Tag: poem

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Behind the Veil

To those who stand outside
Or young ones still aspiring
The mysteries of business
Are tangled myths conspiring

But for those who enter in
The veil is quickly rent
For the secrets of success
Are simply common sense:

Make a lot of friends
And always keep in touch
Try to help with problems
But never pry too much

Get to know the rules
And always show respect
Play hard but even-handed
Give as you hope to get

Set a lot of meetings
And always be on time
Talk less and listen more
But don’t become a mime

Make a lot of money
And always watch your spend
But do not get confused
Between the means and end

Get to know your talent
And always have some fun
Throw in a little passion
And get the good job done

These are the simple truths
And answers many seek
To the enigma that is business
Behind the veiled mystique

So step inside the circle
And very soon you’ll find
The common sense of commerce
Is serving humankind

Wayne Visser © 2003

Book

The Poetry of Business: A CEO’s Quest for Meaning

It was time to leave. A bitter-sweet time. The CEO felt sadness, but also contentment. The business he had conceived and birthed and nurtured was mature enough to stand on its own feet now; to live out its own life. Ironically, the way he saw it, the company was not the legacy he was leaving at all. The real value was in the way in which the business lived and breathed and kept its people engaged and passionate. That was the real gift he had given them. And that was why he was leaving behind his scruffy notebooks in the boardroom cabinet – those dog-eared, tea-stained pages on which, over the years, he had jotted down his ideas. Scrawled untidily were the lessons he had learned along the way: about how to make a business ‘fit for human beings’; about how to survive in commerce and still sleep soundly at night; about how to create a company that served society, instead of the other way around. So many thoughts … Buy the paper book.

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This is the Place

This is the place we dreamed of
And we dreamed it into being
This is the home we talked of
And our words have turned to seeing

Each day, we see the pine and oaks
And hear the birds a-singing
Each day, we see the garden grow
And send our hopes a-winging

This is the place we’ve landed
And we’re sure to put down roots
This is home we’ve chosen
And now we’ll put out shoots

Each day, we test our limits
And reach out for the light
Each day, we spread our knowledge
And shine our colours bright

This is the place we wished for
And our wishes have come true
This is the home we share now
And our lives begin anew.

Wayne Visser © 2020

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.

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Garden Wise

I’m learning how to plant new seeds
To nurture sprouts and let them rise
I’m pruning back and pulling weeds
As branches sway to gentle sighs

I’m listening to the songs of birds
And watching bees and butterflies
I’m reading nature’s book of words
As seasons turn, all lives and dies

I’m resting during winter’s calm
And blooming with the springtime flowers
I’m soaking summer’s healing balm
And letting go for autumn’s hours

I’m finding secrets, tracing flows
And keeping faith while cutting ties
I’m conscious how my spirit grows
I’m slowly getting garden wise.

Wayne Visser © 2020

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.

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The Things We’ve Been Through

Looking back, I’m amazed
At the things we’ve been through
At each step, how we’ve blazed
A new trail made for two

How we’ve travelled up mountains
To temples and streams
Across beaches, to fountains
Through forests of dreams

All the things we’ve been through
In all kinds of foul weather
When the pandemic grew:
Isolation together!

How we’ve worked on the move
Found a beautiful home
How we’ve danced to the groove
Of the places we roam

When we fell or we flew
Nearly drowning at sea
All the things we’ve been through
Showed us what we can be

As we’ve wended our ways
How our love has stayed true
Looking back through the maze
At the things we’ve been through

Wayne Visser © 2020

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.

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Futures Bright

Days may be dark and nights be long
But soon the song will change its tune
The beat will heat the winter’s chill
Until the thrill returns to spark
And mark a sunrise, flaming red
To quench a hunger still unfed, a light
That’s set to reignite the flight
Of dreams and schemes and imaginings.

Work may be hard and stress be high
But soon the sky will change its mood
The blaze of rays will melt the clouds
Until the shrouds are memories
Upon the breeze, the blue beyond
Like ripples on a tranquil pond, a sign
Across the arc of time to rhyme
Of scars and stars and destinies.

Life may be large and love be wide
But soon the tide will change its sway
The day you make your way towards
A cause that’s calling out to you
To shift and shape, to reawake
The passion that’s inside, the need
To grow and lead, the seed
Of traits and fates and futures bright.

Wayne Visser © 2020

Book

Seize the Day: Favourite Inspirational Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together favourite inspirational poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology takes us on a journey through the peaks and troughs of life, celebrating the indomitable human spirit.. It includes many old favourites like “Poets Must Be” and “Chasing the Blue”, as well as brand new poems like “The Writer” and “Making Ripples”. Sages through the ages wisely say: / Carpe Diem – seize the dawning day / Oh, would that I could assuage that thirst / But the day conspires to seize me first! / With the hurry and scurry / Of home’s frantic flurry / And the hustle and bustle / Of work’s tangled tussle. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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Forty-Nine

Another drop in life’s great sea
Another drop that ripples free
Into the ocean, vast yet changed
With tidal currents rearranged
For every drop’s a vital clue
To secrets hidden in the blue
Another drop for forty-nine
Another drop into the brine
Where secrets in the swirl of days
Are whispered drops of crystal ways
While tidal breaths still rise and fall
The ocean moves the life of all
Another drop of destiny
Another drop: that drop is me

Wayne Visser © 2019

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.

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To Lead

To lead or not to lead?
That is the wrong question
For in our hour of need
It’s what to lead that matters more
The core of values and their strength
The door of possibilities
The planted seeds and fruits they bear
It’s there true leadership resides
For tides are changing quickly now
It’s not the who, it’s where and how

Leaders come and leaders go
But which will show a better way
A brighter day because they led
A lighter tread upon the Earth
The birth of purpose in our lives
And work in which our spirit thrives
Let’s not ignore the children’s voice
The choice is ours, to lag or lead
To make the world more green and fair
In ways that care, that hope and dare

Don’t tell me that you lead, for I
Will never be impressed
It’s how you lead that interests me
And what you strive for without rest
It’s where your dreams are taking us
And who will thrive the best
It’s why you lead that tells me more
Than all the feathers in your nest
To lead is nothing special, for
To serve’s the real test

To lead or not to lead?
The question’s quite absurd
For leadership’s the path that freed
The slaves and we need so much more
From shore to shore, where chains remain
And oceans rise, yet leaders’ lies
Support charades and barricades
That cling to glories of the past
Rise up new leaders who can shape
A future that is built to last

Wayne Visser © 2019

Book

Seize the Day: Favourite Inspirational Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together favourite inspirational poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology takes us on a journey through the peaks and troughs of life, celebrating the indomitable human spirit.. It includes many old favourites like “Poets Must Be” and “Chasing the Blue”, as well as brand new poems like “The Writer” and “Making Ripples”. Sages through the ages wisely say: / Carpe Diem – seize the dawning day / Oh, would that I could assuage that thirst / But the day conspires to seize me first! / With the hurry and scurry / Of home’s frantic flurry / And the hustle and bustle / Of work’s tangled tussle. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

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Fleeting

I’m writing these words
Without too much to say
Except that I’m thinking
Of you on this day

Our words are so fleeting
Like birds in the sky
They often say what
And seldom say why

I’m writing these symbols
Without riddle or code
Except that life’s cipher
Unlocks love on the road

Our letters are bottles
That float on the sea
They reach distant shores
And set their words free

I’m writing this letter
Without reason or rhyme
Except that our bonding
Transcends space and time

Wayne Visser © 2018

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.

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The Elements

When leaves are red and clouds are grey
When vision fades and edges fray
I turn towards the changing sky
To teach me that all things must die

When days are dark and nights are long
When less is more and right feels wrong
I call upon the patient earth
To teach me in the ways of birth

When branches bud and flowers bloom
When life emerges from the womb
I give my thanks for flowing streams
To teach me how to nurture dreams

When skies are blue and hopes are high
When love is bright and wishes fly
I turn towards the blazing sun
To teach me how the race is run

The elements of life’s desire –
Air and water, earth and fire –
Combine to make the circle whole:
The swirl of body, mind and soul.

Wayne Visser © 2019

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.

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Earth Spirit

Whenever life gets me down
When I feel disconsolate, disillusioned, disconnected
Wandering aimlessly and wondering wistfully
When something’s amiss and I don’t know what it is
I find it helps to call upon the Spirit of the Earth
To invoke that which moves and breathes and infuses all life
To remind me of my vital place in the universe
Where I am inextricably linked, connected, enmeshed
Swaying in sync with the moon and tides
Stretching for the skies along with trees and birds
Singing in unconscious harmony with nature’s chorus
And never truly alone, or cut off or superfluous
Never really without direction or bereft of love
For the great Earth Spirit enfolds me and entwines us
It binds our actions and amplifies our intentions
It is the spirit of possibility and positivity
The source of our energy and the web of our dreams
It bathes us in the wisdom of countless aeons
And heals us with the gentle rays of time
Therefore, in our hour of need and season of doubt
Let us be open to the promise of the Earth Spirit
To the hope that rises within us
To the faith that extends beyond us
To the love that gathers around us
Let us welcome the invisible power of the planet
And the indivisible power of the people
Let us be guardians and advocates of our Earth
Even as the Earth nurtures and cares for us
Let our Earth Spirit invocation be a commitment
To live and love in the highest and truest way we know
For the sake of ourselves
For the future of our children
And for the life of our only home, Earth.

Inspired by and dedicated to Juanita Visser. See https://www.earthspirithealing.co.uk/

Wayne Visser © 2019

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.

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