Ocean Dreaming

I. Birth

Life was conceived on our star-lit Earth
Amidst hazy blue dreams of an ocean birth
Seeded and silent the watery womb
Where spirals were spun on its languid loom
Where patterns were woven with warp and weft
From steaming mud vents within rocky clefts
As plankton in bloom and great swathes of krill
Created food webs that spread in the chill
From the icy depths to the shallow shores
With their fins and tails, with their shells and claws
Myriads of creatures made potency rife
And ocean blue deserts burst into life

II. Life

The sway of the tides in the crescent bay
That swoon to the moon in the night and day
The play of the waves in the froth and fray
As they tumble and rumble in the salty spray
On show far below is a world unknown
Where laurels of corals gleam in the gloam
Where seahorses cling and octopus hide
While the swish of bright fish shimmer and glide
With lobtails of whales and dolphins at play
While sharks in the dark are hunting down prey
Each species contributes its mosaic hue
A throng in the song of a rhapsody blue

III. Death

The fishing nets drag like a bulldozer’s claw
The dredge pumps suck at the fragile sea floor
Crashing and crushing, smashing and flushing
Scallops and bays, a haze of destruction
Lobsters and rays, a maze of disruption
Scraping and scuttling, gaping and gutting
To feed the world—so they say—no matter
That millions starve while the fed gets fatter
Gasping and gagging, grasping and grabbing
But taking too much too fast cannot last
For curves cannot bend with no time to mend
And every boom must conclude with a bust

IV. Rebirth

But the race to save our seas is not run
And the face of hope still turns to the sun
It’s our choice: exploit or regenerate
It’s our voice: speak up or resign to fate
If we protect, setting blue zones aside
We can expect that we’re turning the tide
If we restore the great mangroves of old
We can implore to be bullish and bold
When whales are back and salmon are spawning
Rewilding’s on track, and a new day’s dawning
When seas are clean and waters are teeming
We’ll recall these days of ocean dreaming

Wayne Visser © 2025

Book

Seize the Day: Favourite Inspirational 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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Adventurers

Let’s all be adventurers, willing to explore
To walk the path less travelled, and open every door
Let’s all be brave explorers, happy to be wild
To let go inhibitions, and free our inner child

For when we open our mind we soon find
That the world is wonderful and wide
That all those sharp bends and dead ends
Are part of the existential ride

And when we open life’s book and we look
At the words with fresh unfiltered eyes
A story emerges of hope where we cope
As we fall and still find strength to rise

Let’s all be adventurers, willing to take a chance
To place our bets, feel the beat and never miss a dance
Let’s all be bold explorers, happy to get lost
To face our fears, dare to live and never count the cost

Wayne Visser © 2025

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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The Good Life

I’m living the good life, as best I can:
I’m giving as much as taking, and more –
I’m opening every door of opportunity, taking
To the floor and dancing to the giddy swirl
Of opposites, of yin and yang, the flash
Of fang and claw, and the tranquil pond
With its unfurled frond of knowledge, reflected
In the unfathomed depths of wisdom’s eye
That ripples and trickles into a burbling stream
Of consciousness, that eddies and readies
The mind for clarity of thought, even while
Feelings froth in rapids and undercurrents,
Churning and yearning for the endless ocean,
Flowing unknowing towards a greater fate,
A larger identity, in sync with the moon
Of enlightenment, swaying to the rhythmic tides
Of love and fear, from forces near and far,
The star of destiny and the crashing waves,
Surfing the changes as each pattern rearranges
To reveal a new face, a fresh chase, a long race
To the beginning, beyond losing and winning,
At the heart of pain and joy – this is the art
Of living the good life, as best we can.

Wayne Visser © 2025

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together philosophical poems by Wayne Visser. In this anthology, he muses on subjects ranging from space, angels and destiny to time, science and meaning in life. According to scientists / The world’s made of string / That buzzes and fuzzes / Or some such strange thing / It’s also a donut / That curls round a hole / With middles and riddles / Just like a fish bowl / And there’s no mistaking / It’s more than 3-D / With twenty or plenty / Dimensions unseen / Still others insist / It’s really a bubble / That’s popping and bopping / Through the lenses of Hubble. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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Together, Forever

Whatever life conjures and throws at us
We’ll take it and face it together
With the power of love that still grows in us
We’ll stand strong and make it forever

If it means more adventure, let’s add to the spice
We’ll will it and wing it together
If it means taking chances, let’s throw down the dice
We’ll busk it and bet on each other

Whatever the year holds in store for us
We’ll meet it and greet it together
With the power of waves on the shore for us
We’ll swim strong and surf them forever

If it means stopping to rest, let’s take a deep breath
We’ll pause it and play it together
If it means battling our fear, let’s just do our best
We’ll live it with love for each other.

Wayne Visser © 2025

Book

Icarus: Favourite Love Poems

This creative collection, now in its 2nd edition, brings together love poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology traces love’s agony (“Broken Dreams”) and ecstasy (“Galaxies Cart-Wheeling”), from first blush (“Almost Strangers”) to full bloom (“Say ‘I Do!’”), as we fly to love. You’ve given me the gift of golden wings / The endless sphere of blue imaginings / The chance to rise above the silver clouds / The will to cast off untold ghostly shrouds / Don’t fly too high / Don’t rise too fast / Don’t tease the sky / Don’t taunt the past / You’ve given me the hope of warmer days / The blessed kiss of the sun’s fiery rays. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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The Way You See It

What if everyone saw the world
The way you see it – as vital and alive?
Would we see new dreams unfurled
And a new story of hope – where nature thrives?

What if everyone saw potential
The way you see it – as a tiny seed?
Would we see new vision fulfilled
And a new Garden of Eden – verdant and treed?

What if everyone saw beauty
The way you see it – as spectra of light?
Would we see new creations emerge
And a new alchemy – a future more bright?

Wayne Visser © 2025

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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Beauty

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder
That’s true, and yet conceals a greater truth:
Beauty flies in blue skies, bigger and bolder
Than the flushes of charm and the flowers of youth

Beauty rings with the call of the wild and free
And whispers in the wood on starlit night
Beauty sings with the hope of the child in me
And shimmers on the lake with a silver light

Beauty throbs with the pulse of a music beat
And smiles with the stroke of an artist’s brush
Beauty moves to the mood of our dancing feet
And sighs with the swoon of a lover’s blush

Beauty may catch our eye, but that’s only a ploy
To make us pause, to see the harmonious whole
Beauty may lift us hight, and that’s always a joy:
To perceive the patterns of heart in sync with soul

Wayne Visser © 2025

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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Dear Me

Dear me, my future self, traveller in time,

Are we still friends, or strangers? Do we still chime
In our ideas and how we see ourselves and the world?
Has our life been a zig-zag, a rising arc unfurled,
Or something even more unexpected, a surprise
That revealed something hidden, a deeper disguise?

Are those I love safe and happy, and do I love them still,
Or have the tides shifted? Were some things beyond my will?
Were there cul-de-sacs, or unfortunate endings?
And what of new beginnings? Did I make a fresh start,
A brave leap into the unknown, and was that smart?

So many questions I have, but I guess you have questions too?

Let me try to imagine what they are, and answer a few:
Yes, I am happy right now, but I think not naïve
I can see opportunities, and despite the risks, I believe.
Maybe not so much in politicians or the news
But in myself and in innovators, the creative muse.

Yes, I am in love, with no regrets about getting married,
And I already know that love takes work. I’ve carried
Enough burdens to be a realist, yet still to hope
For a better future, for we are strong; we will cope.

So no matter who you are – who I am, and what we’ve done –

I want you to know, you are loved by your younger one.

Wayne Visser © 2025

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together philosophical poems by Wayne Visser. In this anthology, he muses on subjects ranging from space, angels and destiny to time, science and meaning in life. According to scientists / The world’s made of string / That buzzes and fuzzes / Or some such strange thing / It’s also a donut / That curls round a hole / With middles and riddles / Just like a fish bowl / And there’s no mistaking / It’s more than 3-D / With twenty or plenty / Dimensions unseen / Still others insist / It’s really a bubble / That’s popping and bopping / Through the lenses of Hubble. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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Fifty-Four

An unusual year of voting and war
Syria’s new hope and Israel’s death score
A Labour landslide and Trump back for more
(Elon’s a turncoat, and X is his whore)
More storms and wildfires, while glaciers thaw
No new plastic deal, and COPs are a bore
More solar and wind on land and offshore
More calls to rewild: let nature restore
And in my small world, I opened a door
This unusual year I turned fifty-four

Wayne Visser © 2024

Book

Life in Transit: Favourite Travel & Tribute Poems

This creative collection, now in its 2nd edition, brings together travel and tribute poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology pays tribute to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, Antoni Gaudí & Leonardo da Vinci, and reflects on travels ranging from China and South Africa to Ecuador and Russia. Life is lived in the in-between / In transit / Between coming and going / Between staying and moving on / Between here and there / And what we call home / What we call settled or contented / Is merely a resting place / A station for refuelling / A nexus for reconnecting / A junction for changing direction. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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The Final Test

We’re on a path that twists and turns
Through landscapes ever changing
Sometimes it’s hard, and so we learn
Through patterns rearranging
The trick, it seems, is not to fight
Against the unexpected
Keep moving on towards the light
And don’t become dejected
Easier said than done, I know
Yet that’s the final test:
To fall and rise, to love and grow
While letting go the rest

Wayne Visser © 2024

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together philosophical poems by Wayne Visser. In this anthology, he muses on subjects ranging from space, angels and destiny to time, science and meaning in life. According to scientists / The world’s made of string / That buzzes and fuzzes / Or some such strange thing / It’s also a donut / That curls round a hole / With middles and riddles / Just like a fish bowl / And there’s no mistaking / It’s more than 3-D / With twenty or plenty / Dimensions unseen / Still others insist / It’s really a bubble / That’s popping and bopping / Through the lenses of Hubble. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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Waves and Cranes

The waves lick and lap, froth and churn
Rising and crashing, every way we turn
The waves are endless, relentless
Rippling when calm, frightening in a tempest
What can we do but learn the tide
Build a strong boat and strap in for the ride

The cranes strut and flap, preen and soar
Rising and gliding, from mountain to shore
The cranes are timeless, full of grace
Stretched out in flight, they’re masters of space
What can we do but learn the sky
Grow our own wings and do our best to fly

Wayne Visser © 2024

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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