The Night Spawned

As the moon rose

We panicked

Ran like sheep scattered by the wolf

On through the night

To the inevitable conclusion

Suffering in the darkness

Screaming, scratching

Muttering foul oaths of discontentment

Cracking bones in anger

Sweat endlessly dripping

Pushing and pulling

Prodding at the prostrate

Until calming numb arrived

Welcoming the tranquillity

Dumbing laborial pain

Until that final moment

When dawn broke

And the dam breeched

And the deafening howl was heard for miles

Welcome to a brave new world my child

© F Martin

2012

Ghost

Melting in the landscape

Vanishing without trace

Forgotten and invisible

A soul without a face

No comfort in the shadows

Dignity stripped bare

No welcome for the warrior

In a land which does not care

Sacrificial dog of war

Once wanted now abused

Cast off he roams unfettered

Alone he sits confused

The lines he crossed at risk

Whilst others watch with glee

The shilling he once pocketed

Remains a paupers fee

Companions now are gone

Forgotten but by few

His life as theirs was forfeit

The bonds of kin were true

Shunned by those above

Unwelcome in the streets

Bitterness surrounds him

In every lie he meets

Wandering in the wilds

A life now unprotected

Hope and future fading

Hailed but now rejected

© F Martin

2012

My Father Said

My father said when I grew up

I could achieve anything I wanted

My father said when I grew up

I could achieve more than he had

My father said when I grew up

I could believe whatever I wanted

My father said when I grew up

I could believe in things he could not fathom

My father said when I grew up

I could be the man that all respected

My father said when I grew up

I could have the respect he never had

My father said when I grew up

I would live the future he dreamt for me

My father said when I grew up

I would live his dream and make him proud

My father said when I grew up

I’d gaze upon a world of wonder

My father said when I grew up

I’d live in a world of peace and freedom

My father lied

© F Martin

2012

Home Is Where The Heart Is

In the wind and the rain

I think of you still

Of the fire and the flame

And the winter chill

Your beauty outstanding

Power in the veins

Your pull so demanding

My heart it remains

I think of you always

Your songs in my soul

Give strength to my days

Keeping me whole

And I think of you dearly

Across well-travelled miles

I see you vivid and clearly

Your charm and your guiles

Drawn home to your glory

I’ll fall down on my knees

And in telling your story

Aching hearts you will ease

Caressing them gently

Rekindling the spark

Empowering them greatly

Once more leave your mark

My heart becomes heavy

As I leave you once more

But I remain ever ready

To return to your door

Your magnificence draws

My heart ever pounding

My breath does not pause

The memories resounding

Red rampant in barley

The Lion stands tall

Proud people and hardy

Jock’s bairns one and all

My heart remains true

To the pearl in the north sky

White cross on the blue

For Alba I’ll die

© F Martin

2012

Tidal Collision

Deep water flowing softly

Drifts with calm serenity

Mesmerising to the eye

Life casually rolls by

Below the rolling surface

Currents pop and dance

Bubbling with excitement

Strength remaining silent

Wanders on relentless

Power in extremus

Atopped with silver horses

Quicksilver never pauses

Charging ever downstream

With passion in extreme

Dancing over shallows

Bristling in the shadows

Teeming now with promise

Falls vengefully upon us

Powers on regardless

Riptide strong and heartless

Colliding forces crash and fall

Tidal front another brawl

Snatch control in feudal rage

Stand atop the victor’s stage

Subsuming vanquished waters

In carnal mental slaughters

Feasting on the weakened

All things cherished threatened

Till once more calm resumes

And peaceful beauty blooms

© F Martin

2012

Ayrshire Lass

Sitting silently in western mist

Waves lap upon her toes

As she sits in quiet solitude

With everything she knows
Welcomes all who pass her

And sees them drift away

She’ll see them in another life

Upon another day
The hearts she’s buried into

The eyes so captivated

Strong and silent as the night

Matured but never dated
Young in heart and old as time

Lovers come and gone

Watched history repeat itself

And never moving on
Winter’s storms beats hard

Cold chills her naked breast

Battens down against the gale

In the maelstrom she will rest
Squalls damp her sodden winter cloak
Flowing in fierce tide

Returns afresh and hope renewed
Gathers breath as winds subside

Now she waits in summer sun

Admirers they now flock

To sit upon her quilted skirt

Kneeling they take stock
Of beauty standing tall and proud

Rough waters now serene

She’ll mesmerise the multitude

Remaining ever seen

© Fergus Martin

2012

Reek

Gathered on the floral way within the city of dreams

Experiencing the underworld of ten thousand screams

Medieval parapets upon sculpted forestry of spires

Sprawling avenues cover ancient funeral pyres

Souls wander on the crags beneath the silent rock

Past the rooted heart and glimpse the fragrant clock

Winding through the maze of embittered cobbled streets

Foreign tongues amid the sounds of ancient beats

The crack at one erupts, shakes and rattles those unsure

To enlightened ears a sound so familiar and so pure

The common tongue of local voices drifts upon the breeze

To oasis in the concrete and once again she breathes

Daubers of new worlds and old, peddle golden wares

Spirits from the graveyard attract a multitude of stares

Where resurrected ladies and mussel sellers roamed

The travelling man mesmerises with all the skill he’s honed

New artists in their finest garb in claustrophobic alleys

Seeking inspiration in tales of feudal opulence and galleys

Tall and silent on royal ground stands one master of the tale

Sunken rooms on reeky streets the master’s words inhale

Mixing tongues and stories they welcomed all who passed

And in the tavern’s shelter forged friendships hard and fast

On footways of forgotten times they strode in awe and wonder

And in the darkness of the room Reeks spell they do fall under

© Fergus Martin

2012

Full Length Mirror

Reflection in a full length mirror

Tells the story of a lived out life

The furrowed brow and wrinkles

Lay the tracks of angst and strife

Glossed over eyes, darkened rims

Protect the doorway to the soul

Once so bright and welcoming

Shield shattered mind not whole

Withered smile no longer sharp

Worn down to upturned curl

Cheerful grin long since departed

As the tales of time unfurl

Shoulders slumped in broken stance

No longer thrust back with pride

A chest that heaved a thousand sighs

Falls flat and silent, empty inside

Flat toned stomach consumed by time

Aged and scarred through an eon of use

Sinewy strength of a forgotten age

Flesh hangs on the branch too loose

Dexterity lost through manipulation

Skeletoid digits curled up like claws

Weathered palms replace the silken touch

Reflect life’s tale and all it’s flaws.

Thighs once bronzed and golden pillars

Strong trunks that carried body proud

Listing limply now like broken vessels

Stagger slowly through the madding crowd

Shattered knees destroyed by pounding

A million streets and hallowed ground

Ankles swell for no apparent reason

Muscle and tendons become weak and round

Where once were roots strong and supple

Now cracked veins support the tree

Gnarled broken toes reflect the final image

The full length mirror of a life lived free

© Fergus Martin

2012

Once Upon A Riddle

Weaver spins another silken yarn

Words woven work into a wondrous tale

Shuttle you through threads of meaning

Your safety blanket now worn and pale

Jester recites another story of old

Bewitching hands beguile and succour

The quartered cloak providing shelter

The path he led you on is now a detour

Fiddler scratches out another tune

Chords crafted carefully reach your soul

Furious fingers reach heightened crescendo

Leave you lost with no sight of your goal

Riddler riddles out another riddle

Switching the words in misdirection

He guides you to the gate of knowledge

Till you gaze at your own reflection

The jester and the fiddler

Weaver and the riddler

Go riddle me this

Is this what it is?

© Fergus Martin

2012

Reaching For The Sky

It rose

Slowly at first

No one paid it any attention

Just another construction site

Laying waste to the skyline

Another carbuncle

But

It rose

And took shape

Climbed slowly from the surface

Slowly taking form it rose into the light

Edging ever upwards people stared

Body building up

And

It rose

Reached further

Settled on its base walls reflect the sights around

Four fingers at its tip they claw and clamber for its zenith

Soaring in the dawn greets swallows to its bosom

The sun it touches

And

It stops

© Fergus Martin

2012

In The Eye Of The Storm

Listen,

To the rain as it gently wraps upon the window

Forming in droplets of incandescent mirrors

Sliding down the pane in rivulets and streams

Pooling on the ledge and sliding off the beams

Listen,

To the sound as roaring thunder cracks still night

Rippling through the air in atmospheric waves

Cacophony of noise claps the beat of an ancient tune

Epicentre quakes and once more the waves resume

Listen,

To the rhythm of globules bouncing upwards in spheres

A never ending deluge flooding arteries and veins

Regulated pounding forming waves amongst calm pools

Cascading waterfalls that shatter summers budding jewels

Listen,

To the breath of the gale roaring raw through the eaves

Whipping up cyclones of cylindrical havoc and woe

Shredding rooftops of thatch reducing them to straw

Marvel at the eye of the storm with a power so raw

Listen,

To the silence breaking out from the sweet rhythm of the rain

The multi speckled calm of rainbow archways broken down

Thunder laden clouds gather strength and release another deluge

Freshwater droplets released on sodden soil there is no refuge

And Wait,

For the storm clouds to pass and fade to lasting memories

Of lightning flashes crackling through interrupted passages

And for one brief memorable moment the monsoon pauses

Leaving everlasting damage un-paralleled in losses 

© Fergus Martin

2012

Broken Bones

Standing high upon the edge of reason

Looking down he sees his own reflection

Unrecognisable by pain and anguish

Staring blankly seeking new direction

The withered frame he vaguely recalls

Weathered brow furrowed in anxiety

Searching for answers in familiar blue

Pits stare back reflecting broken society

The mirror to his soul bears grim foreboding

Casts shadows on the world outside the door

Walls of past securities crumble all around

Fruitful past now rotten to the core

On the edges of the glass he catches glimpses

Of treasured trips now fading in the mist

The skeletal remains of cherished memories

Crushed hopes shattered added to the list

Broken dreams that glimmer in remembrance

Darkened glass now revels in stagnation

Shifting points in time become as one

The toothless smiles grins back in revelation

Bones laid bare, flesh charred and poisoned

Betrayed by circumstance the mirror never lies

Reflected back at him his future beckons

Today’s reality is seen through saddened eyes

© Fergus Martin

2012