The Man

The man without options
can do anything
Nothing is forbidden

The man with nowhere to go
can go anywhere
The world is a vast neighbourhood

The man facing death
is free to live
A life without fear
is a life without limit

The man who has been
the worst that he can be
need not fear the future.
If he is better now than he was
he needn't regret the past

The man who has never been loved
need not be ashamed
if his heart is full

If his heart is cold
it is because
he has never loved

The man who holds hate in his heart
is hateful
He will search for hate
and be drawn to hate
And the world will give him what he seeks

Such a Worthy Dream

A book a day or so it seems,

as pages turn,

they can't be seen

This girl a blur,

her brain a whir,

she wears her knitting

just like fur

Just like the fur

that covers her,

a cat is on

her lap or there

Beside her on the blanket brown,

no other person,

can sit down

The man is in his gaming chair,

his eyes below

his greying hair

Are fixed upon

the game he plays,

perhaps he has,

been there for days

The other cat

is somewhere near

She won't be seen

Then she appears

An arrow from

the bow she flies

Gone chasing shadows?

Hunting flies?

Parents just across the way,

one of them

there all day

Keeping watch,

making sure,

keeping eyes,

on the door

Family in close supply,

close enough

but not too close

Hidden when

the door is closed,

coming when

they're needed most

Wish I could wake up to that

What a wish to live for that

Willingness to work for that

Such a worthy dream to have

I Recall

I still recall how close we were, too close to ever be apart

But now we live in different worlds, with different lives, two separate hearts

Each time we meet, we try our best, but even so, I must confess

It seems a mess, it must be stressed, we carry on, without success

Who said that this was for the best?

Who chose this path, who had that choice?

Who dwelt on dreams? Who gave them voice?

Who cried the most? Whose cheeks are moist?

Who suffered most? Lets measure that

Who gave the most? Who wants it back?

And who to blame? Who caused this pain?

If no one wins, what point the game?

I still can see, like photographs, these memories, that made us laugh

In silent thoughts, I can recall, a room of joy, no tears at all

Now all is still, the room is dark, the lights are gone and voices fade

I wonder now, how it would be, what I would see, if I had stayed

I will not say goodbye to you

I will not weep because you sleep

I will not shed a tear for you

I cannot speak, I am too weak

I will not tell a lie to you

I will not say it's all okay

I won't lie down and die for you

I still have much that I must do

I still recall, like poisoned thoughts, how close we were, before we weren't

I still can place, not just your face , but even how your shoes were laced

I still can feel, what once was real, unpeeled, a heart encased in steel

I am the steel, if not the blood, I crave your touch, I miss it much

Copyright © John B. O'Halloran 2010

Too Many Rules

Too many rules and not enough schools
Or too many schools and not enough rules
Or too many fools who think they are cool
For breaking the rules, destroying the schools
Or too many rules for too many fools
Or not enough fools for not enough rules
And not enough fools to fill up the schools
And not enough schools to make up the rules

And too many kings for not enough thrones
Or too many dim and slow witted clones
Or not enough homes for people who need
And not enough pairs, too many alone
Too many who care, too many to love
Too many who love are no longer there
So many not there, as distance creates
Unbridgable gaps, suspicion and hate

Or too many words and too many books
Or not enough words, just feelings and looks
As silence is bled, as nothing is shed
With not enough said, just thoughts in the head
And not enough shared, in secret despair
Too many who care, too many alone
So many alone and not enough pairs
And not enough said, sweet secrets instead

Lay blame at the schools with not enough rules
Lay blame at the fools who think they are cool
Perhaps at the feet of all whom you meet
Perhaps with yourself and everyone else
But understand sacrifice, simple and pure
It isn't a burden, it isn't a cure
But it is distraction, a moment, no more
A moment that maybe is worth living for

Finally

Her Mother never loved her
so she took her love from boys

But the boys never loved her
Treated all the girls like toys

And her Step Dad said he loved her
He was just like all the boys

Now in dreams of him
she screams within
and that is how he wins

She told it to her Mother
but her Mother didn't care

So she told it to her Father
but her Father wasn't there

So she told it to another
but she wasn't quite aware

Of his pain filled eyes on her behalf
or of his love filled stare

He had been her friend since they were young
and loved her just as long

As a child he'd often longed for her
and put her name in songs

And he'd watched her waste her time with men
who didn't treat her right

In the darkness he had cried himself
so many sleepless nights

When she told him what her Step Dad did
and what her Mother said

When she told him she had no one for
her Father he was dead

When she looked at him
As he looked back
Then something in him snapped

And he swore revenge
and that was when
she realised the fact

She had never really looked at him
Content that he was there

He was constant like the furniture
The table or the chair

She had leaned on him to ease her need
but never really seen

He was everything she needed

That was when he turned to leave

And she knew that he would kill for her
She knew that he would die

And she knew that either way
they would be forced to say goodbye

So she followed him
To say to him
She wanted only him

And as they made love
She fell in love
Completely
from within

As they held each other in the dark
She finally was free

With his arms protecting her from harm
She finally could see

What it meant to really be alive
She finally could be

And the thing she had been searching for
She felt it finally

Journey

Doors open, same faces, same old thing

Sitting here, same spot, head down, no eye contact

Same old journey, stop to stop, minute to minute, check point to check point

Lost in my own thoughts, mind drifting, scant attention

Trying to block the sounds, some vulgar, all invasive

Lambs pretending to be lions, showing off to their peers

Uniform becomes a costume, same old story, second hand

Once the story was mine, long past, been and gone

He who was, no longer here, died and burnt, turned to ash

Ash to flame, flame to birth, birth to growth, here I am

Sitting here, same spot, head down, no eye contact

Thoughts combine behind the eyes, words come, questions form

What am I still doing here...and when will this journey end?