poems for seekers

[OzAnnie]

I am now posting as samarkand!

samarkand

well I never thought you were a malingerer

I also enjoy your posts very much.

 

[malingerer]

well I never thought you were a malingerer

I also enjoy your posts very much.

1963

I looked in the small bowl

in which I keep small coins

ones

twos

fives

tens

twenties ( for my candle in the chapel)

I use them to get to fifty two

and this is for my wild-card bet

on numbers (49's)

in the bookies

I have a genuine half-pence

one half of an original coin

which I found

I found myself looking

at the date

1963

and knew it was bait

I am a memory hunter

fisher of pasts

1963

I came back from two years in the East

to be married

1963

I was a stranger

but didn't know it

my daughter was born that year

I am long divorced

and my daughter is sometimes distant

too much like me perhaps

Fragile inner

eggshell outer

fossil

of '63 .

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

some wounds

never heal.

 

[OzAnnie]

1963

I looked in the small bowl

in which I keep small coins

ones

twos

fives

tens

twenties ( for my candle in the chapel)

I use them to get to fifty two

and this is for my wild-card bet

on numbers (49's)

in the bookies

I have a genuine half-pence

one half of an original coin

which I found

I found myself looking

at the date

1963

and knew it was bait

I am a memory hunter

fisher of pasts

1963

I came back from two years in the East

to be married

1963

I was a stranger

but didn't know it

my daughter was born that year

I am long divorced

and my daughter is sometimes distant

too much like me perhaps

Fragile inner

eggshell outer

fossil

of '63 .

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

some wounds

never heal.

I can’t stop collecting goodies myself.

The poem is a sad one but I see you get these thoughts out - Stops wounds from festering.
Annie

 

[malingerer]

I can’t stop collecting goodies myself.

The poem is a sad one but I see you get these thoughts out - Stops wounds from festering.
Annie

RETURN

it has been said

that when Constantinople fell

a party of the besiegers burst into a church

where priests were holding a service.

It is said that

the priests disappeared into the walls

never to return

till Constantinople is Christian again

and I wonder

if in all

the wild and lonely places

of my Caminos

those strange emotions

were the ghosts

of Sacred Yesterdays

looking for those

who may still hold a Truth?

I wonder.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

RETURN

it has been said

that when Constantinople fell

a party of the besiegers burst into a church

where priests were holding a service.

It is said that

the priests disappeared into the walls

never to return

till Constantinople is Christian again

and I wonder

if in all

the wild and lonely places

of my Caminos

those strange emotions

were the ghosts

of Sacred Yesterdays

looking for those

who may still hold a Truth?

I wonder.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

WEST

I walk

head down

into the West

from whence blows a wind

that calls

from marble halls

where the dreamers

of the wind

that blows within the wind

and gently chimes

with time lines

in the Fars

of far-off times

lit by candles in the stars

calling me

Home.


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios.

samarkand

 

[OzAnnie]

‘Home’ is calling to us all. Maybe one day we will all find our way back.

i always enjoy reading your words.

 

[malingerer]

‘Home’ is calling to us all. Maybe one day we will all find our way back.

i always enjoy reading your words.

thank you and to you too kirkie!

samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

I connected your poem with the honours paid today to an Irishman who has gone home, seen out by many candles. The service was streamed around the time you posted your poem. (The man in question: John Hume, co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, and also received both the Gandhi Peace Prize and the Martin Luther King Award. He is the only person to receive the three major peace awards).

 

[malingerer]

I connected your poem with the honours paid today to an Irishman who has gone home, seen out by many candles. The service was streamed around the time you posted your poem. (The man in question: John Hume, co-recipient of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize, and also received both the Gandhi Peace Prize and the Martin Luther King Award. He is the only person to receive the three major peace awards).

CAFE SAMARKANDA

My Western sky is ablaze with lightning

reminding me of the hills

above Valcarlos

when first I went a-Camino

that welcomed me with thunder

and storm of heart

There is a calling again

a pull that frightens me

for I am no longer young

and know what I must endure

But somewhere I saw the word

Samarkanda

and felt the hook

I pored over my rough guide to Portugal

the guide book to the route

the apps

No luck

I got stubborn

and mentally retraced my steps

examined photographs

and then

I found it

under my nose

I had read without seeing

for there it was

Café Samarkanda

behind the Mercando

in Santiago

and I begin to wonder

am I to Lisbon

and fortress Tomar

fado in Coimbra?

I have no inclination for Fatima

for I sense another

Marian shrine waiting for me

Thence Porto

and a glass or two to celebrate

The northern half of this route

I have done some years ago

by calendar

but only a heartbeat ago in memory

and I would walk again slowly

in

to Santiago

via Café Samarkanda

and whisper my prayers in the great cathedral

for in the now

I must pray

for the health of Iberia

it's people

all those connected with Camino

no matter how humble their role

and my fellow pilgrims

the life-blood in the arteries of Camino

on it's way to the heart at

Santiago.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

This one? If ever I go again - and I will, virtually, in about another half year! - I will have a coffee there and think of you. So lovely to be greeted by another poem from your good self on my first check in to the forum since last week. I was on a different kind of journey - a retreat. Funny word for stocktaking...
Thanks again for your poem, especially:
for in the now

I must pray

for the health of Iberia

it's people

all those connected with Camino

no matter how humble their role

and my fellow pilgrims

the life-blood in the arteries of Camino

on it's way to the heart at

Santiago.

 

[malingerer]

View attachment 80909
This one? If ever I go again - and I will, virtually, in about another half year! - I will have a coffee there and think of you. So lovely to be greeted by another poem from your good self on my first check in to the forum since last week. I was on a different kind of journey - a retreat. Funny word for stocktaking...
Thanks again for your poem, especially:
for in the now

I must pray

for the health of Iberia

it's people

all those connected with Camino

no matter how humble their role

and my fellow pilgrims

the life-blood in the arteries of Camino

on it's way to the heart at

Santiago.

Do NOT sit in MY chair!

Samarkand

and yes that's the café I intend to visit ! If you get there before me you can warn them in advance!

 

[OzAnnie]

CAFE SAMARKANDA

My Western sky is ablaze with lightning

reminding me of the hills

above Valcarlos

when first I went a-Camino

that welcomed me with thunder

and storm of heart

There is a calling again

a pull that frightens me

for I am no longer young

and know what I must endure

But somewhere I saw the word

Samarkanda

and felt the hook

I pored over my rough guide to Portugal

the guide book to the route

the apps

No luck

I got stubborn

and mentally retraced my steps

examined photographs

and then

I found it

under my nose

I had read without seeing

for there it was

Café Samarkanda

behind the Mercando

in Santiago

and I begin to wonder

am I to Lisbon

and fortress Tomar

fado in Coimbra?

I have no inclination for Fatima

for I sense another

Marian shrine waiting for me

Thence Porto

and a glass or two to celebrate

The northern half of this route

I have done some years ago

by calendar

but only a heartbeat ago in memory

and I would walk again slowly

in

to Santiago

via Café Samarkanda

and whisper my prayers in the great cathedral

for in the now

I must pray

for the health of Iberia

it's people

all those connected with Camino

no matter how humble their role

and my fellow pilgrims

the life-blood in the arteries of Camino

on it's way to the heart at

Santiago.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

So beautiful and memory provoking for many of us. - we have to be ever hopeful of getting back there to finish the walks we’ve started .
if i feel I am not able then to walk; I will still return to ‘be there’ .. I want to feel the Spanish sun again and to sit with or near pilgrims.
I hope eventually to meet you Samarkand and all the other readers of this ‘special’ thread.
Thank you

 

[malingerer]

So beautiful and memory provoking for many of us. - we have to be ever hopeful of getting back there to finish the walks we’ve started .
if i feel I am not able then to walk; I will still return to ‘be there’ .. I want to feel the Spanish sun again and to sit with or near pilgrims.
I hope eventually to meet you Samarkand and all the other readers of this ‘special’ thread.
Thank you

ABSENCE

Loneliness

is the absence of

The Other

and my swifts are

My Others

like my love

they are a link with love

and my candle

in the dark

They have returned South

early this year

because of climate change

loss of nest sites

and food supply

leaving me behind

for another season

but

soon the geese

will Southward fly

from out the North

and fill the sky

with clamour

like the distant wail

of a locomotive early morn

and the hobo's call:

"The Road! The Road!

it matters not if it be steel

or asphalt

mountain track

or forest path!

The Road! The Road awaits!"

for Road it wraps the Pilgrim

like blanket

in the cot

and Camino

is mother-lode:

The hand that won't let go.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

ABSENCE

Loneliness

is the absence of

The Other

and my swifts are

My Others

like my love

they are a link with love

and my candle

in the dark

They have returned South

early this year

because of climate change

loss of nest sites

and food supply

leaving me behind

for another season

but

soon the geese

will Southward fly

from out the North

and fill the sky

with clamour

like the distant wail

of a locomotive early morn

and the hobo's call:

"The Road! The Road!

it matters not if it be steel

or asphalt

mountain track

or forest path!

The Road! The Road awaits!"

for Road it wraps the Pilgrim

like blanket

in the cot

and Camino

is mother-lode:

The hand that won't let go.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

A SURPRISE GIFT

Cursing and muttering

I drag the damn vacuum cleaner

around the flat

I have steam cleaned the carpets

with the steam mop

and were it not

for the pain in my back

would feel quite righteous

I pause to talk to my chilis

(they are huge!)

and look up

FOUR SWIFTS ZAP PAST MY WINDOW

Meniere's disease be damned

I am dizzy

with delight

Perhaps they are a late brood

still fattening up

for the long flight South

Who knows!

Who cares!

A gift beyond price

to find them still here.

Walk soft stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

A SURPRISE GIFT

Cursing and muttering

I drag the damn vacuum cleaner

around the flat

I have steam cleaned the carpets

with the steam mop

and were it not

for the pain in my back

would feel quite righteous

I pause to talk to my chilis

(they are huge!)

and look up

FOUR SWIFTS ZAP PAST MY WINDOW

Meniere's disease be damned

I am dizzy

with delight

Perhaps they are a late brood

still fattening up

for the long flight South

Who knows!

Who cares!

A gift beyond price

to find them still here.

Walk soft stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

PEOPLE

In all the wild

and lonely places

I have been

some

terrifying in their beauty

I have noticed

over the years

an absence of people

No traffic

no noise

no canned music

but a silence so deep

you can hear

the grass grow

listen to the sacred whisper

in the breeze

and leaves rustling gently

But come you

to the deep Pacific

in typhoon's rage

as seas roar

and the silence is your own

centre

sunk in self

But then in square small

under a darkening sky

I think of the little one I lost

and my heart constricts

till a solitary swift

sickles the clouds

circles me and is gone

South

as if to say:

" we wait for you"

and a small child passing by

smiles

with that smile that holds

all the smiles I think I've lost

and I stand up

unafraid

to carry on my wandering

and my dreaming

seeking that which

I already hold.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

PEOPLE

In all the wild

and lonely places

I have been

some

terrifying in their beauty

I have noticed

over the years

an absence of people

No traffic

no noise

no canned music

but a silence so deep

you can hear

the grass grow

listen to the sacred whisper

in the breeze

and leaves rustling gently

But come you

to the deep Pacific

in typhoon's rage

as seas roar

and the silence is your own

centre

sunk in self

But then in square small

under a darkening sky

I think of the little one I lost

and my heart constricts

till a solitary swift

sickles the clouds

circles me and is gone

South

as if to say:

" we wait for you"

and a small child passing by

smiles

with that smile that holds

all the smiles I think I've lost

and I stand up

unafraid

to carry on my wandering

and my dreaming

seeking that which

I already hold.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

NO ROSES

There are no roses

on drowned sailors' graves

so I wear mine own

The Rose Tattoo

symbol of mystery

terror

beauty

when howls the gale

and rages the sea

to form a canopy

over ocean's floor

where sleep the mariners

of yesteryear

yesterday

and room enough for all

tomorrow.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

NO ROSES

There are no roses

on drowned sailors' graves

so I wear mine own

The Rose Tattoo

symbol of mystery

terror

beauty

when howls the gale

and rages the sea

to form a canopy

over ocean's floor

where sleep the mariners

of yesteryear

yesterday

and room enough for all

tomorrow.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

TAPESTRY FOR A SWAGMAN

I weave myself

in

to the road

using the wind

as needle

My poles upon the way

are as clack of loom

and memories are my fabric

I use the dawn

to colour my dyes

and watch my life

unroll

to hang upon

my walls of years

as I listen to the chamber music

of the grass growing

making a bench for butterflies

as wrap I tight with love

and softly

sleep.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios


Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

TAPESTRY FOR A SWAGMAN

I weave myself

in

to the road

using the wind

as needle

My poles upon the way

are as clack of loom

and memories are my fabric

I use the dawn

to colour my dyes

and watch my life

unroll

to hang upon

my walls of years

as I listen to the chamber music

of the grass growing

making a bench for butterflies

as wrap I tight with love

and softly

sleep.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios


Samarkand.

PORLOCK

WEIR

where the wild things wait

in league with thoughts

I thought had drowned

now scattered round

like broken slate

in disused quarries

souls to sate

I try the cleanse of running water

churchyard hallowed

but my time is older

than the birth of Christ

and I find it hard to catch

the trout like whisper faint of faith

that beckons me to follow

the restless yellow arrow

of my soul

So still I wait

by Porlock Weir

and watch the stone of Seer

brought to me from Ireland

place of heart

talking to the stream

and mist

morning rain

soul of otter

ancient laughter

and I am child again

of star-born water.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios


Samarkand.

 

[OzAnnie]

Hi Samarkand

TAPESTRY FOR A SWAGMAN

I weave myself

in

to the road

walking ‘the way’ with backpack, I’ve often felt a link to the ‘Swagman’ I’d remembered seeing in my childhood .. and realising now they were free to wander and roam to where they wanted

PORLOCK

WEIR

I feel in tune to your wanting to walk and follow the arrows here but a few wild things proving to be a barrier just now.
You will follow the yellow arrows again.
Buen camino
Annie

 

[malingerer]

Hi Samarkand

walking ‘the way’ with backpack, I’ve often felt a link to the ‘Swagman’ I’d remembered seeing in my childhood .. and realising now they were free to wander and roam to where they wanted



I feel in tune to your wanting to walk and follow the arrows here but a few wild things proving to be a barrier just now.
You will follow the yellow arrows again.
Buen camino
Annie

Thank you. The years closing in make the waiting hard. And patience is not one of my virtues!

samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

Thank you. The years closing in make the waiting hard. And patience is not one of my virtues!

samarkand.

AUTIMN

A sparrow falls

as does the leaf

tumbling from life

their season

run.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

Thank you for your simple message. A place of refuge from contentiousness!

 

[malingerer]

Thank you for your simple message. A place of refuge from contentiousness!

STRONG WOMEN

I read with horror

of assault

a Camino halted

but not broken

I see a photo

in the random shots section

and one catches my eye

a young mother with infant

pushing the buggy

with a smile

and my heart goes out

to all those strong women

with love and gratitude

for the gifts

you have given me.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

STRONG WOMEN

I read with horror

of assault

a Camino halted

but not broken

I see a photo

in the random shots section

and one catches my eye

a young mother with infant

pushing the buggy

with a smile

and my heart goes out

to all those strong women

with love and gratitude

for the gifts

you have given me.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

SPIRIT WALKER

From an ash log

I hack a staff

cutting down slowly

for the wood is hard

It does not like

the dye

so I sand down

and begin again

as we seek an understanding

between our grain


I write in Runes

and feel a journey

commence

like the small child I saw

toddling about in innocence

whilst Mass was being said

It made me smile

and the child smiled back


I will

with home made polish

nourish the staff

and then take her

for a walk in the weather


A glassmaker friend

will make me

a small scallop

for an insert

to let her know

the Way I would follow

when next I go a-Camino


The ash is Welsh

a singing people

and I have a song for her

that waits in the high Sierras

singing a truth

for Truth

is as the wind

knowing no barriers

and will sing back to you

of an Ancient

older than time

still spirit seeking.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

SPIRIT WALKER

From an ash log

I hack a staff

cutting down slowly

for the wood is hard

It does not like

the dye

so I sand down

and begin again

as we seek an understanding

between our grain


I write in Runes

and feel a journey

commence

like the small child I saw

toddling about in innocence

whilst Mass was being said

It made me smile

and the child smiled back


I will

with home made polish

nourish the staff

and then take her

for a walk in the weather


A glassmaker friend

will make me

a small scallop

for an insert

to let her know

the Way I would follow

when next I go a-Camino


The ash is Welsh

a singing people

and I have a song for her

that waits in the high Sierras

singing a truth

for Truth

is as the wind

knowing no barriers

and will sing back to you

of an Ancient

older than time

still spirit seeking.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

STAR HUNGER

The Crows of Midnight

roost within the eaves

of mind

restless

like the wind

that drives

as the rain

scours my window

and gnaws at the bones

of soul

for there are no stars

to see

and my dreams

are hungry.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

STAR HUNGER

The Crows of Midnight

roost within the eaves

of mind

restless

like the wind

that drives

as the rain

scours my window

and gnaws at the bones

of soul

for there are no stars

to see

and my dreams

are hungry.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

ACHE

A voice

pain wrapped in velvet

sings

high blue

of a distant love

upon a line

time old and yet

so new

like smoke

a-curl at dawn

from temple joss

as barefoot I

pad the stone

of way

to stretch my hand

to yours

in that lone

and long

so long

ago.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

ACHE

A voice

pain wrapped in velvet

sings

high blue

of a distant love

upon a line

time old and yet

so new

like smoke

a-curl at dawn

from temple joss

as barefoot I

pad the stone

of way

to stretch my hand

to yours

in that lone

and long

so long

ago.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

THE SEASONS AND THE COMPASS OF THE HEART

Tremble

the trees

as leaves fall

in the rising wind

as flees the light

at Autumn's sly approach

heralds Winter's wakening


He levies the north

and ice

and snow

bestir in readiness

at his command


Soon the East

will unleash the bitter winds

fomenting fierce

the seas

and drowning rains.


My heart quails

for I am of the sun

and need the light

and blue of sky


I walk the pier

and watch the western sea

but no sign approaches


In my flat

I sit

and drink my coffee

watching the park

as an infant

slow explores

with small steps

his world

on tiny feet

before falling to land on his bum

and examine a leaf


one of thousands

on the sea of grass around him


Soft his mother comes

to kneel before him

as he offers her his leaf

and their love is tangible

symbolic

for even Winter's heart holds the Solstice

and the Earth will turn

and so

may I

awaiting Swifts

and roads to walk on.



Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[Saunterr]

for even Winter's heart holds the Solstice

Love this line especially! Thank you!

 

[malingerer]

Love this line especially! Thank you!

from the sublime to the ridiculous:

A DAFT DITTY FOR DARK DAYS

Can be sung to a variety of tunes and you can even add verses of yer own!

Fasten your seat belts ! Here we go!

Bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days

when you could tell

by the smell

that your bowels

weren't well

and yer drawers were only fit

for burnin

and that whiff a bit high

from that pilgie

slinking by

damn near has yer stomach

churnin!

Oh But

bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days

when before lowering yer ass

to that nice bit o grass

you kept yer eyes peeled

for them vipers

who with some justification

could cause altercations

for thinking ya gonna use them

for wipers!

Oh but .....(repeat)

When I used to hear

outta me one good ear

them voices

of muted thunder

why twas Sheila and Bruce

chasing roos running loose

me cobbers from under

down under!

Shrieking

"bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days!

Now midst this laffin

and chaffin

and somewhat silly banter

a thought will sneak up

from behind

that tis the mind that likes

to ponder

but the heart that likes

to wander

back

to them

gooooooooooooooood

ole

days!

Walk soft

stay safe

and say one for me!

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

from the sublime to the ridiculous:

A DAFT DITTY FOR DARK DAYS

Can be sung to a variety of tunes and you can even add verses of yer own!

Fasten your seat belts ! Here we go!

Bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days

when you could tell

by the smell

that your bowels

weren't well

and yer drawers were only fit

for burnin

and that whiff a bit high

from that pilgie

slinking by

damn near has yer stomach

churnin!

Oh But

bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days

when before lowering yer ass

to that nice bit o grass

you kept yer eyes peeled

for them vipers

who with some justification

could cause altercations

for thinking ya gonna use them

for wipers!

Oh but .....(repeat)

When I used to hear

outta me one good ear

them voices

of muted thunder

why twas Sheila and Bruce

chasing roos running loose

me cobbers from under

down under!

Shrieking

"bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days!

Now midst this laffin

and chaffin

and somewhat silly banter

a thought will sneak up

from behind

that tis the mind that likes

to ponder

but the heart that likes

to wander

back

to them

gooooooooooooooood

ole

days!

Walk soft

stay safe

and say one for me!

Samarkand.

IN ANOTHER TIME

On a reed mat he sits

wrapped in cotton

watching

The Sun

as with majesty

it descends

into the West

There

in the desert

the night chorus

begins

howl of jackal

moan of wind

on the sand


He is not afraid

for is he not

Pharaoh

Egypt

Eternal?

He has defeated his enemies

for

swift his horses

light and strong

his chariots

true his arrows


His great tomb

far beneath

awaits

Beautiful

full of colour

well stocked for all his needs

and guides

to lead him

to The Gods

and bless him

for is he not

Pharaoh

Egypt

Eternal?


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[JennyH94]

from the sublime to the ridiculous:

A DAFT DITTY FOR DARK DAYS

Can be sung to a variety of tunes and you can even add verses of yer own!

Fasten your seat belts ! Here we go!

Bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days

when you could tell

by the smell

that your bowels

weren't well

and yer drawers were only fit

for burnin

and that whiff a bit high

from that pilgie

slinking by

damn near has yer stomach

churnin!

Oh But

bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days

when before lowering yer ass

to that nice bit o grass

you kept yer eyes peeled

for them vipers

who with some justification

could cause altercations

for thinking ya gonna use them

for wipers!

Oh but .....(repeat)

When I used to hear

outta me one good ear

them voices

of muted thunder

why twas Sheila and Bruce

chasing roos running loose

me cobbers from under

down under!

Shrieking

"bring back

oh bring back

bring back them good ole days!

Now midst this laffin

and chaffin

and somewhat silly banter

a thought will sneak up

from behind

that tis the mind that likes

to ponder

but the heart that likes

to wander

back

to them

gooooooooooooooood

ole

days!

Walk soft

stay safe

and say one for me!

Samarkand.

Oh @malingerer ! I’ve said it before ... but this is fantastic! You’ve excelled yourself with this one!
Thanks so much and cheers from Oz -
Jenny

 

[malingerer]

Oh @malingerer ! I’ve said it before ... but this is fantastic! You’ve excelled yourself with this one!
Thanks so much and cheers from Oz -
Jenny

Wasn't too sure you would like this or brain me with a boomerang!

Take care!

Samarkand.

people seem reluctant to call me this and prefer Malingerer! Who cares.

 

[OzAnnie]

Wasn't too sure you would like this or brain me with a boomerang

Ha ha. ‘Brain me’ - I haven’t heard that expression in years .

Samarkand.

people seem reluctant to call me this and prefer Malingerer! Who cares

Hi Samarkand - do you think so? I think they are just confused (as I was initially,when you added it as your preference) .
I think you have lived long enough to have the right to change how people address you. It’s a bit of fun anyhow. I’d even call you King Tut if you wanted that

Maybe we will meet on the way
Annie

 

[malingerer]

Ha ha. ‘Brain me’ - I haven’t heard that expression in years .

Hi Samarkand - do you think so? I think they are just confused (as I was initially,when you added it as your preference) .
I think you have lived long enough to have the right to change how people address you. It’s a bit of fun anyhow. I’d even call you King Tut if you wanted that

Maybe we will meet on the way
Annie

Only if there is singing and dancing , clashing of tambourines etc.! Cymbals too

samarkand

maybe a scribe out of time?

 

[Former member 49149]

Wasn't too sure you would like this or brain me with a boomerang!

Take care!

Samarkand.

people seem reluctant to call me this and prefer Malingerer! Who cares.

Perhaps you can change your name in your profile. I have to change my name on a particular zoom, which I don’t like doing as I prefer my kirkie name for being out there in public. It is easy to do on zoom... I look forward to seeing @Samarkand, formerly malingerer...

 

[OzAnnie]

Perhaps you can change your name in your profile. I have to change my name on a particular zoom, which I don’t like doing as I prefer my kirkie name for being out there in public. It is easy to do on zoom... I look forward to seeing @Samarkand, formerly malingerer...

Kirkie
It looked to me like that was possible (within Account details’ ). But not sure ??

 

[OzAnnie]

Actually - there appears to be a member already on the forum under the member name of Samarkand

 

[Former member 49149]

Actually - there appears to be a member already on the forum under the member name of Samarkand

I guess @malingerer knows that already...

 

[malingerer]

I guess @malingerer knows that already...

mebbee he knows that as it could be the doppelganger!

Samarkand

 

[Former member 49149]

Will the real Samarkand stand up, please!!!

 

[malingerer]

Will the real Samarkand stand up, please!!!

I think they both be me but the problem is I often change the spelling from Samarkand to samarkand! I have now looked in the mirror and given them both a good talking to!

Have faith!

Samarkand

 

[malingerer]

I think they both be me but the problem is I often change the spelling from Samarkand to samarkand! I have now looked in the mirror and given them both a good talking to!

Have faith!

Samarkand

SERENDIPITY ?

Sky

a grey canvas

etched

with black fingers

of leafless trees

reaching

in agony

for the light


Big winds probe

sending steel fingers

through every gap

to carve out nests

for the future-birds

of ice


Even the harvest moon

puts on it's winter sheen

cold siren

lure

for coming snow

as squirrels slowed

are almost doomed

by dogs


But still my chilis flower

white against the green

as one ray of sun

one patch of blue

makes my heart

sing.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

SERENDIPITY ?

Sky

a grey canvas

etched

with black fingers

of leafless trees

reaching

in agony

for the light


Big winds probe

sending steel fingers

through every gap

to carve out nests

for the future-birds

of ice


Even the harvest moon

puts on it's winter sheen

cold siren

lure

for coming snow

as squirrels slowed

are almost doomed

by dogs


But still my chilis flower

white against the green

as one ray of sun

one patch of blue

makes my heart

sing.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

MORNING

A chink of light

betrays the dawn

sliding in past my curtains

to tap my mind

and whisper

"Wake"

so this I do

and kitchen wend

kettle

coffee

croissant

and watch a sentinel magpie

black and white gargoyle

survey his domain

as to the living room

I go

and blinds open

telly on

and watch the news in text

then computer

check the forum

check the mobile

for local weather

and the daily rune

then medicate

ablute

and get ready to go

The rain and wind await

but I dress " weather appropriate "

and fear not

for am I not

a Peregrino?



Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[OzAnnie]

That’s life nowadays Samarkand ., down to the last baby magpie (it’s spring here) squawking to be fed.
I can’t pretend to be as structured as you on the walking routine but somehow the steps happen.
you’re doing well Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

That’s life nowadays Samarkand ., down to the last baby magpie (it’s spring here) squawking to be fed.
I can’t pretend to be as structured as you on the walking routine but somehow the steps happen.
you’re doing well Samarkand.

Oh yeah? I put the pedometer on my Moby and guess what? I got a message the other day that to date I have walked one million ,one hundred and forty six thousand steps! This equates to 800kms/ 500 miles= equals the length of a Camino! The fact that it took me since 24th April (6 months ago) only made me laugh even more! Now if only I had the health and wealth and a route into Spain wouldn't it be wonderful to dawdle along for six wonderful months!

Mind you I am back into reading Egyptology and guess what? The bloody pedometer says another 1200kms and I will have walked the Sahara! This is something that has long fascinated me but it'll have to wait!

Walk soft and don't step in the camel shit!!

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

Oh yeah? I put the pedometer on my Moby and guess what? I got a message the other day that to date I have walked one million ,one hundred and forty six thousand steps! This equates to 800kms/ 500 miles= equals the length of a Camino! The fact that it took me since 24th April (6 months ago) only made me laugh even more! Now if only I had the health and wealth and a route into Spain wouldn't it be wonderful to dawdle along for six wonderful months!

Mind you I am back into reading Egyptology and guess what? The bloody pedometer says another 1200kms and I will have walked the Sahara! This is something that has long fascinated me but it'll have to wait!

Walk soft and don't step in the camel shit!!

Samarkand.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CAMINO

Only turn right at rainbows

and beware of a left

in the sun

for the road

to the West

is straight and true

with guides

in the wind

and the pre-dawn stars

and arrows loosed

at the heart

for footsteps

timeless counting

walking soft

beneath the moon

Stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

DIRECTIONS FOR THE CAMINO

Only turn right at rainbows

and beware of a left

in the sun

for the road

to the West

is straight and true

with guides

in the wind

and the pre-dawn stars

and arrows loosed

at the heart

for footsteps

timeless counting

walking soft

beneath the moon

Stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

DUSK

A tree

slim

innocent in her nakedness

stands amidst

her discarded leaves

A moon floats

like a crown

above her head

and there is a stillness

to the air

It will be cold

but starry

this coming night

as the colours fade

to blue

and that of day

grows quiet

I cannot hear

the yelp of fox

or hoot of owl

from this my flat

and I am further still

from call of wolf

or cry of lynx

in far Iberia

but I can sense them

as an older self

grows not afraid of dark

whilst fire still within me

burns

and shifts the shadows

into shapes

at Dusk.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[OzAnnie]

Samarkand
You have a lovely gift of transferring your minds’ images and thoughts into poems.
.....very calming to read.. thank you.

Congratulations on your steps.
I’ve recently joined the gang of virtual trudgers (thread on this forum /

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/band-of-trudgers.67672/page-4#post-881663

using app: walking4fun. and have selected a camino to measure the daily trudge virtually .. I don’t think the Sahara was included but there ‘is’ a selection of Camino routes. Maybe we will meet along that virtual path. I’m on CF virtually now.
Buen camino
Annie
Xxxx

 

[malingerer]

Samarkand
You have a lovely gift of transferring your minds’ images and thoughts into poems.
.....very calming to read.. thank you.

Congratulations on your steps.
I’ve recently joined the gang of virtual trudgers (thread on this forum /

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/band-of-trudgers.67672/page-4#post-881663

using app: walking4fun. and have selected a camino to measure the daily trudge virtually .. I don’t think the Sahara was included but there ‘is’ a selection of Camino routes. Maybe we will meet along that virtual path. I’m on CF virtually now.
Buen camino
Annie
Xxxx

HOSPITAL

Sere and savage

dawns the day

with cutlass grey

of cloud

scything the light

A lull lets me walk

and I pound the poles

into the wind

A mile walk

to a bus stop

An hour ride to Bristol City

and then the long uphill walk

to the Balance Clinic

Three hours of tests

and another vote for

"we don't believe you have Meniere's after all"

GOOD

much discussion and exercises to do

enabling me to cope better

with severe balance problem.

I have already thrown the medication in the bin!

A brain scan to go at some time

and further consultations

I treat myself to coffee and cake then

down the hill I walk

softly

handing a beggar

my last pound.

I catch my bus

and become brave

going upstairs

for the first time in years

I am child again

and sit at the very front

grinning from ear to ear

Then I am Stoic

collapsing my poles

and gingerly walk down stairs

The Supermarket

shop

bus home

siesta

up

read medical notes

And the hunger builds

The Road

The Road

where wind

rain

distance

solitude

are all the medication I need

and where the mountains

are my Hospital

and my nurse is

Guardian Angel.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

Con Dios.

Samarkand

 

[malingerer]

HOSPITAL

Sere and savage

dawns the day

with cutlass grey

of cloud

scything the light

A lull lets me walk

and I pound the poles

into the wind

A mile walk

to a bus stop

An hour ride to Bristol City

and then the long uphill walk

to the Balance Clinic

Three hours of tests

and another vote for

"we don't believe you have Meniere's after all"

GOOD

much discussion and exercises to do

enabling me to cope better

with severe balance problem.

I have already thrown the medication in the bin!

A brain scan to go at some time

and further consultations

I treat myself to coffee and cake then

down the hill I walk

softly

handing a beggar

my last pound.

I catch my bus

and become brave

going upstairs

for the first time in years

I am child again

and sit at the very front

grinning from ear to ear

Then I am Stoic

collapsing my poles

and gingerly walk down stairs

The Supermarket

shop

bus home

siesta

up

read medical notes

And the hunger builds

The Road

The Road

where wind

rain

distance

solitude

are all the medication I need

and where the mountains

are my Hospital

and my nurse is

Guardian Angel.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

Con Dios.

Samarkand

TRANSIENT

Savage reigns the day again

with shotgun blasts of hail

against my window

as orphan leaves

dying

cling to trees

that once begat them


And I wonder

do they join

the souls

of abandoned snowflakes

cast off crystals

covering the green

with nature's duvet

And I wonder

that if in some other time

I too am transient

still holding here within

the grain of consciousness

that keeps me human.

Walk soft.

stay safe

And

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

TRANSIENT

Savage reigns the day again

with shotgun blasts of hail

against my window

as orphan leaves

dying

cling to trees

that once begat them


And I wonder

do they join

the souls

of abandoned snowflakes

cast off crystals

covering the green

with nature's duvet

And I wonder

that if in some other time

I too am transient

still holding here within

the grain of consciousness

that keeps me human.

Walk soft.

stay safe

And

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

LOST

Lost

my yesterdays

crowding the funnel of time

blocked

by a rising tide

of todays

jostling like hamsters

on the wheel

unable to reach

tomorrow


But

a blackbird sings

creating his now

with love and passion

releasing my futures

like the sluice gates

of a dam

as memory joins

the song

and we sing

our heart out.

Walk soft

stay safe

And

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

LOST

Lost

my yesterdays

crowding the funnel of time

blocked

by a rising tide

of todays

jostling like hamsters

on the wheel

unable to reach

tomorrow


But

a blackbird sings

creating his now

with love and passion

releasing my futures

like the sluice gates

of a dam

as memory joins

the song

and we sing

our heart out.

Walk soft

stay safe

And

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

FAITH

Blackbird sings

to the last of leaves

and Crow

lends chorus

as the mist swirls

in a Nordic opera

dimming figures

to apparitions

in the park

strange futures telling

whilst I count the times

to Solstice

huddling in the cave of Self

warming my heart

in the fires

of memory

as again I polish my boots

my Act of Faith.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

FAITH

Blackbird sings

to the last of leaves

and Crow

lends chorus

as the mist swirls

in a Nordic opera

dimming figures

to apparitions

in the park

strange futures telling

whilst I count the times

to Solstice

huddling in the cave of Self

warming my heart

in the fires

of memory

as again I polish my boots

my Act of Faith.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

I just needed one of your works of art and faith and hope today! Thank you. By the way, go into where did you walk today and look for a post by @Theatregal with the snow geese!

 

[malingerer]

I just needed one of your works of art and faith and hope today! Thank you. By the way, go into where did you walk today and look for a post by @Theatregal with the snow geese!

Something different........

UNHEALED

I dip my mind

in the ink of time

and pause

Words are the paper

on which I write

reaching

reading

forever backwards

to a

Why did you leave me

that freezes

my mind

and dries the ink

as the paper

crumbles.....

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[Theatregal]

@malingerer ~ Samarkand ~ I haven't visited your lovely thread for a long time. Today, @kirkie brought me here with her tag about my snow geese post. Your beautiful words. These last two poems, Faith and Unhealed are a balm in more ways than I can say. Thank you, to you (and Kirkie)

 

[malingerer]

@malingerer ~ Samarkand ~ I haven't visited your lovely thread for a long time. Today, @kirkie brought me here with her tag about my snow geese post. Your beautiful words. These last two poems, Faith and Unhealed are a balm in more ways than I can say. Thank you, to you (and Kirkie)

Hi!

have something more different than different!

ONE NOTE............

.......that's mine

so high and wild

that only God can hear it

I thought I'd heard it

long ago

in a blackbird's whistle

or the first cry of my first-born

or even lurking

in a HENDRIX guitar

or the voices

of the backing singers

to PINK FLOYD

playing " MONEY"

They say you hear it

when you die

and that

I find ironic

Me

broke for most of my life

listening to GABRIEL

playing the cash register

as I sidle

through the pearlies

only for him to shout

" Stop!

your subscriptions

are out of date!

Out!

and take your Guardian Angel

with you!"

And out we'd go

smiling

for we have played this game

since time began.

Where I go

she goes:

for love

will find

The Way.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

Hi!

have something more different than different!

ONE NOTE............

.......that's mine

so high and wild

that only God can hear it

I thought I'd heard it

long ago

in a blackbird's whistle

or the first cry of my first-born

or even lurking

in a HENDRIX guitar

or the voices

of the backing singers

to PINK FLOYD

playing " MONEY"

They say you hear it

when you die

and that

I find ironic

Me

broke for most of my life

listening to GABRIEL

playing the cash register

as I sidle

through the pearlies

only for him to shout

" Stop!

your subscriptions

are out of date!

Out!

and take your Guardian Angel

with you!"

And out we'd go

smiling

for we have played this game

since time began.

Where I go

she goes:

for love

will find

The Way.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

A SPARROW FALLS

Dark my heart

at news

of Madeline Mc Cann

for whom I have prayed

each day

since first

she was taken


My heart says

she has gone

from us

and gives my mind

the words

that hurt:

If every sparrow

gives notice of it's fall

then why

oh why

did no one

hear the call


I too as nearly parent

know that anger

pain

and unbelief

at loss

when I became the sparrow

But

I wonder

if

on some distant planet

of another time

a soul is born

again

and soul to soul

will hear

that someone

caught the sparrow

after all.


(Written for Maddie.)


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

A SPARROW FALLS

Dark my heart

at news

of Madeline Mc Cann

for whom I have prayed

each day

since first

she was taken


My heart says

she has gone

from us

and gives my mind

the words

that hurt:

If every sparrow

gives notice of it's fall

then why

oh why

did no one

hear the call


I too as nearly parent

know that anger

pain

and unbelief

at loss

when I became the sparrow

But

I wonder

if

on some distant planet

of another time

a soul is born

again

and soul to soul

will hear

that someone

caught the sparrow

after all.


(Written for Maddie.)


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

I see it as a "sad" for the now but yet full of hope for a tomorrow. Take care.

samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

Yes, my sad emoji was for Madeleine’s family. Your poem is beautiful.

 

[malingerer]

Yes, my sad emoji was for Madeleine’s family. Your poem is beautiful.

Thanks kirkie. The poem was very hard for me to write. The "nearly parent" refers to me losing a child before it was born. I think I wound up writing TO Madeline as opposed to FOR her in that as an adult I felt almost a sense of guilt that there was not an adult to defend her.

Take care.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

Thanks kirkie. The poem was very hard for me to write. The "nearly parent" refers to me losing a child before it was born. I think I wound up writing TO Madeline as opposed to FOR her in that as an adult I felt almost a sense of guilt that there was not an adult to defend her.

Take care.

Samarkand.

THE MYTH DANCER

......................................... shakes his rattle

as his steps

begin

The seeds

within the gourd

bestir

and start to sing

Calling to light

as the thunder-drum

replies

He dances the circle

of the rhythm

of time

from time

till the rattle bursts

and the star-seeds

within

scatter

One

holds a planet

my home

Which is why

I dance the circle

of the stones

alone

for my way

is broken

till I find my myth

and self holds hands

with self

light dancing

to seeds singing.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

THE MYTH DANCER

......................................... shakes his rattle

as his steps

begin

The seeds

within the gourd

bestir

and start to sing

Calling to light

as the thunder-drum

replies

He dances the circle

of the rhythm

of time

from time

till the rattle bursts

and the star-seeds

within

scatter

One

holds a planet

my home

Which is why

I dance the circle

of the stones

alone

for my way

is broken

till I find my myth

and self holds hands

with self

light dancing

to seeds singing.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

IGLOO

I carve my blocks

from Memory

using my mind

as knife

and scraper

Down the Time

I hear the whistle

and whisper of Wind

The creak of Ice

is thought

shifting

with the ebb

and flow

of Tidal Dream

My heart is warmed

by Solitude:

my spirit-blanket

wrapped about me

My words

fill up the chinks

between the blocks

and somewhere

in The Long-Ago

a dog-sled

is racing towards me

bringing

A Tomorrow

from the Glacier-Past

of Arctic Beauty.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

IGLOO

I carve my blocks

from Memory

using my mind

as knife

and scraper

Down the Time

I hear the whistle

and whisper of Wind

The creak of Ice

is thought

shifting

with the ebb

and flow

of Tidal Dream

My heart is warmed

by Solitude:

my spirit-blanket

wrapped about me

My words

fill up the chinks

between the blocks

and somewhere

in The Long-Ago

a dog-sled

is racing towards me

bringing

A Tomorrow

from the Glacier-Past

of Arctic Beauty.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

Samarkand: no words can thank you for your donativo contributions to this forum.

 

[malingerer]

Samarkand: no words can thank you for your donativo contributions to this forum.

 

[malingerer]

Time for the season's greetings and a big thank you to all my readers even the detractors!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, may it be a good one and remember , its the solstice on Monday 21st and the Earth is turning. Check your gear, make plans, even tentative ones Buen Camino.

samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

Time for the season's greetings and a big thank you to all my readers even the detractors!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, may it be a good one and remember , its the solstice on Monday 21st and the Earth is turning. Check your gear, make plans, even tentative ones Buen Camino.

samarkand.

PRE-SOLSTICE

I am tired

even the dawn

limps wearily

towards the day

My overcoat

of yesterdays

is heavy

and I yearn

for spring

But Solstice

is alas

midwinter

and there are

high winds

still to come

I feed the birds

and wish them well

even thieving Magpies

and cunning squirrels

as a wagtail whistles:

"Buen Camino".

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

PRE-SOLSTICE

I am tired

even the dawn

limps wearily

towards the day

My overcoat

of yesterdays

is heavy

and I yearn

for spring

But Solstice

is alas

midwinter

and there are

high winds

still to come

I feed the birds

and wish them well

even thieving Magpies

and cunning squirrels

as a wagtail whistles:

"Buen Camino".

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU.

LOL.

SAMARKAND.

 

[Former member 49149]

A HAPPY AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU.

LOL.

SAMARKAND.

Thank you for each and every delightful parcel of words, set free, like a flutter of birds into the skies of blue, or steel grey... and may 2021 inspire you with more.

 

[malingerer]

Thank you for each and every delightful parcel of words, set free, like a flutter of birds into the skies of blue, or steel grey... and may 2021 inspire you with more.

NEW YEAR'S EVE

A few small

fireworks

in the park

and yet

a fear

from yesteryear

when in my mother's

house

I counted the bombs

getting nearer

till the 19th

blew

around the corner

Strange

19

is now one

of my favourite numbers

the rune of movement


But Covid

makes no noise


Silent killer

from the dark legions

with rules

we do not fathom


But I too

have weapons

as old as time

:

Love

Dreams

and plans

for all

my Tomorrows.


Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

NEW YEAR'S EVE

A few small

fireworks

in the park

and yet

a fear

from yesteryear

when in my mother's

house

I counted the bombs

getting nearer

till the 19th

blew

around the corner

Strange

19

is now one

of my favourite numbers

the rune of movement


But Covid

makes no noise


Silent killer

from the dark legions

with rules

we do not fathom


But I too

have weapons

as old as time

:

Love

Dreams

and plans

for all

my Tomorrows.


Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

THE TWELTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

A strange sense of stillness

this last

of Christmas Days

Tomorrow:

Nativity

and my weather reports

show

sunrise

a minute earlier

and sunset

getting later


A soft goodbye

for now:

I hear the whisper

as turns my world

to open doors and call me

with open arms

and heart

but closed corridors

as Covid's unseen serried ranks

in battle lines

mock me.


But therein lies their peril

for Celt I am

and I to battle born

will war upon them

Die I may

as must we all

but my soul

will onward fly

to Santiago

sing softly in the dawn

and then

to Finisterre

for sunset

and close the door

behind me.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

THE TWELTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS

A strange sense of stillness

this last

of Christmas Days

Tomorrow:

Nativity

and my weather reports

show

sunrise

a minute earlier

and sunset

getting later


A soft goodbye

for now:

I hear the whisper

as turns my world

to open doors and call me

with open arms

and heart

but closed corridors

as Covid's unseen serried ranks

in battle lines

mock me.


But therein lies their peril

for Celt I am

and I to battle born

will war upon them

Die I may

as must we all

but my soul

will onward fly

to Santiago

sing softly in the dawn

and then

to Finisterre

for sunset

and close the door

behind me.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

STONES

Camino

where even the stones

are holy

even the ones

that hurt my feet

remind me

they are supporting me

making a path

for me to follow

whispering guidance

from those

who went before

but left a little

of themselves

to

remind me

that all is transient

needing no judgement

but only

reminding me

of gifts hard won

like patience

love

understanding

courage

and knowledge

which are not mine

to keep

but only guard

until I have won enough

to let go

and pass on

taking my place

amongst the stones.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Written for all of us.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

STONES

Camino

where even the stones

are holy

even the ones

that hurt my feet

remind me

they are supporting me

making a path

for me to follow

whispering guidance

from those

who went before

but left a little

of themselves

to

remind me

that all is transient

needing no judgement

but only

reminding me

of gifts hard won

like patience

love

understanding

courage

and knowledge

which are not mine

to keep

but only guard

until I have won enough

to let go

and pass on

taking my place

amongst the stones.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Written for all of us.

Samarkand.

HOLOCAUST

A sleet-grey dawn

like Welsh slate torn

from the mountain

has me shiver

from memory of old fear

and hatred

for this:

is Memorial Day

and I light my candle

in the Western window

to watch the flame flicker

as did those millions

of souls

before the light

went out.

I do not have the words of prayer

to ease the anguish

for only love

is the sharpest weapon

and often so hard

so hard

to wield

for love is not

in what you say

but only

in what you do.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as always

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

HOLOCAUST

A sleet-grey dawn

like Welsh slate torn

from the mountain

has me shiver

from memory of old fear

and hatred

for this:

is Memorial Day

and I light my candle

in the Western window

to watch the flame flicker

as did those millions

of souls

before the light

went out.

I do not have the words of prayer

to ease the anguish

for only love

is the sharpest weapon

and often so hard

so hard

to wield

for love is not

in what you say

but only

in what you do.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as always

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[Arn]

Of Plans and Promises

Plans are hopes, desires, a start, or an ending
Some speak of the moment, lifting up, some descending

Many are made while sitting alone
Few, I have found, are set in stone

My plans for Camino, once easily made
Are COVID restricted and sadly delayed

Still the promise to walk is stirring once more
And, I'm itching to touch the Gloria Door.

So, I plan and I pray soon all will be well
And, I promise myself and to all I will tell

The Camino decides which plan will come true
And it promises hope when sadness won't do

Make your plans, keep your promises
To yourself and to others

Soon we will meet in the Plaza
Foot sore, yet elated, Camino Sisters and Brothers

 

[malingerer]

View attachment 92249

Thanks for the candle kirkie. These are hard poems to write.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

Thanks for the candle kirkie. These are hard poems to write.

Samarkand.

DAYS OF IRON

The days are hard

raindrops falling

like lead bullets

before morphing into sleet

to gouge my face.

A squirrel

in his fur coat

raids my feeder

staring at me with insolence.

I pause

to look at a sole bluebell

flaunting in the green.

My lungs hurt

but I breathe deep

thinking of those

in the cattle cars

on their way

to be murdered.

A last glimpse of sky for them

would be the grating opening

and the black rain falling

in pellets of death

forming gas.

Their ashes would

a dreadful compost make

for future forest

and growth of grass

with perhaps each little flower

a reminder

of the souls below:

Nature's gravestones.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

DAYS OF IRON

The days are hard

raindrops falling

like lead bullets

before morphing into sleet

to gouge my face.

A squirrel

in his fur coat

raids my feeder

staring at me with insolence.

I pause

to look at a sole bluebell

flaunting in the green.

My lungs hurt

but I breathe deep

thinking of those

in the cattle cars

on their way

to be murdered.

A last glimpse of sky for them

would be the grating opening

and the black rain falling

in pellets of death

forming gas.

Their ashes would

a dreadful compost make

for future forest

and growth of grass

with perhaps each little flower

a reminder

of the souls below:

Nature's gravestones.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

DREAMS

WITH SPANISH HORSES

Like burnished copper

she stands

a-gleam

in the morning sun

Astride her

companion/rider

sits

Gitano

motionless as marble

both gazing Eastwards

into the Dawn

from whence

both had come

across the sands

of Time

unchanged.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

PS

This is actually the title of the book I am beginning to write over the next few years. I may well leave the forum and the poetry in order to do so.

So, again, walk soft and stay safe.

Samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

DREAMS

WITH SPANISH HORSES

Like burnished copper

she stands

a-gleam

in the morning sun

Astride her

companion/rider

sits

Gitano

motionless as marble

both gazing Eastwards

into the Dawn

from whence

both had come

across the sands

of Time

unchanged.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

PS

This is actually the title of the book I am beginning to write over the next few years. I may well leave the forum and the poetry in order to do so.

So, again, walk soft and stay safe.

Samarkand.

Well, if you must leave,


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.
(but you won’t, will you?)

 

[malingerer]

Well, if you must leave,


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.
(but you won’t, will you?)

book on hold but in my mind so here's something else!

WAITING FOR SWIFTS

The book says

mid to late spring

they will return:

this

is only February

but I peruse

each clear space of sky

with anxiety

for they are my candles

in the dark.

My soul went deep and numb

around the time of

Holocaust Memorial

as films

such as

"The boy in striped pyjamas"

and

"the book thief"

skinned my heart

whilst I remembered

the famine years

when almost two million

of us

died of hunger

as cattle and grain

were exported

to pay the rent

And I wonder

like a stricken child

sent to bed early

Why

do grown-ups

behave like this?

So I wait for Swifts

And the Promise...

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand

 

[malingerer]

book on hold but in my mind so here's something else!

WAITING FOR SWIFTS

The book says

mid to late spring

they will return:

this

is only February

but I peruse

each clear space of sky

with anxiety

for they are my candles

in the dark.

My soul went deep and numb

around the time of

Holocaust Memorial

as films

such as

"The boy in striped pyjamas"

and

"the book thief"

skinned my heart

whilst I remembered

the famine years

when almost two million

of us

died of hunger

as cattle and grain

were exported

to pay the rent

And I wonder

like a stricken child

sent to bed early

Why

do grown-ups

behave like this?

So I wait for Swifts

And the Promise...

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand

TIME

Time

is the Wind

that blows across

The Sea of Existence

guiding the flotsam:

Us

to the Great Currents

where we can hitch a lift

to Tomorrow

just East or West

of Today

which is a Now

I can leave

and elevate to Dream

of the Yesterday

from which I came.



Walk soft

Stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[PilgrimPillar]

i hope to recommence vdlp sep this year having struggled from malaga to merida some years ago. hopefully i will fly into sevilla and then train up to merida. the poetry will be written as i go. i have one more eye op to go and then i can start to train hard. i am not a good photographer and i really liked windswepts contribution so the poems are for me and all those befuddled about not only why they go a camino but always come back to it!

I am a long way
from who I am
and even further
from who I was
who I will be
heaven knows
I wear the tattoo
of the rose
the seeker's badge
of time and space
a distant point
on the homeward race
to who I am

yours,
The Malingerer

This one still important for me....not sure who wrote it though ...


Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.

Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.

To find
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.

Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Ulteia!

 

[malingerer]

This one still important for me....not sure who wrote it though ...


Start close in,
don’t take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.

Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people’s questions,
don’t let them
smother something
simple.

To find
another’s voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.

Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don’t follow
someone else’s
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don’t mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,
don’t take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don’t want to take.

Ulteia!

TIME

Time

is the Wind

that blows across

The Sea of Existence

guiding the flotsam:

Us

to the Great Currents

where we can hitch a lift

to Tomorrow

just East or West

of Today

which is a Now

I can leave

and elevate to Dream

of the Yesterday

from which I came.



Walk soft

Stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

BUILDING EYRIES

I build an eyrie

in my mind

far above this life

using for platform

old selves

and pad it with discarded thoughts

open sided

for clear all round vision

and easy take off

This is when

I unfold wings

I do not know I have

and talk with stars

in tongues

I never know I know

Returning

is difficult

and here

I need the ordinary

like morning coffee

wind and rain

a slow trudge to a bus stop

for star-child eaglets

only fly

at night

as follow they

the lanterns

of the light.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[Former member 49149]

BUILDING EYRIES

I build an eyrie

in my mind

far above this life

using for platform

old selves

and pad it with discarded thoughts

open sided

for clear all round vision

and easy take off

This is when

I unfold wings

I do not know I have

and talk with stars

in tongues

I never know I know

Returning

is difficult

and here

I need the ordinary

like morning coffee

wind and rain

a slow trudge to a bus stop

for star-child eaglets

only fly

at night

as follow they

the lanterns

of the light.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

I think this fits today...

 

[malingerer]

I think this fits today...

View attachment 94167

cant find the appropriate emoji but love red heart anyway

samarkand

who would like to be in his café!

 

[Former member 49149]

Hope all well, dear poet... I have no rainbow today, but I do not forget to send positive thoughts and yes - prayers - in your direction. Won't it be wonderful, the first steps on the next camino?

 

[malingerer]

Hope all well, dear poet... I have no rainbow today, but I do not forget to send positive thoughts and yes - prayers - in your direction. Won't it be wonderful, the first steps on the next camino?

things getting tuff! Friend of mine 7 weeks in hospital with cirrhosis of liver. one more drink and he's dead! He has now picked up Covid whilst in hospital. Me? have started couch to 5k app! Done two days Have a strange poem cooking. It was in and out of my mind all night but will take a few days to pen it.

Take care and thanks.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

things getting tuff! Friend of mine 7 weeks in hospital with cirrhosis of liver. one more drink and he's dead! He has now picked up Covid whilst in hospital. Me? have started couch to 5k app! Done two days Have a strange poem cooking. It was in and out of my mind all night but will take a few days to pen it.

Take care and thanks.

Samarkand.

STRANDS OF TRUTH

I thought at first

of faiths like wires

coiled around a central core

till I heard the roar

of surf

on distant sands

and knew the strands

were border-lands

to wild oceans

and deep deserts

Guardians to a Way

that led so far in quest

of why

I walked

and where

as from the sea-deeps long ago

I came

in search of wings

I'd lost

in sleep

too long on Earth's way station

till comet flare my soul awoke

and summoned me

to strand

and find the feathered rainbow

where charms of Goldfinch

wait as Guides and Messengers

as further words

do come

when once again I hear the roar

of surf bound truths

that stride the strands

and shores

awaiting my tomorrows.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

STRANDS OF TRUTH

I thought at first

of faiths like wires

coiled around a central core

till I heard the roar

of surf

on distant sands

and knew the strands

were border-lands

to wild oceans

and deep deserts

Guardians to a Way

that led so far in quest

of why

I walked

and where

as from the sea-deeps long ago

I came

in search of wings

I'd lost

in sleep

too long on Earth's way station

till comet flare my soul awoke

and summoned me

to strand

and find the feathered rainbow

where charms of Goldfinch

wait as Guides and Messengers

as further words

do come

when once again I hear the roar

of surf bound truths

that stride the strands

and shores

awaiting my tomorrows.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

A NORTHERN WAY

A banquet of Silence

awaits

in a hall far

beyond the glass

of my mind

An ice-wall

clear and clean

transparent

in which I find

no opening

or door

that would allow me

entry

I await the Bear

Guardian

of the Northern Gate

keeper of the keys

to ice-floes interlocked

To her I must sing the seal-song

learned as shaman-child

until she parts The Coldness

and I

continue

on my Northern Way.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios


Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

A NORTHERN WAY

A banquet of Silence

awaits

in a hall far

beyond the glass

of my mind

An ice-wall

clear and clean

transparent

in which I find

no opening

or door

that would allow me

entry

I await the Bear

Guardian

of the Northern Gate

keeper of the keys

to ice-floes interlocked

To her I must sing the seal-song

learned as shaman-child

until she parts The Coldness

and I

continue

on my Northern Way.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios


Samarkand.

A "WHISPERING" OF TREES

A "whispering" of trees

like the "murmurations" of starlings

means more to me

than number

It is the action that calls

and tells me:

"We are not a grove

copse

or forest.

We are a Whispering.

Some of us are lofty

that we might

catch the wind-whispers

from your far-away.

Behold us

in your morning

and the dusk of peace.

We

of the West

sustain you on your Way

for tho Easterly

be your beginning

to us

you must walk.

Give thanks

when passing us.

A "Whispering" is what

we call ourselves

when gathered

and our knowledge

is written on the wind.

Listen

and then look

the writings are there

for you

to see with ear

and hear with heart."

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

A "WHISPERING" OF TREES

A "whispering" of trees

like the "murmurations" of starlings

means more to me

than number

It is the action that calls

and tells me:

"We are not a grove

copse

or forest.

We are a Whispering.

Some of us are lofty

that we might

catch the wind-whispers

from your far-away.

Behold us

in your morning

and the dusk of peace.

We

of the West

sustain you on your Way

for tho Easterly

be your beginning

to us

you must walk.

Give thanks

when passing us.

A "Whispering" is what

we call ourselves

when gathered

and our knowledge

is written on the wind.

Listen

and then look

the writings are there

for you

to see with ear

and hear with heart."

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.

FOR SARAH

Sarah of the smiles

taken from us

so brutally

Your candle dimmed

but your star blazes

Walk softly now young woman

The Great Mother

holds you close.

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

FOR SARAH

Sarah of the smiles

taken from us

so brutally

Your candle dimmed

but your star blazes

Walk softly now young woman

The Great Mother

holds you close.

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

PLACE

is who I am

what I am

from where

I am?


Can a drop of water

in ocean

tell it's brother

you are different

and must separate?


Where did I lose

connection

and can it be

remade

or should it?


Does the drop

seed another drop

in a distant time

to where I know

I must go

and yet

I do not know

I do not know

the when or how

of this

my leaving.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Samarkand.

 

[OzAnnie]

You’ll get there Samarkand

ps regarding ‘drops’. It’s all or nothing here in Oz. Fires, rain / dry or wet. Right now (in nsw of Oz at least) our dams have reached their peak. Lots of rain .. still better than fires and drought ..

Buen camino
X

 

[malingerer]

You’ll get there Samarkand

ps regarding ‘drops’. It’s all or nothing here in Oz. Fires, rain / dry or wet. Right now (in nsw of Oz at least) our dams have reached their peak. Lots of rain .. still better than fires and drought ..

Buen camino
X

many thankees for support. Friend of friend who had cirrhosis of liver then Covid and now stroke plus bleeding on the brain! his partner who is very close to me is climbing the wall but too far away for me to help under lockdown. makes my own problems infantile but at 83 a bit too close! The poem was very much the endless question of where to and why and how Its much simpler back on the trail

Yours aye,

Samarkand.

 

[OzAnnie]

makes my own problems infantile but at 83 a bit too close!

Where there is a will ..........

Its much simpler back on the trail

I agree....all the ‘things’ that seem important at home disappear. Just us and the earth .......& walk & find food and shelter ..

 

[Former member 49149]

Dear Samarkand, you will make a beautiful poem with this:https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/0321/1205234-down-syndrome-day/

 

[malingerer]

Dear Samarkand, you will make a beautiful poem with this:https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/0321/1205234-down-syndrome-day/

I spent a lot of years working with disability as a social worker. Mainly in the then "mentally handicapped" field before it became people with Learning Difficulties. As I had started off working with the Deaf before they became the Hearing impaired , hearing loss was one of my benchmarks when working with people in those big old institutions. I was constantly being horrified discovering people labelled as mentally handicapped when their major problem was communication! Needless to say I caused a few stinks in a few places. I was not beloved by a few consultants.

I think rather than me write, I would rather listen to someone with Down's syndrome air their own poetry! THAT would be worthwhile. I hope I get the chance.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Keep listening , for as the old ones say,

" Often, often"

cries the lark

"goes the Christ

in the Stanger's guise.

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

I spent a lot of years working with disability as a social worker. Mainly in the then "mentally handicapped" field before it became people with Learning Difficulties. As I had started off working with the Deaf before they became the Hearing impaired , hearing loss was one of my benchmarks when working with people in those big old institutions. I was constantly being horrified discovering people labelled as mentally handicapped when their major problem was communication! Needless to say I caused a few stinks in a few places. I was not beloved by a few consultants.

I think rather than me write, I would rather listen to someone with Down's syndrome air their own poetry! THAT would be worthwhile. I hope I get the chance.

Walk soft

stay safe

and as ever

Vaya con Dios.

Keep listening , for as the old ones say,

" Often, often"

cries the lark

"goes the Christ

in the Stanger's guise.

Samarkand.

LABELS

The Way does not know my IQ

nor my creed

or race

but like the Gods of Ancient Egypt

it can weigh my heart

and sense it's Truth

and Purpose

often hidden within the I

of Am.

So judge me not

lest your mirror

show only the flaws

of Self.

I am one

of those other selves

you might have been

reminding You

of chance and journey

into the field of flowers

and the Final Sunset

beloved by all.

Walk soft

Stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios

Samarkand.

Written for all of us carrying labels we did not write.

 

[malingerer]

LABELS

The Way does not know my IQ

nor my creed

or race

but like the Gods of Ancient Egypt

it can weigh my heart

and sense it's Truth

and Purpose

often hidden within the I

of Am.

So judge me not

lest your mirror

show only the flaws

of Self.

I am one

of those other selves

you might have been

reminding You

of chance and journey

into the field of flowers

and the Final Sunset

beloved by all.

Walk soft

Stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios

Samarkand.

Written for all of us carrying labels we did not write.

SPRING

And softly slips the sunset

ever northwards

dusk on dusk

as spring triumphant

brings the dawn

ever closer

in Light Ascendant.


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

SPRING

And softly slips the sunset

ever northwards

dusk on dusk

as spring triumphant

brings the dawn

ever closer

in Light Ascendant.


Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya con Dios

Samarkand.

THE TASTE OF SALT

.......................................... in every tear

reminds me of the brine of ocean spray

when the oars dipped

and the long-ship lifted

as I to Ireland came

to plunder

and raid

but stayed

to begat a line

Mc Glinchey

which through the Irish tongue relates

to Viking

and the ship.

That blood is still there

for at my birth

I had the red-gold hair

of my Ancestors

and still hear the call of deep.

I am Poet

and my old ones knew the Skalds

and the makers of Edda.

I learned much from them in that time

as they in turn reminded me

of their

Elders

who had gone to sea

in the two-masted leather boats

of a lattice wooden frame

and water-tight

with good rich butter.

It is Equinox now

and I feel the need to voyage

once again upon The Way

and into the West

land of the setting sun

and no return

from Joy.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

 

[malingerer]

THE TASTE OF SALT

.......................................... in every tear

reminds me of the brine of ocean spray

when the oars dipped

and the long-ship lifted

as I to Ireland came

to plunder

and raid

but stayed

to begat a line

Mc Glinchey

which through the Irish tongue relates

to Viking

and the ship.

That blood is still there

for at my birth

I had the red-gold hair

of my Ancestors

and still hear the call of deep.

I am Poet

and my old ones knew the Skalds

and the makers of Edda.

I learned much from them in that time

as they in turn reminded me

of their

Elders

who had gone to sea

in the two-masted leather boats

of a lattice wooden frame

and water-tight

with good rich butter.

It is Equinox now

and I feel the need to voyage

once again upon The Way

and into the West

land of the setting sun

and no return

from Joy.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios

Samarkand.

NAMING

What's in a name:

it is but a tendril

of mist in the morning

vanishing with the sun.

It cloaks much

and much we give it

often to hide

our uncertainty

our lack of knowledge

our arrogance

and pretension of ownership

For that which is

will silently steal away

and we will hold

an empty box

But at this

a wayward tendril

small

unseen

had lain against my heart

and now it whispered:

" This

is no empty box or flat;

it is your window-box"

And my new crop of chilis

giggled like children

in their pots

and so did I.

And that I

of I

needs no name:

it is there

within

the laughter.

Walk soft

stay safe

and

as ever

Vaya

con Dios.

Samarkand.