Oh what a tangled bed we weave
when we venture for reprieve...
Poems and photographs from John Bayley Matthews
Oh what a tangled bed we weave
when we venture for reprieve...
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...
I break down the word
like it shatters my life
as persistent as
a prisoner’s strife
A hidden affliction
in the dead of the night
leads to a feeling
that something’s not right
Will it shorten my life?
Some people think so
Engulfed in this nuisance
I try to let go
A release of ambition
annealed by fire
this things got me beat
no point in desire
like a marionette
I’m jerked on a string
I cannot fight back
it just increases the sting
a breeze passes by
I look up in hope
has the man and his hand
let go of the rope...
will I be free
to enjoy natural slumber
or does this clown
really have my number?
I get extra time
to read and compose
and look on the bright side
of no nightly repose...
Where is that Sandman?
I beg and implore
to show that controller
the ultimate door...