Moonlight Villanelle

As moonlight washes over me,
This little world is nothing but
An island in the endless sea.

I wait and wish to wander free,
Imbued with everlasting hope
As moonlight washes over me.

All things we stoop to build will be
Forgotten, as we cultivate
An island in the endless sea.

I stand upon the shore and see
A blazing star ascend the sky,
As moonlight washes over me.

The march of time will hear no plea,
No voice amid the darkness of
An island in the endless sea.

I’ve come to realise that we
Are blessed to watch it all unfold…
As moonlight washes over me,
An island in the endless sea.

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Landscape In Blue

A grubby orphan
Cools his heels in the fountain;
Where else could he go?

Gentle-folk parade
Over sun-soaked cobblestones,
But they scald his feet.

He soothes his bare bones
In sight of everybody,
And seen by no one.

–

Vigilant Plato
Towers over his student
With featureless eyes.

Nestled in the shade,
A drunken philosopher
Mutters his musings.

An empty bottle
Clutched to his reverend breast:
Drained of every drop.

–

Cigarette vapours
Swirl in wintry wisps around
The woman in red.

A dreary drag for
Anaesthetic, numbing her
Scarlet solitude.

In her blackened eyes,
There is nothing left to give;
She wears her colour.

–

A shadow in rags
Emerges in an alley,
Eluding the sun.

The tattered garments
Turn out their empty pockets
In desperation.

A market seller
Sings the virtues of his wares;
The shadow is gone.

–

With unflinching gaze,
A mother cherishes the
Infant in her arms.

Motionless, she waits
For the sickly child to wake,
And she waits in vain.

Basking in the sun,
Strangers smile contentedly;
A beautiful day.