze,

As it goes sighing by.

It is that time of year again,

Resilient life returns.

That time of year for which my soul,

Through bitter winter yearns.

Now flocks of geese are everywhere,

As further north they wing,

Their honking drowns the chirping songs,

Their smaller cousins sing.

There’s slush and ice and salty mud,

Melt-water everywhere.

But don’t despair, it clears the stage,

Next season to prepare.

Soon now the snows are fully gone,

Soon flowers will appear.

I swear that springtime truly is,

My favourite time of year.

Cheers, Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 4

On By WinstonIn Friendship, Love, Loving Life, my angel, my blessed life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, PoetryLeave a comment

I can’t write all these verses without including my wife Lynn. I wouldn’t be who I am and you definitely wouldn’t be reading these poems without her. She helps me be the best version of myself I can.

I Love You My Angel

There was a guy who wasn’t much,

Who never much would be.

He wasn’t quite invisible,

Just wasn’t much to see.

He’d lived so long alone that he,

Believed he would stay so.

When you can’t talk with anyone,

You’re hard to get to know.

But then one day, the strangest thing,

He met someone on line.

With little chance of meeting them,

He dared to try to shine.

The more they talked, the more he loved,

This Angel of the screen.

And though they talked for months and months,

They still remained unseen.

And as they talked, he realized,

To her he was someone.

No more some guy who wasn’t much,

That life for him was done.

A plan was made for them to meet,

In person, face to face.

To test the love they felt with a,

Non-digital embrace.

I was a guy who wasn’t much,

Gone twenty years or more.

Could not go back, would not go back,

To what I was before.

You saved me then, I thank you love,

My Angel all these years.

You lifted me, you raised me up,

You helped me face my fears.

So thank you love, my Angel sweet,

I’m someone thanks to you.

And every good thing in my life,

Is thanks to you it’s true.

Je t’aime mon ange. Plus que tu sais. Pour l’éternité, et plus encore! ❤

Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 3

On By WinstonIn family, Friendship, Love, Memories, Personal, ValuesLeave a comment

My friend Kim passed away after a brief, horrific fight with cancer. She was a truly beautiful soul who was a blessing to all around her. Her light in this world will be greatly missed.

In her memory, I ask that you spend time with a loved one, family member or friend. And take the time to help someone. Kim was one of the most caring and generous people I’ve known and there could be no finer tribute to her.

Take The Time While We Can

It breaks my heart to see how quick,

Someone can slip away.

I did not see, I could not know,

That my friend could not stay.

Now suddenly there is a hole,

Shaped like them in my heart.

Though I did not see them often,

Their light was still a part.

Yet now that light has vanished and,

The world’s a darker place.

I could not say just what I’d give,

To once more see their face.

Had I but guessed, or somehow known,

More time I would have found.

To spend with them and fill my soul,

While they were yet around.

So listen well and understand,

Our loved ones wear no clock.

So spend the time, be with them now,

Before that final walk.

Winston

NaPoWriMo 2022 Day 2

On By WinstonIn Enlightenment, Loving Life, NaPoWriMo, Personal, Personal Responsibility, Poetry, Self Awareness2 Comments

I am no longer quite as young as I was previously. I’ve come to terms with this and tend to remind myself that getting older still beats the only proven alternative. Get old or die.

Years ago I worked for a wonderful woman named Heather who taught me one of the most important things I’ve ever learned. She told me “Good is the enemy of great.”. This means that as soon as we accept good we stop pushing for great. Now, whether it is in my poetry, my art, my work or whatever else I’m doing, I always try to push myself just that little bit further.

Good Isn’t Good Enough

Sometimes in life we don’t invest,

In everything we do.

Do just enough, that’s good enough,

And then it’s done, we’re through.

We’ve done the thing a million times,

It’s nothing but routine.

Sure we didn’t scrub the tub,

But wiped it down. It’s clean.

We see it doesn’t shine the same,

Way that it did before.

And in our hearts we know the truth,

We could have given more.

What we don’t see, not right away,

Our soul erodes a bit.

We are born great, each lesser choice,

Chips off a piece of it.

Then one day where once greatness was,

Just good enough is seen.

Surrounded by the rubble of,

How great we could have been.

So spend the time and effort to,

Change good to something great.

That extra that you give comes back,

To your soul soon or late.

Good is not really good enough,

When great is waiting there.

Just push and strive a little more,

See good cannot compare.

Then you will see within yourself,

A pride not there before.

For turning good enough to great,

Giving a little more.

Cheers, Winston