Feeling all the emotions
an airplane through the wind
a whirlwind of spring
jabs a thing into my heart
Thoughts come and go
some stick
and take time to de
tach
Coming home to poetry
into its familiar embrace
as the feelings rush by
rush through
and the harmonica plays.
The warm embrace
of the sun's rays
And the moon's
cooling gleams
As you stretch out
your arms
And embrace the world
embrace our planet
embrace your friends
embrace your family
embrace yourself.
Oh Canada, O Canada, Ah Canada!
You’ve treated me well
through no decision of your own.
As your Christmas lights twinkle on the streets
And as Christmas jazz rings out on Wave 98.3
I can look back on it all.
Your majestic landscapes embraced me
as I stood in the palm of Their hands
Embraced me tight when I needed it most
As I showed myself how to be
once more content in my own skin;
I know you had something to do with that.
Your splendid concert halls rang and echoed
with Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky and fellow musicians
My heart rings out with life anew.
This was a séjour of all the senses,
of all the emotions.
I will cherish it
I will cherish you for evermore.
Your Christmastime saxophone blares
good tidings for all
As in the palm
of Nature’s hand we stand
O help us coexist
in harmony
May festive jazz ring out
on this blessed planet for evermore.
Four months have I resided in your cradle
and savoured your hospitality
You showed me your troubles
and I unveiled mine
But together we learned from each other:
I saw your beauty
and you saw mine.
Up and down swing the musical notes
The piano sings like thunderstruck
Under the masterful touch of the jazzman
No need for birdsong, listen to the keyboard
And if you listen deeply, you’ll feel it
The shivers of others’ experiences
As they cry out in song
Cries of love and desparation
Reflect on how good it is to feel
To feel humanity in unison
with the guitars, drums and all other
shivermaking sounds
Tired from a long day’s walk
we rest our weary feet
and sit around a table to meet
and cover the missed day’s talk.
The five lads sitting opposite
take out banjo and fiddle alone
playing, singing tunes of evermore
washing away life’s grime and grit.
The young and naïve poet sitting nearby
tries to capture the jovial mood
but his pen’s no match for the fiddle’s shrewd
tunes of times long whizzed by.
The cold warmth of the autumnal indoors
brings us together here across the world
what an amazing life it is, I behold
the Celtic music healing my sores.
As the autumn rain lashes down, beating the windows to a pulp,
The sky a misty navy grey filled with the week’s memories
Of ochre and crimson maple leaves
Of childhood memories and the sweetest dreams
Linked hands with my beloved
We march, hand in hand, towards our future
For it is you who makes these grey days go flashing by.
Hope.
Just one word
Says so much
If only we had more hope
less misery, we say
But that’s not hope
Hope is knowing
Believing!
There are things out there for us
within us
which give us hope.
Hope gives us hope.
Cherish it.
Nurture it.
Don’t forget to hope.
Over the rocky mountains
Shadows of grey on black
Absent are the light fountains
A distant travelling pack
A twinkle of light down below
Shining on my deep desires
Of living in nature’s mellow
Amongst the tree spires
Perhaps these cathedrals of stone
Can quell the mind’s races
Preaching in their grand tone
Of life’s past traces
Perhaps the hush of greenery
And eternal calm of peace
Will wash away the misery
And provide sought truce.
Flying over Canada, over the unseen peaks and valleys
Not knowing what in life I seek,
But write poetry on planes
(Every flight I do)
It’s beyond relieving to rest one’s mind,
To let your mind’s eye rest
To let it breathe deeply
And close and dream
I wonder what dreams this will form
Dreams of my beloved,
Dreams of harsh happenings
Dreams of travelling, of the life to be
I wonder, I wonder what it will all be
I wonder what the peaks of life will bring
Will they be like the unseen peaks below?
Shrouded in the night, veiled by cloud
Oh I look for someone to look to
For guidance, for comfort, for answers
But they are delayed,
perhaps never to arrive.
Instead, I seek answers from my thoughts,
Which plunge into dark mountainous waterfalls
Which I must observe from afar.
I count my blessings and thank all my gods
This opportune fortune is quite something
My veins filled with love and family
A new family, a new life sketching itself
Bathed in summer’s glorious days of sunshine and joy
Love is so thick in the hot summer air
Throwing back feelings of worry and tumult
Overpowering all ills
I count my fortune and my blessings
And think of not endings but beginnings
A life charts itself forward in front of me
Into it I will gladly dive, darling, see?