poetry | Wayne Visser

October 7, 2018

Summer Sunshine

The sun shone today
And the whole world came out to play

Boys in flip-flops half-heartedly chasing Frisbees
And bees buzzing dreamily over dazzling flowers
Slow-motion rowers gliding under weeping willows
And swans drifting lazily in their rippled wake

Girls in bikinis slow-roasting like chickens
And students with unopened files on their laps
Entwined couples whispering under shady trees
And friends in tangled knots on vermillion grass

Mums in sun hats making bubbling conversation
And overheated kids exploding like popcorn
Engrossed bookworms sitting on portal benches
And swaying tramps thirsty for a drop of kindness

Dads in shades kicking footballs, beer in hand
And panting dogs on the neighbourhood gossip trail
Joggers and bikers glistening with beaded satisfaction
And me, watching and waiting, writing and wondering …

Today summer unfurled
And playing was the way of the world

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 Park

A time for reflecting and healing
For reconnecting and dreaming
A time out, to search within
To find rhyme if not reason

A space for thinking and writing
For tending to wounds from fighting
A space odyssey, in one place
In which to touch mystery’s face

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

Switch! (For Earth Hour)

Switch off the lights
Turn off the plugs
Click … flick … click …

Slow down the clocks
Calm down the rush
Tick … tock … tick …

Let the dark enfold you
Let the stillness hold you
And hear the earth
Breathe a sigh of relief

Let the stress escape you
Let the moment take you
And feel the moon
Change a tide of belief

Strike up a match
Light up a candle
Flicker … flutter … flicker …

Watch as your thoughts dance
Wait as your mind grows
Quicker … quieter … quicker …

Let the hour unwind you
Let the meaning find you
And sense the touch
Of invisible hands

Let the rhythm shift you
Let the song uplift you
And feel the heartbeat
Of connected lands

Lighten your tread
Brighten your path
Step … stop … step …

Act for the child
Care for our home
Switch … shine … switch!

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

Kingdom of Magic

Sacred world of fairies and elves,
Angels of light, and weavers of spells,
Friends of the earth, of the sky and the sea,
Charming our hopes, alive in our dreams

Perhaps one day, when we truly believe,
We’ll awake from our slumber, and there you will be:
A kingdom of magic and wonder and gleam,
Larger than life; dream of our dreams

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

A Bug’s Life

If I could speak butterfly
I think that I would giggle
And if I walked caterpillar
I’m sure that I would wiggle

If I could hear dragonfly
I think that I’d be fickle
And if I felt ladybird
I’m sure that it would tickle

If I could smell honeybee
I think that I would shimmer
And if I tasted moonlit-moth
I’m sure my world would glimmer

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

Witness to a Kill

I’m witness to a massacre –
Unwitting and unknowing –
Upon my tiny balcony
Where fledgling life was growing.

A pigeon chose our shielded nook
To make her nest and lay her eggs;
Two squawking chicks had soon appeared,
All skin and spikes, all beaks and legs.

Our proud new mum was diligent
As back and forth she fussed and flew;
She fed them well, they sprouted wings,
Their motley feathers grew.

We used to wake and listen to
Their urgent, hungry cries;
Who knew that tragedy would strike
And leave us heaving saddened sighs?

It happened on a lunchtime break:
I ventured out to take a look,
And as I stepped out on the ledge
I frightened off a jet-black rook.

I froze and gazed in disbelief
At feathers scattered all around;
Yet still I hoped that I was wrong,
Until I saw blood on the ground.

The two grey chicks were ripped to shreds,
Just guts and gore were left to show;
Their carcasses were hollowed out,
Their brave new wings had grown too slow.

Right in that moment, raged welled up –
A bitter bile of blackbird hate;
All I could think in my distress
Was that I’d come too late … too late.

I cleared the scene as best I could –
Put carnage into plastic bags;
It felt undignified as they
Went in the bin like shredded rags.

Later that day, the mum returned –
I watched to see what she would do;
She looked … and looked … it broke my heart –
It’s like she knew, I’m sure she knew.

The rook has come back several times;
I do not harbour ill will still,
For Nature’s kind and Nature’s cruel
And I – a witness to a kill.

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018

When the Lilies Bloom

Our Mother Earth, with flaming fever
Our Father Sky, with floods of tears
Our Brother Sun, in smoke enshrouded
Our Sister Moon, toils with the tides

The fiery dawn sees its reflection
The searing noontime is ablaze
The bleeding dusk is cut with torrents
The midnight feels the waters rise

Men and women dress for battle
Armed with bucket, barrow, hose
Young and aged grasp at safety
Cling to photos, memories, toys

War cries echo ‘cross the besieged land
Amidst the roar and smoke and grime
Some are taken hostage, prisoner
On island rooftops, in fiery cells

The choked skies, the drenched horizon
Pulse and throb with rotor-winged birds
Who quench the flames and throw a lifeline
Like glistening angels of mercy hovering

At last, the firestorm exhausts its fury
The smoky veil in the heavens is rent
At last, the tempest lashes its last blow
The dark cloud cloak is cast aside

From the scattered ashes, so bleak, so desolate
Bright green buds, like a Phoenix, burst forth
From the silted plains, so washed out and forlorn
Brave new buildings, like flowers will rise

From glories of summer, to tragedies of autumn
Many leaves fallen, many lives lost
With winter, lamenting and struggles for survival
With spring, healing and a new lease of life

As with the rainbow, an ancient covenant divine
This time of renewal and rebirth will come
The promise radiates from the ashes and mud
This sacred moment, when the lilies bloom

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

October 7, 2018October 7, 2018

Trooping the Colour

There’s a hidden army on the rise
A covert operation, underground
And listen as you might for frosty sighs
They plot their takeover without a sound

But see that splash of colour through the trees?
That’s the purple coat of an advance scout
And see that swish of motion in the breeze?
That’s a bright helmet of gold sticking out

You may not hear the drum of marching boots
Or see the glory flags of tomorrow
But mark where bright sentinels put down roots
For there, iridescent troops will follow