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Within These Walls
These days I feel a kinship with the four white walls,
Which guard my every move, every breath, every thought.
Observe how they close in on me, irked, distraught-
They make the world look small.
I speak to them in unfinished puzzles,
And superficial metaphors,
And subdued gurgles,
And defeated murmurs.
My words are nothing but a brook,
Whose melancholic babbles fill the chilly air.
They ...
Monday 21st September 2020 10:42 am
Brevity and depth in poetry?
Today I typed ‘poetry’ into Google and clicked on the top search, and did so again a few times. Quite quickly I could see that what people want is short but deep poems about life. Says it all really.
Personally, I’d like to only write short but deep poems about life, and I think I could be happy for a while reading only short but deep poems about life.
I definitely could be happy reading ...
Sunday 20th September 2020 5:25 pm
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE
(For John Lewis 1940-2020)
When Dr King led the March on Washington in 1963
You were the youngest leader to address the crowd
And you died the last remaining speaker,
Eighty years old with strength and individuality
Acquired slowly and painfully;
The still visible baton scars
From freedom bus rides
And other peaceful protests
Prove it.
...Thursday 17th September 2020 11:46 am
"fine"
How are you?
A question worth a thousand answers
A thousand possibilities summed into one
Fine
Somewhere in between the good and the bad
Between the lines
Of the lies
Fine -
Just fine.
By Faith Olajuyigbe, author of Words of Faith
For poetry and more visit: https://www.wordsoffaith.co.uk
Monday 7th September 2020 2:55 pm
The Poetry King
A bow to The Poetry King,
who thinks he doesn't
mean a thing
in the grand scheme.
Wears his heart
on stained sleeve,
makes paupers feel
like royalty.
Waxes poetic about
life, love, and history
that would otherwise remain
unsolved mysteries.
More than just a dream,
The Poetry King
lives eternally,
in you and me.
https://youtu.be/0FT3SmZ_zx0
Saturday 5th September 2020 2:21 am
Missing my library
How has Covid changed the way you live? Your local community? Many, many ways, probably.
One thing that has changed for me, one that I didn't expect to change quite so drastically, has been access to a library. I have none, and I don't know when/if I will again, which is heartbreaking. Libraries seem a magical, free service to us readers, but money is still required to keep them going. And Cov...
Sunday 30th August 2020 3:56 pm
Am I A Poet?
Do you look around?
Does anyone???
The great ones did, and they wrote about it.
(the mediocre ones did too)
They looked, no they SAW,
And they wrote......
They did not choose to see, they just SAW,
And they did not want to write, they had to,
Because people who see would explode, vaporize, disappear, or something,
If they didn't write.
The world has no oth...
Saturday 29th August 2020 6:58 pm
As I watch the waters flow
As I watch the waters flow
It calms my soul
As I watch the light ripples
My heart mirrors its beat
Smooth, serene
Somewhat still
As they move to the wind of God
Going only where the Father blows.
Lord, let your living waters flow.
By Faith Olajuyigbe, author of Words of Faith
Friday 28th August 2020 4:44 pm
The Flame Within
She has a beauty that shines from within
A light that never grows dim
Her candle goes not out by night
And the radiance inside her, ever bright
When the wind blows,
Her flame - it holds
She thrives, she sparks
She glows, she grows.
An original poem by Faith Olajuyigbe from Words of Faith
For more visit: https://www.wordsoffaith.co.uk
Thursday 27th August 2020 5:04 pm
Bubble Of Oblivion
Honey glazed canopies
Shelter you and me
From the piercing rays
Of the sun, governing us in dismay
As we remain ensnared
In our reveries,
Oblivious and unaware,
Our fantasies as fickle as the breeze.
Perhaps it's not always a sin
To stay confined within
The bubble of oblivion;
To wear an armour of neon;
To shield our eyes
With rose-tinted glasses;
To sing with illusory passerines-
...
Thursday 27th August 2020 9:44 am
The Phoenix
I’ve weathered storms that I thought would drown me
I’ve learnt to soar in winds I thought would consume me
They say
Out of the ashes must rise a new Phoenix
The flame…
Being refined by fire
Through it, I’ll rise higher
The flames provide the fuel
As I soar to my strength
Refined by fire
Gold purified
A faith that stands.
Tuesday 25th August 2020 9:47 am
Wild
Smiles, flowers, rainbows.
Dried tears.
Your ghost is here,
alleviating fears.
A good day,
crushing brimstone,
in this wild,
parallel life.
Sunday 23rd August 2020 12:40 am
Sweet Talk
Smooth like honey,
Your words
Slip through my soul -
Sweetening the bitter
Soothing the sore.
Your Word
Like honey, nurturing
My bones.
I have a craving in my soul,
A sweet tooth for Your own.
"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones." Proverbs 16:24
By Faith Olajuyigbe, author of Words of Faith
...Thursday 20th August 2020 4:03 pm
It's Not In The Falling
I fell
For the feelings, the flowers, the fantasies.
I fell
For you, for us, for all that we were.
Innocently thinking that was all love could be.
I confused the falling for the force.
But,
Falling was all about me.
And,
Loving is all about you.
Baby, I'm no longer falling
But to you I promise,
I'll always be loving.
Monday 17th August 2020 10:54 am
Aren't We?
Blessed be the silver spoons
Which feed us till we’re replete.
Blessed be the dream-filled moons
Which oversee us with glee.
Ambitious, aren’t we?
The moons illume
A thousand seas
And take us to
Places and people unseen.
Vagabonds, aren’t we?
We hold the power to love and seduce,
To ensnare and release
These people and places till insanity ensues,
Till blooming roses fuse into debr...
Saturday 15th August 2020 8:55 am
A New Birth
I was born at twenty-one
Thrust out of the womb
Released into the newness of life
Born, at twenty one
Eyes opened to the world
Crying, struggling, fighting
Trying to make sense of it all
Yes, I was only born at twenty-one
Borne out of education
Borne out of society’s expectations
Borne out of comfort, out of the shield
Though I lived before
I was onl...
Friday 14th August 2020 9:26 am
Two in the Morning
Profound sadness
clouds my view
at a quarter til two.
I don’t understand why
my muse avoids me like the flu,
when a simple poem or song will do.
Wise words to help me understand
why true love passed me by
in this lifetime.
Why wrong choices,
that felt right at the time,
left me alone in this abyss
where my better self
silently bears witness
to my shr...
Friday 14th August 2020 5:56 am
Deceit tells us: what they have is better than ours
Deceit tells us: what they have is better than ours
So now we wrestle with discontent
Forever seeking,
Wanting,
Desiring something that was never our own
Blessings become blurred
When seen through the lens of another
Our sight diminishes
With each gaze and long lusting look
That will never be
Enough.
Scrolling through standards not set in stone
Daydrea...
Thursday 13th August 2020 11:57 am
Bottled Letters
It presents gravels before my feet,
The sea
When it meets the sand,
Holding my longing gaze as I stand
Atop coffined treasures
And pebbles filled with flints made from memories,
That weigh my slippers
Down to this deserted beach.
Myriad secrets encaged in their bottle shaped ampoules
Float aimlessly like vagabonds do.
Imprisoned in cells of reminiscence,
They await their acquittal somet...
Wednesday 12th August 2020 7:32 pm
Living in a wasteland
Decades have passed.
The world has changed,
along with its people.
It no longer brings joy to my heart,
as it did in my time.
All because of them.
What happened to the days,
when the only thing one could do during a lovely day
was to step out the front door and pamper one's self
with the five senses that Mother Nature had provided?
But n...
Sunday 9th August 2020 12:57 pm
Oh my God!
Warning: The following ‘Rap’ (As Raps often do) or slam, maybe considered Blasphemous and contains profanity, adult content and strongly held religious beliefs some will find irreligious.
If any of the above offends you please just cross the road avert your gaze and pass on by.
In my head, I hear this as a rap or slammed, recited quickly without stopping! Any musicians out there who can...
Thursday 6th August 2020 5:49 am
Words
Your words are a
breath of fresh air.
It warms my heart
to see you at the
pantheon of passion,
creating a lyrical legacy,
writing love letters
across the sky,
of a beautiful dream.
Tuesday 4th August 2020 9:50 pm
That year I was published A LOT
2017 was the year I had 34 new poems published. It was also the year I realised 'published' did not equate with 'good' or even 'widely read'' For example, towards the end of that year I had a major success - a poem on a high-profile website. My twitter followers rocketed (though, let's be honest - this is poetry, so not by much). Two days later I had another poem out, one I was happy with but knew...
Monday 3rd August 2020 2:27 pm
Plath's Poppies
Plath's poppies bloom
In days of gloom,
From July through October.
The scarlet florets burn like ember,
And line up before tombstones
And hallucinatory portals.
Some look up to the sky, their eventual abode,
And some like a skirt, tent their petals.
A sprightly bird's staccato trills
Fragment further when hit by perils
That tag along with the siren of the ambulance
Carting a lady who...
Sunday 2nd August 2020 8:51 pm
Unrestrained
My anklets fill the air with resounding laughs
As I scuttle between tall blades of grass.
I feel free
Like I'm the breeze.
A yearning dream
Lounges among the clouds.
Her hand caresses my cheek,
I feel safe and sound.
Did I tell you that I feel free?
Free from the restraint of a rhyme scheme;
Free from structure;
Free from obsessions
Like a speck of dust on a t...
Friday 31st July 2020 8:14 pm
The Aftermath
Stars fall from the sky
And congregate on the ground to erect an ivory palace,
As bright as day, as searing as the desires
Entombed deep under the earth's surface.
It doesn't take nightfall
To lure them inside-
The eager, the crafty, the venal, the mortal.
Every nugget of their flesh blazes in the lambent lights.
Inscrutable power it gives them
As they undr...
Tuesday 28th July 2020 7:04 pm
The One
People haven’t always
been there for me,
but the muse always has.
Lighting my path,
healing heartbreak,
the one making life fun.
Makes sure suffering is not in vain,
dances with me in the rain,
stays beside me come what may.
I return the favor by making
my muse’s words known.
Spreading love as we go.
Sunday 26th July 2020 10:29 pm
Ever Green
Your soul song is addictive,
makes love evergreen.
Peace flows through my veins,
amidst a world gone mad.
Play on, in the misty starlight
of my mind.
https://youtu.be/q_y_gBz-74o
Sunday 26th July 2020 6:23 pm
How life can alter your perception of a poem
Today a poem of mine was published on Ink, Sweat & Tears, and it made me think about perception and how differing times can change the meaning of a poem, or strengthen it. My poem is called 'On the edge of the Arctic' and I wrote it before Covid-19 was even known about. It was a poem about the indomitable spirit of those living in extreme climates, based on my personal expereinces as a Shetlander....
Saturday 25th July 2020 9:35 pm
All That Remains Is A Mere House
Tufts of dust
Caper about my mosaic glass.
Blotches of ferric rust
Offer me an unceremonious welcome at last.
Things I'd once befriended
Seem distant and cold.
Deaf ears to the chime of my footsteps
Tell me they've forgotten their companion of old.
I wonder when those mellifluous repartees
Turned into hollow echoes,
And the blithe breeze
Into a stiflin...
Saturday 25th July 2020 7:38 pm
143
There are times when I am sad
There are times when I am mad
So I stop and think of all the good I have
143 what does that mean to me
An expression its a feeling
It is a way of being
There are feelings I hide
There are feelings I keep deep inside
So I stop and think of words to express them
I start to write...
143 is more than a number
It is something we all hunger to hear
A feeling so ...
Friday 24th July 2020 4:40 pm
KARIN CRIES
Wasn't looking for her but she came out of nowhere and got in the way
I don't think that the Queen of England acts the same
No cure for what she has she is a victim of her own pain
Karin cries when she knows she not right
Living in her own mental lies
Karin cries at whatever she finds
Loosing out when it has nothing to do with constitutional rights
Threaten to make ...
Friday 24th July 2020 4:38 pm
SO COOL
You are so cool
In the things that you do
You are so cool
There is no one like you.
I am a fool
To think I could be that cool
If I try too
It would embarrass you.
You are so cool
From the heals on your boots
You are so cool
To the way you wear your suits
I got to prove
That my talents are worthy of you
Got to try
To make my own style.
You are so cool
In the way that you walk
You ...
Friday 24th July 2020 5:50 am
I BEAT THE GROUND
I beat the ground here with fists and with tears
Never to make a wrong a right and never to lose sight
Got to remember the stories and continue the fight
I beat the ground
At the base of the locust tree
So that the ghost of the strange fruit can be free
I beat the ground with marching feet
Every step closer to equality
Look at the black and white photos of the call for dignity
I beat the ...
Friday 24th July 2020 5:07 am
JUST A GUY
We walk separate paths in life
You walk your's I'll walk mine
Even when it is the same destination
So stop all the predictions
Just a guy walking through life
Looking for what everyone is trying to find
Just a guy walking like a man
Through the water and on the sand
Need no directions from theories or lies
Not from someone who needs a plain to fly
Got my own mind and my religion is just ...
Friday 24th July 2020 5:05 am
My prayer for Write Out Loud (WOL)
as covid rages on
more poets will come
to deal with the frustration
let this be a safe haven
Thursday 23rd July 2020 7:46 pm
Workshop
Today we’ll learn to build a wordstone wall,
substantial as the one before you now.
It must survive hard frosts; wild gales and squalls;
ride seismic shifts; endure the shunts of cows.
First we think about what it’s for.
The purpose might be to keep your chattels penned
or keep intruders out.
It may define the boundaries of your tract
or simply be aesthetic.
Conside...
Thursday 23rd July 2020 1:31 pm
A Lullaby Of Loss
(Inspired by Death With Dignity, Sufjan Stevens)
Stoic and sober silence, I can feel you,
Like a blanket draped 'round me
When I'm down with flu.
Why don't you speak?
Decimated dreams, I can see you
Even in the stark bleak.
The color of coal.
When will you heal?
Whispers of floating phantoms, I can hear you,
When you hover over my cot
And sing a berceuse.
Why did you stop?
Flowers pre...
Wednesday 22nd July 2020 11:11 am
Tenant Of The Sea
He witnessed the rise and fall of the tides
Of the sea that seemed so milky in the moonlight.
Gloating over its graceful strides,
The rumble of the colossal sea was all he could hear that silent night.
The stars twinkled in the darkness,
And the moon in the blackness
Gazed dotingly at him and his boat,
As the decrepit carrier carted its master swiftly afloat.
How long had he been at the ...
Sunday 19th July 2020 8:03 pm
Salom
"Himo-ang armas
Ang mga libro
Sa pakigbisog
Sa kinabuhi,"
Matud pa nimo.
Mga pagsambit,
Karon nisindi,
Sa kandila nga,
Hagbay napalong,
Hagbay nihunong.
Mga pangandoy
Nga nalumos ra
Buhi'g galangoy
Sa kadagatan,
Ngitngit og lalom.
Akong nalitok,
"Dili pa andam,
Apan sa karon,
Sila ang purtahan,
Sa laing kalibutan."
Kal...
Sunday 19th July 2020 9:04 am
Soul Songs
Your poetic words
bring comfort
my mind
cannot comprehend.
Floating in the
healing waters
of your soul,
is my favorite pastime.
Two stars colliding,
creating a kaleidoscope
of time.
In the space
of your song,
life is sublime.
Saturday 18th July 2020 2:22 am
Can You Hear The Moon Sing At Night?
Can you hear the moon sing at night?
A distant melody from the most dulcet vocal pipes?
Have you ever nestled in her crescent bed
Like the kid in the DreamWorks emblem?
My winsome lady
Dotes on me.
Her visage,
Part amused, part exasperated.
For she knows why I've come to see her again--
To steal the roux from stars, milky and fulgent.
To hoard fragments of the night sky in my wooden ches...
Friday 17th July 2020 8:39 am
City Lights
City lights,
Fireflies,
Half-hearted smiles
And ugly cries.
Bustling roads,
Narrow and broad;
Abundant with shops and bars,
And people- their bodies, minds and souls scarred.
Edifices tall and sturdy.
Trapped in it are people content and happy;
And those walking on thorns, barbed and merciless;
And those breathing but lifeless.
The city is a plac...
Monday 13th July 2020 9:44 am
The Cost Of Your Hand
I awake on a bed of roses,
Whose petals crunch like orphaned autumn leaves.
A ray of sunlight towards me approaches,
Dancing in the light are muddy speckles aplenty.
I can feel the air around me toy with my locks,
Which is as feeble as your grasp on my hand.
But I hold on
To you, this very second, this very moment.
The mere sight of you sugarcoats my disill...
Thursday 9th July 2020 7:07 pm
A keen eye's woe
A misplaced comma,
an extra apostrophe,
page numbers missing;
a million little things to fix
that ought not to
take away the aura
of the piece but make me
stop and scream
How reckless
to leave the reader in such a mess
when they should only
focus on the very best
Monday 6th July 2020 4:17 pm
What Lies Above And Below Us
Far above us
The sky bursts into colours-
Blue, purple, grey, orange,
With red and all the hues in its range.
Miles beneath our feet
Are secrets buried,
Arcane and deep.
Their ampoules once known to everybody.
What goes overhead
Suffuses stars and their milky shells.
The departure from earth melancholic but serene,
Leaves behind shimmering trails that spe...
Sunday 5th July 2020 2:45 pm
Chasing Sunsets
Chasing sunsets,
The ones that shine brightest
Only to disappear
And return again
But never in the same light
Never seen the same way
These eyes tell me, don’t look away
Before it too is gone too soon
Sunday 5th July 2020 5:08 am
Half of the World
sometimes I feel so frustrated
That I can't find the words for my feelings
That I feel like I'm such a fraud
And I contradict myself
and try to rewrite everything with rhyme
or look for your validation, your approval of my soul
my stanzas and my gibberish: the wannabe Allen Ginsberg-like howl sounds more like a pathetic whimper
a lack of vocabulary enmeshed in gross erroneous ...
Friday 3rd July 2020 11:45 am
Chocolate Tree
There once stood a chocolate tree, a bearer of desires.
Its leaves melted when it inhaled passion.
Its fruits of fire
Set ablaze lands, verdant and barren.
Its bark was festooned in ribbons
Of rich gold and smooth caramel.
Like Midas' touch, gluttony abundant,
The tree was nothing short of magical.
I basked in the shadow of the canopy
Atop the chocolate capped grass bl...
Tuesday 23rd June 2020 7:57 pm
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