Risk

Sometimes you have to dive in headfirst
And hope that you find air.
Sometimes you have to do what feels right
Without a single care.

Sometimes you have to walk the tightrope
And hope that you do not fall.
Sometimes it's better to take the risk
Than to not take it at all.

Sometimes you've got to open up your heart to someone
And hope that they don't break it.
Sometimes you have to make the decision that is right
And follow through and take it.

Sometimes you have to wander from the beaten path
And hope you don't get lost.
Sometimes you have got to do what you know is right
No matter what its cost.

Sometimes you have got to make yourself vulnerable
And hope that you will get stronger.
Sometimes you've got to let your heart rule your decisions
And follow your head no longer.

Sometimes you have to go out on a limb
And hope it doesn't break.
Sometimes you've got to go and take a chance
Because the only future you have is the one you make

waves

Emotions, like Oceans, ebb and flow.
From rising waters, to tides so low.
Crashing waves and Ocean breeze,
Up to your neck or below your knees.
Your darkest creatures hide in their depths,
only to surface and steal your breath.
Dragging you deeper to an ultimate low,
the sunlight has faded, there is no where to go.
Suddenly released, out of their grasp.
You break the surface, swallow and gasp.
Your mood has swung, the fear subsides,
again you've survived the changing tides.
You head for shore, the sun is rising,
you reach the beach, your mood surprising.
Your spirit lifted, you grab your boat.
Push off shore, so sure you'll float.
An error you've made, the moon rises full.
The tide has risen from gravity's pull.
Your mood comes full circle escaping the norm.
Waves of emotion, the perfect storm

Africa

Don't shed those tears dear Africa
The world can hear your cries
They see your pain and shy away
Ashamed to see those eyes

Raise your voice sweet Africa
Let them see you're strong
Enduring people of the land
Who wait to right our wrong

Mothers weep and children starve
The living world looks on
I wonder will we find our conscience
Before they are all gone

Yesterday Rwanda died
Today Darfur is sinking
South Africa has had her share
And we just sit here thinking

When will time release our pride
And wash away our guilt
If every day is spent inside
This privileged box we've built

Outside our walls there is a world
Where suffering is true
We take for granted everything
These people wish they knew

Africa don't cry those tears
Walk with your head high
I'd rather live inside your strength
Than here with no reply 

Home

After being away from home for sometime, you learn to see 'home' in many different ways. Sometimes it makes you happy, sometimes sad and sometimes both. The emotions that come from missing home is incredible. There were many times in the last few years of my life, I questioned home, whether to go back or to stay. To live it, or to forget it. I had both those emotions so many times and I put pen to paper to express these emotions. I hope you enjoy this new collection about home.

[Untitled]

Written just before I left home to do some travels... 

I am a hummingbird, flying
From the Eiffel Towel to the Eye of London,
Feeling my tired mind, 
Slowly, clear and joyful.

I am an athlete, jogging by the One Pillar Pagoda
Then climbing the Great Wall of China;
My heart is whistling like the sound of the flute,
Never feeling exhausted, but blissful.

I am a sailboat, floating
On the calm indigo ocean,
Gazing at Waikiki beach
While tasting the heat of the summer topaz.

I am a firefly, in the heart of twilight,
Circle the Pyramids of Cairo
Enjoying my wonderful moment
And waiting to rest my tired wings.

I am flapping my wings,
As I hover over Sydney Harbour Bridge,
Looking at the shimmering water…
I am thirsty, longing to quench my thirst

[Untitled]

As soon as I arrived in London knowing that I was there for awhile, I had so many thoughts about being where I was. I didn't enjoy the March bite in the air. Walking around St. James Park, freezing and this is what came to my mind as I remembered a quote once upon a time. "What you've done becomes the judge of what you're going to do - especially in other people's minds.  When you're traveling, you are what you are right there and then.  People don't have your past to hold against you.  No yesterdays on the road".  ~William Least Heat Moon, Blue Highways

We already left
No going back
to change the past
We're headed down this road
where it leads that’s unknown
Anywhere away from home
We just got out of there
with no time to spare
My life was unfair
And nobody cared
I feel like my life is over
and now I need to start over
Clean slate, no mistakes
No debate on who I hate
This life's going turn around
I've got it all figured out
No cries, no more telling
stupid fucking lies.

Going Home

I've travelled this road a time or two
But I'm still not sure on what to do,
Should I take the road less travelled by
Or should I take the road where buildings lie,
One will take me where I've never been
One will take me where society wins,
I've been to town and dealt with the man
And the government to me is just a big scam,
So what to do is the question asked
and I don't want to go back to the past,
So here I go down the long road home
On this path that has been unknown,
It's path is narrow, dark and lonely
But beyond its gloom it feels so homely,
This is the road that will lead me to success
This is the road that will get rid of this mess,
This mess I call life that has been destroyed
A mess, until now, that has been ignored,
Where this road will take me, I do not know
But I'm going to sit back and take it slow,
Because it's time for my life to start looking up
I'm tired of sitting back and letting it suck,
So my head is up and my feet are churning
And I'll do all I can to keep these wheels turning,
God has put something out for me 
And it seems that all I can see,
Is this long and winding road home
That will lead to my success that remains unknown. 

Ever Wondered?

You ever look at a picture of yourself and see a stranger in the background? It makes you wonder how many strangers have pictures of you, how many moments of other peoples lives have we been in, we're we a part of someone's life when their dreams came true, or were we there when their dreams died. Did we keep trying to get in, as if we were somehow destined to be there, or did the shot take us by surprise. Just think, you could be a big part of someone else's life, and not even know it

Stories

Why tell your grandkids tht you worked 9-5, 7days a week for 40 years & quietly sat in traffic jams while others went to war, suffered diseases & shot their own class mates.

Why not tell them you refused to live in fear.

Tell them you crossed the Amazon, saw the lost cities of gold and met your soul mate in Casablanca.

So go out and live the life and make stories that one day, it will make your grandkids proud.

Paint - As Much As You Want...

A life, a canvas, a new start,
I see life as a piece of art,
Give me my brush,
My hand trembles and I am cold to the touch.

Paint me a canvas of beautiful blue,
Symbolising the love of me and you,
Splash on some orange like a blazing fire,
Symbolising what we desire.

Paint some yellow with one simple stroke,
Describing laughter that follows a joke,
Red for passion and purple for pride,
White for friends that will never leave your side.

Crimson for the blood that runs through my veins.
Splash it all over and hope it stains,
Grey for sadness and salty tears,
Green for strength and conquering fears.

Paint me a canvas with pastel pink,
To symbolise innocence with a wink,
Silver for effort and gold for success,
I am running out of colours I must confess.

Life is all the colours mixed together,
I am stuck with this painting, now and forever,
This painting is my life from back to back,
This painting is my life, and may it never be black.

Sorry

I guess sometimes in life we make mistakes. Mistakes where we end up chasing people away or just not having an interest in them. This goes to the friends that I have lost, and I want to say sorry to you all. You all know who you are, 
I am sorry.

In the times of past, the days foregone
Though bodies two, our minds were like one
Like two shipwrecked souls on a raft
To ease each other, we talked and laughed

In the turbulent water's flow
The raft bravely withstood the row
But a rift formed, from a blow
When you came to know
About:
Why? I talked to you
Why?
Why?

"Friend", "Friend" you called again "Friend"
And told me to be a FRIEND

Then,
As time went by
We drifted apart, and we still are
Far apart; Places where from we can barely see each other

Left alone,
I am now with the memories of bliss
And the things that I miss

I miss that orchestra of words
I miss those sunrise smiles
I miss those jumping eyebrows of surprise
I miss that togetherness
I miss the time we had
But above all I miss you
I miss you more than you would ever know
I hope THIS is not the end
I hope THIS is not what you meant by "FRIEND"

All Men Die

Take a single hand 
you have two, it's not a stretch 
and reach out 
touch something 
change something 
make something 
live, 
for once in your life 
because no one will remember 
the crabby old man 
with the cane 
and smile 
but we all smile when we see 
the worn hands of a carpenter. 
So reach out 
touch something 
change something 
make something 
live, 
Because every man dies 
but not every man truly lives 

Live

Reach out, 
reach up, 
twist your palms towards the breeze 
Raise your voice, 
twirl round, 
let your toes stir the seas 
Paint a scene, 
make it shine, 
pretend its everything you've been 
Rip it up, 
find your smile, 
then wield your crayons again! 

The Man In The Mirror

If you get what you want in your struggle for self 
And the world makes you king for a day 
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself 
And see what that man has to say 

For it isn't a man's father, mother or wife 
Whose judgement upon him must pass 
The fellow whose verdict counts most in his life 
Is the man staring back from the glass 

He's the fellow to please, never mind the rest 
For he's with you clear up to the end 
And you've passed your most dangerous, difficult test 
If the man in the glass is your friend 

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years 
And get pats on the back as you pass 
But your final reward wil be heartache and tears 
If you've cheated the man in the glass