Treasure Hunt

Each day I set out,
Like a curious scout,
In search of a land of surprises;
And the treasures I find,
In the earth and my mind,
Are like beauty in all its disguises.

There’s the scent of the rain
And a church window pane,
The kiss of my love and her smile;
There’s the dog’s wagging tail
And a card in the mail,
The shard of a bright coloured tile.

By the end of the day,
Spent at work or at play,
I add to the chest of my treasures:
The plume of a bird,
A song that I heard –
I’m rich with my horde of small pleasures.

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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Poets Must Be

If it is poets you seek
Tarry not beside the well-kept literary graves
Of those whose time and place is past

Poets must be in that time
When change upsets the veneer of order
When confusion threatens to overwhelm
When the air is pregnant with revolution

Poets must be in that place
Where language of the heart is being purged
Where voices of dissent are being silenced
Where words of inspiration give life to dying souls

If it is poets you seek
Stray into the entangled expressive wilderness
Of those whose time and place is now

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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Never

Though pressure builds and workload piles
Never forfeit joys nor smiles
Never lose your hold on hope
You have the means and you will cope
Never lose your will to win
Have confidence in strength within
And know that as you persevere
What you strive for will draw near

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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The Writer

I write my waking incoherence
And when I sleep, I dream in words;
I write out lines as daily penance
And let them go, like captive birds.

The words are seeded in the darkness,
Plucked like stars from midnight skies;
I may not know their rhyme or reason,
Or if they’re foolish, foul or wise.

I write in ink on crushed papyrus,
I write in blood to spread the virus;
I write for love, I write for money,
I write in vinegar and honey.

The joy is in the puzzle making,
In finding pieces that might fit;
It’s not unlike the art of baking,
Or solving riddles bit by bit.

I write in pictograms and stone,
I write with feathers and with bone;
I write for fame, I write for history,
I write in code and silent mystery.

The pain is in the shards of meaning
Piercing into mental flesh;
It’s not unlike the knife of healing
Cleaning out a wound that’s fresh.

I write in tones that cast a spell,
I write for heaven and for hell;
I write alive, I write when dormant,
I write in tune and script discordant.

The words are borrowed, begged and stolen,
Yet these words are mine to give;
The belly of my words are swollen
And, given birth, they start to live.

I write my muddled hero’s journey
And when I fall, words pick me up;
I write out sentences that turn me,
Questing, towards the gilded cup.

I write to breathe, I write to survive,
I write to believe, I write to strive;
I write to conceive, I write to thrive,
It’s writing that keeps me alert and alive.

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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Happy Days

These are happy days
Blissful days
Days of peace and contentment
Of morning walks along the river
And evening calls of smoky silk

These are happy days
Wishful days
Days of dreams and possibilities
Of young love in the bud of spring
And a writer’s life unfurling

I know it was not always so
These days of birds and squirrels
But at least for today
(And today is enough)
These are happy days

These are happy days
Artful days
Days of painting and poetry
Of tracing the contours of beauty
And learning to be playful again

These are happy days
Drifting days
Days of freedom and discovery
Of travelling to new and exotic lands
And seeing home with new eyes

I know that I share with another
These days of texting and kisses
So at least through the winter
(And now spring is here)
These are happy days

These are happy days
Braided days
Days of comfort and intimacy
Of weaving the threads of family
And starting a brand new tapestry

These are happy days
Sunshine days
Days of writing and reflecting
Of reaching for the heights of lofty spires
And flowing in the slipstream of synchronised rowers

I know they will not last
These days of smiles and sighing
But at least for now
(And now is all there is)
These are happy days

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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Rivers Run Deep

No rhymes to part my waiting lips
No words to tease my fingertips
My muse has gone on walkabout
When did the storm become a drought?

No brush to paint the empty space
No pen to sketch the smiling face
My world is grey with black and white
What happened to the coloured light?

And yet I know that beauty’s face
Can never fade without a trace
And dreams are conjured in our sleep
For rivers that inspire run deep

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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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

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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Animated Life

Sometimes it seems that you’re not listening,
But I know that you can hear the birdsong in the forest
And the harrowing, anguished cry of a mother’s loss.
I know that the breathless sounds of passion reach you
And that lonely sighs of despair fill your ears.
I know that you are listening,
Because I am listening too
And we cannot but be moved
By the soundtrack of life.

Sometimes it seems that you’re not seeing,
But I know that you can see beauty through the artist’s eye
And ugliness in the cancer of rampant, selfish greed.
I know that the sight of carefree children reach you
And that poverty’s wasteland blots your vision.
I know that you are seeing,
Because I am seeing too
And we cannot but be enrapt
By the canvass of life.

Sometimes it seems that you’re not speaking,
But I know that you recount the tales of everyday heroes
And gossip about the vampires that suck society dry.
I know that words of poetry swirl in your mouth
And that shouts of abuse spill from your lips.
I know that you are speaking,
Because I am speaking too
And we cannot but be enchanted
By the story of life.

Sometimes it seems that you’re not breathing,
But I know that you can smell the sweet perfume of flowers
And the stench of rotten lies, like decomposing carcasses.
I know that the aroma of love intoxicates you
And the stink of hatred reaches your nostrils.
I know that you are breathing,
Because I am breathing too
And we cannot but be infused
With the scent of life.

Sometimes it seems that you’re not feeling,
But I know that your sky lights up with firework jubilation
And you languish sometimes in depression’s dark valley.
I know that the sloshing tide of contentment has lapped your shores
And the sludge of self-deprecation has mired your path.
I know that you are feeling,
Because I am feeling too
And we cannot but be bubbling
With the emotion of life.

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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A Good Book

Nothing looks so innocent
And yet is so complicit
Nothing seems so ordinary
And yet is so extraordinary
Nothing appears so similar
And yet is so diverse
As a good book

Words cannot express
The power of a good book
The dizzy swirling galaxies
That can hide between two plain covers
The heart-twisting dramas
That can unwind along a trail of letters
The fizz-bubbling mirth
That can break ranks from the march of pages

Nothing is so publicly sold
And yet so privately consumed
Nothing seems so plentiful
And yet is so rare
Nothing appears so contained
And yet is so infinite
As a good book

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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Be My Kite

Be my kite:
Rise up from the earth
On a breath and a whisper
Dazzle in the sunshine
And tiptoe on the wind
Be brilliant in your beauty
And agile in your ability
Boldly fly your true colours
For your own delight
And for mine

Dart and duck and dive
As you streak across the blue
Leaving a ribbon trail
Swirl and shake and shimmy
As you sparkle in the light
Burning like a comet
Flash and flirt and flutter
As you perform your moves
For cheering terrestrials
And for me

Be my kite:
Stretch for your freedom
Beyond the ties that bind you
Feel the wind’s desire
And the tug of remote intention
(Almost imperceptible)
Sail the rough sky-seas
Until you are all spent
Until you are ready
Ready to return

Fly for the joy of flying
Yet also for the pleasure of another
For without its flyer
A kite is like a tumbleweed
On a dusty track to nowhere
And strain against your leash
Yet not so hard that the bond snaps
For without its strings
A kite is like a leaf in autumn
At the wind’s random mercy

Be my kite:
Resist the steady pull
Holding you back from the sun
Until you feel the warm glow
Of pulsing exhilaration
And hard-earned exhaustion
Then submit to the safety
Of the solid ground below
To be gently caressed
By rough hands

Reach for the horizon
Yet do not fear being grounded
For just as there is passion in wildness
So too is there satisfaction in peace
And in non-striving
Push out the boundaries
Yet do not fear known places either
For while there is tension in resistance
There is also relief in submission
And in letting-be

Be my kite:
Test your limits
But also trust the signals
Of the one who keeps you aloft
For to fly without strings
Is to soar free and high
But only for a fleeting moment
Before you plummet and crash
Perhaps never to rise
And fly again

Keep asking questions
And listen for the answers
For your strength is your awareness
Your sensitivity to subtle signs
And gentle shifts
Keep an open mind
And do not jump to conclusions
For your weakness is your stubbornness
Your failure to read the wind’s moods
And trust the flyer’s skills

Be my kite:
And follow your instincts
For you were born to fly
To dance across the sky
Moving to the beat of the wind
And the song of your strings
Knowing that you can let go
Because there is another
Who is holding tight
And taking care

Fly across the seasons of time
Float on the summer breeze
And ride out the winter storm
Surf on the autumn currents
And climb the summer thermals
But when the air is still and calm
Return to me and rest easy
Gather your strength
So that you will be ready
Ready to rise again

Be my kite:
Fly high and swoop low
Kiss the veil of the clouds
And taste the salty ocean spray
Wink knowingly at the birds
And giggle at the startled butterflies
Be my eyes beyond the horizon
And my ears upon the breeze
Then come home and tell me all
All the secrets of the spheres

So let the wind tussle your hair
But not tangle your mind
For there is no direction without intent
And be sure to let the sun warm your face
But not melt your will
For there is no freedom without choice
And now be my kite
Fly for me
Fly to me
Fly!

Wayne Visser © 2017

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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