Remembering Ash Wednesday

© T B Jackson

In the morn the sky was eerie

An orange glow, a hazy scene

And although my eyes were bleary

It was a sight I'd never seen

There were reports the bush was burning

To the north near Adelaide

And the wind was blowing stronger

Towards the south a path was laid

But they said it wouldn't reach us

Was too distant, so it seemed

But with the tinder-dry vast landscape

A dark day was soon conceived

The tension built for hours on end

Just like the rising of the heat

And the wind whipped up a frenzy

Until with destiny we'd meet

Then it happened in an instant

With no warning, no remorse

The beast it rolled on through our town

With an unencumbered course

And we sat like pawns awaiting

Unprotected from our fate

As Mother Nature unleashed fury

Across our town, across our state

As the beast raged all around us

Like piercing daggers through my mind

Came the visions of destruction

And the death of all mankind

The cars resembled gloomy coffins

In wreck and ruin our lives lay

The stench of death hung all about

The hallowed turf where we once played

But as fate would often have it

We were spared the reaper's grasp

And when the fiery beast departed

Rejoiced the hand that had been cast

But the memories do still linger

In my mind they'll always stay

Of how a town cheated disaster

On that catastrophic day

Solitaire

© T B Jackson

Take me for a ride was her heart-felt plea

As across the solo seat I cast my leg

And with the rumble of the drags the silence broke

It mattered not what she asked or how she begged

For a hog to me was built for one

At least that's the way I desired it be

And while that wasn't the style I always rode

For many years it was how my life I had seen

On another day, maybe another time

I may have gladly taken her aboard

But time and life can deal a lowly hand

And leave a player down on his accord

So I ensured no other would take a part

When the customiser did play his hand

As he perused the list I had wilfully supplied

A solo seat was the highest of my demands

And as the days draw long I ride so free

The sunset has become my trusted friend

I know she'll direct me as I push along

Guiding me on until the very end

So when through the darkness you hear that primal growl

You'll know me by the apes that drag me along

But don't ask for a taste of the life I live

For on my sled there is room for a solitary one

A Stranger

© T B Jackson

From the dawn of my time, I've always been an outsider,

A stranger in my own life.

I've had good times along the way,

Woven into constant despair.

But you don't understand,

Nor do you want to know.

You choose to ignore the truth,

And that I can't change.

Though I stand in front of you and call the shots,

Your words cut through me like a knife.

Inside, silently,

I bleed.

Though I tell the story of your life,

I have no happy ending.

All I can do is continue,

And walk this lonely road.

I've seen friends fall by the wayside,

Outsiders like me, too tired to continue,

Cutting the journey short.

A dark cloud descends.

There is no easy fix,

No way to bring and end to the relentless pain.

There is only hope for understanding and support.

That's just the way it is.

If you don't like what you see,

Look away,

Like so many before you.

I'll still be here.

I am,

I have been,

And always will be.

And I now know, I am not alone.

Star-Spangled Banner

© T B Jackson

I've heard national anthems sung so strong

With passion sourced from deep within

Performed before an opening bounce

Spurring on athletic grit

I've seen tears for patriotic hearts

As teams align before the flag

Exciting crowds to rise as one

And cheer their champions to victory

But while it seems the norm to some

To me it bleeds hypocrisy

Recited by overzealous fans

At times far less emotional

And only once have tears rolled down

My trembling cheeks and without shame

But not for patriotic want

For it wasn't even mine to give

It was when I heard her sing goodbye

The Star-Spangled Banner so proud and true

As you lay still we mourned as one

And bid farewell for ever more

The Time

© T B Jackson

If time was of your own

Where would you have it stall

How would you play it out

When would you make the call

If one moment could be frozen

For time and eternity

Like a billboard in the Cross

For all the world to see

What memory would you choose

To display above all else

One that has defined your life

Created love or wealth

I know that very moment

I know with whom it would be

For I know what shaped my life

It was when you first came to me

Only words

© T B Jackson

They're only words and flow with ease

Displayed for everyone to see

Descriptive terms, a passion shared

An open heart, a soul that's bared

They tell the tales of love and loss

Of passion and of paths once crossed

The true desires held deep inside

Revealed to all and opened wide

So tell me why, I can't explain

When by your side no words remain

They leave me like a summer breeze

I flounder, lost on weakened knees

They're only words, but can't be said

And so I write them down instead

In cryptic style and hope you see

And pray these words bring you to me

Harmony

© T B Jackson

Harmony is what I seek

In my heart and in my mind

But it's only for the mild and meek

Neither of which am I the kind

Like flowing darkness, deepest night

Time alone with idle thought

Creates desire for the right

But dispels all that I've been taught

Within my dreams I feel its touch

By light of day hope dissipates

On a precipice to life I clutch

And pray the pain will soon abate

But mine is not to be at one

It is to search with passing time

Continuing what was begun

To never rest and never find