Tag: poetry

Posted on

A Caged Bird (Poem)

{I see myself, but it doesn’t look like me,

I see myself – but what should I be?

Yes, what should I be? And what should I become?

Be a dreamer – or achiever – you can only pick one.}

“Ohhh, you want the bullet train to fame my boy?”

No, no, no! Just the mega bus away from plain and tame, would be a joy!

“Well fucking stop that thought.”

“Nothing good happens here.”

“Oh, you’re into the arts? HA, HA, HA, must be a queer!”

“Fuck off to London if that’s what you want – but know this,

we all think you’re an absolute cunt.”

{I want to think outside the box,

but I don’t have the keys to this cage,

I try every possibility in the locks,

that get rusty with age.}

“HA! You don’t know about life! We struggle and strive, 9 to 5 that we hate, but we can barely survive, we buy things that we don’t want with credit we can’t pay, we turn on the television – it’s shit – but we watch anyway, we can’t wait for retirement, man that’ll be the day! We‘ll get to sit on our arse till we’re dead – ahh, bliss, don’t ya say?”

{I can see this for myself, but it doesn’t look like me,

I can see this for myself, but it’s something I don’t want to be.

Yes, there’s what I should be, and what I want to become,

I don’t want to cut my roots…I just want to grow: till my days are done.}

~~~

www.facebook.com/storytimewithjohn

www.youtube.com/storytimewithjohn101

Please buy my collection of stories! Get it in paperback here – or on Kindle here! ALL proceeds go towards Macmillan Cancer Support!

Posted on

What If? (Poem)

An old man and a young boy were both sharing a chair – one’s skin was grey with wrinkles, the other’s freckled and fair. They glanced at each other every now and again, but nothing more, nothing less…so silence sustained.

But as he sat the old man thought to himself: “What if, what if, what if? …what if I’d followed Sally from Dover’s cliffs? What would I have seen, and what would I have done? Where would I have been, and what would I have become?”

(He wrinkled his face further, and furrowed his brow – because that story had been circling for quite some time now.)

But as the young boy sat he thought to himself: “What if, what if, what if?…what if I create a rocket jet pack – and fly away with one fiery lift? What would I see, and what would I do? Where would I go? And would it work in the snow?”

(He scratched his head and thought one more time. Knowing that soon it would be real…yes, soon he would shine.)

…anyway, some minutes passed and they were still sharing that chair, one’s skin grey with wrinkles, the other’s freckled and fair. You could only hear silence but they had the same question there:

“What if, what if, what if?” – both a dream, and a nightmare.  

www.facebook.com/storytimewithjohn

www.youtube.com/storytimewithjohn101

Please buy my collection of stories! Get it in paperback here – or on Kindle here! ALL proceeds go towards Macmillan Cancer Support!

Posted on

What is Success?

“What is success?”

And I know, I know…everyone has a different version of the definition – apparently...but we are all people, and for the most part this drives us to want the same things. To love, and be loved…to have a purpose, and a core motivation…to eat an entire family sized lasagna by yourself without being sick. See, that’s probably just me with that last one. But yeah, the question does confuse me – and if I don’t fully understand what it means to be successful, then how will I know when I have reached this grand milestone?

You see at the moment I feel like I have graduated from the meager caterpillar stage…wandering around aimlessly, just consuming everything – with no clear direction…and now I am in the chrysalis stage, locked away in my bedroom cocoon, beavering away…with the hope that I will somehow magically burst into life, like a vibrant butterfly, and spread my wings. Confident, and suave…the Kanye West of comedy writing.

Kanye GIF f

Precious, ey? Well, although it would be lovely if all that were true – and trust me, it’s what I like to tell myself during my various conversations with, well…myself. I don’t think it is what life is like. Not really. Although it isn’t a sleek, or glamorous metaphor; I reckon we are a lot more like the snail.

Yup. We just mosey on along…pulling along all of the baggage that we accrue day after day…yes, the moss…the dirt…it builds on top of us, but we keep on going, we absorb it…it becomes who we are. 

We can look back at any time, and see the trails that we once took, glistening behind us. Often we went the wrong way, repeated back on ourselves, or looped, and looped, with no clear purpose. But we are still here – and the only real decision is…where are we going now? 

Lost GIF f

Well to success of course! Alright…but which way’s that?

 www.facebook.com/storytimewithjohn

Posted on

The Meaning of Life (Poem)

Yellow Brick Road GIF

We walk on that yellow brick road…

Hoping for something greater to show us our soul.

We try, and dig deep – but in thoughts we are lost…

the who, what, when…it’s true; ignorance is our cross.

There is no manual, no how to guide –

Just life’s rich tapestry…the roller-coaster ride. 

“NO! I AM THE WIZARD, THE WIZARD OF OZ!”

Oh.

“KNEEL BEFORE ME IF YOU DESIRE APPLAUSE!”

Okay.

“Only I can show you how to live – only I can tell you what you need to give! To possess a life that truly matters, you must be selfish – and help those in tatters! Love those closest, and the strangers too! Always work TOO hard – and find time for play too! Invest, and splurge – be safe, and dangerous! Live every second, and take some days off!”

Huh?

“Oh, you’re confused – then welcome to life! Don’t try, and understand…just live it, and love it…till the day that you die.” 

Yeah, well that’s all well, and good – but what about global warming, and all of that stuff? The sad polar bears, and my bills…man, it’s tough. What about pensions, and purpose? What about oil, and who is the president?  What about if I’ll have kids, or how I will afford rent? What about keeping in trend, you know – fashion, and stuff – what about following my passion, but helping those sleeping rough…what about expressing my view –

“STOP! I’ve heard enough! FUCK, YOU!

You live life by looking in front,

examining everything…from left to right…

all the while, missing out…on the truly beautiful sight.”

Shaking Head GIF

www.facebook.com/storytimewithjohn

%d bloggers like this: