thoughts are things..

(my epigraphs)

2010-01-01T16:13:00.000-08:00

...each night I try to think of something interesting, in the form of an epigraph, influenced by the days events. Here are my thoughts so far...

"Nothing arms you against life's hardships better than living through them."

"If it's true that War brings Peace, we're due a long period of Peace soon."

"Nature is perfect, Science is our clumsy approximation of Nature; Scepticism is the awareness of the gulf between the two.."

"Not everything that can be created by mankind can be controlled by mankind."

"You will never give up on meat, I will never give up on animals!"

"Dominance will always be preferential to stasis or peace; fear is our worst enemy, unity our ally."

"Mental Illness - A new way of thinking."

"The worst mistakes in life are the uncorrected mistakes."

"There are far more things for us to worry about that that COULD happen than there are things which DO."

"If we are never defeated by the strong, we will never muster the strength to rival them."

"Fear is the ONLY thing that ever stands between a person and their dreams."

"People love power but Love empowers people."

"Even the smallest gap will make the largest circle incomplete."

"A theists best and worst deeds will result from either a Love or Fear of GOD, an Atheists best and worst actions will result from a Love or Fear of Mankind."

"Act only for the Good of Mankind, not the Fear of God."

"Until we learn to protect what we need, we will continue to kill for what we want."

"It's good to have to try hard to achieve something; after all, if you haven't really tried then you haven't really achieved."

"The goal is imperative, the route is superfluous."

"There is no one best Martial Art; it's the practitioner, not the practice, which makes all the difference."

"The scariest thing about war is not learning what they are capable of doing to you but rather what you are capable of doing to them."

"Karate is like water - it's best in its purest form but we try adding different flavours to see if we can improve it."

"When our bodies ache and demand we slow down, we must be mindful not to give in lest we become old."

"External conflict is human nature, Internal conflict is humane nature."

"If you can't fix it, don't break it!"

"By taking everything from me, you leave me with even more opportunity and potential."

"You never really lose if you learn from each defeat."

"Irrespective of victory or defeat, there's a difference between trying and trying hard."

"I'd much rather crack than allow myself to be bent by their iron hammer."

"Throw out many roots. Know that some will die and some will thrive. Nurture only those that will strengthen you."

"Ex-soldier wakes from nightly battle." (Six word story)

"Knowledge is to wisdom as root is to tree."

"Peace is counter-productive to the profiteering War-wagers."

"Words can be inspiring and thoughts provocative, only action can be empowering."

"Don't count your dead until you've won the battle."

"Peace is not difficult to find; it's there by default."

"For all our intelligent philosophies which speculate or confirm our place and purpose in time or space, it matters not one jot what we think; for this is a physical realm and it is only what we do here that really matters."

"Easier to believe the lies than be faced with the uncertainty of not knowing."

"To doubt my reality is not to question my sanity but to question everyone else's."

"Time: Our greatest friend, our greatest teacher, our greatest enemy ."

"We have all the time in the world yet still we want more."

"The wisest man recognises that he knows nothing."

"By merely doing nothing, I am lifted far above the wrong-doers!"

"Genius lies not beyond answers but beyond question."

"Sometimes life is like a fish - it stinks!"

"The most basic of all things is no thing."

"To protect your enemy with your life is to express the ultimate understanding of humanity."

"Those who never have to try hard in life never will."

"We are only individuals because there are so many of us; when we are alone, we lose our individuality."

"Never worry what people say of you, unless they say you look worried."

"Time, health, friendship and money all come and go - use them wisely when you have the opportunity."

"If there is a hell and if I end up there, at least I wont be lonely."

"Ignorance breeds frustration. Anger is born of frustration. War ensues rage.

Buscuitification n. bus-cuit-i-fi-ca-ti-on n.

1- the use of a long, made-up word to impress or bemuse.
2- frequent or inappropriate use of long, made-up words.

"Until there are no fences, there will always be people on each side of the fence."

"Homeless Veteran freezes in Legion's Doorway" (6 word story)

"Six-hundred-billion activities - T.V. is only ONE of those."

"At the very end, in our final hour - all that we are is all that we have been."

"When life is full of excitement, it's so much easier to become bored."

"When you have nothing left, you must be all right."

"Energy: Everything that is, was and all that has been will not be."

"The Future never comes, The Present is fleeting but The Past is here to stay."

"If I could be granted just one wish?...I would ask for less time."

"4ⁿ ever"

"There are only so many hours in one day": unless you're at war - then, somehow, there are many, many more.

"Those with 'thick hides' need not hide."

"While most people are made blind to the truth, those that do see oft wish they were blind."

"If you've done no wrong, you've done good."

"The mastery of time is to keep only the things from the past which you'll later come to depend on."

"Without difference, nothing would move."

"Only a novice can become a master."

"Balance is found at the beginning and the end of all things. The heft of ones own life can be measured by the displacement between these two points."

"Lies gain credence from believers - Truth is independent of belief."

"Those that take, have - those that give, have more."

"Our past and their future both shared a common present-day."

"I place little value on money."

"Shall I conquer my fear or does it serve to protect me?"

"To seek reward is to lack dignity in ones actions."

"Time: There will only ever be one today, one tomorrow and one yesterday but one day soon there will be no tomorrow and the day after that there will be no today and the day after that, no yesterday."

"I'm not one for pushing my boundaries - I pull them down and trample them!"

"To do and fail is far better than to fail by not doing."

"Don't worry - new opportunities will always arise so even your biggest mistakes in life can be superseded in the future."

"Truth will always elude us while we lie to ourselves."

"Being blind to the reason is far better than being powerless to do anything about it."

"A great ruler will look back on his followers to make sure he hasn't left anyone behind, A great leader looks ahead of his followers to ensure he doesn't lead them astray."

"Speak not of tomorrow in the presence of today."

"If you're not a good runner, choose to hide from your problems instead; if there's nowhere to hide - problem solved."

The cynics among us will know that really "He who laughs last, does so under his breath."

"While our life leads us to old age, so our dreams take us back to childhood."

"Linux - it's not shit, it's just free. Windows - it's not free."

"The brain is a sponge, it quickly fills and requires a good squeeze to make it useful again."

"Death accepts no excuses."

"Even the smallest step can take you further off course - always check that you are heading in the right direction."

"While They tell us that money is the root of all evil, I would say that Their taxes are the equivalent of weed killer."

"Individually we are all different, collectively we are all the same."

"Life is a journey, there are no maps but occasionally you may stumble upon a good guide."

"Reality is subjective, not objective; we each experience the same thing differently."

"Quantum Physics, thought by many to be the most complex of all studies is, in fact, the most rudimentary foundation."

"How fitting that the safety-man is never in the danger-zone."

"What really determines right from wrong is not the act itself but the perpetrators understanding of right from wrong."

"The most hideous of our Air-dropped weapons are made safe by the hands of inquisitive children."

"Just as the days events manipulate our thoughts, so too our thoughts manipulate the days events!"

"Reality - the mind's ability to interpret sensory stimulation.
Psychosis - the mind's ability to recreate sensory stimulation."

"Of course Time-Travel exists - we all do it, every day."

"How do I rid myself of this veil of illusion that parades itself so boldly before me? I shall figure it out if it's the death of me."

"Question- How do YOU know I didn't try hard enough?
Answer- You're still able to speak."

"Determination: Far easier to raise questions than to find answers."

"If you could help to end child cruelty tomorrow - would you?
If you could help to put an end all future wars tomorrow - would you?
If you could help to make someones life just that little bit better tomorrow - would you?
If you could save the life of one just one precious animal tomorrow - would you?
I know that you'll have answered YES to all my questions but read this again tomorrow because, my friend, today is yesterdays tomorrow."

"While it's true that life deals us all the cards, we at least get the choice whether to stick or twist."

"If you always take shortcuts, you'll end up cutting yourself short."

"Both the coward and the hero have one thing in common - their terrifying predicament."

"If all you do is lead people round in circles, eventually you'll wind up following the idiot at the back."

"Live the dream, don't dream of living."

"Only we should decide who we are and what we will become."

"Smiling is infectious but unfortunately they've found a cure."

"The impending darkness shall rest my eternally grateful eyes."

"Life is a canvas,
You are the pencil and
Time, the eraser."

"Someone once told me that no-one will make it in this world - they were right; I used to be someone, now I'm a no-one."

"If you feel as though you carry the world on your shoulders, take a different viewpoint and see that the world is supporting your headstand."

"Encumbering Rifle, Searing Deserts. My Penance!" (6 word story)

"A bird sits caged for countless years, dreaming of the Heavens. Now free, it cannot fly."

"When a soldier is killed, his brothers-in-arms will rise up to seek retribution. When he is maimed, they kneel by his side."

"Life's all about working out what you're meant to do and then doing it until you die, most people give up at step one."

Ridiculosity n. ri-dic-u-los-i-ty

1. Something that is ridiculous.

2. The quality or character of being ridiculous.

"They KNOW so much of oh so little and so little of oh so much!"

"Balance: The stronger the light, the stronger the shadows."

"When we destroy an 'enemy', we destroy a part of ourselves."

"I may not have tomorrow but at least I have today."

"It is only our searching which renders us lost."

"We DO need social classes; without them the 'Upper Class' would be exposed as lazy, scrounging degenerates who steel from those who labour for them and then squander the wealth on themselves."

"Heroism is not ignoring ones fear nor disciplining or conditioning ones self; heroism is confronting such fears despite grave consequence."

"When asked about his success, Daniel Lambert replied - I never expected to get this big."

"By always reaching out for new ideas we can never fully grasp the old ones."

"Such Great Heroes, Such Tiny Epitaphs." (6 word story)

"When voicing your project, project your voice."

"Only we can decide who we are and what we will become."

"Perfection is the infinitesimal point between 'not enough' and 'too much'."

"Your success is owed equally to your failures as well as your triumphs."

"Life: many Destinations, one Journey."

"In a lifetime as humans we will collectively experience less than 0.00000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% that this world has to offer. Make best of the time we have."

"Be happy with what you have, seek nothing more."

"How strange to think that in the vastness of infinity: all that is now never has been before and never will be again."

"To learn most about trees, best to plant one and help it grow rather than kill one by reading a
book."

"Almost every book you read has been 8 years in the making."

"War extends far from the battlefield, deep into the psyche of all who have known her."

"It is from the darkness we best see the light."

"Indebtedness: From all things, never take that which you do not intend to replace."

"Never give up until just after the very end."

"The flame of rage can be spread by animosity or quenched by compassion."

"When the body and mind falter, the spirit must take over. When the spirit dwindles, all is lost."

"No boundaries, no limitation, just thoughts!"

"Fake heroes and medal-hunters desire reward for their actions, true heroes find reward in their actions alone and will resent such trinkets."

"The coward appears braver than the hero should their roles be reversed just once."

"Peace is something which exists without doing; by doing, it is destroyed."

"By always asking, we never hear the answers."

"When struggling up the mountain, keep climbing.
When you can go no further, rest for a while.
When you lose your way, enjoy the adventure.
If you hang from a ledge, let go; you may find a better route next time.
If you reach the top - admire the view and look for another to climb.
If you don't make any headway - at least you tried; no hardship lasts forever."

"Each person who lives will die. Let's make sure that each person who dies has lived. That is the goal of humanity."

"Poverty: Tell the child whos Mother starved to death that 'Money cannot buy you happiness'."

"The common man will spend his whole life working, just dreaming of living."

"Nothing hinders advancement more than a lack of mistakes."

"Static minds soon become stagnant."

"Those distant echoing battlefields will ring forever more."

"We are not many, we are one."

"The hardest part when seeking enlightenment is to stop looking once you find it!"

"Streaming eyes, hidden by sand-storm." (6 word story)

"You're all, Highly Decorated Armchair-Warriors." (6 word story)

"Distant medic hears their last cry." (6 word story)

"Screaming baby watches tanks drive away." (6 word story)

"War is proof that hell exists only here on Earth and that if there is god, it is not omnipresent."

"Cluster bomblet dis-armed by young child." (6 word story)

"Dirty Fists, Bowed Heads, Makeshift Grave." (6 word story)

"Peace ebbs through blood and tears." (6 word story)

"My Head Hung when He Hanged." (6 word story)

"People who never lie find it just as difficult to sleep at night (unless they can sleep standing up)."

"A soldier is like a machine's cog, neglect to oil it and it will neglect to turn for you, spreading its corrosion, spoiling efficiency from within the system."

"What worth has success if you've down-trodden others in your scramble to the top?"

"A sheep's blood-pressure is measured in baas."

"A goats heart-rate is measured in bleats-per-minute."

"A cat's staple diet is meowsli."

"Sometimes being apart brings people closer together."

"If we each follow in someone else's footsteps, eventually we will all get stuck in a rut!"

"Conspiracy: Crop circles are man-made; they're burned into the ground by bored technicians using the high-power LASER energy of our anti-ballistic-missile satellite capability to test/calibrate their aim."

"If you never make plans, your plan can never fail but more important, neither will your plan ever succeed."

"To posses is to have and not let go. To love is to let go but still have."

"Sometimes in life, it is the smallest things which make the biggest difference."

"Only the butterfly should advise the caterpillar of the necessity for change."

"As seconds turn to minutes, minutes blend to hours, hours wind into years and years fade into tears, all is remembered in that final blink of her eyes."

"If reality truly is illusion, where can truth be found?"

"Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind", that's the difference between cruel and kind people.

"Shiny Medals gather dust in drawer." (6 word story)

"Genetic Modification- A stream of heavy-metal particles, coated with genetically modified DNA, are fired at the intended target along an ionised path, created by high-power LASER. The heavy-metal penetrates deep into organic matter (living tissue) and the subsequent genetic changes can range from subtle to catastrophic depending on the intended outcome, degree of exposure and the natural resiliance of the victim."

"Forgive and forget? Nonsense; if we've truly forgotten, there's nothing to forgive and if we truly forgive there's no need to forget."

"Your life has ended when you've stopped living it."

"It's always best to be left behind when people are rushing in the wrong direction."

"Life is like a box of chocolates; once you've eaten them, they're gone!"

"Maybe dreams are in fact reality and our 'reality' just a dream?"

"Science: Mans attempt to explain and catagorise every fart, pip and squeak that occurs and to then retrospectively hypothesise and catalogue every fart, pip and squeak that may have or possibly ever could occur."

"To master the body, first we must master the mind."

"In the early hours of the morning the ex-pilot awoke from one of his nightly bombing-raids, his bed soaked with sweat."

"How is a consumer or corporate carbon-footprint even remotely comparable to that of Government Military Hardware tests? - They f@@ked our world so much with NBC that now we have to recycle our crisp packets for them to sell!!!"

People often say "What's the point of life? - You're only going to die anyway."
....you never here the same people say....
"What's the point of eating food? - You're only going to shit it back out anyway."

"Hypocrisy: The Church of England secretly perpetuates wars by funding expensive Military Hardware whilst publicly proclaiming their pursuit of peace, love and unity."

"No matter how pedantic a person, never will they stop to ponder the complexities of half a biscuit."

"The land of the living seems full of dead people. I only hope that the land of the dead is full of people living."

"Questions provide more drive than answers ever will."

"The flame wot burns u is the flame wot learns u!"

"When dignity is stripped, even the hanged man has his pride."

"The truth is: you can only ever truly remember that which you have truly experienced."

"A bullet can kill a man from a great distance; as his last enemy fell, the young snipers heart chilled."

"No matter how unlikely, life on distant planets, we are at least living proof for them that it does exist."

"Think about it - if all wars really were counter-strikes, there could be no wars."

"Self-important people are seldom important to anyone else."

"They trashed my mind with their weapons - how fitting then that I shall trash their weapon industry with my mind."

"At the end of the day, it always gonna be night-time."

"Many people ponder what life is - death teaches us life's purpose."

"People form their strongest opinions on the things which they know least about."

"So many people, so little love."

"If you die happy, you haven't lived."

"The only person who can ever judge, praise or criticise you with any authority is your Self; only you live by your morals, beliefs, understandings, abilities and limitations."

"If we are all free, why are we not all happy?"

"When advised to aim high, be careful not to aim directly upwards!"

"If you think you've found life's secret - you must be dreaming!"

"Science is understanding through the observation of Nature. Nature can never be wrong, but our observations often are."

"Charles Darwin's "...Origin of the Fæces..." is a load of shit."

"'Genius' can be carefully orchestrated by the intellectual and can also be stumbled upon by the common-man!"

"Question- Surely one person cannot make a difference?....
....Answer- The vast deserts are made of single grains of sand."

"Don't pigeons look weird without arms?"

"If we stick to the same path for too long, two things will happen - we wont get very far and we'll become very sticky."

"When a bird flies, it expresses it's freedom, landing reminds itself what it is to fly."

"Women buy new shoes once they've been worn. Men buy new shoes once they've been worn out."

"The World would be a peaceful place but for other people."

"I'm a vegetarian for the very same reason you love to eat animals - I hate veg' but I love animals."

"For all our might and steel and toil, still have we not yet discovered peace!"

"Reality is the fabric of the mind; Your thoughts, the stitches of a thread. Dream, render your Self in the tapestry of life."

"You fail to see that you can be free because you fail to see that that you are not."

"Through the ardour of removing weeds, we express our respect for the flower."

"Stephen Hawking isn't clever; he's got a Pentium 4 strapped to his wrist!"

"A second can be as precious as a lifetime, a lifetime as empty as a second, depending on what we choose to do with the time afforded to us."

"Reality is what one THINKS it to be; one's thoughts manipulate and form one's reality. To be
free, one has only to THINK FREELY."

"Smiling, with my hands on my mind, I mold myself further from their image."

"Honour: Pearl divers are ashamed to rise for air without pearls."

"Each day following our birth takes us closer to the end but thankfully, due to the wonders of nature, further from our rear-end."

"The disciplined mind follows rules, the undisciplined mind adheres to no such regulation and yet both may achieve occasional greatness. The great minds alike switch wisely between these two conflicting trains of thought."

"Patience comes to those who wait."

"£100's for tiny iPODs and the latest 6-monthly Mobile Phone upgrade, £1000's for huge HD-ready Plasma TVs and fuel-guzzling cars, £Billions spent on war, weapons and military hardware, $Trillions on research into the galaxies and exploring distant planets. All this development and research for the well-being and comfort of the modern human-race yet there's a guy who can't get spare change from us when we walk past him every day in the gutter."

Everything we do, or anyone else does, at any instant in our lives NOW will ultimately govern our future and our past. Every micro-cosmic action affects something else on a micro-cosmic scale. These actions and re-actions we manifest always have their inconsequential or substantial counterpart which impacts on our lives and those around us. Only a tiny percentage of these inter-galactic micro-cosmic events have, somehow, been entrusted to yOUR control; the majority of life events you cannot manipulate, due to time/space constraints, so why then now do you not start making use of these choices for yourself. Every instant of your long (or short) existence amounts to one potentially HUGE impact on everyone and anyone's life, including your own. Only you can choose, only you can change, only you can stop allowing your Self to be controlled and manipulated and have your choices made for you in someone else's favour.

Ask yourself this and then answer me seriously - when YOU open a packet of crisps, why do you ALWAYS ensure that it is the "right" way up?

Where is this elusive freedom of choice, freedom of speech and 'free will' that they preach and profess of?

Open your eyes to the truth around you and close your ears to the lies directed at you. Direct your mind to your inner peace and externalize any good you can find within you.

Do not hide your true Self from others, value ALL life, including your own. yOUR reality is subjective, not objective; no-one else can experience your life.

(We) are unique - it's time now, to start living our own lives, independent of Religious direction, Government indoctrination and media-led social influence/distraction.

Be who you are - not who 'they' want you to be!

If we are all free, why are we not all happy?

Okinawa Tour 2009-

Ultimately, at the very end - in our last hour, all that we are is all that we have been. I'm not sure if we can take anything with us when we depart but certainly we can all decide what we leave behind in the hearts and memories of those we choose to keep around us. Positivity, negativity, joy, hardship, ego, modesty and honesty all play a natural role in the continual personal development of our own character, spirit and personality in this unique journey which we call 'life'.

What we all experienced and achieved during the Okinawa Tour of 2009 is above and beyond normal life experience and opportunity. We have been shown new ways of culture, thinking and Karate - some of which were familiar to us and others not so. What we choose to take from this can be used to shape how we are now and in the future with positive impact on our Karate and, inevitably, on our everyday lives; just as we were given the opportunity to experience the ways of Okinawa, we are now given the opportunity back at home, to nurture and develop what has been taught to us and channel this through the expression of our own understanding of Karate.

One comment which was of particular importance to me was: "It is the still water which best reflects the true picture."
This has reinforced my efforts to quiet the turbulence in my mind, to try to review all things calmly rather than to entwine painful memories with lingering emotion. Although I find this tremendously difficult, I will endeavour to keep this advice in mind in the hope that one day I will be able to learn from the many experiences I have such fear to look back upon.

Fukushuen Gardens, Naha

My heart-felt Thanks and Gratitude go to Dave Wilkins and Lauren Frearson and all those who made this fantastic experience possible and until I can return to Okinawa, I shall revisit frequently in my thoughts.

Thanks and Peace to all. Pete Tinsley. 27th April 2009

(my haiku)

2009-12-30T05:09:00.000-08:00

The following are my attempts to emulate the Japanese style of poetry and thinking (Haiku). Their strict formal rules for writing have changed over the years. After a short tour of the Okinawa island, I was inspired by their peaceful way of life...

-A bird sits caged for countless years

Dreaming of the heavens,

Now free, it cannot fly.-

-Bereft Deserts and frozen Ice-planes.

The Forrest's abundant life.

Beauty pervades them all.-

-The flower which struggles to grow

Through the mountain rock

Is twice as magnificent to behold!-

-The warbling bird sings all day.

How pleasant to hear her song.

The silent crow startles me with his squawk.-

-I slowly climb the mountain pass.

Warm rain cools my face.

The scenery fuels my journey.-

-Shallow words

from shallow minds

Sustain their hollow lives.-

-How wise the turtle

Who lives so long

Yet lives so slow!-

-A crazy old man

Wandering around the gardens,

Smiles with the turtles.-

-I sit in silence,

Unaware of the

Myriad of sounds around me-

-A cavernous monument

Is but a fleeting experience

for cavernous minds!-

-A luscious green rice field;

Rows and rows of perfect plants

and behind them, a painted white stand-pipe.-

-The Rabbit darts, his white tail flashing.

The hunter slows his breath and gently squeezes.

The muzzle flashes, the rabbit stills.-

-She nurtures her precious new-born lambs.

She wonders where they are.

Your plate swims with grease!-

-People rushing,

Frantically searching.

Seldom they stop to find.-

-Eight legs, eight eyes and eight hard years.

Her tiny, shining body.

Deliberately, trodden underfoot.-

-Why pound rock with fists each day?

What sense to endure such pain?

It is because, one day the pain and the rock will be gone!-

-The path of peace.

So easy to follow,

Yet so difficult to find.-

-Quieting my struggles,

I allow the river

To direct my journey.-

-Four turtles sitting peacefully,

Perched upon one rock

are joined by two more!-

-The path is so very long,

but with each step

I am one step closer!-

-Humankind - so pure, so free.

Our World, the playground of Our minds.

Humankind - so wrong, so greedy.-

-Not brave, the man who fears not death.

Nor fierce the Bee that stings.

Brave, who fears but does.-

-How quick the deer through the thickets.

How slow her torture by the snare.

Lay still and rest at last.-

(my poems)

2009-12-29T04:14:00.000-08:00

..occasionally I will attempt a poem or the odd limerick, influenced by the quagmire of my mind. Here are my attempts so far...

'Fighting a Losing Battle'

Rhapsody spits morning dew,
My dampened spirit, soaked right through.
I lift my head from restless pit
And wipe my mouth of muddied grit.

The crimson sun-rise warms my soul,
As aching neck is helped to roll.
I shave my face and eat some fruit
Then don my armour and my boots.

Weapon slung across my side,
I dust my camouflage with pride
And take my place back on the line;
Duty bound by home-front crime.

The truck don't take me all the way
So from the path, I mustn't stray.
I use my ears to guide me in
To follow distant battle's din.

Tracers paint the lurid sky
As arcs are followed by my eyes.
Passing close with every shot,
I'm conscious of their deadly plot.

Bullets pass like humming bees
Bringing Comrades to their knees.
As panic passes as for calm,
Pain races up my splintered arm.

Acceptance has now 'come the norm
As whistling metal tears my form;
Crescendo bursts me from the light
And throws me to eternal night.

Softly fades the light of day,
This falling carcass gently sways.
Weary head is flopped to ground,
No more pain and little sound.

Each passage to this other side
Is reminiscent of the tide..
As in and out of life and death
This cycle fuelled by man's unrest.

They teach me right from wring once more
Then kindly gesture to the door.
Invigoured mind with head hung low,
They pat my back for I must go.

Into this life I re-emerge,
To try again this test of scourge.
To keep in mind their goal of peace,
Linked with me like lamb and fleece.

But life is hard when love is blurred,
So life-time goals are oft deferred
As once again, from fragile babe,
Life forges me with fire and blade.

This never-ending loop of woe;
Designed to help us all let go
Of hate and angst of fret and war,
To live in harmony once more.

Hard as it seems to get it right;
Each time we try as best we might.
To give each man what he deserves-
Peace, love, freedom - unreserved.

We must make sure as one day soon,
Everything will be consumed
And all that's here will be no more
But start again with zero score.

To pass the test is plain as day,
Never let life slip away-
Make each second last an hour,
Each insect, beast and special flower.

Become a champion for the weak,
Find fortune in the worldly bleak,
Balance all - be fair and just
As truth is all you need to trust.

The answer's in each newborn child;
Innocence can tame the wild
And set us free from man-made hell,
No need for god or magic spell;

In the end we'll be just fine
If we take our precious time
To do things right and set the pace
To fortify the human race.

'Brass Monkey'

Slowly pass the months at sea,
Night to night with nothing seen.
Shrivelled crew sleep huddled cold
In the belly of their mother.

Up top with creak and flex of wood
Thrown, rolling port and starboard.
Sprayed by ice from wondrous depth,
The watchman warmed, by flask of rum.

Hid from view until too late
The silhouette of rival form.
Flank to flank and unprepared
The rally cry of tattered horn.

The barrels beg as canons roar
Like rats they scurry under.
Deck to deck and back again
To feed their hungry volleys.

Passing shot and powder keg
Brass-monkey does his duty.
Lashed by rope of splintered hull
He dodges through the gulleys.

Come on boy, I need some more!
The bald-man raised his fists.
Two seconds late, the hull was gated,
Baldy was no more.

The thing with ships, or so they say,
The sea goes on the outside.
With holes so big, no chance of patch
We become the fodder.

Dredging wreck to bring aboard
All they find of value.
From ship to ship, from sinking plank,
Brass-monkey hauled by saviour.

Up o'er the flanks of sullied beech
To serve with growing lustre,
Two-hundred cannons each, per side
This mighty naval Warship.

'HMS Indomitable'

With the Sun on my back
Or the coals at my feet,
My heart shall never be warmed
From this cold depth that War has sunk me.

No sullen eyes or muted sobs;
Trained hard by cold emotion
To hide my pain, my sorrow, my fear,
This mask is mine to wear with pride.

An indomitable vessel
Left wrecked and rusting
In quieting distant waters,
Too costly to recover, to restore.

But visit, come catch a glimpse
To wonder how it must have been
Those splendid years ago
Before the waves took their toll.

'State of Mind'

As each day floats by
Looking back, not forwards,
Trying to elude my own thought,
Escape present form,
Return to my source
And recall a time
When I would look forward
To the day when
I no longer can remember
My past.

'The Raven'

The heavy, old branches
hang down,
tracing gently the silvery surface
of the stream.
A silent Raven observes all
with the stillness of
the grassy fields below.
His wide-angled eyes
take in everything
that life has to offer him
and someday soon
a gentle, warm breeze
might lift him
from that heavy, old branch.

'Freedom of Choice'

(censorship)
'They' have no choice but kill 'our' thoughts
in this land of the free.
They choose to to hide the truth from us;
they choose what we can see.

(dictatorship)
The TV's spurt and spout 'their' news
and burp repeats galore.
Same old shit but different day,
what do you watch it for?

(indoctrination)
From birth, they choose what we digest;
and feed us on their lies.
For health of mind, you must eat meat
but cows and pigs MUST die!

(prejudice)
They highlight what is good and just
to show us wrong from right,
then hide the trades of diamond slaves
so nothing's "black and white".

(criminal)
Earn your cash then pay our tax
for this is what you owe
but if you keep it to yourself
your prison sentence grows.

(commercialism)
The latest gadget's now on sale,
the 'best' that you can buy:
it's 60inch of worthless junk
to better watch their lies.

(propaganda)
They choose for us what we can hear,
of terrorists at war.
but only half the story's told,
to honour blood and gore.

(condescend)
"Wear your brass on you lapel
and hold your head up high."
but do that in a battlefield
and you will surely die!

(hypocrites)
They preach of prophets and of God
in Bibles, hymns and script.
They say they know who built 'the world',
but then 'demolish' it.

(procrastination)
If you woke up and saw the world
for what it is today,
you'd notice that you are not free
and do not have your say.

(truth)
'They' have no choice but kill 'our' thoughts,
in this land of the free,
they cannot choose what /I/ believe;
those thoughts belong to me.

"The Tram"

Off dampened streets
O'er steel I step,
From cold
To heated Wonder.

The soothing sway
Of left to right
Soon lulls me off
With half-closed lids.

Lightning spits and spats,
Vivid blue
Cra-Crackling above.
The carriage gently trundles,

Passing the Freehouse,
Passing the knolls,
Stopping to alight,

Naked eyes
Of sparkling dim,
Through frosted panes
Look in.

Sat bolted straight
With book on lap,
I gently watch
The time pass by.

''RTA?"

One idle Sunday,
After walk in the park,
A family of three
Heading home before dark.

Their beautiful child
Was gleaming with fun,
Chasing shadows and leaves
In Autumnal sun.

"Wait for us!", "Wait for us!"
"Wait for us!" they said.
But their beautiful child
Was racing ahead.

A car on the highway
Was travelling too fast
"Just 10 minutes now..."
"...Nearly home, at last!"

"SHIT!" cried Dad,
Half disguised by the brakes
Which squealed half as loud
As his kids in their state.

"You've killed him!", "You've killed him!"
"You've killed him!" they called
"It's OK, calm down..."
"It's a hedgehog, that's all."

'At Your Disposal'

From a mile and a third
Can be heard the dull whir
Of a high-heat furnace
Preparing to burn
The remains, in disdain,
Of a blood-stained brain,
Draining from the cranium
Of a dying Albanian.
A scene, never seen before-
Ash on the floor,
Blood and gore
And of course guts galore!
It's a bit of a chore
To open the door
But iron is forced,
The orange orifice
Is endorsed.
Crackle and spit, flames lap
And lick.
Into the pit of charcoal
And grit.
We toss you in
With surly grin
Like rubbish to bin,
Raucous laughter within.
We're stoked to stoke
Ol' smokey again!
With a tug of his chain
Comes the rising of flame!
It's 1:04 and you're
Thoroughly thawed.
Just a few minutes more
No need for a morgue.
You're almost done - ain't this fun?!
At ten -past-one you'll be gone!
A birds-eye view in store for you.
So up the flu and spread on through
As one last time
You'll rise up high
To soar the sky as we
Wave GOODBYE!
For we are at your disposal.

'What I Remember'

Shrapnel pulls at fragile limbs
Which bend and bow and break.
Poison Gas drawn into roots
Corruption of the Soul.

Bullets RIP and splinter bark.
Rain on down-turned leaves.
People mock and tease our plight,
Relived anguish, No respite.

The Chaplains wore a cross for us
They prayed that we survive.
It also laid the coffin-tops
of all the ones who died.

Another war now must be faced
To live among this "humane" race
To turn from lies and bended truth
and pass the time of day

YOU equal evil-doers.
The blind munition of their cannon.
Hidden from YOUR carnage,
Can turn the pages and smile.

You know SO much of very little,
SO little of oh SO much.
Some trees still somehow here today,
Graffiti Marred, where beauty was.

'Again'

As even light is tentatively swept
from my eyes,
the temporary incarnation of day
transcends into night.
The flickering ebb and flow
of this arcane and unchanging cycle,
a dull flickering insanity
whose pulsating flame serves only
to wrench me forwards and jolt me backwards
again.

On this tide of farcical existence
on which I seemingly exist
just to exit,
you're all pushing and pulling me,
afraid to let go.
Deaths grip won't let me slip
through your greedy little fingers though,
for the tide is turning away
again.

Like a revolving door which carousels,
too fast for me to leave just now,
I'll have to let it slow
and instead, just dizzy around here in this gap
between the doors,
looking out whilst being spiralled in
to your reality
again.

It has come to light now,
that I'd found the door aeons ago
but I just can't leave it be
in case I lose it.
So, for me at least, now
I feel I must, somehow,
just disintegrate and wait
to dissolve into tomorrows dark
when all will just be
that tiny bit slower
again.

'Mine Oldest Friend'

'Twas thrice it knocked
And ten-fold echoed
The fear which danced atop
My fragile soul; my frail body
Languished, curled amidst
The deepest cowls
Of warm, woven cloth.
Didst I hide from that
Which canst be hid from
And netherto would be
Sought to venture?
Nameless, timeless and
Boundless - the shallow stalker
Akin to that of the Raven,
Who's weathered, hollow frame
Canst not be tethered.
My heart did sinketh further more
As thrice he raps
Upon my door,
With struggling brow and hastened breath
He calls my name; his nameth 'DEATH'.

'Memory'

Dark winding paths of
Neural networks leading back
to times and places,
Half-forgotten faces.
A fallen star that hovers
Overhead and close to me.
Watching on with others,
The light.
Truth is mine to see.

Burned into my Self,
Consuming every thought
From that point forth,
Throughout,
Etched inside eternally.

Scratching from within,
Forever burning
Behind my eyes.
With every thought and
Deed and act
That pathway lures and
Leads me back to that
One point
Where darkness breeds.
That fallen star-
That memory.

'Water'

Be like the nature of water
He said.
The formless form-
Strong yet supple,
Supportive yet yielding,
Individual, separate.
A united body of fluid dynamism.
10 thousand pounds of force
Will not crush it
Though it is easily displaced
By the palm of a small child's hand.
For we cannot live without
Nor survive drought
As it it 80% of our very essence,
Flowing freely through the channels
Of our existence,.
Gradually flowing away
Like our own life force;
So precious,
So taken for granted.

'The Hideous Creature'

A motionless flap hangs from distorted mouth
while glistening brains from cracked skull spill out.

Eyes bulge wide open, half popping out;
no nose, just the holes - the remains of a snout.

The limbs are all swollen as afflicted with gout
and the chest is collapsed with ribs poking out.

This crimson monstrosity writhes on the floor
in a pool of its blood in a scene full of gore.

A crowd now does gather to spectate in awe;
such a hideous creature not witnessed before.

Some get out their cameras, some capture to phone
then render to ether the zig-zaggy bones.

A shrill siren screams throughout the whole street
No chance of this creature ever rising to feet.

Whilst hastily gathered and lifted to bed,
a medi-evil strap stops from moving its head.

No-one noticed its screams nor cared for its plight
but this hideous creature would now have to fight.

"One golden hour is cutting it tight"
as crash-team take crash-victim to crash-unit tonight.

'Gas! Gas!! Gas!!!'

From my exhausted and tortured eyes,
like dirty acid-laced rain-water,
rancid blood spurts forth - short regimented bursts.
Bubbling up from a rusty desert stand-pipe
through the dams and floodgates, a thousand years.
Stiffening torrents of spasmodic, twisted memories
pouring through and pawing my glistening face
to render their long-sought slaughter.
Screaming abrasive sands scour my flesh
re-forming me, cutting and gouging
deep coarse valleys
through which my crimson warmth happily flows.
Pathological external channels.
Life is leaving me;
Life is leaving me lifeless.
Frailty! Morality!
9 short seconds to recall a lifetime lost.
A fleeting glimpse of what
should have been.
Of what
could have been.
9 excruciatingly long seconds.
Then my eyes close forever.

'Sand-storm'

Dawns chorus reaches out to me.
Her strong, harsh voice
ringing through the desert.
My soft skin is stung in waves
as I respond in harmony.

Age-old crystals
dance atop my rifle and
pelt my sun-worn skin.
With eyes draw shut and
lips pressed firm,
my laboured breathing wheezes.

She draws my progress to a halt
then hides me from the world.
Now safe, as captive to her song,
I can but smile and listen.

'The Night Sortie'

Majestically dancing
You sway in rhythmic flow,
Lacing and crawling
With incandescent glow.
A beautiful hue quickens from
Gold to ripples of blue.
A living carpet
Smothering all that you touch
Like Midas, your presence
Brings a fierce rush,
A dry breath which consumes
Almost all.
You laugh and frolic
Whilst standing tall as a wake
Of carbonised darkness
Scatters to wind.

'Cold as Snow'

Downtrodden, underfoot.
The crisp crunch of each
Deliberate step
Brings satisfaction to those
Who place themselves above-

Their cold heart
Cooling the ground around me,
They lift their pressure
Occasionally to
Admire their impression but
Not being impressionable,
I will not yield and
Instead melt in defiance.

Like the nature of water
Ebbing and flowing freely
Without directive,
Pooling and collecting
In pockets and divots.

Out of reach,
Out of time
And safe
Beneath their frozen steel.

(my music)

2009-12-28T02:58:00.000-08:00

Unable to play any instrument, I try making digital "music" mostly on my Playstation 1 and sometimes on my Netbook PC. Here are links to some of my MP3 downloads and YouTube music videos...

'Dream Sonata'

'L14r! 1i4r!'

'Whisper for The Sleeping Dragon'

'Temple of a Million Years'

'Let's Join Hands'

'The Agony of War'

'End of Days'
http://www.mtv-music-generator.com/index.php?topic=2055.msg14023#msg14023

'Once around the Sun'
http://www.mtv-music-generator.com/index.php?topic=2054.msg14021#msg14021

my 6 word stories

2009-03-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

"Children play until they become adults."

"Duty calls - Honour, Courage, Deceit, LIES!"

"Encumbering Rifle, Searing Deserts. My Penance!"

"Screaming baby watches tanks drive away."

"Distant medic hears their last cry."

"Cluster bomblet dis-armed by young child."

"Dirty Fists, Bowed Heads, Makeshift Grave."

"Streaming eyes, hidden by sand-storm."

"Hunted man, found in fox-hole."

"My Head Hung when He Hanged."

"Rememberance day excludes modern day veterans."

"Remember this - You were never there!"

"Ex-soldier wakes from nightly battle."

"You're all, Highly Decorated Armchair-Warriors."

"Shiny Medals gather dust in drawer."

"Homeless Veteran freezes in Legions doorway."

"Such Great Heroes, Such Tiny Epitaphs."

"Peace ebbs through blood and tears."