What’s On My Mind

What’s On My Mind

Please do not ask what I am thinking

You really do not want to know

There is so much in there

How could I even give you an idea

Nightmares and fantasies

Story ideas and poems

So far unwritten

Maybe they will not be remembered

But for the moment they are there

There are so many memories

Of loves long gone and loves to come

So, please don’t ask me what I am thinking

I will not tell you ever

And you really do not want to know

So don’t ask and make us both happy

Your First Guitar

Your First Guitar

You started so long ago

The night your father gave you your first guitar

You spent the night playing the worst sound ever

I heard you from my room across the drive

But you tried and tried

You never gave up

No matter how bad you really were

Years later you took the stage down at Kelly’s

Playing every song you knew

The chords were perfect

The notes were more that even you expected

Everyone cheered so loud they shattered the windows

Now you are a star

Singing before 30,000 fans every night

Your name is known all around the world

But you still own that guitar your father gave you

And you look at it with such fond memories

However, you still cannot get a note right when you touch it

But, that guitar is just who you are

It is where you came from

It is a good thing that you can remember

I just hope you can remember that little boy

The one from across the drive

The one who suffered hearing that first guitar

Because he remembers you

My Nighttime Life

My Nighttime Life

The sun goes down

And darkness comes

I pull the blinds closed

And close the curtains

I lay for hours

In the total blackness

Listening and thinking

Talking to myself

And coming up with ideas

I never sleep when I should

The darkness is my home

It is where I feel comfort

At least until 5:30 AM

When the kookaburra laughs

Warning me that the light is coming

And only then will I doze away

So I do not have to see the light

But, I still listen and think

And talk to myself in my dreams

That is my life

And I accept that

© Shadowlight Publishing 2017

I Will Not Be Separate

I Will Not Be Separate

They want to separate you

By gender

By race

By income

By intellect

By sexuality

By nationality

By religion

By beliefs

So many groups to be controlled

To be kept apart

To be lied to about the others

So that no one will get along

Still there will be some who will say

I am not a part of any group

I am a member of them all

I am an individual

And I will not be controlled

By you or anyone else

Dandelion

Dandelion

By R.e. Taylor

Do you want to know

What loneliness is

There is only one place

To truly see it

Look out of your door

To your manicured lawn

Look at the lone dandelion

In an acre of trimmed grass

Yet it does not complain

It stands tall and proud

And it hopes to friend someday

© Shadowlight Publishing 2017

The Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range

I have thought for so long

What it would be like

No longer to have a paradise

Walking through Toowoomba

I feel the rain on my back

And the desert heat on my chest

The Great Dividing Range

The border between two worlds

The tropics and the Outback

Somehow, I know what I need

And it is not the green of the rainforests

I need solitude

Miles and miles of just miles and miles

The sun rising in the morning

And setting in the evening

With maybe a single cloud

To me, at this moment

The Outback with its heat and constant sun

Would be the paradise I desire

Daffodils And Crocus

Daffodils And Crocus

I heard a rumor

A little over a month ago

That Spring would finally arrive

The leafs would come back

And the world would be green again

There was a short-lived hope

Warm breezes came in from the south

Grass began to show

Daffodils and crocus began to grow

Then the hope disappears

Lost in a wind blowing in from the north

The newest buds start to grow

Reaching for the sun

Instead, they find a shroud of freezing snow

But, they will fight and they will win

They will see the sun

And they will welcome Spring

That First Step

That First Step

What is hiding in the mist

Noises come into the open

Echoing a world we cannot see

Maybe a world we would not want to see

Terrors we heard about in fairy tales

Goblins, dragons and monsters

Or maybe it is the Heaven we all look for

With angels, clear skies and music

A paradise we could only dream about

All it would take would be one step

One moment to take a chance without thinking

All you need to do is take a chance

And just take that first step

I Do Not Know

I Do Not Know

R.e. Taylor

I do not know who I am

Nor do I know what I am

I do not know where I am

I do not know where I have been

Or where I am going

I do not know my past

My future

Or my present

I only know one thing

I know that I am

And that is enough for me

© Shadowlight Publishing 2017

Forget The Warnings

Forget The Warnings

All your life you heard

Be careful

Don’t get hurt

Now, you remember the warnings

But, it is so hard to listen

You know you want to do it

Place your foot on the board

And take the first step

You know that you have the ballocks

So, ignore your past

Forget all of the warnings

And just take a chance

After all

What’s the worst that could happen

Her Loss

Her Loss

She watched at the window

Straining to see the masts fade away

And the HMS Victoria left New York for Liverpool

Her third trip ended when the rumour came

The Victoria had sunk just off of Harrington Bay

It said a wave had taken the ship

And killed all of her able-bodied seamen

Still she waited for the sails to rise above the horizon

She waited for the love of her life to step on the dock

And take her in his arms

But years later she still waits

She still sits at that window and she cries

But she will never give up hope

She will never let her love for a long-lost sailor die

As long as she has the smallest shred of hope

She will wait at that window

Long Ago

Long Ago

It has been such a long time ago

We first said hi

And you entered my heart

You entered my thoughts

And I fell in love

So many kisses

So many plans

So many dreams

And even now

Years later

You are still in my heart

And I still love you

The Twinkle Has Gone

The Twinkle Has Gone

Twinkle twinkle little star

My mother always sang that to me

And many time I looked through my window

And prayed to the brightest star in the sky

Now, I look in the sky

And the stars have changed

The twinkle my mother told me about is gone

The stars are just spots of light

Like light bulbs hanging in the sky

I still pray to them as I have for years

But the magic is gone

Maybe there were so many wishes

So many people asking the stars for something

They just became tired

And the twinkle was lost to all of us

But the wishes will keep being said

The stars will hear more and more

Let’s just hope they will remain in the sky

And our children will still hear that song

The one that made me appreciate what the stars had

And what they will have again

Grab A Drink

Grab A Drink

By R.e. Taylor

The world has stopped smiling

Everyone hates everybody

And no one talks

The time has finally come

For one moment

Everyone grab a drink

Wine, whiskey or beer

And toast the person next to you

Say hello

Wish them a good day and smile

If we all do that just once

What a happy world this would be

© Shadowlight Publishing 2017

Praise Be Electricity

Praise Be Electricity

It would be 140 in the shade

If there was any shade to be found

There's nothing but burnt grass

And cattle which are the walking dead

The sun never seems to set

It just gets hotter and hotter

The rains have been gone for too many years

Still, life remains

Some by choice

Some because it is where nature placed them

Without end

Without hope

In the end I make it home

My skin burned until it is black

Dust follows me in

Covering everything it touches

But, inside it is cool

The house is the only livable place I know

So, I settle back with a beer

And my thoughts are just of one thing

Screw nature

And God bless the electric company