Always

 

Always

 

The coat you gave me no longer fits,

and the name you chose doesn't mean that anymore.

 

I finished the books you gave me,

and now I've written my own.

Thank you for taking the time.

 

I saw your empty shoes, ready in a line,

I wouldn't fill them, and hesitate to try.

 

I'm still trying to find a coat that fits,

that I can call my own,

And now you've gone I cannot show you

how much further I've gone.

 

I re-read the books you gave me.

I hear what you wanted to say,

and I'll always have your compass -

that shows me the direction,

of where I'm heading.

Hindsight is late

 

- the final poem from last year's competitions:

 

Hindsight is late

 

The day before was unremarkable

The future barely rippled by the time it was over.

 

The day before devoid of rumours or disquiet

A xerox of many days before, a little less sharp, 

a little blurred,

As copies of copies tend to go.

 

The day before I kissed you goodnight, softy and present

unaware of the significance, now thankful that I did.

Absent-mindedly tidied around me, 

reset plans for the next day.

Ticked some lists, added a few more prompts.

Locked doors, swept crumbs, straightened piles

rubbed the tired rings under my eyes,

pulled curtains on the moonlit street

and set my head down, soon gone

 

oh for such mundane memories

of a utopia of slow uneven progress

a naive paradise of possibilities

yet now, those distant echoes I won’t let go 

 

Maybe 2026

 

Another competition entry, this got an honourable mention which was nice. It was written in all sincerity, however, I came to run through it before reading at an event, and as I reached the later parts it increasingly started to sound like I was trying to convince myself of something that was doomed to fail. So read it either way, a sincere attempt, or a comical self-delusion:

 

 

Maybe 2026

 

My mind stretches, elasticates,

To a future day, three months maybe four

in the new year ahead.

I pin a date, and slide my thoughts to there

far enough to leave today behind,

and look beyond and back from that flag,

imagining a future, already ahead of schedule.

Blueprints complete, hands on the wheel, 

reaching a critical mass -

I see development, progress, accomplishment, 

 

I see the steps taken to get here, and the steps beyond

I see the possibilities and feel the faith to get there

The mountains in my mind, a series of steps, each achievable

And the view beyond makes me giddy

 

Maybe 2026 will be the year

the year when I clear the old clutter away

And start new challenges at last

it’s in Your hands