We Pick a place to picnic

A park by the river

It's supposedly summer

But the cold breeze makes us shiver

We wait upon late arrivals

While we eat our ill planned food

What I thought would be scotch eggs and crisps

Turned out to be cake and booze

We wait a good three hours

While it periodically rains

Reminiscing and catching up

Playing sentimental games

A juggler practices across from us

As together the others arrive

They bring more food an alcohol

And tales of their lives

The conversation's pleasant

We laugh all together

We are having a good time

Even despite the weather

It doesn't take too long

For the drinking games to begin

We play never never have I ever

And we confess our sins

The juggler still juggles

As tipsy, we count our sips

We debate being his audience

But decide it's not worth the trip

The picnic's been going eight hours

The sun begins to set

The juggler drops his clubs

Our picket blanket wet

I stay another hour

As, one by one, my friends go home

Conversation waning

soon we'll be Alone

The juggler packs up

As we pack away

Knowing that this will be a memory

We will all share some day

In the new nights darkness

We all hug goodbye

Until we meet again

And share more stories of our lives

Rocky shores,

Shells, the swell of waves,

Crash and foam.

I roam,

Up towards the cliff face,

I hear on rainy days

Boulders can slip.

I grip the stones

As I clamber

A route

I learned.

Iʼm Halfway between

Sea and sky,

Tall faces looming.

The ocean below.

Seagulls circle

Squawking,

Soaring, to and fro .

Thereʼs a

Bitter wind,

Winters in

The sun is out.

Looking out,

I can see so much

The car park,

Fish huts,

Boat club,

Warm pebbles

Against a cold sea.

Finally feeling free,

I descend,

But then

I see the tides up

Soon near my feet,

I retreat

And rethink…

My heart sinks.

But I can see an exit.

Avoiding damp socks,

I hop

On top of each rock

I don'tʼstop until

I've reached the other side

And my fear subsides…

As we look across the rising tide

How nice to be beside the seaside.

But now it's time to go inside

And just relax…

Holding a toy,

A boy.

A rascal

Pulling farcical faces.

Hiding.

Small spaces.

Creating this

Magical world,

Imagination

Unfurled.

Reality

And fiction

mixed.

grownup,

This is what he'll miss.

Birds tweet, the scuttle of feet on broken twigs and fallen leaves,

Calm, tranquil, natural.

Bright summer days,

Countryside

And sickness.

The rush of saliva and tightening of the stomach.

Staring at an empty toilet bowl...

Bright gemstones,

Concentric rings.

Soft beneath your feet,

A croak,

A scuttle,

Climbing trees,

Spring up -

Fall down

Warmth and cold and sick...

That standard Fairy tale,

It never was for me,

I used to fantasise the notion,

That I needed setting free,

But I made friends with the dragon,

And this tower is my home,

As I soar across the sky,

I never was alone.

No prince needs to save me,

I am happy where I am,

As I am freer here,

Than in your restricting hands,

I want to show you life,

Soar among the stars,

But I don't want you to love me,

I want to know who you are,

Let me see the demons,

That lie beneath your skin,

Let me see the Angels

That shine away the sin,

Let me see the sun,

That glimmers in your eyes,

Let me know your loves,

And all that you despise,

And if you win my heart,

Then the dragon must come too,

If you fear the beast,

Then I'm not the one for you,

This is not a fairy tale,

This is fantasy,

This is my perfect world,

And if you want to share it with me,

Let me show you magic,

Let me show you stars,

Let me show you dragons,

And let me find out who you are.

Shadows slumber as the sun goes down,

The loud music booms and beneath it I drown,

Cheap ethanol. Vodka, Rum. I have wine,

I Look down at my phone just to check the time,

Crowds and the crescendo of clashing conversation,

Through my chest I feel the songs vibration,

The cold air numbs my hands as I sit there forlorn,

All I want is my book and my bed in the warm,

But my friends have all left me for the lips of fleeting lovers,

Co-creating heat as they embrace one-another,

I engage in some basic banal conversation,

Things like the weather and current occupation,

I long for home but the last train has already left,

I listen and smile and nod my interest,

We booked a hostel but I'd have to convince my friends to leave,

So for my book and a bed and warmth I grieve,

People ask me to dance and they might get a song,

I want to have fun but not lead them on,

I'm an introvert and my feelings I find hard to express,

I don't want to disappoint and don't want to impress,

I'm sick of this party, I guess it's just not for me,

It makes me feel trapped when everyone else feels free.

Particles colliding

Finding someone to confide in

To share with them their negatives

Attracted by their positives

Pairing off with their opposites

Creating new properties

To equal their match

As they become attached

With love as a catalyst

Exothermic reaction

Chemical attraction

Too hot for each other

At least till one finds another

With a stronger bond

That goes beyond what was before

For even atoms always crave more

And their properties will change

As their parters change

And the stronger the bond the harder it is to break

For together they make

The building blocks for everything

Combining and dividing

Born from the stars

Energy never dying

Ever changing

Re arranging

Chemical and natural

Hydrogen and oxygen

Together are able

to quench the fire

They used to fuel

Love is unstable

Like alkaline and acid

From volatile to placid

Love can calm chaos

Or create explosions

Chemicals cause

Loves range of emotions

The world was black and white. One day a butterfly appeared. No one had ever seen something that beautiful before. One human captured the butterfly and made others pay to see it. It attracted hundreds, but as the butterfly grew lonelier its colours started to fade. The butterfly's captor was worried about the lack of customers now coming to visit the butterfly so he decided to talk to it. The butterfly told him that if he set him free he could bring colour to the world. The captor knew he would make no money but reluctantly agreed.

Colour was created.

I don't believe in God.

I believe in light,

The light that is refracted to create rainbows,

The light that allows us to see,

The light that gives us time and energy and life,

The light that filters through the early morning mist and in the evening glows pink and orange and blue.

I believe in sound,

The sound that allows us to speak to one another,

The sound that lets us know where things are,

The sound that alerts us to danger,

The sound that makes up dawn's birdsong and the tinkling of chimes in the wind.

I believe in the mind,

The mind that gives us the ability to comprehend this beautiful world from different waves of light and sound,

The mind that allows us to feel,

The mind that has the ability to give us emotions just by releasing different chemicals and hormones,

The mind that lets us communicate,

The mind that tells the stories of our lives and talks to us even when no one else is there.

I believe in the planet,

One planet in eight that can sustain life,

One planet in eight that is constantly changing,

One planet in eight that houses water,

One planet in eight that has the correct gasses for our survival,

One planet in eight that we can call home.

I believe in space,

Space that houses thousands upon thousands of galaxies not too dissimilar from our own,

Space that we can see from our little lives on this little planet with our little eyes that can detect the light from stars lightyears away. Stars that may no longer exist,

Space that is so big it is possibly infinite.

I believe in stories,

Stories that can move us and change the way we think,

Stories that open our eyes to the worlds problems,

Stories that give us hope even when the darkness could envelope us,

Stories that mirror our lives and give us insight into the lives of others.

And I believe in us,

In our hearts,

In our minds,

In our lives.

I don't believe in God.

I believe in everything.