Welcome

[... contemplating a cancer diagnosis]


Welcome friend....

... I've been waiting for you.

Your arrival brings a fresh pleasure

..... although your presence is not welcome

you bring an appreciation of all

 that I have been blessed with in my life.....

The people I have known and loved.... 

.... the experiences I have lived

All the memories have new value now

..... because you are here

..... and my remaining days 

might yet taken by you. 

So I am mindful of your touch

I can feel you within me. 

You have grown large..... 

and made your presence felt. 

Though you're part of me

I will tear you from my body. 

The memories you bring to life

are very welcome..... 

.... but you.... are.... not.


© Ian Croft August 2019 

The world within

{..... mindfulness}

Breathing in..... my mind sinks down
Slowly, slowly I become aware
..... aware of sensations.... of feelings
that are so often lost.... lost as flotsam
in the sea of busyness
.... moment by moment my slowing mind
allows the universe to overcome the busyness
and the urgency of my world

Creation is all round me.....
.... and it's within me....
It's waiting for me to stop...
... to slow down and accept

In accepting I will become whole
.... whole because I am part of creation
and creation is part of me

Where I once was separated and alone
I can now become aware
of my place in the universe

Is this something that I dare?
Can I reach out and become that being?
Moment by moment...... I am

© Ian Croft August 2019 

Wanderers

We're all wanderers in these halls

.... we come and go.... and some return

We seek respite and a solace here

.... peace and calm

    ..... for that we yearn

   

And many of us find that solace here

yet many do not.... and must try again

Regardless of success or not.... 

a friendly face can be found here

.... a caring hand and willing listener

.... who can hear when we need to talk

The path can be hard at times

.... it's not easy to stir up the past

with all the hurt and the pain

But it must be done if we're to heal

.... and find a place for our mind to rest

So sit awhile with us.... 

.... listen to our thoughts

We will do anything in our power

to reach that place of rest.... 

..... We will succeed!

© Ian Croft August 2019 

At the centre

We pass in the passage

..... sharing knowledge of where

we each have traveled

We know the pain that we struggle with

and we share the hope

that here we will find 

an end to that pain 

Or.... if not an end.... then a time of rest

.... a time to find a fresh mind

to let us survive through the next time

I don't know your names

but I see your faces.....

I hear your voices walking past

I don't know your story

but I can guess what you're feeling

and I can try to share that feeling. 

So be calm... remember

Keep holding on.....

..... the pain will come to an end

Hold on to the hope you have

..... hold on..... hold on

© Ian Croft August 2019 

Dreams

Sailing on a sea of wistfulness
... driven by winds of hope
The ship of dreams carries us onward
.... ever moving from despair to joy
since the moment we became aware

..... but will the ship that sails so well
ever reach its destination?
The ship has a motley crew....
.... all our mem'ries are aboard
and its captain is our desire....

The things which we desire
guide the course of this fine ship
.... and the things we have experienced
are the crew that keep the sails trimmed

And so we sail through life
.... all is well till the tempest comes
and blows our ship of dreams
far from its course.

Then the crew will look to their captain
.... to give them hope and purpose
.... to bring the ship to to its home
and the dreams? Perhaps to reality.....
.... perhaps to nought
but should those dreams come to nought
... still the dreams will have sailed the sea of life.


© Ian Croft August 2019 

Revive

[..... a shared quest]

The well is dry
The thoughts are not flowing
.... the quest we have embarked on
cannot end unknowing

The end of our quest
may be a time of rest
.... or it may be the failure of touch
which will bring our feelings to dust

This is a risk we must take
..... that we might be unable to make
that leap of renewal
... to create a beautiful jewel
of perfect emotion

That emotion no longer damaged and marred
by the violence of the actions which scarred
your heart so long ago.....
.... pain which only you can know

.....but in this we may succeed!

And in that success
you would find great joy
You'd be able to feel... to connect
.... your senses able to perfect
the emotions you thought were lost

This is my hope for you
.... that our quest
will create a new life
.... and your heart..... renew.


© Ian Croft August 2019 

I feel like writing....

The urge is there this morning

I've only just stopped yawning.....

... and I want to create!

The thoughts whirl round

and it's almost as if they

make a loud sound

..... clamoring to take their place

on the screen.

Once they form a shape

they jiggle round and fit themselves

into their proper place

.... Then they're happy.....

.... cos they gain meaning

Isn't that a bit like us? 

We get thrown onto the page of life

and we wiggle and jiggle.... 

.... finding just where we fit into life... 

..... and family.... and community

.... and relationships 

And till we find our place

.... where we fit

then we're not comfortable.... 

.... it's just not right!

But then we find our place.... 

... our role in life

and we become part 

of the poetry of life.

© Ian Croft August 2019 

Fantasy fortress

It rises above the barren landscape

.... the finely sculpted walls protect

.... shielding the creator from the reality

of the surrounding world

Inside the crystal walls is a wonderland

of warmth and gentle breezes

No jarring noise can disturb the peace within

..... and no cruelty can exist there

It's a place of fantasy.....

... created by the mind within

Circumstances magically mesh

in perfection..... no pain here

The outside landscape is a fantasy too....

all is more bleak.... and more horrible than reality

Everything inside and out.... all is fantasy

and unreal.....

No loneliness here..... hearts can touch

and meld into connective delights

..... constant happiness and harmony

No arguments or discontent

..... can jar the calm

Oh.... if only it were real

.... my heart aches for this fantasy

but I know it cannot be so

... it cannot be so

© Ian Croft August 2019