poetry | Wayne Visser

July 31, 2021April 24, 2022

Keys to the Maze

Upon the path of life’s great maze
Surprises lurk around each bend
There may be dragons, spells or gold
And battles fought before the end

And on this journey to the heart
Of life’s great mysteries
You’ll have to unlock secret doors
That need some special keys

The first key is IDENTITY –
The quest to know your mind
It helps you bypass cul-de-sacs
And treasure what you find

The second key is CONFIDENCE –
The will to stretch and strive
It takes you where you want to go
And keeps your hopes alive

The third’s RESPONSIBILITY –
Your footprint on the earth
It means you take care where you tread
And know what life is worth

The fourth key is the shape of LOVE –
With enigmatic flame of red
It burns the heart; it warms the cold
And lights the way ahead

The fifth key is life’s MEANING –
The pattern in the maze
It finds a way to join the dots
With destiny’s bright blaze

I wish you happy twists and turns
On easy trails and steep
Whatever choices that you make
These keys are yours to keep

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

This creative collection, now in its 3rd edition, brings together philosophical poems by Wayne Visser. In this anthology, he muses on subjects ranging from space, angels and destiny to time, science and meaning in life. According to scientists / The world’s made of string / That buzzes and fuzzes / Or some such strange thing / It’s also a donut / That curls round a hole / With middles and riddles / Just like a fish bowl / And there’s no mistaking / It’s more than 3-D / With twenty or plenty / Dimensions unseen / Still others insist / It’s really a bubble / That’s popping and bopping / Through the lenses of Hubble. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

July 13, 2021October 7, 2021

Think On Business

THINK ON BUSINESS

You may think on business and despair
See it’s ugly face of greed laid bare
How it chokes the seas and fouls the air
And the workers’ lot is never fair

But there’s another story being told
Of a smarter way and leaders bold
Of fresh purpose starting to unfold
And business breaking from the mould

It’s a tale of seeing with new eyes
And of commerce learning to be wise
Where there’s innovation on the rise
And trust beyond what money buys

For when business cares it regenerates
And changes what it risks and rates
It begins to give more than it takes
And reinvents the world it makes

When nature thrives and people grow
Returns for business start to flow
As those who reinvest will know
The future reaps the seeds we sow

You may think on business and take heart
For a better way is ours to chart
We all have our roles, we play our part
But there’s no time to lose, so make a start

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.

July 3, 2021July 3, 2021

Only Now

There’s only now – this moment of this day
In time’s great ocean, as we swell and sway
Between waves of memories already past
And hopeful dreams like fishnets we cast

The day itself may change to foul or fair
Our only task is to be present there
To ride out the storm and soak up the sun
To manage the fear and relish the fun

There’s only now – this fleeting time and place
In life’s long journey, the truth we must face
Is that though the ground we cover is great
The path that we tread is what we create

The place itself may bring pleasure or pain
Sometimes we will lose, sometimes we will gain
The trick’s to be present through thick and thin
For life’s not a race, there’s nothing to win

There’s only now – this breath in, this breath out
A state of being is what it’s about
To be here right now, to be who we are
To beat like a drum, to shine like a star

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

June 11, 2021June 11, 2021

All In

We took a risk and rolled the dice
We took the salty with the spice
There was a chance we’d lose or win
We took our chips and went all in

The cards we held were dealt by chance
We played without a second glance
Only to find, amidst the haze
We found a pathway through the maze

Was it just luck or something more
That led us to each other’s door?
Against the odds, or destiny?
I bet on you, you bet on me

We chose for hope and spun the wheel
We chose the wishes to make real
There was a chance we’d sink or swim
We took our love an went all in

Book

Icarus: Favourite Love Poems

This creative collection, now in its 2nd edition, brings together love poems by Wayne Visser. The anthology traces love’s agony (“Broken Dreams”) and ecstasy (“Galaxies Cart-Wheeling”), from first blush (“Almost Strangers”) to full bloom (“Say ‘I Do!’”), as we fly to love. You’ve given me the gift of golden wings / The endless sphere of blue imaginings / The chance to rise above the silver clouds / The will to cast off untold ghostly shrouds / Don’t fly too high / Don’t rise too fast / Don’t tease the sky / Don’t taunt the past / You’ve given me the hope of warmer days / The blessed kiss of the sun’s fiery rays. Buy the paper book / Buy the e-book.

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021

Through Your Eyes

The world is different through your eyes
The shapes and angles, the colours and spangles
All sparring and jarring, shifting and shimmering
Making up a living mosaic, a patterned portrait
With each give and take, each grip and shake
You make something unique, something wonderful
Which I peek – each time you act or speak –
I see a better, braver world, through your eyes

The world is changing through your choices
The views and voices, the stands that you take
All the paths you make, with byways and bridges
Making up a living map, a sculpted terrain
With more options to give, more chances to live
You make something renewed, something hopeful
Like a potion brewed – each time you choose –
I see a brighter, bolder world, through your choices

The world is growing through your knowing
The curious questions, the fresh discoveries
The bubbling and bursting, sizzling and thirsting
Making up a living book, a library of wisdom
With each word and idea, each step beyond fear
You make something meaningful, something that matters
With an impact that scatters, in each ripple
I see a wider, wiser world, through your knowing

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.

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021

Walk the Line

I walk the line
Between the river and the road
The river whispers to slow down
To breathe in the beauty
And see myself reflected
The road is too busy to notice
Too focused on the destination
And how to get there sooner

I walk the line
Between the head and the heart
The head is quick with answers
With boxes to put things in
And labels to explain
The heart is full of questions
With doors of doubt to unlock
And windows of love to open

I walk the line
Between the mountain and the sea
The mountain beckons to climb
To reach for the distant summit
And enjoy the view from the top
The sea urges to cast adrift
To go with the invisible flow
And be content in the moment

I walk the line
Between the body and the soul
The body craves for attention
For pandering to appetites
And obeying the senses
The soul yearns for meaning
For something to believe in
And a destiny to follow

I walk the line
Between the day and the night
The day is a call to action
To building stone by stone
And making my mark
The night is for seeding
For germinating in the dark
And nurturing my dreams

I walk the line
Between living and dying
Living is finding new connections
New ways of seeing the world
And adding something new
Dying is learning to let go
To appreciate more with less
And finding a place to rest

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

May 14, 2021May 14, 2021

Connected

In life we form a complex web
Of patterns always shifting
We’re tied to every other thing
No matter that we’re drifting
We see ourselves in spangled skies
Of silver light reflected
We’re twirling in a cosmic dance
Forever we’re connected

Each day we add another thread
Of faith and hope entwining
A tapestry of weaves and knots
And love that’s redefining
We see ourselves in healing cards
And totem poles erected
We’re joining in an ancient song
That chants: we’re all connected

The river flows, the seasons sway
To moods of inner weather
With secret codes and hidden rhymes
In traces of a feather
We see ourselves in nature’s glass
With energies affected
We’re syncing global consciousness
We’ll always be connected

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

April 4, 2021April 4, 2021

Slow Time

We’re marching in slow time
In nowhere to go time
And it’s melting the clock
To a languid tick tock
The rhythm feels wrong
As time slithers and stretches
Every moment it etches
Takes ever so long

We’re dreaming in no time
In no chance to flow time
And it’s come to a stop
With a listless drip drop
The wisp of a song
Keeps time sliding and shuffling
Every heartbeat it’s muffling
Still sounds like a gong

We’re waking to show time
To ready to crow time
And it’s picking up pace
For a thrills and spills race
The final furlong
Brings time speeding and stomping
Every step takes us romping
Back where we belong.

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

March 16, 2021March 16, 2021

A Swirling Story

Don’t ever underestimate
The power of stories small and great
For tales of fairies, kings and queens
Are echoes of our human dreams

We’d sooner dance than tick and tock
We’d rather sing than punch a clock
For we’re not made of cog and wheel
But minds that flash and hearts that feel

We’d sooner hear a myth or rhyme
We’d rather watch a film sublime
For we’re not digits writ in code
But lilting lines within an ode

The way we live, the brands we choose
Are mirrors of our inner muse
They tell us who we’d like to be
Behind our masked identity

The way we work, the things we buy
Are answers to the question why
They draw a map to hidden gold
To buried fears and wishes bold

Each battling hero on a quest
Beseeches us to do our best
Each star-crossed lover’s tender kiss
Evokes the call to find our bliss

Your life’s a yarn that you must spin
With woven plots, you lose and win
Each tale’s a spark that fuels the fire
A swirling story to inspire.

Book

String, Donuts, Bubbles and Me: Favourite Philosophical Poems

March 9, 2021March 9, 2021

It’s Time

It’s time to redesign, to reconceive the world we leave
For those who follow in our wake, for each child’s sake
It’s time to spark and innovate, to syncopate with
New ideas, beyond the fears of failures past, at last
It’s time to rise, with fire burning in our eyes
And change our ways to giving, for life and for the living

It’s time to re-align, to reassess the mess we make
When what we take is more than need, is greed
It’s time to halt life’s slow decline, the heinous crime
Of ecocide, the plastic tide, the skies of smoke that choke
It’s time to heal the dying soil, to ease the workers’ toil
And make new waves of daring, with love and with great caring

It’s time to redefine, to resurrect the hope that springs
With wings of acting boldly now, with minds that beam
It’s time to dream of futures green, to reinvent our fate
To help the Earth regenerate, where waste is food, renewed
It’s time to turn from death, to take a breath, start afresh
And make a mighty pivot, for life and all who live it.

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.