Nature Knows

When all the world seems upside down
The fool’s on the hill
The king is a clown
When headline news loud-speaks the views
Of puppeteers of fears
And naysayers of the truth
When leaders’ voices are hollow choices
Of dumb-down beats of tweets
And two-fingers to the youth
Take a step back from the black
And white, the stereotype
The media hype, the Trumptown blues
And choose a world of hues
From greens to greys, and reds to browns
The rounds of seasons, synchro-reasons
Of sun and moon, the tune
Of vitality that sprouts and grows
The harmony, the symphony, the flows
That nature knows

When all the roads seem nowhere bound
The signs contradict
The noise has no sound
When every maze just adds to the craze
Of shallow aims in games
And hamster wheels for jobs
When Wall Street belies, in suits and ties
Their ugly creed of greed
And clever ways to rob
Take a deep breath, defy the death
Of hope, the hangman’s rope
The doomsday dope, the victim’s shoes
And choose a forest of clues
Of roots and shoots
From seeds to stems, and buds to leaves
The trees of jungles, the rumbles
Of beast and storm, the dawn
Of light and flight and lucent bows
The illumination, the revelation, the glows
That nature shows

When all that’s lost can scarce be found
The love swept away
The faith nearly drowned
When silent strings, like broken wings
Leave empty spaces in places
Where music once soared
When prophets’ words sound more absurd
Than the Mad Hatter’s patter
And the Jabberwocky’s chord
Take a great leap, take time to reap
What you have sown, from flesh and bone
From mind clone and idea muse
And choose an earthscape of dos
Not don’ts and won’ts
But cans and wills, and better stills
The thrills of striving, life thriving
Through trial and error, through terror
To yellow dreams and scarlet rose
The magnificence, the intelligence, the prose
That nature knows

Wayne Visser © 2017

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together nature poems by Wayne Visser, celebrating the diversity, beauty and ever-changing moods of our planet. The anthology includes many old favourites like “I Think I Was a Tree Once” and “A Bug’s Life”, as well as brand new poems like “Monet’s Dream” and “The Environmentalist”. Then as we turned our faces to the moon / Our hands entwined, our hearts in sync, in tune / We felt the fingers of the silken breeze / And made our wishes on the falling leaves / A gust of wind set off a whispered sigh / Among the trees that leaned against the sky.  Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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Escape

When the clocks
Have all stopped
When you’re stuck
Out of luck
Waiting and weary
For something to happen …

You’ll know that the show
Can go on
With crazy dreams
And incredible schemes
Freshly invented
To shatter the frozen rhyme
Of time

When you’re bored
In a box
When you’re trapped
Tightly wrapped
Wishing and wanting
To make your escape …

You’ll find that the mind
Can burst free
Into dazzling vistas
And remarkable twisters
Newly discovered
To explode the prison case
Of space

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.

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Making Ripples

I am streaming words into the void
A pointless, poignant pulsing of mind
Seeking nothing and finding it
Among mute stars winking

I am broadcasting signals into the noise
A futile, fulfilling flashing of ideas
Lighting caverns and fizzling out
Among deaf bats clicking

I am whispering secrets into the matrix
A confounding, complex coding of heart
Turning keyholes and tumbling locks
Among blind alleys echoing

I am dripping odes into the ocean
A silly, sublime splashing of meaning
Making ripples and merging back
Among thought currents flowing

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.

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You and Me, Here and Now

What if it’s now?
That fateful moment
When everything turns
Silent, invisible gears shifting
And suddenly, your life, or mine
Changes forever
Sets off on a different trajectory
Enters a steep climb
Or stalls into a precipitous dive

What if this very instant
This magic moment
Is now?

What if it’s here?
That special place
Where destiny seeds
Dark, patient forces incubating
And suddenly, your future, or mine
Changes forever
Marks a new point of departure
Lays a fresh foundation
Or connects to roots long buried

What if this very location
This pivotal place
Is here?

What if it’s me?
That reluctant hero
Who hears the call
Tepid, timid heart beating
And suddenly, your quest, or mine
Changes forever
Looms larger in the lens of days
Stretches to the curved horizon
Or plumbs the depth of ocean

What if this ordinary soul
This unexpected hero
Is me?

What if it’s you?
That elusive lover
Who fits my edges
Yin and yang forces swirling
And suddenly, your dream, or mine
Changes forever
Refracts through a new prism
Bends to someone else’s bow
Or reaches for another’s star

What if this missing half
This integral lover
Is you?

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.

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Feel

It’s not what you do –
Not the mop on the floor
Or the plaque on your door
Not the pat on your back
Or the plaudits you lack –
It’s how what you do
Makes you feel
How you feel

It’s not what you say –
Not the tone of your voice
Or the words of your choice
Not the wisdom you spout
Or the anger let out –
It’s how what you say
Makes me feel
What I feel

It’s not what you wear –
Not the latest new fashion
Or the colour of passion
Not the shades of the season
Or the fad beyond reason –
It’s how what you wear
Makes you feel
How you feel

It’s not where you go –
Not the oceans you sail
Or the summits you scale
Not the lands that you reach
Or the chasms you breach –
It’s how where you go
Makes you feel
What you feel

It’s not what you think –
Not the bright new ideas
Or the futures you fear
Not the voice in your head
Or the dreams left unsaid –
It’s how what you think
Makes you feel
How you feel

It’s not what you believe –
Not the scripture you read
Or the faith that you lead
Not the god that you name
Or the sins that you shame –
It’s how what you believe
Makes you feel
What you feel

It’s not what you give –
Not the money or time
Or the things left behind
Not the temples of gold
Or the stories you’ve told –
It’s how what you give
Makes us feel
How we feel

It’s not how you love –
Not the roses and cards
Or the prose from the bards
Not the stars and the moon
Or the lyrical tune –
It’s how all your love
Makes me feel
What I feel

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.

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Wasted Days

So many wasted days
I scarcely dare to count them
Turgid, tempestuous days
That muddied life’s pure fountain

So many restless nights
Ticking through each hour
Inane, insomniac nights
When sweet sleep turned to sour

So many futile ways
They stack up like a mountain
Dead-end, diversionary ways
I scarcely dare to count them

So many false bright lights
Each beacon and each tower
Manic, magnificent lights
Ticking down each hour

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.

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Free Falling

Over the edge
At World’s End
And Adventure’s Beginning

Free
Falling
Unfixed and unnerved
With emotions jangled and raw
Past ties tangled
Taught and stretching
Fraught and frightening
Swan-diving into my fear
Cloud-riding

Free
Falling
Towards the promise
The hope
Of a New World
The scope to explore
To learn
To burn the fire of knowing
To feel the tug of growing

Free
Falling
Throwing the rope
That reaches across
Weaving the bridge
That breaches beyond
The restless ruthless tide
Of need amidst plenty
And want that is empty

Free
Falling
Straining to hear
My calling
My bliss
Somewhere in the mist
Over the edge
At World’s End
And Adventure’s Beginning

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.

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Twinkering

Making changes, swift and small
That seem to matter not at all
Yet send us forth on tangled ways
Into the heart of life’s great maze

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.

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Life In Pieces

I. Paradise

My life was full
Crammed and spammed and jammed
Full of stuff and puff
Beyond enough
There were people to meet
Faces to greet
Hands to shake
Deals to make
No time to take a break
From the busyness of it all
The deadlines and budgets
The headlines and fudge-its
And that’s not even counting
The mounting expectations
And ladder climbing
To great destinations
Until the day
It all gave way

II. Disquiet

My life was full
A trumpeting horn of plenty
But gently
The cracks appeared
And what I feared
Came creeping
Seeping
Through the floors, the doors
And every gap in my crowded days
A shrouded haze of discontent
Malevolent
In silent ways
Sowing seeds of destruction
Growing weeds of corruption
Like the gnawing rust of years
And the clawing dust in gears
Like trickling sand
That’s how it began

III. Descent

My life was full
Then in a flash it crashed
And I was dashed
On rocks of shame
My ego smashed
By waves of blame
Nothing would ever be the same
I clutched at straws
And heard them snap
I ran through doors
Into a trap
A maze of dead-end rescue plans
A band of thieves and rival clans
I fled
I bled
And every thread I grabbed
Unravelled only more
Of what my life had been before

IV. Disintegration

My life was in pieces
Shattered and splattered
And scattered to the winds
Of indifference
Amazed, I gazed around and saw
Shards of love
Unspoken
Now broken
Stunned and numbed, I kicked
A fragment of work
Once polished
Now demolished
I did not have the heart
To start
To pick them up
Those pieces of me
Torn apart
So I just let them be

V. Despair

My life was empty
Weary
Dreary
Eerie
With shadows shifting, demons drifting
Yelling in my head:
I should be dead!
What’s the point? Just look around
Not a sound
Not a soul
None to console
No goal
No get-up-and-go
No flow
On life’s stage, this page
Is stained and torn
Time to get out of town
Time to bring my curtain down

VI. Desperation

My life was empty
My hand and the gun were one
My finger, the trigger
The barrel seemed bigger
From close up
Everything else was far away
All the things I’d done
The battles won
The hollow acclaim
The pride in my name
My faraway life with my faraway wife
These were things from a distant land
And a living past
Now fading fast
Now, close to hand
A squeeze on the gun
Then the sun
Broke through

VII. Redemption

My life was empty
It needed to be, for me to see
What life is worth
What can give birth through me
If I open up to a greater force
That invisible source
That fires the heart and inspires the mind
That quickens the spirit
And whispers ‘just do it!’
I’ve started again
Rebuilding my bridges
With paintbrush and pen
With family and friends
It’s more about people, less about reasons
Less about busy, more about seasons
Less about doing, more about knowing
My life is full
But not overflowing

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.

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Let Them

Let them rip and tear our pages
They cannot mute our story
Let them smash and break our pictures
They cannot kill our smiles

For our words have power
And our joy is like a rock
Our tale is star enchanted
And our happiness is an ocean

Let them swear and curse our fates
They cannot change our destiny
Let them pierce and pry our safety
They cannot intimidate our dreams

For our bond is of the moon
And our weapons made of light
Our art inspires creation
And all that’s good is on our side

Let them taunt and mock our morals
They cannot shake our conscience
Let them deny and decry our love
They are but passing strangers

For our inner voice is clear
And our actions speak more true
Our roots of love are strong
And our wings of trust are sure

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.

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