Poetry by James Ryan - If you have any comments Email mozart@symphony21.freeserve.co.uk - Poetry

FATE

A simple twist in a complicated tale
Subtle in extremities, yet a turn to make it fail
Savaged in ruthlessness to find the pretty blue
Wayward in it’s compromise of where and what to do
Left or right, right or left, who knows or really cares
The best foot forward is the one who really dares
Clued up in defiance of the swinging scale
Balance is the order of the day to reach with no avail
Tip me I am waiting for the judgment is the day
A landslide for the jubilant who fight to make it pay
A corner turned, a street that’s crossed, a parting of the wave
A heaven’s intervention for a soul to sweep and save
No logic in it’s thinking or right to view the fact
Question it, of course we do, but the answer lies in the act
Whether it destroys or makes the heart jump and sing
Nothing can escape the turmoil it will bring
So call it what you may, for humans need to relate
The turning point in a life, is simply a twist of fate

James Ryan 1999

ONE LAST TIME

If only I could taste it one last time
the pain of love still lingers in heart and in mind
For the sky would always be blue, so rich and so deep
the flowers would be mine, the smell I could keep
My enemy would be my friend again, I would feel no hate
my arms would be open to all who passed by my gate
But somehow I am sunk like the ships in the sea
Somehow I am dark like the shadows in the street

If only I could find it one last time
the pain of her still lingers in heart and in mind
For the ballads on the radio would not fill me with sadness
my yearning for life would be almost contagious
My house would be vibrant with colours and light
I would dream of the heavens when day turned to night
But somehow I am empty like the glass that held wine
Somehow I am broken like the heart that is mine

If only I could feel it one last time
the memory still lingers in heart and in mind
For the path that was walked, I would walk again
For I have embraced love and that is my pain

James Ryan 1999

THE QUESTION

Alas the night before the dawn
the faintest dew of April morn
a lowly sigh from earth to sky
the question in the air is why?

A bird of song in subtle shrill
not so loud but distant still
upon the branch his lullaby
the question in the air is why?

A flower pure from heaven sent
once so proud now slightly bent
a petal falls to weep and cry
the question in the air is why?

A ray of light through clouded smog
a beam of hope in man made fog
to warm the earth the sun will try
the question in the air is why?

The child lies in mud and rain
silent but for the mothers pain
in desperation she looks on high
the question in the air is why?

The greatest power looks on in shame
a heart that’s broken once again
creation born to kill and die
the question in the air is why?

James Ryan 1999

QUESTIONS FOR THE UNLOVED

What am I doing and where am I going?
Who should I be with and how will I know it?
Who really cares if I’m all alone?
Who will come a calling if I stay at home?
Who will greet me when I get off that train?
Who will give me shelter when I stand in the rain?
Who will give me food when I’ve got no money?
Who will share my laughter when I say something funny?
Who will kiss me softly when I need some affection?
Who will give me guidance when I’ve lost direction?
Who will keep me warm when I turn really cold?
Who will squeeze me tight when I need someone to hold?
Who will say ‘I love you’ when it needs to be said
Who will show they care when I’m lying in my bed?
Who will walk with me as I develop with age?
Who will calm me down when I explode with rage?
Who will dry my tears when I feel the need to cry?
Who will spurn me on when I just can’t try?
Who will sing a song that makes my heart skip a beat?
Who will take my hand when we eventually meet?
Who will tell me that the right one was here?
Who will tell me that my chance has disappeared?

James Ryan 1999

INNER DOMICILE

I dread the lonely catacombs that dwell beneath my skin
eerie hollow domiciles that reflect the state I’m in
picture covered walls of lives I know not when
forgotten savaged ruins that haunt me yet again
I hear the footsteps closer, closer than before
shadows fell my eyes as he unlocks the door
he offers me a glass to share his thick red wine
I breathe deep and take a sip in truth I break the shrine
he tells me of my future in drawings carved in stone
his spindly fingers point to where I stand alone
I reach up for the hood that drapes across his face
I long to see his eyes harrowed by the taste
of victims he has taken by force and not by will
tempted by the offerings of unsolicited thrill
in defence he roars with rage and vows to sweep me up
in arms that have taken many who dared to stand and look
perhaps here is the moment when at last I decide
to fight the consequences of my inner domicile
to leave that perished place and behind me lock the door
to leave behind the footsteps further than before

James Ryan 1999

It’s Hard to Describe

It’s hard to describe what’s going on inside
the sun that was shining has left me to die
the fire that burned refuses to light
the stars are my tears in my darkest night
the smell of her perfume lingers no more
the softness of her lips no longer my cure
her laughter a distant echo on silent white walls
no longer my safety in times when I fall
It’s hard to describe what termination has achieved
the hole that is left can never be appeased
the pain is so strange, it hangs like a weight
it pulls on my heart to suffocate
the love that I want to give and to have
from the only one person who strayed from my path
it’s easy for them to say it takes time
when all that I want is for her to be mine
It’s hard to describe what will happen tomorrow
but for now I want to be left with my sorrow

James Ryan 1999

Shadow of You.

Ridiculed, ignorned, slain in the desert,
cold tired eyes view skies late at night,
whipped for a penny, no less shall ye take
feed your own hunger, the desire that you fake.
rob me of my innocence, imortal and betrayed
you are the false one, I hate you I hate.
Leave me to perish your creation, your creed
screw your forgiveness, I choke on your name
Strength is within me as you waver and fall
the sun burns my eyes as freedom comforts me at last
The sky turning red to provoke a new dawn
as you lay abandoned, neglected and shamed
How I rejoice in the dust of your control
breathe in the air as it cleanses my soul
far away I shall ride on the wings of expectation
no more I hide in the shadow of you

James Ryan 1998

WEEPING WILLOW TREE

Created a little white lie for the wandering soul
hopeful that it may bring a smile to the hungry and the cold
perhaps the joke is that we believe in something we cannot see
leaves us wondering by the weeping willow tree
trapped by the choice that we never got to choose
the mirror does not lie but it lights the fuse
hands become stiff and the face starts to crack
the memory fades and forgets to take us back
back to the beginning when the sun was at its brightest
running through the fields laughing at the images around us
whoever played the trick is laughing loudest now
perhaps in the end we’ll see the final bow
curtains rise and fall and no one seems to care
once to tred the path and in a flash no longer there
stones lay as the symbol to a journey that reached it’s end
withered like the one who rests beside a friend
cannot escape that air of inevitability
the hope is that we live on in the memory
touched someone in the way that makes us last
peaceful in the knowledge that we may have laid a cast
to prepare for what is coming and what they may see
to never leave them wondering by the weeping willow tree

James Ryan 1999

Would I ?

Asphyxiate me with your words, your sublime infatuations
disintegrate the truth with blind intoxication
it is the fear of your insecurity that plagues you from within
the rage that haunts your every move is my adversity
my words are merely victims for you to terrorize
the feelings that I have for you are yours to falsify

Would I be prey for your serpent tongue if my love refused to grow?
Would I remain the tarnished scapegoat if it were not so?
Would I face the torrent of your abuse if my passion had subsided?
Would I pray for absolution and yet be left undecided?
Would I cling to what is remaining when I should forget to try?
Would I keep saying that I love you, I need you...
Would I?

James Ryan 1999

Unblemished Heart

Dare I stain the unblemished heart
that travels willfully through the undergrowth of paranoia
Seeking solitude in rain swept forests
I follow her as she dances on the tips of golden wings
Faith she has in abundance
innocence bursting with exuberance
no chance for I to rekindle that feeling
but for now I shall draw my strength from her passion
Silently I safeguard her from the madness
for her spirit commands the right to such protection
Am I the fool for trailing in her shadow
hoping for a chance to feel her breath upon my lips
Will insanity prevail on the weakest one of all
will I loose it once again in the way I did before
Faith I have none in abundance
innocence no longer bursting with exuberance
what chance for I to rekindle that conception
so for now I shall draw my hope from her enthusiasm
James Ryan 1999

Lovers Tiff

Violently erupting from a shower to a storm
when the first word has been spoken with no calm in the voice
stubbornly leaping to the core of what incenses
spitting blood it rages on the weakened and defenseless
abuse smashes forth with the speed of incomprehension
no time to think what may have inflicted or offended
tempers flare as the battle becomes a war
neither side will win when the dust has settled once more
Silence follows the conflict eerie and subdued
both parties stand reflecting on the missiles that were thrown
stubborn in refusal to bring about the peace
slowly over moments in the middle should it meet
apologies not forthcoming from taught and tired lips
the eyes beckon forth the forgiveness in the midst
of all that was said and heaped upon the heart
regretfully to wish a rewind to the start
to quell the bitter feeling before that first act
to wave the flag of peace and sign the lovers pact
a promise strong in mind to never attack again
a promise that will be broken some how some where some when.

James Ryan 1999

This precious life ?

What is it that I see in pictures on the screen?
what is it that I hear from places I’ve never been?
what is it that ignites the fuel of such disdain?
what is it that induces the affliction of such pain?
is it self destruction that drives the common goal?
the inability to love another living soul
to kill for killing’s sake in every social path
to take by inhuman force the thing we cannot have
for everyday that passes it fills my aching head
the guilt I should be feeling from the tears I never shed
or is it that I find it so hard to comprehend
that the core of human nature is rotten to the end
it lives and breaths in each of us, to deny it is a lie
the test is how we control it, to preserve this precious life

James Ryan 1999

Be Still

I rush to the defence of her vulnerabilities
saturated in uncompromising uncertainty
she turns to the small child, hidden behind her smile
reflecting the undertones of her exhausted innocence
pride exonerated behind chocolate brown eyes
In all of this I ask just one thing
be still against my captivated heart, be still
I soothe her melancholy raptures in abundance
run with the wind to seek her affections
dine with the devil to obliterate her fears
turn water to wine to quench her thirst
risk my life to give her life
for all of this I ask just one thing
be still against my captivated heart, be still
In times of disillusion
I guide her footsteps through the misty meadow
when torment jeopardizes her own sanity
when disappointment engulfs her days
when maybe in her darkest moments she will see
I ask nothing of her, but for just one thing
be still against my captivated heart, be still

James Ryan 1999

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Page Updated Tue May 4, 1999 8:30am EDT