LIFE FORCE – ONE

LIFE  FORCE – ONE

When shadow turns to substance 
In the still of morning’s birth, 
Then once again I wonder 
How much my life is worth.

 Have I in the scheme of things 
At last outlived my time?
I want to last a fair span yet,
To hope is not a crime.

 I long to do a thousand things 
I’ve not had time to do, 
But is that just a selfish wish 
I’m not entitled to?

 So many of my friends have gone,
Lives past while mine’s still here. 
Do I deserve more time on earth, 
Or is my ending near?

 Such morbid thoughts occur to me 
More frequently each day. 
I rush to pack more living in, 
No halt, pause or delay.

 Despite the limits on my life 
My time is filled with actions. 
Yet still my mind frets at the thought 
Of those un-lived attractions.

 Why am I selfishly intent 
On hurtling to nirvana, 
Grasping at each passing chance 
More enhanced life to garner?

 I could so quietly subside 
Into a life of ease; 
No rush, no great exigency 
My daemons to appease.

 Yet I am not content like that, 
I must remain on course, 
To stay with, in the time I’m left,
This imperative life force.

---

The two photographs were taken by me in London’s Roman Amphitheatre, which can be found in its restored state in the basement of the City of London Guildhall.

These Roman remains, thought to date to the 1^st Century AD,  were discovered when the Guildhall Art Gallery was being re-developed in 1985.  The original structure could house over 7,000 spectators seated on tiered wooden benches in what would then have been the open air, where they watched the execution of criminals as well as fights, usually to the death, between wild animals and gladiators.

More can be discovered about these little-known remains of the Roman Londinium on the City of London website at:

London’s Roman Amphitheatre

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Escape To Paradise

‘A Paradise’ . . . WHB: Pen and watercolour – 2014

our world is not always a nice place to be
so let’s take off for paradise
to do that we must dream
so make a wish and dream
the dreams made from memories
choose daydreams
for they are made from pleasant ones
precious jewels of remembered moments
of childhood pleasures recreated in golden colours
under warm and generous skies
for what is nirvana but bliss
a perfect quietude
remembered from that golden age
when cares were so far away as to be invisible
and joy was present
in the simplicity of a walk in a spring meadow
in hesitant steps across a bubbling beck
in that breath of early evening air
bringing the scent of heather
and with it the rustle of new leaves
bursting to catch the evening air
amongst the rolling northern hills
the cradled landscape of that now distant home
forever a part of my being
both bedrock and comfort of my present
and succour of my hopes for the future

TANKA

TANKA:  

An ancient Japanese verse form, said historically to have preceded the haiku.  The TANKA follows strict rules for the  construction of lines, syllables and verses.  

There should be 5 lines in each verse and these should be of 5,7,5,7,7 syllables.
No rhymes are required, and there should be a minimum of 3 verses connected in a single story, thought or conceit.

My first attempt at a TANKA . . .

I took a right turn
It led to that promised land
Earthly Nirvana
Where destiny awaits me
Offers rejuvenation.

So love comes to me 
Late in life it grows in me
Promising new hope 
Like the acorn healthy seed
Awaiting its fruition.

What if I pass on
Before I’ve even tasted
These promised pleasures
Will my shattered hopes repair
There in Never-Never Land?

Mortuary Chapel, Lochearnhead … Watercolour  – WHB – 2001

 

LIFE FORCE – ONE

When shadow turns to substance
In the still of morning’s birth,
Then once again I wonder
How much my life is worth.

Have I in the scheme of things
At last outlived my time?
I want to last a fair span yet,
To hope is not a crime.

I long to do a thousand things
I’ve not had time to do,
But is that just a selfish wish
I’m not entitled to?

So many of my friends have gone,
Lives past while mine’s still here.
Do I deserve more time on earth,
Or is my ending near?

Such morbid thoughts occur to me
More frequently each day.
I rush to pack more living in,
No halt, pause or delay.

Despite the limits on my life
My time is filled with actions.
Yet still my mind frets at the thought
Of those un-lived attractions.

Why am I selfishly intent
On hurtling to nirvana,
Grasping at each passing chance
More enhanced life to garner?

I could so quietly subside
Into a life of ease;
No rush, no great exigency 
My daemons to appease.

Yet I am not content like that,
I must remain on course,
To stay with, in the time I’m left,
This imperative life force.

 The two photographs were taken by me in London’s Roman Amphitheatre, which can be found in its restored state in the basement of the City of London Guildhall.

These Roman remains, thought to date to the 1^st Century AD,  were discovered when the Guildhall Art Gallery was being re-developed in 1985.  The original structure could house over 7,000 spectators seated on tiered wooden benches in what would then have been the open air, where they watched the execution of criminals as well as fights, usually to the death, between wild animals and gladiators.

More can be discovered about these little-known remains of the Roman Londinium on the City of London website at:

London’s Roman Amphitheatre