Poetry

Pandora had Hope

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

open the lid of the memory chest
gaze inward at confusing profusions

happiness followed by sorrow, sadness,
unhealed wounds, unasked questions, no answers,
answers that came too late to be useful,
loud echoing moans of passion and pain
treasured hearts and momentary wishes
a shining smile hangs transfixed there in time

decisions made, regrets still regretted,
unfair accusations, retributions,
poets, madmen, traditions, musicians,
denials, betrayals, indiscretions,
honour, bravery, loyalty, liars
those dark places i found myself trapped in

all life packed away in a box, neatly
layers upon layers gathering dust
the past can haunt you for evil or good
the journey still waits, the road is ahead
fast slam the lid shut, forget all you saw
banish all visions, dream instead, lock it

a small voice still calls me from deep inside
i throw the lid open, once more in hope,
up flies my glorious hand stitched banner
with one word boldly emblazoned, a flame,
triumphant emblem, my name, ”Survivor”
written in gold on blue heaven, it sails

Lost at the Gate

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

behind the three witches, fine chains
of iron, silver and jade
they twitched and trembled,
they had their own life
while the witches sat, frozen statues in time
what bought them to the depths of this cave?
where did their glowing chains lead?
so deep the gloom. foolishly brave,
i couldn’t see my own dragon
though i felt his breath close to my ear

leaving the cave and my dragon behind
the image of three chains remained
a puzzle left unresolved
i stumbled out, finding the light
i ran across miles and miles of dry land
and sailed a wild sea, to hold the arms of a man
drowned in a shallow watery grave
listen, like a snake the ocean twists and turns
the singing whips of salt and seaweed
slowly swept him away

seven women watched from the sun-blasted shore
speaking in whispers, spinning their threads,
they spoke of barbs stitched into clothes,
powders hidden in boxes, potions and spells,
a dead mans hand beneath the marriage bed
i could smell it, a dark bitter incense
what hope can there be in all this?
I don’t belong here at all, never will
there is no grace in this journey
no safe path for returning

my angels where have you been all this time?
you who left me beside the great gates
is this a lesson or just a mad dream?
return to me now, i need you still.
still, in stillness and light,
banish the battles of endless night
let me follow the silver chain
bringing my dragon to rest at my side
making me whole again

The Circle Game

/ A. Gouedard / 1 Comment

I travelled far, found a home
where my flag of honour flew
I thought it so, I worked for you,
for all I thought was true

you illustrate this event
with a comic book cartoon
and say you did it in good faith
am I too serious?

I should lighten up I guess
it’s just a party
all in jest
just a game, no harm

take my paper, take my words,
trample them in mud,
tear and shred my tribal banner
tell me this is love

I have been to parties
festivals and celebrations,
gathering, joyful tribal dances,
where my banner flew in wind

sunshine shone on open pages
there was light and dignity
I never thought to leave
such grace and charity

this though is another place
your run me round in circles
I see your honeyed traps
the charm, the exploitation

such manipulations
will never capture me
I have already gone
I left your circle game

Believe what you like

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

this is a game of consequences,
angles, perspectives, attitudes
pitiless, clear
nothing less, nothing more
there’s a futile dead end to thought
the pathos filled path to no place
that wide open sceptical door
to self pity, the pit, no mercy
making us less than we are
a shard of ice in the heart
the manacled fire of the mind
where life becomes paltry,
feeble, flawed
into the darkness we walk
drowning our sorrows
dying for water
parched

caught from an earlier rain
a droplet on a dark leaf
reflecting a light that gleams
a shimmering fragile globe
it mirrors the tree, growing above
where wide open branches reach to the sky
if we ever looked up we would see
the way they turn to the sun and grow tall

nothing can make us small
nothing will stop us from standing again
except the belief that the sun doesn’t shine
and the clouds will never bring rain

The World

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

the sun, the shine,
the shadows fall beneath the trees,
tranquil trance of leaves, triumphant,
leaning, lofty, lovely, light

the love, the lost, the found, the learning,
light of love, looping flight
flight to night, the moon, the stars,
stars that lead the navigator

star of wonder, star of hope
tent of sky, singing songs
sounds of battle, lullaby and funeral marches
swords and strangers, the strong, the mighty

might have been, may be still, morning comes,
comes with chimes, chime of bell,
bells of silver, shiver, shatter, shards,
sentinels of silence, stone

stones in water, stones in sea,
the rivers rush, rolling, waters rising into cloud,
rain and rainbow. what of us?
What of us? we were. we are.

walking, wandering, wondering why,
where and when, will it, wont it come again
the sun, the shine and is this all?
are we really all so small?

the sun, the shine, a burst of light,
burgeons, blossoms, blooms and grows,
glows and gladdens, glancing eyes,
eyes that see, the world, the life unfold,
enfold, enshrine, delightful,
dancing, woven in delicious dream,
the globe, the glow, eternal, bright,
entrances me – this glorious world

Becoming a Seagull

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

Deep in my heart the sun is shining.

The day clear blue and stretched sounds.

I can almost see, here from the ground,

my heart flying, swooping in air,

as high as a kite and gleaming.

Vertical take off to light,

a downward push of my hand

takes me up, into luminous flight.

 

I must be a bird, to reach up here.

The mountains spread out beneath me,

the revolving, rotating greens of the land.

I bank on a cloud, rolling, reaching,

tumbling, gliding, looping, I turn

on a breeze, diving deep to the sea,

slicing the spray and screeching.

I knew this would happen one day.

 

A seagull.

All I wanted to be.

 

 

Galeforce

/ A. Gouedard / 2 Comments

woods on the hilltop groan and sway
gale blows in wild from the raging sea
pools of leaves whirl at my feet
branches crash down, world lifting up
drunken sailor riding a roundabout

stumbling, i cling to a creaking oak
this wind whips the world inside out
at the edge of the wood, mad scarecrow i stand
close to the cliff edge, mouth open wide

i swallow the ocean, breathe with the sea
facing the wind, words swept away
shouting, screaming, into the gale
Take me! Lift me! Let me fly!

lungs expanded, triumphant I rise
above the woods, tumbling in flight
blown with no sail, nowhere to fall,
dark clouds, hidden moon, stars spin in the sky
i grin, like a loon,
ecstatic fool

The Hidden Ones

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

Our people were warriors, they journeyed far.
They followed the sun, the moon, the stars.
They honoured their dead who dwell with the living.
They left their mark on hilltop and moor.

They farmed the land to suit the seasons,
Skilled in crafts and rejoicing in song.
They sailed the seas and carved the stones.
They run in the blood, remembered in bone.

In spoken words, with no need of books,
Their stories passed from heart to heart.
Power and land they may have lost
But their thoughts and truths were not overcome

They have no followers yet are followed still,
With origins lost but stories repeated,
In the great glories of poetry that still lives on,
They are amongst us here, the hidden ones.

Summer Storm

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

at the height of the summer thunderstorm
a red balloon
escaped from the village fete

the wind sped it along
the course of the river
past gravestones, treetops, roses

in the churchyard
the wedding guests ran for shelter
the bride clutching wildly her veil

flying higher and higher it climbed
into the towering greyness of clouds
a dwindling spot of colour, consumed

 

Moonlight Lamp of the Faery Gathering

/ A. Gouedard / Leave a comment

Out walking in the woods after midnight

I carelessly stumbled upon a  gathering

I sat down behind a gnarled oak and listened.

 

”I remember,” one said ”when the moon was closer

to earth. Our magic was far stronger then”

Above me the stars twinkled, in grass starlight glistened.

 

The gathering let out a collective sigh.

I shifted, leaves rustled, they were quickly alert.

A Fae whispered, close to my ear, ”Why are you here?”

 

”I can’t sleep, so I walk, the moon leads my path.”

”You must sleep with the moonlight upon your face” she said,

”All creatures dream deeper when the moon is near.”

 

”Throw open your curtains let the moon in.

Your dreams will come quickly, your sleep will be longer.

Sleep in the moonlight, this light will escort you.”

 

‘Your father slept with the moon flooding his face.

Did you forget all your people ever taught?

This is an old knowledge we granted. It’s true.”

 

I heard my father speak from afar in his grave

Deep in the earth beneath the dead leaves

”Ah yes the moon, bathe in its grace, follow the moon.”

 

I thanked the Faerie and stood up to leave

My father’s voice and moonlight shone in my heart

”Sleep well mortal,” said the Fae, ”Night will end soon.”