The Hands That Never Turn

On the walls the hands that barely move

Solitary focus for each and every day

Gaze that’s cast upon each passing movement

Watching time explode and waste away

Another wasted moment leaves the room

Disappears without direction, lacking reason

And with every other second in the day

Act out existence in a lonely act of treason

Measuring its journey through its sweeping

Daily life dictated by the turning of its hands

Eyes that stare silently to space in desperation

Scenes lies beyond the windows lost in yearning

Every breath that pauses in its path

Witnessed by the eyes of stagnant life

Vacant as the days drift into nothing

As distant as the dawns which fall and rise

The stasis of the moment floating freely

Expectations hanging heavy in the air

Plans and circumstances not forthcoming

Delayed decisions taunt with timed delay

Pregnant pause explodes with sad admission

Hands sweeping now into their resting place

Their stopping point, a place in constant motion

Spun upon a point in stagnant space

Lights that dim upon another day

Closing out the avenues to hope

Once again the doors are closed to answers

No deliverance this day just like the last

Laboured soul lies bleeding on the bed

Invisible, unsighted to his fate

Truth tethered and held back at a distance

Act of mercy comes for one too late

© Fergus Martin

Nov 2013

Angels Walk Among Us

Crushed condiments of happiness

Smiling back at you from table tops

Regimental lines prepare another charge

Marching to the beat of silken maidens

Those gentle hands of deliverance

Caress the lives of embittered souls

Their coats of many colours guiding traffic

Defensive paths rush from their hearts

Frailty strolls amongst us as a friend

Wicked hand it strikes from who knows where

Calm waters struck by random storms

Legions toil against the pain which takes its toll

For every one that falls, there’s one survives

For every one that suffers there are relieved

For every one that walks away unharmed

A battle hardened smile engulfs the world

© Fergus Martin

Nov 2013

Retracing The Path

Drifting slowly on the wings of love

Gliding into guiltless free exuberance

Strolling through avenues of tender delight

Canyons of the heart engulfed in joyous rapture

Coiffured borders lined the edges of our lives

Sparkling trim to our picketed world

Petals in the wind settled on our souls

Bonding together in the soil of deep serenity

Through the brightness we danced and we dallied

Our lives meandered intertwining in the shadows

Of the cloistered corridors of youthful wandering

Archways overhead formed shallow shelters

Merry jigs we weaved as we spun tales unwittingly

Reeling with the waltzes, tripping lightly on the edge

Pirouettes of confusion scattered rosebuds on the floor

And the petals on the breeze lay dead and ashen by the door

Betrayal bites deep

Burning to the molten core

Trust lies broken

Floundering in the shallows

Love frozen in limbo

Awaiting resurrection

Betrayal rots the souls

Decaying the roots of love

Faith abused unceremoniously

Left at the way-station of hope

Lying silent in the wings

Seeking only redemption

Dance once again but nervously

Steps softly taken, words eerily whispered

But the echoes of the past

Remain undiminished

Screaming through the masques

Shading truths deniable to none

The pervasive stench of bitter pain

Fills the void 'twixt past and future

Standing at the median point

Balanced on precious scales of life's decision

You scream at the craven familiar

Will it always be this way

The torment,

The pain

The endless taunting of distrust

Will the suspicion ever fade?

© Fergus Martin

Nov 2013