Category Archives: hope

Recalibration

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Like leaves on the breeze,
The years rustle by
And a decade can pass
In the span of a sigh.
Seconds and minutes,
Licenceless, fly
And the passage of seasons
In the blink of an eye.

In a dense cloud of details
We all muddle through
And, despite good intentions,
Compelled to make do.
Immersed in our screens,
We will miss vital clues:
The Sun still illumines
Our Earth’s vibrant hues.

Then during our lunch break,
The years have passed by,
The kids have grown older
As friends say goodbye.
And those we love most,
Before they too fly,
Should be in no doubt
They’re the sun in our sky.

Stephen Tomkins
14 February 2025
Singapore

We Must Do Better

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Though a heart can feel full,
Sometimes it will ache.
Though a heart can seem strong,
At times it will break.
You check the news feed
And then shake your head:
For you life continues
But mine’s filled with dread.
You might join the protest,
Wave slogans and flags:
‘Midst words, bombs and bullets,
All hope for me sags.
You chat over lattes
About lame politicians,
While I do my best
To avoid demolition.
Self-righteousness rules,
It’s all us and them,
But unless hatred ends,
To repeat we’re condemned.

Stephen Tomkins
8 October 2024
Seoul

But It’s On Sale!

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Christmas may come
But once a year,
But, Oh my Lord!
It’s become very dear!
Though fiscally frugal
Right through the whole year
Yet, come Festive Season,
It’s all out the rear!

The plastic has melted
Through flagrant abuse.
The wallet’s been belted
By gross overuse.
The cash is depleted,
Though who uses cash?
All plans are unseated,
By purchases rash.

But it’s not yet December
And there’s friends to remember.
Though it’s years since you’ve seen them
So perhaps you don’t need them?
Still, Aunt Mary’s niece
Needs another nice piece
So, a Tiffany’s Breakfast
Is a financial Wreck Fest.

But when the Day’s here,
You can have a cold beer
And not think of the bill
‘Cause it will make you ill,
Since you’ve got a whole year
To escape from arrears
And your memory is short
Of the stuff that you’ve bought.

So, come next Festive Season,
You’ll find a good reason
‘Cause your heart may be leaning
To remember the meaning
And escape all the sadness
And the monetary madness
To enjoy Christmas cheer
With another cold beer!

In The Moment

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Bathed in the feeble light of dawn,
As night’s pervasive cloak is torn,
I surface from the sleepy deep,
Allow my consciousness to steep.

And in this tranquil, twilight state,
Where even Time seems forced to wait,
Content to know I simply am,
The world outside seems but a sham.

I know this peacefulness can’t last
And nets of everyday soon cast,
But in this moment, I am free
And nothing’s all I need to see.

Stephen Tomkins
Seoul
1 September 2023

Time is a State of Mind

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Though it may seem Spring’s taken hold,
Late Autumn’s in disguise,
Betrayed by flakes of falling gold,
All borne on gentle sighs.

Indifferent, now, the trees may seem,
Still wrapped in gold and red.
Stoic, untold winters seen,
Their wisdom left unsaid.

And though the darkness soon may reign
As faithless Sun retreats,
Stone-like sentinels remain,
Another year completes.

Seasons fly like autumn leaves,
And as my autumn calls,
Summer memories fill my heart,
As Spring peeps round the walls.

Stephen Tomkins
4 January 2023
Tokyo

I Saw The Sea

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Another wave
Dies on the shore
But still they’ll come,
Forevermore.
Distant breezes
Grant them birth,
Far-flung shores
Then test their worth.

They live each moment,
Come what may,
Foaming, leaping,
Drenched in spray.
By tomorrow,
Undeterred,
Yesterday,
A foreign word.

At first glance,
They’re all the same,
No mother there
To grant them name.
Yet each unique
As each can be,
Still in communion
With the sea.

Stephen Tomkins
22 February 2020
Los Angeles

Life Diminished

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Where commuters once would surge,
Driven by a common urge,
Uneasy silence reigns instead,
Bound by an unspoken dread.

Deep within their fortress homes,
Guarded by their garden gnomes,
The people sit in disbelief,
United in a sudden grief.

All the plans and all the goals,
Shipwrecked on unbidden shoals,
And as the next wave hits the shore,
They’re broken up a little more.

In an outer ring of Hell,
The people, mostly, are all well,
And though he wishes no one ill,
It seems Death’s not yet had his fill.

So, they remain in limbo yet,
A vaccine not an even bet.
Authorities are clueless still
With re-election to fulfil.

Stephen Tomkins
28 October 2020
Sydney

Up There

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Today sat outside,

Tried to shutter my mind

From worries that whir

And from bothers that bind.

Looked to the heavens

And noticed the clouds,

Floating serenely,

An angelic crowd.

 

But as I observed them,

All borne by the breeze,

And wished I could join them,

Forget my unease,

‘Twas then that I spied it,

First glances proved false,

They each took their own path,

Their own unique course.

 

Spinning and stretching

Then fading away,

Combining, collapsing,

An endless display.

No different to us,

Or so it would seem –

Serene on the outside,

Their troubles unseen.

 

It may seem facetious

But I understood

A life worth the living

Can’t always be good.

Though whirling and wheeling

Like clouds in the air,

We all can come through

If we’ve someone to care.

 

Stephen Tomkins
3 January 2020
Singapore

Craving

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Like verdant bumble bees hugging the trees,

A hive’s worth of leaves are abuzz on the breeze.

Saluting, inviting and bidding farewell,

They whisper a gentle, restorative spell.

 

Never intruding nor forcing their will,

They beckon us linger, they bid us be still,

For only in silence, will we hear them speak –

The trees know the leaves hold the solace we seek.

 

They live for a time and, when that time is done,

The breeze calls them home again, each one by one.

No need to be sorrowful, no need to mourn;

As fresh leaves appear, our souls too are reborn.

 

Stephen Tomkins
26 December 2019
Melbourne

Beneath The Mask

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I used to dream

Of lots of things,

The world and I,

It seemed, had wings.

But time has passed

In fits and starts

And I’ve been left

In broken parts.

For though I’ve tried

To do my best –

In many ways

I have been blessed –

I always feel

I should do more,

Should be more,

With myself, at war.

 

How can I know

I’ve done enough?

And so, I smile,

Maintain my bluff.

In private moments,

While in bed,

My private eyes

Hot tears will shed.

And in the dark,

I find I’m shaking

As my heart

Is softly breaking.

I reach across

To find she’s there

And know I’m loved

More than my share.

 

So I try

To move ahead

And face the things

I once would dread.

Worthy, I have

Never felt

And so, to others

I have knelt.

At long last,

I’ve come to know

That all of us

Put on a show.

Beneath the mask

We’re all the same:

We all feel just

A little lame.

 

Stephen Tomkins
9 June 2019
Wellington, NZ