Ode to Freedom

Because nothing has any meaning until you give it meaning.....

Ode to Freedom

When the world doesn’t seem to care

And you’re on the brink of despair

When someone’s really pissed you off

And you’ve really really had enough

When things don’t turn out the way you want

And how to change it you cannot quant

When someone’s told you what they think

And it has made your heart sink

When the frustration starts to mount

And nothing you do seems to count

When the world does not accept your gift

And your own spirits you cannot lift

When you fear you’ve lost control

And rage is clawing at your soul

When you know you’ve made it up

But from the cup of freedom you cannot sup

When you give meaning its loudest voice

Remember that it is all a choice

Remember there is no way that things should be

And act from your possibility

Remember there is no way things should be

Think of me and feel free

The Gift of Tears

The Gift of Tears

In twenty years and more

The eyes have known no tears

Dry and unmoved

Whatever the joy or fears

Today the same man

The same and yet so different

Watched an old film

A film of pure sentiment

 A film where a good man

Sees the world without his life

Sees the difference he has made

To family, friends and wife

He has been there for everyone

Never asking in return

And in his hour of need

Of his fate they learn

Without a thought or a second glance

They return his love in kind

And just before it is too late

He sees he has been blind

Blind to all the goodness

Blind to all the love

Blind to all the joy and hope

Until shown by him above

And in that very moment

On screen and in the home

Pure goodness filled the air

And the tears did come

Not a hint of sadness

Not a bit of it

Another step along the way

Just the latest gift

The furnace of emotion

That always burns inside

After all these years

There is nothing left to hide

Its All Invented

It is liberating to realise that reality is something you make up....

It’s All Invented

Reality is the strangest thing

Probably man’s greatest feat

It sounds like the truth

Yet it is the ultimate deceit

Reality sounds like it must be unique

There must be a universal view

We must all see the same thing

And yet what is real for us has shades of every hue

How can this be?

This could make you demented

Until you remember that

It’s all invented

You made it up

Your reality

You created this

From nothing, amazingly

To know that is a priceless gift

It has the power to change your life

For now you can invent

Any future you like

Ask yourself what you really want

Create your possibility

And now that you have invented it

Commit to making it your new reality

Becoming immobile

A heart rending poem written by my daughter, Nicola, after being diagnosed with CMT

Doing time for no known crime
Has been difficult for me
It's hard to live with chronic pain
That others cannot see

The thief that robbed my body
Stole my strength and left me pain
I do my very best to cope
I struggle to stay sane

I miss our get-togethers
I miss shopping at the mall
It hurts me to be left behind
It's not my choice at all

I long for how it used to be
When I could join right in
To do the fun and simple things
With family and friends 

You seldom call or visit
You're tired of it, I guess
Of always asking, "Come along"
And never hearing, "Yes"

I ache to be with all of you
I wish I could explain
How doing 'normal' things in life
Can cause me so much pain

I'm trapped inside this body
With pain that has no end
I grieve for all the things I've lost
I'd like them back again

When I decline to join you
Please try to understand
It's not that I don't want to
It's just the way I am