To catch a rainbow...

The spider strove throughout the nightTo weave a net to catch the flight
of insect, humming through the space
twixt soil and grass, a hectic place
where wings do shimmer, buzz and beat
the insect searches food to eat
yet all the while , the spider tries
to make a living snaring flies
but come the dawn, he's only caught
A rainbow!      Now... who would have thought?
©Rob King 2013

Insomnia

I lie quiet - darkness-shrouded,
toast-warm, but uncomfortable,
the ceaseless torrent of chatter
wearing smooth the jagged points
of my thoughts,
then upsetting them,
washing them, churning, separated,
to new resting places
on the bed of Nightriver.

My mind switches subjects
as a Pony Express rider
changes horses -
from stirrup to stirrup,
never touching solid ground.
No time for rest, not even now -
the dedicated time of sleep.
(The mail must get through!)

The button-pressed, blue-figured, back-lit clock
silent shreiks
"Too late to be night-time,
too early to be day-time!"
those unaccounted hours
belonging neither here nor there -
the Limbo of Insomnia
foist upon me
like a prison sentence
awaiting appeal.

Refreshing my position
both physically and mentally
I attempt meditation
that I might silence
the noises and voices,
the screech of speech,
shouted word unheard
but loudly imagined -
to block out all
with a warm blanket of
"Om."

Silence falls.
blessed peace
for one minute -
maybe two,
and then the chattering starts anew,
insistent and persuasive,
devilish and grinning,
prodding, poking, snarling
"You - will - not - silence - ME!"

With renewed determination
I try to shut it out
to bar the door against the ram,
to sand-bag the breach against the flood
to patch the cracks with wet clay
'til nought but the faintest trickle
remains.
Breathe slow and deep -
"Om."

Peering deep into and beyond
the backs of my eyelids
I feel the darkness
slowly closing in
on the candle flame
of my imagined vision.
Concentrating
on the flickering dancing
tear of light
I am aware -
the peripheral vision slowly fades
from red to black,
like a vignette -
gradually sucking light
from the centre
into the dark edges until
all is absorbed,
all is edge,
no light remains.
I sleep..........
............
The day creeps round the curtain edge
and slides, spiteful, along the wall.......

©Rob King 2013

Politics

I haven't written for a while, but here's a little something I've just put together.

Politics

I feel the need to write today
although I haven't much to say
not much, that is, that makes much sense
I feel I'm perched upon the fence.
My mind is filled with questions, sure,
but lying round me on the floor
are  answers, screwed up, thrown away
detritus of a fruitless day.

I never have been much at ease
at seeing wood because the trees
are almost always in the way
and block my vision, sad to say.
But should I rouse, and take a stand
on subjects that of me demand
opinions strong, I know I'll rue
when I hear the others' points of view.

My mind is swirling in full spate
made giddy by the great debate
that voices make, while shouting loud
each side appealing to the crowd.
They bend the facts, tell downright lies
they hide the truth from searching eyes
but if another proves them wrong
they start up with a different song.

And so I ask "Whom to believe?
Who is not trying to deceive?
Where do I find the one to trust,
the one whose cause is true and just?"
I fear that I will never find
an answer fitting to my mind
I know not where to make my mark
while groping blindly in the dark.



© Rob King 2013