Category: Poetry

Tangled

Venice

A labyrinth

Streets like intertwined rivers

Weaving their way 

In a tangled maze

Lost

Endless discoveries

It all looks different from a different angle

Tangle of languages

Accents 

Cultures

Sea of endless possibility 

My emotions

Expectations

Mood

Have been like these canals

Streets

Tangled 

Twisted 

Weaving their way out to sea

To find

Freedom

Space

Breathe again

Relax

Calm waters

Untangle

No more greed

Or need

Contentment 

Satisfaction

God

Love

All the world

Is my home

With God

I am never alone

Untangled

Farrah B. Mandala 2013

Beau

You are a delight

Who likes to give me a fright

You are brave and strong

Always dance to your own song

Old and wise

Always keep that sparkle in your eyes

Funny and cheeky

Cherish the moment, as it is fleeting

Such an intelligent mind

You are thoughtful and kind

Endless energy

Loved by a big family

One of a kind

Dream big my boy

There will be treasure to find

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting their bad advice –
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life !”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen branches and stones. But little by little
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as our own,
that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper 1

into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do – determined to save
the only life you could save.

Mary Oliver from Dream Work in “New and Selected Poems’, Beacon Press, Boston, 1992.

Sun rising

Golden hue illuminating the horizon 

Looking beyond 

Birds perched on a light pole, watching the traffic, 

Cars scurrying like frantic ants, collecting food

Beyond the power lines, 

Traffic lights

A bird flies in front of a peach-soaked sky 

Driving 

Looking beyond

Road building, excavation, flashing lights 

Mesmerizing sunrise, speckled colour ever evolving

 Painting a masterpiece

 Beyond the silhouetted tree, resting on the hill

Looking beyond

The city lights sparkling in an endless sea 

Signs of salvation 

The loud children pushing, 

Playing

 Feel the warmth of sunshine 

The train rattling past

The ever-present strong mountain, standing tall 

Looking beyond 

Feeling salvation 

Haze over distant mountains 

Driving

Cusp of night and day 

Street lights, pedestrians crossing 

Setting sun 

Painted in pastels, whisper across the sky, like freshly scooped ice cream 

Vibrant effervescent moon 

Sweet smell of daphne, flooding the front door

Dancing wildly in the wilderness of potential and brilliance 

Bright young eyes, lovingly looking 

Warm arms greeting 

Looking beyond 

Seeing graceful signs of salvation

Every time 

I’ve fallen apart 

I’ve had to start 

Building 

Building a new castle

A home amongst the woods

Every time 

I build 

A grander castle I build

Every time 

I fall 

I rise 

A little higher

Leads me down 

A path 

To my home amongst the woods 

Every time

I’m lost 

I find a treasure buried

In the rubble 

On the long road home

Home amongst the woods

Every time

I spin out of control 

I find the strength to dance

In sunshine 

In rain

On my way home

Home amongst the woods 

Every time

I lose 

I find

A gift

Amongst the trees

That leads me home

Home amongst the woods