Cherish the Day
David W. Oakes
Several days passed in a blur of activity
While I lay in a hazy state of consciousness
Unaware that I may never have come so close
To the never-ending darkness that comes with death.
I became slowly more understanding of it all
As I slowly come back to the world of the real
Realizing how close I had come to losing it all
My mortality hit me dead in the face with zeal.
I have been pronounced almost dead many times before
But it has been many years since this was so
I have been taking my existence as a given for so long
That I had forgotten how my mortality could take a blow.
It reminded me now of what I once knew long ago
But which had dimmed in my mind over the years
You must cherish each day for what it brings to you
Sometimes laughter, sometimes love, sometimes tears.
Cleanse Thyself
David W. Oakes
Through an avalanche of memories
All the happiness and pain
The wind blowing through the trees
All the sunshine and the rain
We all need to find our meaning
To feel satisfied and fulfilled
Like going through a spring housecleaning
Until our ignorance of self is stilled
Coping With The Storm
David W. Oakes
Swirling waves crashing upon the beach
Thunderous, howling winds rushing by
Lightning shooting through the skies
Animals take cover and birds refuse to fly.
People huddled in their snug retreats
Looking out to see the angry skies above
Glad to be where they feel so safe
How precarious their fate with a little shove.
Children running to their mother’s arms
Mothers and fathers try to give comfort
But, tiny fears are hard to tame
No matter how we try or what effort.
Together they are pulled together
In an effort to all make it through the night
Feelings which are often hard to find
When the storms are gone and skies are bright.
Dream Love
David W. Oakes
Walks along the golden beach
When the sun begins to rest
Just you and I all alone
Away from all the rest
Sitting by the fireplace
Cuddled so close together
Laughing, crying, keeping warm
No matter what the weather
Looking deep into your eyes
Inhaling that sweet perfume
Not needing words to say a thing
When it’s quiet as a tomb
To become engulfed in your arms
Is the ultimate high I’ve known
Making love with all out passion
With tenderness always shown
Feelings go deeper than words could say
With fulfillment in my heart
Within my life you will always be
The biggest, most loving part
Flowers
David W. Oakes
Once upon a sadder time
When I was feeling blue
I looked upon the flowers
They were of every hue
Blue and white, yellow and red
They were beautiful to see
Such a tiny thing so overlooked
By so many in such a hurry
Touch your heart and your soul
Sending emotions out in a flurry
If we could just slow down
To something less than a blur
We would spend more time saying thanks
To the lady called Mother Nature
Mirage
David W. Oakes
As the sunlight wraps itself around me
Like a glove upon my hand
I find myself lost for several moments
In a kind of never never land
All my dreams seem to be possible
And my future seems to unfold
As if a magician is up on the stage
And my future his hands do hold
I see all my plans unfurling
Opening themselves for the eye to see
Clearly I see the path to take
A roadmap of how it will be
And then my eyes are opened
And assaulted by sunlight in a barrage
I have to blink away the tears
As I realize it was all a mirage
Nature
David W. Oakes
Waves flowing along the oceans shore
Clouds drifting through the sky
What in life could one wish for more
Than to find themselves in natures eye
Poetry
David W. Oakes
Poetry is a state of mind
Not what we read or write
Poetry is in our lives every day
At our depths and at our heights.
Birds flying so fluidly in the sky
Flowers blooming before our eyes
Athletes performing at their best
Many things can provoke our sighs.
A person can write down anything
Sometimes it may rhyme ad others not
But, does it inspire your feelings
And make you feel cold or hot.
Does it paint a picture in your mind
Can you envision what they mean
Does it touch the depths of your soul
Can it fill you up when times are lean.
I believe not all people have the poet in them
Some acknowledge it while others don’t know
And some believe they are and write rhymes
But their rhymes have got no soul.
Rage
David W. Oakes
When I see small children
Too old for their age
Because they have been abused
I rage
Seeing people who get their joy
And all hyped up and in a craze
Because they can hurt others
I rage
Against the hatred of small minds
Who seem to think through a haze
Hating only religion or color or race
I rage
For all those who are abused
By a system which is meant to gauge
How best to fulfill their dreams
I rage
When I see the importance of money
To those whose would sit around and laze
While people die by the millions
I rage
Because of all the apathy I see
In those who refuse to gaze
Upon all the injustice surrounding us
I rage
Rainbow in the Dark
David W. Oakes
I have a picture of a lady
Emblazoned upon my mind
With a voice so soft and cool
And a manner which is kind.
Sometimes I see her when awake
Her image so vivid and stark
Always she is in my dreams
Like a rainbow in the dark.
Whenever I need her the most
She comes to me in full bloom
No matter how lonely I may feel
She brightens the entire room.
I talk to her so many times
Maybe at the beach or at the park
Anytime I most need to be saved
I call on my rainbow in the dark.
Reflections
David W. Oakes
Looking through a mirrored glass
Wondering what is and what will be
Not knowing the right move to make
Never knowing what’s right for me
I’ve stumbled down the road of life
Never sure which road to take
Will there be but pain and sorrow
Or will life give me a break
I look ever deeper into my heart
To find the strength of soul
To carry on each night and day
Until my heart is full
Sweat Dreams
David W. Oakes
Waking up in the middle of the night
Sweat covered and chilled to the bone
With shaking hands and heartbeat loud
As if beating through a megaphone
Images of lives that used to be
But are no more because of me
How hard it is to sleep sometimes
When memories refuse to flee
You never completely escape the past
No matter how much time goes by
There is no way to right the wrongs
No matter how hard you try
You can only try as best you can
To not allow the past to repeat
To open your heart lovingly
And never from your truths retreat
The nightmares they may never end
And the screams may never fade
But you can live life in a better way
And hope in time the debts are repaid
Thyself
David W. Oakes
To know yourself is a wonderful thing
You find fear and pleasure and passion
Exploring yourself to the outer limits
Is an adventure that’s fun to fashion
You can never reach your true potential
Without taking a chance of failure
To find happiness you must know sorrow
You must doubt before you are sure
To find the full heights of ecstasy
You must visit the pits of despair
And to know how lonely life can be
You must also know how to care
For every thing in life that is good
Of which you want your piece
You must risk an equal amount
Which you may or may not receive
So to conclude my rambling verse
And sum up all my prose
You have got to fall down the hill
To see how high you rose
The Tool
David W. Oakes
Some people call me a romantic
Many people call me a fool
They say my poems mean nothing
Or that I try to use them as a tool.
I’m not quite sure about the romantic
But I probably am quite the fool
I am no master of form or style
My writing was not learned at school.
What I write comes from somewhere inside me
In a place I don’t really know how to find
It seems to find me whenever it sees
Something overwhelmingly horrible or kind.
Then it completely takes over my body
My left hand takes on a life of it’s own
I seldom even know what it is writing down
Until I reread what my left hand has grown.
So I don’t think I use my poetry for an end
I think it uses me as a kind of means
To give itself life to try to describe how it feels
And help visualize the pictures in the scenes.
Trapped
David W. Oakes
Trapped within a lonely cell
Alive but not really free
Miserable every day and night
Never able to know what could be
Afraid to say or do anything
Afraid what your captors may think
Unable to fulfill life’s promises
Not knowing if you’re at the brink
That is the fate of everyone
Whose potential is trapped within
Always afraid what others may think
They are a fool or committed a sin
The only way to break out of our jail
Is to be true to ourselves first
Considering input from others of course
But not letting them extinguish our thirst
Truth
David W. Oakes
Surreal visions floating through the air
Vibrant colors like coiled tendons
Thoughts of which you cannot share
Imperfect lives which the world shuns.
No matter what they believe is real
What is in your heart is truly pure
They cannot bend nor can steal
Nor twist into something obscure.
It matters not how they view it
Only you know what is real to you
And though your soul they try to hit
They can’t stop what is really true.
To deny it is only a lie to themselves
For they are to blind or stupid to see
That trying push them to backs of shelves
Does not change what is or what is to be.
Umbrella
David W. Oakes
Walking through a field of tears
Watching the water always flow
Knowing that all the heartache there
Will never be allowed to show.
I don’t worry about being hurt
Those tears of pain will never touch me
I am covered by a beautiful umbrella
That protects me from that painful sea.
Walking along a beach covered in light
Every ray of warmth beaming from the sun
Seeing so many who have been burned
Never careful when their having their fun.
But, I will never have to worry about the heat
I will never suffer from all those burns
I am covered by a beautiful umbrella
That protects me from all those turns.
It feels so good every day when I open my eyes
To know that feeling that emanates from my heart
Knowing I will always have my umbrella by my side
Always knowing that we’ll never be apart.
What Price the Heart
David W. Oakes
No matter how far away you are
Your heart is never more than a beat away
Whenever your feet get that traveling urge
Remember that you always have a place to stay.
You are never away from home for even a moment
Because your home is right here in my heart
You could never have questioned my saying this
You have known it right from the start.
Sight unseen the price could have been high
But, the good were all you had ever hoped they would be
Your dreams, your desires, fears, and fantasies
All came to you from the blindness for you to see.
What price did you put on that very precious heart
Did it fetch you all that you wanted in return
The cost was as high and even at that not enough
For how much does it cost for love to forever burn
Wisdom
David W. Oakes
Wisdom is within all of us
Some on the surface, some below
We don’t always know how to aim it
Like an archer with a bow
But if we look within ourselves
Honestly and without the lies
We can see most things as we should
And from the deep the truth will rise
Being wise takes only the willingness
To with yourself be brutally honest
Accept the truth like it or not
You hear takes care of the rest
So to allow your wisdom to come out
And have faith in all you do
It is merely a matter of honesty
And allowing your heart to be true
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