You Astonish My Heart
You astonish my heart
Giving meaning to every day
Reason for each breath I take.
Your voice echoes on inspiring
Soft lilting within my soul
Giving my Muse reason to sing.
Old Sailor
Old sailor sitting on a sea wall, relaxed and at ease
Content and happy with passing years and memories.
Watching with moist eyes the swell of dancing waves
Swirling, heaving, churning, white crested horses
Hears the shrill cries of soaring darting seagulls
As salty spray falls upon his weathered face.
Sighing, closes his eyes, remembering times long gone
When he served before mast and bellowing sail
Surviving raging storms with shipmates lost overboard.
Climbing up slippery rigging pulling in flapping sails
With monstrous waves breaking over heaving ship.
Delighting in shore leave with pretty girl in every port
Getting drunk, spending all his pay, returning to his ship
And adopted mother the unruly sea, his home.
Lion tamer
Great Lionel was a lion tamer, intrepid, bold and true
Star of the circus, daredevil of the sawdust ring
Bravery second to none, a hero knowing no fear.
Introduced by the ringmaster he steps in the ring
Wearing red satin tights, purple vest, and black boots
Cracking his whip with pistol on hip, so haughty and proud
Fearlessly enters the lions’ cage with contemptuous grin
Confronting three elderly lions and bad-tempered lioness.
The audience cheer and Great Lionel bows and waves,
Cracking his whip, the three lions obey leaping on barrels
Quiet and still, ready to perform and follow his commands.
But lioness refuses, sullen and hungry, wanting her dinner
She ate Great Lionel leaving only whip and black leather boots.
Eagle and the hare
Gliding high on outstretched wings
Golden eagle floats upon the wind
Above a Scottish Glen, eyes searching
Swaying heather far below seeking prey.
Nervous hare, nose twitching, ever fearful
Standing on hind legs looking for danger
Not seeing death high above upon the wing
And feeling safe returns to eating grass.
The eagle folds wings and drops to kill
Silent and deadly, talons open to grab
Hare terrified as talons dig into fur and flesh
Screams and is snatched away to be eaten.
Essence of true love
True love is never boastful and proud
But patient, steadfast and honest
Moving mountains in its path.
True love is never jealous, wicked and envious
Not keeping records of wrong doings
Always willing to go the extra mile.
True love is never self-seeking nor cruel
But delights seeing a loved one smile
And has no price to be bought and sold.
Voices
Voices from long ago call echoing in my dreams
Memories of childhood, joyous, sweet, and innocent
Bright golden summers that seemed never-ending
When happiness reigned supreme with days rich with love
Family supporting and encouraging, guiding my way.
Now, my parents and brother are long gone and grave deep
And I am burdened with old age, anthric bones, blood pressure
Alone, difficulty walking with time cruelly speeded up,
Destination the grave and final sleep coming ever closer.
Throughout life I sought for meaning and truth
Finding the blue planet was like a single grain of sand
Lost among vast desert of stars expanding ever outwards
Away into an eternal blackness of space with limit unknown,
While wondering on the existence of a loving God.
About the Author
Colin Ian Jeffery is an established English poet and novelist with world-wide reputation. He was seven, a choirboy, when he became entranced by poetry after hearing the twenty-third psalm. The beauty of the words struck his soul like lightning and his Muse began to sing. He then found poetry was being read on the BBC radio Home Service and would listen in awe and delight to such poets as Dylan Thomas, John Betjeman, and Ted Hughes.
