Melody River

Music flows through my soul-

Sometimes it trickles,

Sometimes it rolls;

Surges in and takes control.

It's waves that pound against rocky shoals.

Footsteps mark time on the pavement,

Hearts beat a rhythm and keep a wavelength,

Train on a track buss a rimshot,

With contrapunctal measures from the ticking clock.

Honking horns and blaring sirens

Add new harmonies and something from the winds.

Rumbling motors are the baseline

The music it moves through every aspect of my life.

In the sunshine 

Or in the grey rain,

The music courses through my body 

And pulses in my veins.

It weaves colourful tapestries 

I see when I close my eyes.

Just when I think I've learnt the melodies,

It unveils a fresh surprise.

Don't matter where I am

Under moon or in brightest day,

I tune out the humdrum 

And just let the music play.

Free from leaden inhibition

I revel in the tuneful spray;

Awash in this melodic rhythm,

I let go and start to sway.

Ode to the Word

Put pen to paper;

Spell out words.

How lucky we are to be able to compose

Lyrics and verses

And stories and rhymes

And tales tall and fanciful that live on through time.

Yes pen and keyboard,

If small and quite discreet,

Like hammer and chisle  

Are tools mighty indeed

That carve out the great figures

Of which we now boast,

Who on the tides of history

Might have foundered and been lost

Had it not been for the word,

Written and transposed

Then passed on and revived

So their legacy could be kept alive.

Yes, how blessed we are

As inheritors who

Are privileged to receive and add to

A wealth of experiences:

Of victories and defeats,

Of loves lost and found,

Of highs and lows,

Of infamy and renown.

And so,

To your quills, your pads and computers,

If your hearts be so stirred,

As we celebrate the life and times

Of the written word.