wayne visser | Wayne Visser

July 1, 2018

Fog

What was it about the fog
That day
That so enchanted me?

As I tumbled out of my front door
The path before me
Usually clear into the distance
Had disappeared
Swallowed up
In a great white cloud

I waded through the mist
To the bridge across the river
Which flowed out of nothing
Into nowhere
The intrepid ducks and boats
On shrouded journeys
Into the unknown
Perhaps to the very edge
Of the world

I walked through the park
Fascinated
As murky phantasms emerged
And melted into thick air
Like wraiths in the netherworld
Gliding between lost and found
Hovering around gloomy lampposts
Searching for signs
To uncertainty

And as I walked through the wispy veil
Trees rose up to greet me
Reaching out with dripping fingers
Enfolding me
In the damp blanket of myopia
Tucking me in
With whispers of letting go
And trusting the unseen

That whole day
The fog lingered
Blotting out the glaring sun
Opening an invisible portal
Into the realm of shades
Where beauty drifts
In rainbows of grey
And wisdom beckons
At the blurry fringes
Of consciousness

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.

July 1, 2018

Come Rain Come

Come, rain, come!
Swirl with the mists of intrigue
Like the ethereal wisp of whistles
Shrouded with mystery
And enchanting

Come, rain, come!
Patter with the kiss of butterflies
Like the gentle blend of voices
Infused with salve
And healing

Come, rain, come!
Fall with the gift of life
Like the soothing tap of marimbas
Blended with tonic
And quenching

Come, rain, come!
Pour with the pulse of ages
Like the rhythmic beat of drums
Stirred with emotion
And invigorating

Come, rain, come!
Storm with the cry of battle
Like the mighty clash of cymbals
Consumed with passion
And transforming

Come, rain, come!
Arch with the bow of promise
Like the haunting wail of saxophones
Imbued with colour
And inspiring

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Ideas of Winter

Clouds drift
In billowing embrace
Reassuringly grey
Unexpectedly white
Wrapping me up
And tucking me in
Safe under duvet skies
Content on verdant pillows
Happily watching
Short days
Curl in on themselves
Longing for rest
In search of dreaming
While puce clouds
Weigh the option
Of dropping their ballast
To water
Ideas of winter

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Haiku on Beauty

Bare trees on still pond
Stark silhouettes, reflecting
Beauty, unconscious.

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Forest Invocation

The forests are burning
The skies filled with smoke
The climate is churning
The children still choke

Let’s end all this madness
Let’s halt our demise
Let’s fight for our jungles
Let’s clean up our skies

The forests are falling
The land cleared for oil
The green frog is calling
The life’s in the soil

Let’s end the destruction
Let’s strengthen our pleas
Let’s fight for our future
Let’s care for our trees

The forests are dying
The cancer is greed
The creatures are crying
The rivers still bleed

Let’s end the excuses
Let’s act to survive
Let’s call on our leaders
Let’s keep trees alive

The forests are living
The lungs of the earth
The trees keep on giving
The worlds’ in rebirth

Let’s take up the challenge
Let’s march for a change
Let’s seed revolution
Let’s replant the grange

The forests are spreading
The lesson is learned
The dead skin is shedding
The hope has returned

Let’s dance for the woodland
Let’s sing for the grove
Let’s praise for the jungle
Let’s rhyme as we rove

The forests are thriving
The chorus is loud
The feeling’s enlivening
The old trees stand proud

Let’s remake this Eden
Let’s rise from our knees
Let’s bring back our forests
Let’s celebrate trees

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Earth Villanelle

Earth needs no saving by you or by me
For nature transcends our will to survive
With branches and roots spread wide on life’s tree

The green of the land, the blue of the sea
The cycle of seasons always revive
Earth needs no saving by you or by me

Progress misleads in the name of the free
For nature is meant to flourish and thrive
With branches and roots spread wide on life’s tree

The shade of the woods, the flow of the streams
The greatest of climbs and deepest of dives
Earth needs no saving by you or by me

We shoot for the stars as far as we see
And remake the world as we search and strive
With branches and roots spread wide on life’s tree

The planet won’t need another decree
Only our passion to keep life alive
Earth needs no saving by you or by me
With branches and roots spread wide on life’s tree

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Misty Woods

Shrouded trees and autumn mulch
Shining leaves and sponge-mud squelch
Spotted toadstools, crimson red
Sparkling jewels on spiders’ thread

A million drops wrung from the sky
A million drops from leaves on high
A million drops splash to the earth
A million drops to quench her thirst

Through cloudy woods on smoky trails
With glistening cloaks and wispy veils
Two figures drift on through the haze
Two lovers in the misty maze

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Monet’s Dream

The leaves are falling to the ground
I caught one as it fell today
And Monet’s dream lay all around

I watched it fall without a sound
The green of summer’s gone away
As leaves are falling to the ground

My hands were outstretched, heaven-bound
The leaf was dancing, swish and sway
While Monet’s dream lay all around

It fell with grace, I was spellbound
As if the earth had bowed to pray
And leaves were falling to the ground

It landed soft, my hands closed round
As if I’d caught a golden ray
While Monet’s dream lay all around

Inside me, something lost was found
It touched me more than words can say
While leaves were falling to the ground
And Monet’s dream lay all around.

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Stone Walls

Tectonic forces heave and strain
Volcanic cones spew fiery rain
Molten lava congeals to rock
The land-mass shudders in aftershock

Then the Master Crafter we call Time
Begins to shape, mould and define
With tools of water, wind and sun
A landscape sculptured to become

Stone by stone, with human hand
These walls were built across the land
Like an ancient script, a story told
Of the natural life in times of olde

Then humans arrive upon the scene
To dig and blast and mine the seam
And from crumbling quarries hewed of stone
Carve building blocks to make their home

Soon rising up around each place
Stone walls dissect the open space
And leave behind a patchwork quilt
Of villages, towns and cities built

Book

Wishing Leaves: Favourite Nature Poems

July 1, 2018

Grey and Gold

The paths are spread with carpets grey and gold
And walls are hung with quilts of green and red
The air is laced with clouds of frosty cold
And bridges hung with webs of silver thread

The sun is slow to raise its sleepy head
And parks are strewn with beads of diamond drops
The night is long with scattered stars ahead
And fields are bare with stubble-bearded crops

The trees are flushed with moods of swirling change
And skies are strung with faith on migrant wings
The land is brushed with nature’s palette range
And hearts are warm with hope that autumn brings