Sometimes it seems that you’re not listening,
But I know that you can hear the birdsong in the forest
And the harrowing, anguished cry of a mother’s loss.
I know that the breathless sounds of passion reach you
And that lonely sighs of despair fill your ears.
I know that you are listening,
Because I am listening too
And we cannot but be moved
By the soundtrack of life.
Sometimes it seems that you’re not seeing,
But I know that you can see beauty through the artist’s eye
And ugliness in the cancer of rampant, selfish greed.
I know that the sight of carefree children reach you
And that poverty’s wasteland blots your vision.
I know that you are seeing,
Because I am seeing too
And we cannot but be enrapt
By the canvass of life.
Sometimes it seems that you’re not speaking,
But I know that you recount the tales of everyday heroes
And gossip about the vampires that suck society dry.
I know that words of poetry swirl in your mouth
And that shouts of abuse spill from your lips.
I know that you are speaking,
Because I am speaking too
And we cannot but be enchanted
By the story of life.
Sometimes it seems that you’re not breathing,
But I know that you can smell the sweet perfume of flowers
And the stench of rotten lies, like decomposing carcasses.
I know that the aroma of love intoxicates you
And the stink of hatred reaches your nostrils.
I know that you are breathing,
Because I am breathing too
And we cannot but be infused
With the scent of life.
Sometimes it seems that you’re not feeling,
But I know that your sky lights up with firework jubilation
And you languish sometimes in depression’s dark valley.
I know that the sloshing tide of contentment has lapped your shores
And the sludge of self-deprecation has mired your path.
I know that you are feeling,
Because I am feeling too
And we cannot but be bubbling
With the emotion of life.
Wayne Visser © 2017
Book
Seize the Day: Favourite Inspirational Poems
This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together favourite inspirational poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology takes us on a journey through the peaks and troughs of life, celebrating the indomitable human spirit.. It includes many old favourites like “Poets Must Be” and “Chasing the Blue”, as well as brand new poems like “The Writer” and “Making Ripples”. Sages through the ages wisely say: / Carpe Diem – seize the dawning day / Oh, would that I could assuage that thirst / But the day conspires to seize me first! / With the hurry and scurry / Of home’s frantic flurry / And the hustle and bustle / Of work’s tangled tussle. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.
