The Fading of the Siren  

In the mists of a new morning,
Came a new and sudden dawning,
To the Dreamer and the Siren as they played.
Their game of metaphors,
Was over now because,
All fears and defences were allayed.

Their trust had grown strong,
And now they could belong,
To each other, in a very special way.
To love each other deeply,
From afar, but yet so sweetly,
And to live their lives from day, to precious day.

The Dreamer and the Siren,
Now simply Man and Woman,
Can begin a brand new journey into time.
The future all unknown,
But with love now fully grown,
They can merge and meld together in their mind.

They both had waited ages,
For life to turn the pages,
To the chapter where their happiness began.
And now each page is turned,
They wait patiently, yet yearn,
For a day they’ll be together, hand in hand.

But wait and yearn they will,
From afar until,
The moment they have waited for arrives.
With love and trust and care,
Separation they will bear,
Until the day, they can join their lives.

Reality will come calling,
On them one new morning,
Then he will know the softness of her smile.
And she will feel his hand,
And their eyes will understand,
That waiting half a lifetime was worthwhile.

And from that moment on,
Joined by life’s new song,
The distance gone, and two are now as one.
True love will find a way,
For them to always stay,
Together, side by side, where they belong.

“Ahhh..What is love?” she asked,
At a time, so long past,
“This is it my Darling”, now you understand.
The peace, the trust, the caring,
And two hearts full of sharing,
And a simple want to be, hand in hand.

This story has no end,
For love can never bend,
To suit a standard meter or a rhyme.
These two will love forever,
And they  will surely, never
Hide behind their metaphors again.

“I love you”, says she,
“I love you too”, says he,
So openly and honestly and warm.
Their love so pure and sweet,
That their hearts will miss a beat,
Every minute, of every day, forevermore.

Written by Derek Haines

Excerpt from My Clown, I Love You.

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Forevermore

His heart missed a beat,
As he leapt to his feet,
As his Siren appeared at the door.
Their eyes met at once,
And their hands reached to touch,
This was the moment they had both yearned for.

For months they had talked,
Through their lives they had walked,
They both knew each other so well.
Now reality was calling,
On two lovers this morning,
They embraced, they belonged, they could tell.

A long gaze then a kiss,
And they both felt the bliss,
Of love’s passion, filling their hearts.
They stood and just gazed,
Into eyes full ablaze,
Holding tightly, never wanting to part.

After waiting so long,
For their “oneday” of song,
These two lovers could barely have cared.
They “Moondanced” in the car,
Then walked together afar,
Content in the love they could share.

Their hands held so tightly,
And neither took lightly,
The troubles that lay in their way.
But these few precious days,
Are a deposit on always,
Content, that in love they will stay.

Their first day had now ended,
With passions so blended,
Completely, together as one.
A sunset now shared,
And emotions now bared,
They both yearned for tomorrow to come.

Their first night spent apart,
Followed a kiss in the dark,
And they both went their own separate ways.
To reflect on day one,
Between the moon and the sun,
And to think about forthcoming days.

They just had a week,
Just a small peek,
At what their lives could have, at some time.
Their love was so real,
and their pleasure to feel,
But their forever would have to wait for some time.

Stealing time from each day,
Was their only way,
To enjoy precious moments as one.
For soon he will be,
Back far over the sea,
And their pleasure of touch will be gone.

The Dreamer and Siren,
Were now man and woman,
And had now tasted each others’ kiss.
But soon they will go,
Back to life’s to and fro,
But with hearts knowing the meaning of bliss.

Is this the beginning or end?
Of two lives that will wend,
Across continents, oceans and plains.
Well, time will just see,
What will be, will just be,
But true love will always remain.

Written by Derek Haines

Excerpt from My Clown, I Love You.

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The Dreamer and the Siren

The Dreamer was awoken,
By words never spoken,
Just the font of fate embellishing his screen.
And his mind began to open,
To the sense of new emotion,
He relaxed and felt it touch him, pure and clean.

A Siren in the corner,
Aloof, but somehow warmer,
Awoke this weary Dreamer with a song.
A reposed and haunting place,
Where she hides behind a face,
It is now the place they feel that they belong.

The Dreamer and the Siren,
Fighting, loving, crying,
Sharing hearts and minds together as if one.
Retreat together warmly,
After battles fought forlornly,
‘Cause they cannot ever part from being one.

From poles apart they merge,
As one, it sounds absurd,
But a fierce bond is building; it is true.
And the mystery that’s shared,
‘Tween the North and South now paired,
Will be tested by the wide Pacific blue.

Reality comes calling,
On the Dreamer in the morning,
Will he ever stroke or feel the Siren’s hair.
Drifting through his fingers,
As a gentle fragrance lingers,
And he feels the heavy weight of his despair.

But the weight is quickly lifted,
By a thought that through him drifted,
Of the magic that the mystery woman brings.
To hear her laugh so sweetly,
And she types her words so neatly,
All combines, to make him want to sing.

Does he dare to become bolder,
As their fierce passions smoulder,
Or step back from the edge, Oh yet again!
As they both have done so freely,
At the edge of trust so, so nearly,
They comfort one another back again.

To the quiet soft repose,
Of a friendship as it grows,
Ever stronger, ever truer, day by day.
The Siren and the Dreamer,
Choose a friendship that is deeper,
And together keep reality at bay.

And as time will pass together,
With nae tie or tether,
The two will always travel separate lives.
But the bond they feel so strongly,
Will rest within their minds, so fondly,
As they countdown to their difficult goodbyes.

An enigma and a riddle,
And a puzzle in the middle,
And the mystery; the Dreamer tries to solve.
Will enchant him all the while,
As the Siren wryly smiles,
“Be patient” all will naturally evolve.

As crazy as they seem,
These two are bound by dreams,
As destiny has dealt a fateful blow.
A gulf of time and space,
But they have found their place,
And wait patiently for the next time…… “Hello”.

Written by Derek Haines

Excerpt from My Clown, I Love You.

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Nineteen Roses

Nineteen roses we planted with care,
To bloom in front of our dream.
We worked as a team, to plant red, yellow and cream,
And nurtured them through their first year.

Daily we checked on their health and their needs,
And sprayed and pruned and fed.
Watered and weeded, and cut blooms as we needed,
To fill our home with colour and scent.

To both of us then, such a short time ago,
They were our pride and our labour of joy.
We would look out each morning, at the river performing,
Its sparkling dance, behind our roses in row.

Do you remember that time? When we smiled.
Oh! I remember, it was such a short time ago.
It was when we cared for each other, every hour of the day,
Just like we cared for our roses.

I have cried all the day, since I heard you say,
That our nineteen roses have died.
All the care love and dreams we shared as a team,
Are now heading the way of our roses.

Our marriage, our roses have suffered the same fate,
And it is easy to see what has gone wrong.
We could both blame the frost, the sun and the drought,
For killing our roses and dreams.

As easy to say the people who preyed on our weaknesses,
Our isolation and care.
Are to blame for us both just forgetting at once,
That we needed to tend our marriage each day.

In the last short few months, in such a short time,
We have both destroyed our roses and dreams.
But through it all, I have known in my heart,
That we are both still in love with each other, and roses.

With the last gasp of breath of our marriage, that’s left,
Could I ask you just once to believe,
That if we both wanted to try with a fierce desire,
We could endure overcome and survive.

We will be different of course, from months of remorse,
And much hurt and pain to be healed.
We have both lashed out in pain, and apportioned the blame,
at each other, when we have felt wronged.

But, could we be strong, and right all the wrong?
And survive to rebuild our dream.
To grow old together with a fierce new vigour,
And in time be stronger than ever.

I have suffered hurt and pain, anger and shame,
On my way to this one last gasp.
But, I now know for certain, no doubt, it is sure,
My heart has only room for one love.

And as hard as I might, have tried,
To believe, that the famous “smile” was “right”,
And to allow my wife to be wooed.
I was so very wrong, I played with fire and got burned.

And with it….I killed the roses.

Written by Derek Haines

Excerpt from My Clown, I Love You.

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Where were you when Kennedy died?
Can you remember when the shot got fired?
I was a kid just six years old.
But I remember, I remember Oswald.

I remember the place,
I remember the time,
I remember something was lost.

Where were you when Elvis left?
The king is dead the radio said.
I was twenty-one and newly wed.
But I remember. The King is dead.

I remember the place,
I remember the time,
I remember something was lost.

Why do I remember,
Death and tragedy?
Why do I remember,
These days so clearly?

Where were you when John got shot?
Shot by a fan, imagine the shock.
I was thirty and hurt, I did love John.
But I remember, Oh God John’s gone.

I remember the place,
I remember the time,
I remember something was lost.

Where were you when Di got killed?
Can you remember, how the world stood still?.
I was forty and learning to fear.
That tragedy strikes year after year.

I remember the place,
I remember the time,
I remember something was lost.

Why do I remember,
Death and tragedy?
Why do I remember,
These days so clearly?

Written by Derek Haines

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A little bit of long forgotten poetry today. Dug out from the past.

The Journey

I have wandered through my life,
Felt the pain of fear and strife,
And had tragedies as everybody does.
Some times of love and bliss,
And at times with one to kiss,
But the feeling, of an emptiness, never goes.

At times, the bottle was a crutch,
Did it help the pain? Not much,
But, it numbed the parts of me that hurt.
The loss of time together, with my children,
Was an extra heavy burden,
To numb that pain, nothing seemed to work.

To run from any pain,
Seemed the answer, but again,
The past, can outrun me anytime.
A new city, a new town,
A new life I hope. But down,
I tumbled as the past was there in time.

In recent years I’ve grown,
And accepted seeds I‘ve sewn,
That have failed to bear the much awaited bloom.
Of peace and love and joy,
I am a man now, not a boy,
I have cast away the thoughts of gloom and doom.

I have faced up to my fears,
And cast away the years,
Of emptiness and bitterness and spite.
Embarking on a journey,
On the day my life turned forty,
To fill my life with colours new and bright.

Timid steps at first,
But with an unrequited thirst,
Following the breezes as they blew.
Little gems I tucked away,
I found some, most every day,
The building blocks for me to live anew.

Music found its place,
In my life, what a waste,
To have abandoned it for oh so long.
It all came flooding back,
Once I had set my tack,
To fill my life again, with a song.

I have taken time to gaze,
At nature and amaze,
The wonders that I had never seen.
Living life too fast,
Now, that is in the past,
I have time now, though money has become lean.

But I will find a way,
I will always pay,
My way in life, and never leave a debt.
Just a balance now I seek,
Sort the hours in a week,
For work and love, and people that I’ve met.

All the pieces near complete,
In my mind and heart so neat,
And emptiness alas, still remained.
My collection was to share,
I started looking everywhere,
For that someone who was yet to have a name.

I must admit to you,
That I met many, not a few,
Who, at first glance could have been the one.
Tested over time,
They all fell below the line,
And at times my confidence would wan.

You know, patience has its prize,
And my heart it realised,
That the special someone was, right there.
We talked most every day,
But I had to find a way,
I loved her, but should I tell her, will I dare.

To risk a special friend,
If I told her, would it end,
As love unequal, was to surely fail.
Should I tell her, should I ask?
What was behind the mask,
Of my special friend, I’d had for such a while.

Well, the moment did arrive,
Just by fortune, not contrived,
And I told her of the love I had for her.
My breath seemed held forever,
As I waited, will she ever,
Be the one with whom I want my life to share.

My breath I held, and waited,
As my heart and mind debated,
No! Wait, just relax, wait and see.
And then, at last, I knew,
She said “Yes, I love you too”,
And I thought, yes, this was meant to be.

Four days ago that spark,
Of love ignited, it’s the start,
Of a life that will be built, over years.
There is no hurry, and no rush,
But my God I yearn to touch,
Her hand, and see her happy tears.

My journey’s at an end,
A new beginning now will send,
To her, all the love that’s in my heart.
We are one and now complete,
Although, we have yet to meet,
But we are certain, we have faith, we’ll never part.

And on that special day,
When our love will find a way,
To bring us together, arm in arm.
Our lives will be complete,
Tho’ our hearts will miss a beat,
That first kiss….then…tranquillity and calm.

Written by Derek Haines

Excerpt from My Clown, I Love You.

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