poetry | Wayne Visser

December 16, 2018April 8, 2022

A Dream to Be Painted

It is time to pause, to breathe, to savour
As the wheel of life spins in your favour
It’s a moment to rest, to gather, to reflect
To look back, to look forward and to accept

This is your season of fruits, of growing
After long years of ploughing and sowing
It’s a change in the rhythm, the motion
A new moon waxing to the sway of the ocean

It’s a time of rebirth, of conceiving
From a lifetime of giving, now receiving
It’s a fresh white canvass, a future untainted
New palette and brushes, a dream to be painted.

Book

Life in Transit: Favourite Travel & Tribute Poems

This creative collection, now in its 2nd edition, brings together travel and tribute poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology pays tribute to the likes of Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Barack Obama, Antoni Gaudí & Leonardo da Vinci, and reflects on travels ranging from China and South Africa to Ecuador and Russia. Life is lived in the in-between / In transit / Between coming and going / Between staying and moving on / Between here and there / And what we call home / What we call settled or contented / Is merely a resting place / A station for refuelling / A nexus for reconnecting / A junction for changing direction. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

November 21, 2018December 5, 2023

Change the World

Let’s change the world, let’s shift it
Let’s shake and remake it
Let’s rearrange the pieces
The patterns in the maze
The reason for our days
In ways that make it better
In shades that make it brighter
That make the burden lighter
Because it’s shared, because we dared
To dream and then to sweat it
To make our mark and not regret it
Let’s plant a seed and humbly say:
I changed the world today!

Let’s change the world, let’s lift it
Let’s take it and awake it
Let’s challenge every leader
The citadels of power
The prisoners in the tower
The hour of need’s upon us
It’s time to raise our voices
To stand up for our choices
Because it’s right, because we fight
For all that’s just and fair
For a planet we can share
Let’s join the cause and boldly say:
We’ll change the world today!

Let’s change the world, let’s love it
Let’s hold it and unfold it
Let’s redesign the future
The fate of earth and sky
The existential why
Let’s fly to where there’s hope
To where the world is greener
Where air and water’s cleaner
Because it’s smart to make a start
To fix what we have broken
Our children’s wish unspoken
Let’s be the ones who rise and say:
We changed the world today!

Book

Change the World: Poems for Positive Action

This unique collection brings together poems for positive action by poet and writer, Wayne Visser, providing inspiration and motivation for all those who are striving to change the world for the better. The anthology includes perennial favourites such as Be An Optimist, A Place to Thrive, Think on Business, To Lead, Giving Up, It’s Time, A Swirling Story, Because I Care, and, of course, Change the World (Parts 1 and 2), as well as more recent poems like A Butterfly Appeared, The Great Outdoors, and Letter to Earth. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

October 7, 2018

Spirit of the Mountain

We climb, but not because the mountain is there
But because there is great joy in climbing
We climb, not because we want to conquer the peaks
But because we want to test our own limits
We climb, not because ascending is easy or direct
But because it is a struggle that strengthens us

The summit is wherever we want to go
Knowing that we will have to work to get there
The summit is whatever we dream of becoming
Knowing that every step we take brings us closer
The summit is however we envision a better world
Knowing that all change begins with us

We rest, not because we are defeated
But because we like to savour the view
We rest, not because we are weak or soft
But because we respect the rhythms of life
We rest, not because we wish to stop
But because we plan to go on even longer

The mountain is every barrier before us
Knowing that our body can rise to the challenge
The mountain is every opportunity ahead
Knowing that our mind is a source of great power
The mountain is every aspiration we nurture
Knowing that our spirit is the crucible of creation

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together nature poems by Wayne Visser, celebrating the diversity, beauty and ever-changing moods of our planet. The anthology includes many old favourites like “I Think I Was a Tree Once” and “A Bug’s Life”, as well as brand new poems like “Monet’s Dream” and “The Environmentalist”. Then as we turned our faces to the moon / Our hands entwined, our hearts in sync, in tune / We felt the fingers of the silken breeze / And made our wishes on the falling leaves / A gust of wind set off a whispered sigh / Among the trees that leaned against the sky. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

October 7, 2018

The Environmentalist

You call me an environmentalist
As if caring for the earth is some kind of cult
And concern for future generations
Is a subversive agenda to be treated with suspicion

Yet it is the earth that sustains us
And a future that we will occupy together
It is the place that all of us call home
And our children who will suffer or succeed

Being green does not make me a monster
Any more than being black or white would
In the end we all bleed the same colour
And when the earth is wounded, it bleeds too

You think I’m a fundamentalist
As if respect for nature is an ideology
And calling for limits to growth and consumption
Is propaganda with no basis in science

Yet it is nature that makes us who we are
And science that sets the conditions for life
It is a finite world that we all live in
And simple maths reveals the inconvenient truth

Being committed does not make me a fanatic
Any more than being a person of faith would
In the end we all believe in something good
And when we believe in nature, it gives back

You say I’m a conservationist
As if saving scarce resources is a bad thing
And giving space for all life to flourish
Is a zero-sum game where humans always lose

Yet it is resources that feed and clothe us
That fuel our homes and health and happiness
It is the web of life that supports us
And greater biodiversity means we thrive too

Being loving does not make me weak
Any more than being a parent or saint would
In the end we all long for compassion
And when we nurture all life, it takes care of us

You call me an environmentalist
I confess that I am, and so much more besides
So call me a humanist and a possible-ist too
For I believe that a better world is possible (do you?)

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

Safe Place

Now you’re safe in your place and I’m safe in mine
No waves and no torrents, the weather’s just fine
The distance between us keeps still waters calm
Our harbour defences protect us from harm

But oh, how I long for the cool ocean spray
For the flap of the sails and the dolphins at play
And oh, how I yearn for the sway of the bed
For the rap of the riggings strung tight overhead

But I’m safe in my place and you’re safe in yours
Our anchors are dropped and we’re tied to the moors
No warnings of sea squalls, no fog horns or bells
No risk of us sinking, no dangerous spells

Yet oh, how I miss all the wide open space
The sun on our backs and the wind in our face
And oh, how I dream of the day we set sail
On our next great adventure, come hell or high gale

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

Haiku 3

Twin swans, white as silk
Rise and fall with gentle swell
Curvatures in sync

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018

Haiku 2

Open petals glowing
With buzzing to and fro’ing
Sweet nectar’s flowing

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

The Harbour

Life’s a great adventure – that’s true:
You brave the storms of grey and blue
You sail across the seven seas
And chase the sunsets on the breeze

You shin the mast and touch the sky
You trim the sails and don’t ask why
But just beneath the thrill and mirth
You long to find a tranquil berth

Life’s a great adventure – such glee:
The ocean tells you that you’re free
The salty air, the surf and spray
Add spice to every night and day

You plot the course and chart the stars
You lift the anchor, break the bars
But even as you rig and roam
You search for signs to make it home

Life’s a great adventure – each day:
You’re blown and buoyed along the way
You weave a yarn and tell your tale
And make a wish as you set sail

The horizon stretches as before
But now you’ve come to know the shore
No longer are you harbourless
What can I say: it’s marvellous!

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

Sliver of the Moon

Sliver of the moon
Gone too soon
Too soon gone
To the stars beyond

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

Only Natural

Is it spoiling a rose
To breathe its sweet scent
And call its silk petals
Beautiful?

Is it blessing a tree
To stroke its rough skin
And call its bright garments
Wonderful?

Is it treating a hill
To walk its curved back
And call its wide vistas
Majestic?

Or is it we who are
Spoiled, blessed and treated
By noticing what is
Only natural?