Nourishment

 

When I need some nourishment

I take all the wild words I can find

and I dice them finely,

Until I finally have a bowl

of bite-sized pieces.

Little shavings of a story,

shards of a mystery,

Fragments of love,

and a craving to see

where the flavour takes me.

All these finely sliced pieces

I gently toss in freshly scented flowers.

Then I set fire to my kindling heart

and wait until the flames roar.

 

And I can start to really cook

a specialty, a meal fit for you and me.

I ignore cookbooks,

I don’t look at recipes

I let the words speak for themselves.

I cast them into the fires of hell.

These voyagers of poetry.

In their cast iron boat.

Whilst I dance around,

like a conductor

orchestrating the beat.

There is an art to this,

learnt over years,

many plates drowned

under countless tears.

But now that I’m smiling.

I execute each part

with precision timing.

 

Sautéing in the heat,

I let them sweat,

searing the expression,

until it is golden,

I add flourishes,

herby verbs to add action,

nourishing nouns

to give some body,

then I sprinkle in

adjectives to add to the flavour.

A bouquet of scents arise,

but this meal is not nearly ready,

it needs a little spice.

 

I need to add some

seasoning similes,

meaty metaphors.

before adding

some flavoursome stock,

and bringing to a boil.

Then lowering the heat

till it’s a gently simmering pot,

letting all of the component

parts become one, and I let it stew.

 

It’s not yet ready

to serve up to you,

it needs to be fine-tuned,

refined in the last moments,

as this is a meal of love

and it takes time to bring

the best out of it,

to make every mouthful perfect.

To make every taste a little piece of heaven,

But until then I sit

weaving more words in my head

and I let my thoughts unwind,

to untangle the threads for dessert.

Above

 

Do you ever look up at the stars,

at the sheer wonder of it all,

in awe at the vast emptiness?

So immeasurably grand,

a giant to an ant.

Every little dot of light

unfathomably far,

some distant star

surrounded by worlds

not unlike ours.

 

In this cosmos so grand

do you ever feel small?

Miniscule, nothing at all.

Do you look at your stretch of land

and think it’s just a speck in time.

Where we could stand on

the highest mountain and

still be no closer to touching those stars.

No nearer to setting foot on

one of those planets not unlike ours.

Does it make you feel insignificant?

How can this even be real when

all we have is in this tiny speck of dirt

in the vast cosmic star chart?

 

Do you ever look up

at the boundless desolation above?

Dumbstruck, wobbling on the spot,

thinking I am so small, so tiny,

so miniscule. Insignificant

in the grand story

that unfurls high above.

Do you ever look up

and question whether

the sky is looking back at you,

thinking you have it all?

 

Well, what do we have?

We have heart, we have love,

feelings that would

make those stars blush.

We have hope built into our bones,

we have joy at the smallest of things.

We have awe at the vastest paintings,

the grandest meanings poured

into the words on a page,

or spoken on a stage.

We have magic in spades.

We have the music that

falls from our fingertips,

the song that trickles

like a river from our lips.

We have all the love of the world

Every swirled dream, every songbird singing,

every stream that listens to our tears speaking.

We have all of this. We exist.

 

Under the sky night-light,

that starry stage above,

your thoughts fly

and the heart pumps

pure unfiltered love.

You scream into the night,

a primal roar to the heavens above

deep from the core, 'I am alive'

An outpouring of all that makes you human,

every atom, every nerve, every sinew.

Every hope, every dream,

every story that built you.

You are not insignificant

and the swirling space stew shows

a sign saying that your words are true.

A shooting star, a wish to be made

like a kiss from deep space.

Simple things

 

Sometimes it is

the simplest of things,

the way your hug feels like

sunshine caressing the skin

then holding on during

a cold spring evening.

Never letting the cool wind get in.

I could never feel

the sting of a winter chill

with your heart holding mine still.

The way your eyes dazzle

with so much life inside,

sparkling on a clear night

and I’m flying to the stars,

loving the way

the winds lift me so high.

 

The way your smile lights

even the darkest corners of the room.

The darkest corners of the mind.

I can see clearly for the first time,

and I find that this heart of mine

can’t fight the love it feels.

You will always be

the queen of hearts to me,

a star, a diamond light

that deserves to shine

brighter than the sun in the sky.

You make me feel younger

every time we are together. I get giddy,

dizzy as if the world is spinning too fast

like the most perfect fairground ride,

on a beautiful summer night.

 

It feels like electricity,

the buzz, the tingling in the belly,

the feeling that at any point

you can be floored

by the current rushing through you.

And I have to stay grounded,

or I would float away on a stray cloud,

like a balloon left to explore the air,

where I would soar to the moon.

to always be watching down upon you.

In awe of the beauty

and wonder that surrounds you.

 

It is sometimes the simplest of things.

The way a hug can feel like swimming

in an everlasting ocean,

and knowing that you will never drown

for the water is holding on tight, and to see you

in the night is like a lighthouse

shining upon my life.

To see you during a day

is like a songbird singing only to me,

showing me new pathways.

And to see you for the rest of my life

would be heaven to me.