Pensive

Do you sometimes feel all cloudy
In the furthest reaches of your mind
Like you're wearing tiny blinkers
That leave you completely blind

Your head seems occupied, obscure
Like a thick mist has rolled on in
And no stiff breeze or even more
Can remove it from within

And the reason for this occupiedness
Remains locked inside there too
So not even the topic of consideration
Is available to you

You're just a paying passenger
Ticket in your hand
Knowing not the outbound destination
Or what your mind has planned

And that's where I find myself today
En route to some unknown place
Hope when I arrive and look at myself
I still recognise my face

Closer

People are the strangest thing
Bring so much to the day
I like people just like you
Can talk to in my own way

I don’t let many get too close
Very few that get so near
Don’t know why, just can’t explain
Not like some kind of fear

Some slip in quite easily
And we hit it off from the word go
And others take some nuturing
For our friendship to warm and grow

And it’s the growers that make me smile
And really fill my heart
The ones, like you, that somehow change
From how it first did start

And you can’t pin it down, can you
The moment it all changed
Not like there was careful planning
Not like it was all arranged

But I’m grateful that it has occurred
And we are just you and I
Closer, nearer, every day
I’ll not stop to question why

Eyes Right

I see you all gathered there
As my gaze shifts to the right
You're ever present I know
Never far from my sight

But why are you here, yes why
What is it you're looking for?
Do you hope to gain an understanding
Or move closer to my door?

I narrow my focus, see just ones
That stand out from the whole group
Find the strange ones mixed up
In this merry troupe

I thought you'd left long ago dear
Forgot you came to call?
Hope you're not here to remind me
That from your grace I sure did fall?

And you sir, you've lingered for while
Do you see how the land lies?
Though we've said so few words
I see through your disguise

And you there, stop for a while
Stay for a moment, light in blue
Do you know that you're my favourite
Though I would never tell you

And all you so kind others
Are you just passing me by?
Will I wake one morning to find
You were just a glint in my eye

And even if you're not really here
I'll be glad, I'd like you to know
That you took the time one day
To stop by and say hello

The Waiting Room

Collected in one small place
Reasons the same
Breakages and fractures
And all in some pain

Tango lady laughs away
At no one I see
Daughter tidying mom's hair
Pretty as can be

Tattoo man grumbles
The wait is so long
Headmaster spouts rules
He's not changed his song

Dennis Haysbert, Nigel Slater
Grace us with their selves
Ageing receptionist
Lifts files from shelves

Waiting times keep creeping up
And sighs abound
The dusty old wall fan
Spins endlessly round

Carol Jackson glances over
And gives me a stare
I wonder how she managed
To escape from the square

Nurses struggle
With some unpronounceable names
Young man keeps busy
With Angry Bird games

Polite sign on the wall
Which nobody reads
Kind assistant takes orders
To meet everyone's needs

And we wait, wait, wait
Then wait a lot more
Feel sorry for my brother
His knee's really sore

Then the waiting is over
They give him his call
He struggles to his feet
Trying hard not to fall

And we're free of the boredom
Released from our cage
Leaving lots behind us
Still filled with outrage

For their waiting room drama
Carries on, they're unhappy
As crutches and plaster
Are handed out endlessly

The Waiting Room: Part II

My feet are restless
I'm unsure of myself
Don't know if I'll be
Returned to my shelf

My words leave an echo
Something's not right
The ripples, the disturbance
Run on through the night

And I'm waiting, just waiting
Not a thing i can do
To speed up the process
Bring me closer to you

No words I can usefully
Add to those said before
Gestures feel empty
Nothing on which I can draw

To end all the waiting
Get a conclusion in place
Erase the confusion
That's ingrained on your face

That my words brought to you
My thoughts made it more
And brought us the waiting
That we both must endure

And I pray for release soon
Restlessness comes to it's end
Hope to look up and find that
You still are my friend

Unwelcome echoes

Hollow, empty, words resonate
Would be easier if they were
Sounds of dislike or hate

Unfulfilled, unadored, I don't know
Not for want of trying
And learning with you how to grow

But now a wall's here, right before me
So grand and tall
Of my own making, clearly

And the words will return forever
A continual stream
Challenging us, our together

And I'm blank, just so very undone
So vacant, unwanted
Don't know where i can run

And all that I hear are echoes of me
A time, a place
Someone I thought I could be

Summer's End

For nearly six longs weeks
We've shared every day
The little ones with me in tow
In work, in fun, in play

Fortune gave me this one chance
To stay through their summer break
At their side, and theirs at mine
From the moment that we wake

We rode the rides, slid the slides
Spinned around and round
Played tig and tag, zig and zag
Hid till we were found

But now our time is ending
And other things will come to call
Homework, violin, projects too
As summer turns to fall

I've loved every single minute of
This chance to be so near
Getting to know them so much more
Hope we don't lose this, is my fear

For the morning will be chaos
Tantrums, shouts, and screams
I'll try not to lose my patience so
I don't shatter any dreams

We'll walk through the gate together
Tomorrow at eight fifty
And the bell will ring out summer's end
Hope they don't cry as much as me