Hatred

HATRED

The true opposite of love is not hate but fear
So uncover the fear that created the hatred
And, as we all know, fear is the mind killer*

You will never be able to defeat the hate
Unless you can overcome the fear

Hate is like a dandelion
It will always regrow unless
Its root is completely removed

Only then may love, at last
Become a real possibility

——————————————————————

* Frank Herbert

The Moth

THE MOTH

As a very young child
She found moths disquieting
Passing themselves off as butterflies
Who simply preferred dark colours
But really being no more than insects
Not proper butterflies at all
No beautiful colours to disguise
Just bugs with wings, disgusting

Her wings too are dark
So not many see her
As she moves among them
Timidly, hiding her colours
She lives in earthbound withdrawal
Here in the whispering shadows
Flies only while everyone is asleep
Hoping not to be discovered

She fears she would disgust them
If they got even a glimpse
They’d turn and run away
Because her wings are so dark
No, not many ever see her fly
Nor the way the wind, tender-hearted
Caresses her wings as she roams the night
Delicate as a leaf on the breeze

Not many see how she plays with the air
Nor how it teases her in it’s turn
Or how the flowers invite her
To alight a moment on their petals
She is simply an insect, yes
But with so many bright colours to share
And she loves to fly too through the night
Even though her wings may be dark

And the others are insects too
But not all of them are the flying kind
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Here is another inspiration from Miss Audrey and IN WONDERLAND. Do read the comments there to get the full history.

The Waif In The Woodshed

THE WAIF IN THE WOODSHED

I’ve been putting it off for so long
Putting on more and more layers
But now the fire is all but dead

So I brace my shivering bones
Brave the ice laden air
Go out to the woodshed

And that’s where I find her
Huddled in the dusty far corner
Hard to make out in the half light

“Please don’t hurt me, sir”
Barely even a whisper
Her little eyes wide with fright

I crouch, summon my gentlest smile
“Why ever would I want to do that and
Why are you hiding outside in this storm?

Why don’t you come in by the fire?
You must be freezing out here in the dark
Come inside where it’s cosy and warm”

A little head shakes, shakes again
“No … It’s not safe … You’re all cruel
And I’m alright … Just leave me be”

I sigh, stand up, pick up some logs and leave
I could take her a blanket but I know what I’d find
The same thing I always find … No one there but me

What Shall I Do?

WHAT SHALL I DO?

What shall I do with you?
What shall you do with me?
What shall we do with us?

What shall we do with all this time?

All this history?
All this future?
All this mobile moment

Nose to nose

All this pain
All this hope
All this fear

We could run away
I could run away
You could run away

We could run away together

But all this
Would run away with us
There is no escape

So I will face it
“Truth or Dare?
Is a party game

Requiring a minimum of two players
The game is very popular
With adolescents and children

But is also played by some adults” *

Yes, I will face it
But not out there
Within

What shall I do with you?
I ask myself
Aye, there’s the rub

For in the end
There is nowhere
To run away to

——————————————————————

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Dare%3F

Polite Conversation

POLITE CONVERSATION

Don’t mistake my silences for indifference.
Don’t mistake my jollity for self-confidence.
Don’t mistake my generosity for fulfilment.
Above all, check out your assumptions.
Despite your own fear, take a few risks
and – God forbid – communicate instead.

Gambit

GAMBIT

We move beyond words,
thanks to you.
Deciding to follow -
One of my better moves.
Or not?

Just Us

JUST US

Just the two of us
And a couple of glasses
To keep us company

On an impulse
She played me the Pixies
They were new to me

We didn’t speak
Just listened
Across the open waters

Only too well aware
That neither of us
Is a confident swimmer

The wraith of Silvia Plath
Crossed our slightly foggy minds
Simultaneously

“Way out in the water”
A synchronicity still born
Since neither of us dared to mention it

——————————————————————

I thought a few people might be helped in getting to the root of this piece with a couple of references.

…..

“I’m not waving, I’m drowning” – Sylvia Plath

…..
Stevie Smith – Not Waving But Drowning
…..
Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.