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...