Oh what a tangled bed we weave
when we venture for reprieve...
Poems and photographs from John Bayley Matthews
afloat today
water all around
stars guide me
the dark night of the soul
is left behind...
am I a happy person
now
opportunities arise
like a hippopotamus
coming out of the river
will the African queen
reappear in my life
my daughter
born of much pain
while I grow older
and youth appears
the cycle begins again...
Waking in the morning
can I have the day go my way?
or is there a sense of wonder...
finding through not knowing
will I lose myself...
and gain something new along the way
the past weighs heavy on me
it will always be there
whether I like it or lack acceptance
to forge ahead
I can pretend to be confident
if I’m not
There are waypoints as I travel,
friends
some close, others further away
their lamps shine
as I discover the future that is mine...
Will I ever find hope?
in the day ahead
expansive, free of thought
I feel new life
Where does it come from?
not from the Sun and the Rain...
It came from the pain of long ago
Unknown, unspoken and unloved
like a dirty child playing in the mud
a cool voice calls her
she looks up and turns her head
a warm room and a meal in front of her
why not move on?
a gumboot is stuck in the damp earth
Let it go, let it go
part of us is left behind
Like a sinner on a Sunday
come home for a roast
and discover the gaps in time in front of me...