Dying for a Himalayan Dream   Sunday afternoon in Aberystwyth   

a prayer for peace  In memory of my grandmother  Wish  

Dying for a Himalayan Dream

pristine white snow-capped peaks
painted across the horizon
above greenclad foothills and valleys
glacial waters cold and sullen

meandering rivers now stood still
where Sherpas carry their daily loads
a fresh chill spreads along the wake
of footsteps over virgin snows

a crimson range stencilled in the sky
bleeding in the evening light
half shadowed flotilla of clouds
descends into a misty night

trudging against the hostile glare
a ghostly moon to guide along
with frozen breaths she sucks the air
and pulls them ever closer to her womb

the people of the frozen tombs
the final dream, the dizzy heights
the chilling promise the goddess made
the summit for their lives

Sunday afternoon in Aberystwyth

another 
Sunday afternoon
like the one 
gone before

old men 
in faded brown coats
weather beaten 
and moth eaten
shuffles slowly 
by the quayside
discussing news 
of yesterday

the forlorn sun 
did stand still 
quiet above 
the Constitution Hill
covered with heather 
withered for years

as the old railway 
steams up drowsily
sleepy engine 
drowning the silence
of ancient winds 
drifting in from the seas

a horizon covered 
in cold grey mist
the gulls fly aimlessly 
not interested in 
yesterday's crumbs 
left behind

a prayer for peace

a flame flickers in the darkest night
giving hope and faith to those who wait 
who wait and dream of lasting peace 
that still might reach them at day break

stillness hangs in the vacant air
an empty glaze across the room
a simple prayer from a mother's heart
whose life keeps playing a violent tune

a wail of wretchedness shatters the air 
unveiling her pain and desperation
a woman crying for her demon lover?
nay a mother crying for a taken son

how long can we, the human race 
excuse our crimes by claiming divisions 
of faiths and nations, aren't we all nothing
but fathers, mothers, daughters and sons?

just fathers, mothers, daughters and sons
sharing similar dreams of happy lives
how can a mother accept her son
has taken the life of another's child?

the dawn is creeping from the east
as calls for prayers fill the bloody air
another day of desperate cries
another's day to say good bye?

or is today the day that would wakes us 
to face the world as one single race 
and offer a hand of peace across these divisions
hope must prevail even in desperate lands

in memory of my grandmother

an empty desk 
silhouetted against the wall 
half writ poems scattered around 
papers yellow and wrinkled 
fallen onto the ground 
laborious work of a bygone era 
inspirations 
left behind 
for future generations 

dust and dirt 
may gather on material kind 
yet memories linger on 
the vacant room 
now filled with loving thoughts 
of a petite figure 
of a beautiful mind 
as beautiful as the words 
she left behind  

Wish

Wish upon a million stars
wish upon a baby born
wish upon the early bird, flying across at dawn 
Wish upon the crescent moon
wish upon the half-blown rose
wish with all your heart and mind and with all your soul   
Wish to keep your hopes alive
Wish to let your dreams run wild
yet make that wish
within your heart
with love and prayer lift up your hands
for the sailors who follow the stars
do not forget the sands