Poetry

Poems by date | Poems by theme | Poems by title | Q&A on poetry

By Title

1-9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

1-9

9/11: The Day The World Changed - One fateful hour of horror! ...

9/11: Voyeurs Of Terror - The first news strikes like lightening ...

A

Abbr. - midst techno-bustle & market hustle, with email flurry & retail hurry ...

The Abyss - When you feel like you are falling into a gaping abyss ...

Adultery - When I’m gone across the sea, and parted ways amicably ...

Africa Calls To Me: Version 1 - Africa calls to me with the beat of her drums ...

Africa Calls To Me: Version 2 - Africa calls to me and I hear her voice ...

African Pace - Far from the cities and far from the streets ...

Africa: Separation - Gondwana, born of Pangaea, when separation first started ...

Africa: The Vine Upon Which Humans Grow - Oh, Tangawatu, the dream of the ancestral home ...

Afterglow - The flash of your smile still glints ...

Age Of Aquarius - I could talk for hours, but you wouldn't hear a word ...

All I Ever Wanted - All I ever wanted was just to make you smile ...

All Seems - All seems to spin, now I loose, now I win ...

Almost Strangers - The first time that we met, we were almost strangers – yet ...

Angels - I believe in angels, but I don’t think they have wings ...

Animal ABC's: Who's Who At The Zoo - If you don’t know just what to do ...

Artists: Fragments - You make impressions with canvass and paint ...

The Artist's Gift - It was the faces that first made me stop and look and linger ...

Art: Pictures And Words - A picture paints a thousand words and sometimes ...

Asian Tsunami: Unwanted Gift - Water is a gift of life, but generous Nature gave too much ...

Autumn: Gentle Storm - Upon a clear and frosty autumn morn ...

Autumn: Grey And Gold - The paths are spread with carpets grey and gold ...

Autumn: Kaleidoscope - Kaleidoscope colours carpet the ground ...

Autumn Kisses - Autumn puckers, planting kisses ...

B

Bad Poetry: Horrendus Camena - Now listen to my rhyme, a literary crime ...

Baku: Cove of the Caspian - The scattered seeds of history lie sheltered in the desert shade ...

Baobab: Africa's Tree Of Life - At the heart of the African plain stands a tree both old and sage ...

Battle Days - in the battle-days ahead, i need strength i don't feel, in the midst of weakness ...

Battle For Earth: If This Is War - “This is war!” So my son tells me and my daughter agrees ...

Be My Kite - Be my kite: Rise up from the earth on a breath and a whisper ...

Birthday Truck - Jump and dance and roll your eyes, chase the garden flutterbys ...

Bits And Pieces - Hidden in drawers are pathways and doors ...

Blue Skies - When the skies are blue and the world is bright, I am smiling also ...

Blurred Vision - It was just a glimpse at first, but enough to look twice ...

Bob Steyn: Infusion - You infuse my mind, with poignant truths and reminders of harsh reality ...

Bob Steyn: In Memoriam - like a burst of light, you came into my dark night of confusion ...

Bob Steyn: I See You Clearly - I see you clearly, framed with humble grey suit ...

Bob Steyn: What's A Life? - What's a life? That sifts like sand so quickly through the fingers of time ...

Book Of Lovers - Upon these pages dreams take flight ...

Book Lovers - So what if it’s true, I sleep with my books ...

The Bookshop: Not Today - I waited, I was there, searching the faces ...

Books: Sweet Seduction - Ah, the lure of books, such sweet seduction! ...

Born To Fly - Threads of words across the miles, dyed with tears and strung with smiles ...

Botswana: African Odyssey - Beneath the boundless African sky ...

Boy From The Sun - Oh Langa, our boy from the sun, from the blessed dust of gold you grew ...

Bridges - A bridge across time through music and rhyme ...

Broken Dreams - Every time you stir up the embers, I’m left with the burnt-out ash ...

Brush Strokes - Fragrant flower blooms in the cracks of grey pavement crowds ...

A Bug's Life - If I could speak butterfly, I think that I would giggle ...

Bungi: One Mad Moment - One stray spark of wild imagining ...

C

Caged - An animal caged may be well cared for ...

California Dreaming: Transatlantic Pilgrims - We set out for adventure in the fabled land of the free ...

Cancer: Dad, We Love You - You hear the news, the dice is cast ...

The Candle That Burns - As we walk the path of life, at times it is hard ...

Carpe Diem: Seize The Day - Sages through the ages wisely say: Carpe Diem ...

Centre for Human Ecology: Building Stone Upon Stone - For many moons have gathered now ...

Changing Light - The crisp mauve light of morning, of new beginnings and promises ...

Cheat - Once a cheat, always a cheat ...

Christmas Wish - My wish for Christmas came true last night ...

Come Rain Come - Come, rain, come! Swirl with the mists of intrigue ...

Comet Love Sonnet - Ever since meeting, we’ve taken to flight ...

Complicated - Is it just me … or does life get simpler and love more complicated ...

Confusion - Our confusion is the intrusion of illusion ...

Cradled By Love - As you lie by my side with your head on my chest ...

Credo: I Believe - When by chance it's asked of me: What is it exactly that you believe? ...

CRD: Chronic Rhyme Disease - I swear I will not bow to rhyme (this time) ...

Cry - Parched emotions, cracked and dry, a silent call, a whispered reply ...

Cyber-Chat: Genie Out The Bottle - The genie’s out the bottle, I can never put it back ...

D

Dare Not - Dare not read between the lines ...

Darkness And Light - When the sun set on my blazing love and my sky was awash with blood ...

Deep Thoughts - Deep thoughts and shallow fears, begin with frowns and end in tears ...

Diggers And Dreamers - Diggers and dreamers are we, slaving that we might be free ...

Don't Tell Me That You Love Me - Don’t tell me that you love me, but hold my hand ...

Dove On The Wind - If you were a dove, I'd be the wind ...

Dragon Of Commerce - I have stalked the dragon for many a year ...

Dreaming Of My Muse - We met beneath the veil of night, 'cross time and space, to re-unite ...

The Dream Of You - The dream of you in echoed rhymes ...

E

Earth Mission: If This Is War - “This is war!” So my son tells me and my daughter agrees ...

Egypt: Where The World Once Began - Soaring like a god on wings Isis-blessed ...

Empty Spaces - Empty spaces left behind, silent paces without rhyme ...

Enchanted - By the dream, I’m enchanted, by the fantasy, enticed ...

Entwined - Though you may search, you’ll never find two people of the loving kind ...

Explore - Now I know your name and more, something calls me to explore ...

Exquisite Pain - Fresh wounds of first light trickle blood-red at dawn ...

An Extra Ordinary Day - What would an ordinary day be like if it was an extra ordinary day? ...

F

Faith: In Memoriam - I never will forget the day my faith in people passed away ...

Far Away - While we’re apart, each night and day ...

Feather Signs - The sign of a feather reveals when, not whether ...

Feeling Small - When I'm feeling sad and small, I curl up in a little ball ...

Finally Over - What do you do when it’s finally over? When trying harder is not enough ...

Fire Flood - Dewy drops of sun-soaked rays become a steady shower ...

Flame Of The Spirit - Seminal spark in the vast void of nothingness ...

Flibbawookie - I’m loofed upon my slumpfry chair ...

Florence: A Thousand Sights - What sweet surprise, what strange delight ...

Fly To Love - To fly you must be free ...

Fog - What was it about the fog that day that so enchanted me? ...

Footprints - Laughing, smiling, making jokes, dreams, desires, fleeting hopes ...

Friends: A Cherished Ring - My life’s encircled by my friends, a cherished ring that never ends ...

Friends: Like Mirrors - Friends are like mirrors in which are reflected ...

G

Galaxies Cart-Wheeling - We make the skies dance and the trees sing ...

Garden Of Hope - I remember so clearly the barren crater ...

Garden Worlds - The gardens of the world and the World of Gardens ...

Gaudi: Dream Shaper - The very first glance took my breath away ...

Ghana: Africa's Pride - Basking in the welcome, walking in the rain ...

Ghosts - We all have our ghosts: ethereal presences that linger in the shadows ...

Giant Redwoods: Great Fathers Of The Forest - Tall and noble you stand ...

The Gift - Breathes in the white, like pure oxygen, sits out the grey, a passing moment ...

Glacier: The Giant White Hand - Between aspiring, cloud-laced mountain peaks ...

Golden Thread - Hanging by a golden thread, between the living and the dead ...

Gone Too Soon - Like a raven in the night, you’ve taken flight ...

A Good Book - Nothing looks so innocent and yet is so complicit ...

Good To Say Goodbye - It's good to say goodbye, when you know that it's not forever ...

Gran - My memories of childhood drift like lazy clouds across a blue African sky ...

Grief - I have no way to know your grief, no salve of rhyme to bring relief ...

Ground Rules - Ground rules are the guidelines shouted from the sidelines ...

H

Happy Days - These are happy days, blissful days, days of peace and contentment ...

Heaven - Where is heaven? Is it some place far or is it close to where we are? ...

Here - Tired, but here, relaxing in the thought of you ...

The High Wire - Can we dismantle a fortress from within?

Homeless: Caravan Of Hope - They have no home other than the endless road ...

Homeless: The Highwaymen - I catch glimpses of them sometimes - the shadow people ...

Hope: Still Friends? - I hope that we can somehow still be friends ...

Hugh Masekela: Trumpet Lonely - smooth silky sounds shuffling and sliding ...

Hunny-Bear - You are my little hunny-bear, the one I love, my only care ...

I

I Am An African - I am an African, not because I was born there ...

Iambic Pentameter - The marching rhythm of a pair of feet ...

I Am Ocean - i am ocean, i am wave, i am current, i am tide ...

Icarus - You’ve given me the gift of golden wings ...

Ideas Of Winter - Clouds drift in billowing embrace, reassuringly grey ...

If You Love Her - If you love her, let her know it, there are countless ways to show it ...

I Hear You - I hear you in the silence, when all the world's asleep ...

I Know A Place In Africa - I know a place in Africa, where I can feel the sun on my back ...

Illusions - Our beliefs stretch as far as we take them ...

I Love You Mom - Though I have tried, in song, word and rhyme ...

I Love You Wholly - How can I put into words all that I feel about you? ...

Imagine - Imagine no pollution, I wonder if you can ...

Inspiration: Rivers Run Deep - No rhymes to part my waiting lips ...

Invisible - I am invisible, hidden, unseen ...

Invocation: May You Always - May you always walk on the path of wisdom ...

Island - Island, sea sand, sunshine, shore ...

Island Wishes - You share such beautiful island wishes that my eyes blink with tears ...

I Still Believe In Us - I still believe in us, not in what we were, but what we are ...

I Think I Was A Tree Once - I think I was a tree once, a long, long time ago ...

Ivy Love - As seasons turn we all must learn from past love that is dead ...

I Walk The Line - I walk the line between the river and the road ...

I Weep For Africa - I weep for Africa and my tears water the ground ...

I Wish - I wish ... for lazy days in cluttered bookstores ...

I Wish I Was Lost - I wish I was lost on a beach of gold sand ...

J

Jealousy - It starts like bad indigestion, churning knots inside my gut ...

Jesus: Homeward Bound - Jesus walked upon the earth, a brother of Mankind ...

Just Imagine - Just imagine … a life without each other ...

K

Keep Up The Smiles - Keep up the smiles, let's play it safe ...

Khoi-Khoi: Gathering The Past - Recall the ghosts of GuriQua who walked the coasts of Helena ...

Kindred Spirits - The sands of time have trickled by, the clouds have shifted in the sky ...

Kingdom Of Magic - Sacred world of fairies and elves ...

L

Leonardo Da Vinci: Renaissance Man - Born on a Saturday, third hour of night ...

Let Them - Let them rip and tear our pages, they cannot mute our story ...

Letting Go - A meeting, not of hands but of minds, not of ground but of finds ...

Life In Transit: Living In The In-Between - Life is lived in the in-between, in transit ...

Life Scribes - A fresh sunrise, a blank white page ...

Life's Dream - Life's a dream, it seems to me, in which we choose our destiny ...

Like Children - Like children in a play-pen, on and on we play ...

Lily Of The Valley - I know a secret valley, which fire has lain bare ...

Lingerie Lament - Suspenders drive you mad with hooks, while tight shorts invite longing looks ...

Linger Longer - Hearken back to days of yore before the rule of less-is-more ...

Listen As She Hums - All the world’s in harmony, a thousand beating drums ...

Little Flower - Gorgeous little flower from far off distant shores ...

Little Foot: First Hominid - Your footprints in the rock supplied a vital clue ...

Live 8 Rap - It’s not too late to join Live 8, to change the fate of billions of poor ...

Look After Your Heart - I hear your warning: Look after your heart ...

Look Up! - When you’re feeling brown, look up, not down ...

Lost And Found - When I’m lost for words, I find my true voice ...

Love Floats - Love floats: babbling brook of nervous flirtation ...

Love Games We Play - Is this a game that we are playing? Is there something we're not saying? ...

Love Letter - When I think of our love, I think of feathers and butterflies ...

Love-Shapes - love comes in all shapes and sizes ...

Love The Landscape Of Your Life - Love the landscape of your life - it is shaped for you alone ...

A Love That Could Last - How quickly belief turns to doubt ...

Loving Thoughts - Send a thought upon a wing ...

M

Mad At You: Sad And Blue - I’m mad at you, boiling, bubbling, spitting, seething ...

Make Poverty History: Tide Of White - The tide of white, the peaceful fight ...

Manheim: A Tale Of Two Cities - A modern city by the river, the brochure purred enticingly ...

Mapungubwe: Lost City Of Gold - Mapungubwe, rise once more, up from the south Limpopo shore ...

Marriage: A Joining Of Hands - Marriage is like the joining of hands, each enfolding the other ...

Marriage: The Voyage - The voyage you are embarking on together ...

Mecca - Each of us needs to travel the road to Mecca ...

Meditation: Presence Within - Presence within me, I'm a seeker of your face ...

Mermaid - A mermaid, a mermaid remains, her presence - tame electric ...

Millennium: Spellbound - Countless clocks count down ...

Millennium: Y2K - The lure of nought, of nothing, of null ...

Mirror Mirror - Mirror, mirror, on the wall, looking proud and standing tall ...

Mists - Mists swirl, yet on my feet I stand ...

A Moment's Silence Please - A moment’s silence please: for the new life not conceived ...

Mom's 60th: Tell Me Your Story - Tell me your story, I am here listening ...

Musings On Morphic Time - In ages past we have mapped the skies ...

My Letter to Children: The Truth About Life - What wise words can I give to you, young one ...

Mystery - There is a mystery which is you, a mystery which is me ...

N

Names - Names are tangled pathways to meaning and secret tunnels to hidden treasure ...

Namibia: Canyon Of Mirrors - We descend through aeons, layer by layer ...

The Nature Of Spirit - The nature of spirit: in the flowers, the patterns of consciousness ...

Never - Though pressure builds and workload piles ...

New Beginnings - Thank God for new beginnings, forgiveness for past sinnings ...

New Boots - I bought new boots today, where they will take me no one can say ...

Newborn: Love And Blessings - Love and blessings on this day ...

A New Light Is Born - Looking around, it sometimes seems so hopeless ...

Nexus: Johannesburg World Summit On Sustainable Development - Scattered rays of light converge ...

Not Forgotten - For the memories we shared, for the special way you cared ...

O

Ode To The Elephant - Your sacred image looms large, painted on the rough canvass of Africa ...

Okavango: Place Of The Skull - In this great place where the elephant roam ...

One - It's about a year since we met ...

One Of A Kind - On this day, stop a while … and think ...

Only Love - Only love - it's all that matters, all that binds ...

Only Natural - Is it spoiling a rose to breathe its sweet scent ...

Orbits - For scarce hours, friendly and warm, like the smoulder of a wood-burning stove ...

P

Paralysed: Redundancy Blues - We recruit for the long run, they said ...

The Park - A time for reflecting and healing, for reconnecting and dreaming ...

Parting Waters - Streams meet and join, then split apart, while in between, the current flows ...

Peek-A-Boo - Blind looking without seeing - then a glimpse …

Penguin Dreams - Out of the dreamy ocean blue, a penguin glides into my view ...

People - Cannot package, seal and brand ...

Perfect Day - Walking slowly, hand in hand beside the gentle river Cam ...

Perfume - You awaken me with the light that shines in your eyes ...

Perspective - There's a crispy freshness in all that you do ...

Poets Must Be - If it is poets you seek, tarry not beside the well-kept literary graves ...

Possession - Why this mad possession, this jealous obsession ...

Power-Suit - There was a time when I ruled the universe ...

Prayer: I Lift Mine Eyes - I lift mine eyes to the quiet hills, near, yet far away ...

Princess - You don’t need to wear a crown, or sip a crystal chalice ...

Private Lives - Today, my world is bright, I am celebrating long years of togetherness ...

Procrastination: Un-Doing - I know I can and yet I don't ...

Promise Me - Promise me you’ll not forget anything we’ve shared ...

Q

Quest Divine - A word, a phrase … I catch my breath, something stirs within my depth ...

Quest For Gold - The sky stretched up before his gaze to a future place in time ...

R

Rainbow Beads - Your life is thread with sacred strings of shining, rainbow beads ...

Reach Out And Touch - Reach out and touch someone in need ...

Real Magic - I know some real magicians - the living, laughing kind ...

Release - And so a dear one has found peace ...

Remember The Forest - May the year ahead contain the variety of the seasons ...

Restless Nights - When I wake from restless nights, weary from nocturnal fights ...

Riddle 1 - What: Keeps forever but is over in an instant? ...

Riddle 2 - What: Holds tight as much as it lets go? ...

Robben Island: If These Stones Could Whisper - If these stones could whisper, what secrets ...

Romania: A Place To Bury Your Heart - The towering city tumbles easily into village and field ...

Rome: Eternal City - Soak up with all your senses the Eternal City...

Royal Procession - With dramatic ceremony and volcanic splendour ...

S

Sad Day - I never knew her, so why did it hurt to suddenly know that she was gone? ...

San Bushmen: First People - First people of this ancient land, last exiles in the desert sand ...

Sanctuary - I came to this place, alone and confused ...

Santa Claus: That Scary Hairy Man - Mommy, don’t make me, please, please don’t take me ...

Scattered Books - I am single minded among my scattered books ...

Scientist, Artist, Businessman - I imagine being a scientist, striving to understand ...

Season Of Loving - The seasons turn, nature enacts her ritual of letting go ...

Seed Of Thought - When you discover a seed of thought, take care to gently sow it ...

Shapeshifting: The Lion And The Elephant - A regal king with golden locks ...

She'll Never Know - She’ll never know that I sighed when she left today ...

Silver Anniversary: Alchemy Of Love - On this, thine twenty fifth celebration of union in marriage ...

Sky Dream - A moon beam to brush your cheek ...

Skylight - Clouds of mauve ...

Sliver Of The Moon - Sliver of the moon, gone too soon ...

Soaring - I release a dove held captive ...

Sometimes - Sometimes, we can only sigh to express the way we feel ...

Song Of The Stars - What note am I, what transcendent tone ...

South Africa: A Dragon's Tale - Breathing smoke, the dragon wakes, yawning fire ...

South Africa: Ancestral Streams - A drop in the north, a trickle heading south ...

South Africa: From Whence We Come - Hear the names from whence we come ...

Space - Swirling with stars and galaxies, pulsing with planets and nebulae ...

A Spark, A Flame, A Fire - Close your eyes, calm your mind, feel a gentle welling up inside ...

A Splash Of Colour - A splash of colour in a sky, which otherwise was grey ...

Spring: Come, Come, Coming - My boots are thud, thud, thudding, like a beat upon the street ...

Spring: Crocus - There is a hidden army on the rise ...

Spring: Daffodil - Rising from your winter sleep, stretching leafy limbs of green ...

Spring: Dandelion - I’ve seen you in the pavement cracks and growing by the tin-roof shacks ...

Sterkfontein: Cave Of The Gods - What is this place? This home of the stromatolite ...

Stay A While - Welcome, welcome, come on in, always welcome here my friend ...

Step Into My Parlour - Step into my parlour, make yourself at home ...

Stone In My Shoe - You’re the surf in my tide, the thorn in my side ...

Stone Walls - Tectonic forces heave and strain, volcanic cones spew fiery rain ...

Storm - Vapour clashes in the vortex, like brewing broth in caldron black ...

Stranger - How strange to knock upon the door of a place I’d known long years before ...

Summer Sunshine - The sun shone today and the whole world came out to play ...

Summer: Thistle-Puffs - The thistle-puffs upon the gentle breeze ...

Sunrise - More precious than gem, coin or prize ...

Synchronicity - Can you read the signs along the humming highways of our networked minds ...

T

Tanzania: Swahili Spice - Jambo! Greetings from Dar Es Salaam: Eternal harbour of peace ...

T * B * L * F - Truth is the bedrock on which to build ...

That Big Thing - I’ve given up waiting for that big thing that will change everything ...

There's A Sangoma In Our Closet - There's a sangoma in our closet at the office beneath the stair ...

Thirsty Land - Stark and naked, dry and barren ...

Thirty Five - Thirty five and still alive, learning all over how to survive ...

Thirty Four - Thirty four today and I’m beginning to understand how life creeps up on you ...

Thirty Seven - This moment is marked on my journey of days ...

Thirty Six - I am thirty six and in one long short year my world has changed ...

This Is My Life - This is my life, like whispers in the trees ...

Though You Are Gone - Though you are gone, there still always will be an ache ...

Threads Of Culture - Across space and time, like a delicate web ...

Time Takes Its Toll - Time takes its toll, on dancing feet that start to plod ...

Tinkerbelle - Oh magic muse, from whence art thou? ...

To Live Is To Have Tried - For some the load is heavy, others’ tread is light ...

Travel: A Promise Of New Worlds - The journeys we plan, the trips we make ...

Tree Of Life - Original seed in the womb of Mother Earth ...

Truth: In Disguise - Ever been amidst a crowd and felt you were alone? ...

The Tunnel - Every tunnel has its ending, every aperture its light ...

Turkish Coffee Kisses - Cups of Turkish coffee kisses, sticky treats of pure delight ...

Two Weeks: All It Takes - Two weeks is all it takes to go from ignorant bliss to knowing pain ...

U

Under-Rated Pleasures - In life, there are so many under-rated pleasures ....

Unitarians: Hail To Thee - Hail to thee, so bold and so brave, free, yet alone, age upon age ...

The Universe: String, Donuts, Bubbles And Me - According to scientists, the world’s made of string ...

Unnatural Death - Unnatural death is a crime and I am guilty as charged ...

V

Valentine - Don’t give me hearts or scarlet blooms ...

Virtual Window - God gave us this small window, an aperture in space ...

The Vision Of You - The vision of you dances in my white rain ...

Vortex - Spinning tops and turning wheels, twirling dance and rhythmic reels ...

Vukani! Wake Up! - There was a time when I was passionate, seizing the day ...

W

Walking in the Air - Oh, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen ...

Walk On - When the life you know is shattered and and you’re left wounded by the blast ...

Wendy Cope: Lasso Poet - I’ve met a poet or two, while tucked under the covers ...

The Web - As yet another strand is cut, I wonder if it’s time ...

What If - What if the home that you’ve been making and the smile that you’ve been faking ...

Wheel Of Life - Wheel of life ever turning, onward inward listening learning ...

Wheel-Trap - The questions in the wheel-trap of my mind ...

When The Lilies Bloom - Our Mother Earth, with flaming fever ...

Who Lives There - I wonder who lives there in the flat over the common ...

Wild, Beautiful And Free - Wildness is a place in the heart ...

Wings - I leap from the land to shin the skies ...

Winter: First Snow - It didn’t snow on Christmas Day, no jingle bells nor Santa’s sleigh ...

Winter Song - Crunching boots like music beat, globs of light on misty street ...

Wish Upon A Star - One day I’ll wish upon a star and see you shining from afar ...

Words - Innocent words drip like poison ...

Word Tricks - To punt is to gamble but also steer boats ...

Wrapped In Words - wrapped in words and tied with rhyme ...

X

Y

Your Spirit Is Light - Like a paratrooper, you took the leap into the great beyond ...

Z

Zen Garden - Still pond : Mind reflects ...