Celandine Sings

A new set of poems/songs.

Some poems from 2019, The Heart Whisperer, Netsuke Dream, Uncluttered, Now

Just updating with some poems from last year, still part of the 'Sticker' set. One is about a dream I had about netsukes. I read it and it still makes no sense, I guess that's dreams for you! Looking forward to using these and all my poems more creatively this year...

The Heart Whisperer

You won't notice the difference at first

Just the smallest of change

Quieter than the breath of a candle

A ripple across a pool

Nothing to see here

But you will see it

Later rather than sooner

Long time later

It will be clear

I was there with you in that midnight place

Though you don't remember

I will always be there for you

Now, in the sunlight you laugh

Putting it all behind you

Moving forward, stronger than before

A bright bowl full of hope

There was something someone once said...

And you will wonder who it was

And I will smile and say

It must have been the heart whisperer

Netsuke Dream

I dreamt of two dolphins and two seals

Near the grey granite waterfront

Red, black, grey and white mottled under a crystal blue sea

And as they swam past, these strange pairs

They told me these things

Dolphins:

We see ourselves as small whales

Our skin is the colour of jasper and obsidian

We are your ocean cousins

You see our form in your mind

Our needle nosed beak and round bellies define us for you

But we are superior because

We are talking to you in your sleep

Seals:

Their eyes stare into me

Profound and unfathomable

As deftly drawn as any high tide

And as smooth as a polished stone

They are talking  

But not in any language humans know

I can see what they mean though

Here I am

Stranded high and dry on the grey ground

While they are still free

Uncluttered

The estuary sparkles

Crystal cut waves and yachts

Vying for attention

Wind tunes stir in the tall firs

And the air

Full of the cobalt sea

Feels uncluttered

Here, we are certain of the tide times

Of shells in the sand and hairpin roads

Leading only to water

No running against the traffic

And running out of change for the parking

No corridors full of coffee and despair

Air conditioning and the wrong lift doors

Life all gone wrong on the wrong floor

Clutching at hopeful straws

Caught in the clutter

Trying to keep our heads

Above the tide of our turning health

For a moment our feet

Are in clear water

Searching rockpools

For small fry under a blue sky

And the air

Full of the cobalt sea

Feels uncluttered

Now

A tidal flow of ideas

Each generation finding expression

For the herald's song

While one hand pulls down the old stones

Another shores up the walls of love

And where we meet for a moment

Now, our feet on different roads

Flint

I could bring you magic

Like fireflies in a jar

And I could sing of magic

Like dragons made of stars

But I just want to dance

Like the horses in the sea

Come dance with me

Golden bough and crimson berry

The little dove in the snow

Flint sparks and warm hearth

Of a solstice on the hill

But still there’s a mystery

Between you and I

As wide as the winter sky

As deep as the storm flood sea

I could bring you magic

Like fireflies in a jar

And I could sing of magic

Like dragons made of stars

But I just want to dance

Like the horses in the sea

Come dance with me

Ripple Stones

I’m sorry your skies have turned a colder blue
And I wouldn’t want to disturb more than I do
But sometimes you have to throw
A pebble in a pool
Ripple stone
Ripple stone
Watching ripples as they roam
Far from view

Above the starlings fly across a cold winters’ sky
A flock of a thousand birds so wide
All flying back home
A path well flown
Ripple stone
Ripple stone
Watching starlings as they roam
Far from view

The orchard sleeps deep in a blanket of sheep
While the cold air’s the only company you keep
I’ll throw a pebble in a pool
For I’d rather be a fool
Ripple stone
Ripple stone
Watching ripples as they roam
Far from view

Untrace Your Steps

Untrace your steps

Set down the heavy load

Leave it here, with me now

And I will unwind

The truth to you

Under the lampost, in the shade of the church

Lika a Madonna lost in a dark room

A halo of light falling on your thoughts

Listened to by the quiet stone steps

And echoing in your silent prayer vigil

Do not follow those old ghosts

That keep their cold grip

A mist rising to haunt you

Untrace your steps

Into the new day

Across a crowd, a face you recognised once

Like a mirage burning into the heat of the day

Lost in a maze of bright connections

The call that beats a drum in your blood

Freedom running through the veins

Untrace your steps

And steer a new course

Under the bright star of hope

And you will find

Your heart already knows the way

Pay it Forward

If I'm gonna spend my money today

It's gonna be to make something stay

Not on baubles, not on gold

But something better in this world

You wanna stay around that's fine by me

But I'm done playing like it's all for free

Pay it forward

Lark

I won't trade on pretty easy

And I don't see why I should

Because this world is based on ugly

And it never balances the books

And for every coin you take you'll see

Those coins are never debt free

Just a token for a way to be

Enslaved by a society

It's pretty clear to me

That I prefer to be free

I may never be a millionaire

But frankly dear, I just don't care

I'll run a comb through my hair

And thank the stars I'm me

Because once the pity party's done

The road back is a gruelling one

And it's pretty clear to me

That I prefer to be free

After all your deals and dollar runs

After the highs and lows so hard won

Have you anything for a kingdom come

Or are you still on your knees

And for every coin you take you'll see

Those coins are never debt free

Just a token for a way to be

Enslaved by a society

A lark is singing in the sky

It sings the loudest way up high

And it's pretty clear to me

That it prefers to be free

I may never be a millionaire

But frankly dear, I just don't care

I'll run a comb through my hair

And thank the stars I'm me

Because

It's pretty clear to me

That I prefer to be free