Jack not so nimble,
Jack not so quick.
Jack failed to clear the lit candlestick.
Awake and unconscious,
They both took their turns,
A most tender place for those third degree burns.
He’s now held together with pieces of wire
And sings boy soprano for St Michael’s choir.
Stephen Tomkins
2 March 2016
Sydney
With apologies to children everywhere…
Photo credit:
http://www.buzzle.com
kizaz.com
Like ships, we’re launched into the world
Before we’re really ready.
The ground that we seek solace from
Is never truly steady.
And so we float as best we can
And try to make our way,
And even have a little fun
Before we’re drenched in spray.
Stephen Tomkins
19 January 2016
Sydney
Photo credit:
societbyofsponsorsofusn.org
http://www.photosearch.com
Slumber wakes inside her room,
Her soothing Siren song seducing,
Drawing me into the gloom,
The sweetest nothingness inducing.
Down into the void I fall,
Weightless in the inky dark.
It doesn’t frighten me at all –
Waiting for a dream to spark.
Once aflame, it rages on,
Sweeping me just where it will.
Abruptly, the inferno’s gone,
And, once again, the world is still.
Just how can sleep be so seductive,
Even when I do resist?
Succumb, I must, lest she’s destructive,
Ruling me with silken fist.
Stephen Tomkins
16 January 2016
Sydney
Photo credit:
lucien.uchicago.edu
sharperiron.org
There once was a heart, a very fine heart
With ventricles, valves and vessels,
Suspended in air and securely held there
By membranes, magic and muscles.
Open to all, at their sweet beck and call,
Its loving dimensions immense.
Defenceless, unmoving, its beating so soothing,
Without the least shred if pretence.
The wolves were soon out, in their cruelty devout,
With gnashing and slashing at whim.
Bloodied and bruised, the heart feeling quite used,
With its luminous insight now dim.
It just goes to show, as the days come and go,
Why a good heart is so hard to find.
In spite of it all, and when you hit the wall,
Just remember it’s all in the mind.
Stephen Tomkins
9 January 2016
Singapore
Photo credit:
http://www.cmoney.tw
Motionless ships set on sparkling jewels,
Brilliant-cut diamonds in deep azure pools.
Closer to shore, the worshippers bathe
As the Sun-God ascends over white sand and wave.
And framing it all, as if by design,
A towering pair of lush Norfolk Pines,
Their branches and finger-like leaves reach above,
Beseeching the Sun-God for life-giving love.
Removed from it all, by a clear glassy wall,
Sit I, like a scientist, cold yet in thrall
Of a view unexpected and perfect, serene,
Hypnotic reliever of stress, evergreen.
Stephen Tomkins
21 January 2016
Wollongong
Photo credits:
retaillawadvisor.com.au
secrets magazine.com.au
Pondering Poet Pilot 