poetry | Wayne Visser

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024

Book of Magic

When we are young, we dream of magical worlds
Of fairies and wizards making mischief and casting spells
Then we grow older, and the story of life unfurls
And we give up on the promise of witches and wishing wells

For we discover that ordinary life tells a different tale
Of incredible feats and secrets hidden in plain sight
We discover that magic is alive and the quest for the grail
Is about fighting our own dragons and pursuing the light

Every day, we hold the Book of Magic in our hands
Our thoughts and words are powerful spells we cast
Every year, we discover fatastical new lands
And learn to see deeper and make the magic last.

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.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024

Footnotes

The things we do, the things we say
The hoops we shoot, the games we play
Are beats and riffs within our son
In search of places we belong

The views and detours on the way
Are uncut gems we find in clay
Some stones we polish ‘til they shine
The rest we toss and leave behind

No matter what we build and burn
It’s how we love and what we learn
That writes the story of our days
The rest are footnotes on the page

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024

Better With You

My life’s been full of ups and downs
With twists and turns to make it through
I could have done it on my own
But frankly, it’s better with you

Along the way, I’ve learned and grown
With tips and tricks to keep it new
I could have made it by myself
But I know, I’m better with you

The way ahead is never straight
With fears and hopes to keep it true
I could have played it solitaire
But always, life’s better with you

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.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024

The Call of the Wild

I hear the howl of the wolf Mourning From the shadows of the dying forest Listen: Do you hear the wolves howling? I hear the song of the whale Beseeching From the depths of the warming ocean Hush now: Do you hear the whales singing? I hear the cry of the eagle Pleading From the heights of the smoking sky Listen: Do you hear the eagles crying? I hear the trumpet of the elephant Warning From the swathe of the burning grassland Quiet now: Do you hear the elephants trumpeting? I hear the snort of the buffalo Deriding From the breadth of the flooding plain Listen: Do you hear the buffaloes snorting? I hear the saw of the jaguar Echoing From the crags of the eroding mountain Be still: Do you hear the jaguars sawing? I hear cough of the kangaroo Pleading From the flats of the scorching outback Listen: Do you hear the kangaroos coughing? I hear the honk of the geese Berating From the pools of the shrinking wetland Take note: Do you hear the geese honking? I hear the growl of the bear Cursing From the floes of the melting iceberg Listen: Do you hear the bears growling? I hear the squeak of the dolphin Grieving From the tides of the choking shore Breath in: Do you hear the dolphins squeaking? I hear the chatter of the ape Questioning From the treetops of the receding jungle Listen: Do you hear apes chattering? This is the call of the wild Inviting us To take heed and act before it’s too late Even now: Do you hear the wild calling?

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.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024

Fairytales

The strange thing about fairytales
Is that they’re mostly true
Their meaning hides behind the veils
And therein lies the clue

Each hero’s fate, each witch’s spell
Each dragon fought and slayed
Reflect within our wishing well
As dreams that flare and fade

For life is full of holy grails
And monsters we must fight
We each must walk enchanted trails
Through darkness to the light

The secret lies not in the quests
Or if we thrive or fail
The wonder’s that we face the tests
And live to tell the tale.

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

April 23, 2024

Let It Begin

I’m thinking it’s not too late, that our fate is not sealed,
That the race of life is far from run; we’re not done,
For we wield the wand of choice, we have a voice,
We can speak for the Earth, and not let her perish,
Take care of her creatures and all that we cherish,
For we’re not ready to give up, or stand idly by
And watch our mother die.

Let it begin, with protecting more, then let’s restore
The land and sea, let’s win back what we’ve lost,
Before the cost becomes too high, because the sky’s
The limit and fortune favours those who try.

I’m dreaming of a new world, of nature unfurled
In swirls of blue and curls of green, in bursts of yellow
And swathes of pink, each time I blink another species
Comes back from the brink, another habitat is restored
To health, and the wealth of ecosystems returns,
Emerging from the gloom of the womb to give birth
To a revitalised Earth.

Let it begin, with the wolves and whales, as we tip the scales
Of trophic cascades, and as our fear fades we realise
That hunter and prey are performing a dance, a rhyme
That gives us a chance to reanimate the world, given time.

I’m learning that nature is resilient, that it’s brilliant
At bouncing back, if only we give it space, the lack
Of bugs and birds, of fish and trees can be reversed
In a burst of recovery, as the great extinction turns
Into a great flourishing, a nourishing of roots and shoots,
As biota and biomes, cycles and food webs are repaired
And their bounty is shared.

Let it begin, with the factories and farms, turning harms
Into new ways of making and growing, of showing
How waste can be nutrients, and soils be alive,
For life coils like a spring, forever poised to thrive.

I’m turning dreams into action, and gaining traction
As solutions take hold and scale, as we dare to be bold
And fail, while tales of our success spreads, like bees
From flower to flower, the power is in our hands,
To clean up the oceans, and heal our lands,
And so I’m choosing to detox, to reseed and rewild,
For the hopes of a child.

Let it begin.

Book

Seize the Day: Favourite Inspirational Poems

This unique collection brings together poems for positive action by poet and writer, Wayne Visser, providing inspiration for all those who a striving to change the world for the better. The anthology includes perennial favourites such as Be An Optimist, A Place to Thrive, Think on Business, To Lead, Giving Up, It’s Time, A Swirling Story, Because I Care, and, of course, Change the World (Parts 1 and 2), as well as more recent poems like A Butterfly Appeared, The Great Outdoors, and Letter to Earth. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

April 23, 2024April 23, 2024

An Iridescent Call

A lilting lyric whispers a shadow of darker days
An unlucky roll of the loaded dice of chance
A meandering melody rises and falls, pitches and sways
A flight on the wing, an open invitation to dance

The rhythm is beating, I’m tapping my feet
The singer is singing, I’m feeling the heat
The word clouds are poems, my skies are ablaze
The music is swirling, I’m running the maze

A percussive pulse taps a dulcet drum in my head
A wave of joy rises like an ocean swell in my heart
A vaulting voice flows freely, swirling blue and red
A wail of black endings, an iridescent call to start.

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.

April 23, 2024April 23, 2024

The Soundtrack of Our Lives

All it takes is a song, a riff, or a note
And I’m transported back, spirited away
I’m a time traveller to somewhere remote
Yet familiar, a place where I used to play

Music is a form of magic, an enchantment
That reveals clues to secrets of the heart
Music is a kind of mushroom, an hallucinogen
That opens doors to wild worlds we can chart

All it takes is a beat, a hook, or a voice
And we’re reconnected, spellbound in a blink
We’re in the memory maze of fate and choice
Reliving our dreams, and dancing in sync.

Book

Seize the Day: Favourite Inspirational Poems

April 23, 2024April 23, 2024

Rewilding

Our living world may be under threat
But we’re not giving up, no not just yet
For we get to say how this tale ends
And it’s never too late to make amends

Let’s get to know what nature’s knowing
And start to sow what nature’s sowing
Let’s feel the flow of nature’s flowing
And start to go where nature’s going

Bring back the hunters and the grazers
To recreate life’s moods and mazes
Bring back the diggers and dam-makers
To be the shifters and the shapers

For rewilding’s about letting go and letting be
It’s about getting slow and setting free
Rewilding’s about thinking big and starting small
It’s about linking up and standing tall

So let’s rewild our rivers, our wetlands and seas
Our forests and grasslands, our meadows for bees
Let’s rewild our cities, our gardens and streets
Our factories and farms, where earth and sky meets

Bring back wild horses, wild boars and wild bears
The wolves and the badgers that live in their lairs
Bring back the wild elephants and wild otters shy
The cheetahs and pumas and eagles that fly

For rewilding’s about taking less and giving more
It’s about making space from mountain to shore
Rewilding’s about seeing beauty in the tangled mess
It’s about trusting more and controlling less

So let’s rewild our oceans, our lakes and our lands
Our corals and coastlines, our vast desert sands
Let’s rewild our mindscapes, to be truly alive
And give life on this planet its moment to thrive

For our living world at last has a chance
To regenerate its bounty in a sacred dance
As we join with nature, moving in sync
We’ll rewild the Earth, back from the brink

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

April 23, 2024April 23, 2024

If You Believe

Do you believe that the world can be better?
That what comes next is not determined by what came before
That every choice we make creates a new nexus of possibility
And every action we take shapes a new pathway of history?

Do you believe that the future will be brighter?
That every problem has a solution that can take us forward
That every setback contains a lesson that makes us stronger
And every fear hides a dream that was conceived in love?

Do you believe that the earth can recover?
That the damage we’ve done does not preclude nature from healing
That every degraded field is an opportunity to rewild the land
And every polluted water body is an invitation to bring back life?

Do you believe that peace can return?
That acts of violence are a vicious cycle that can be broken
That every conflict is a maze of pain with a way out
And every aggression is a futile fight with our own shadow?

Do you believe that all people can thrive?
That yesterday’s deprivation does not prevent tomorrow’s fulfilment
That every injustice is a clarion call to take a stand
And every unmet need is fertile ground to seed innovation?

Do you believe that our children will proper?
That their beautiful lives are not shackled by our legacy of mistakes
That every challenge is a classroom to apply new learning
And every lifetime is a playground for fresh imagination?

Because if you believe, then a brighter future will dawn
If you believe, then the earth will recover and peace will return
If you believe, then people will thrive and our children will prosper
If you believe, then nothing – absolutely nothing – is impossible

If you believe, you will act to remake our world and reshape our future
If you believe, you will care enough to listen to the voices of change
If you believe, you will join together to harness the power of hope
But first you must believe, for all life begins as an audacious act of faith.