So many dreams lie dead or dyingin the rear-view mirror of time.So many possibilities, thrown awayon the spin of a careless old dime. Too many long years in the distant pastnow clawing away at my back.Too many decisions, in the heat of the day,under pressure to remain on the track. The horizon no longer holds…
WINTER WONDERLAND
Why was the light so clear and bright as I awoke from a long, cold night?I wondered at the unusual signscreeping through the window blinds.Rising up and peeping out to discover what was the cause,the sight that I beheld, made me take an excited pause.For the world outside was covered in a blanket of pure,…
LOVE ON A SEA BREEZE
The rippling waveswashed her elfin feet,as she dreamily gazed across the sun-kissed beach.I caught her wandering eyesin a moment of pure joyand the twinkle deep within themtold a tale of pleasures ahoy.She was a dream; a goddess,in a silken veil of mystique,the coy little grin she tried to hidespread a blush across my cheeks.The warmth…
MUSHROOM COCKTAIL
Hell on earth, they called it;the gravity well of the west. A public attraction for all the world,Well, it certainly passed the test. They came to see it,from miles around,from high aboveand underground. It pleased so fewof the paying guestsand merely displeased all the rest. But any ‘scholars’ it failed to attract,and many of them, there were. Stamped their feetand…
CHILDHOOD DREAMS
Paper planes and silly names,soccer balls and trips and falls.Running wild and running free,seeing more than old eyes see.Far off lands and dirty hands,wars and laws and loud guffaws.Flying kites and riding bikes,digging holes and shinning up poles.Climbing trees and dodging bees,playing with worms, don’t care about germs.Paddling pools and ‘wagging’ school,playing Kerby and watching…
MUSIC
“Music was my first love,and it will be my last…”But what do you dowhen the melody fades;when the band packs its bagsand slowly walks away?The endless verses that carried us through,the light of day and the darkest truth.Words pouring outfrom trembling lip,washed away by tearsas they silently drip.Wondrous chorusestrapped in your brain.A catchy new riff…
REFLECTIONS OF A TIRED MIND
High up on its nail,the old “Ticking-Tock”.Ever looking down and seeming to mock. I look at its hands with a wry old smile.They’ve slowed down so much, “I haven’t wound you for a while”. It now looks so sad;I imagine a frown.The old clock in the hall,perhaps I’ll take it down… “It’s alright, my old friend, you can…
DESTINY, DISDAINED.
I turn my face, to implore the call of the oncoming night.Where a generation of love’s lost light,pours envy into my core. The heat of a love that was lost in time;the silken starlight of endless lifetimes, swept on by. I feel the mourning moonlight, cool, upon weary, sagging shoulders.The weight of a world, crying…
A SILENT CRY
Amidst the linesof a child’s lullaby,there lies, within,such a silent cry.Tears of pain have taken their toll,behind the mask of a sobbing soul.So much painbehind innocent eyes.Too much sorrow to hold,as they try to disguise.Seeking the succourof a mothers embrace,to kiss the dampnessfrom the tracks on their face.The rhythmic beatof a familiar heartletting the soulplay…
REFLECTIONS
Lay yourself down in a blanket of love,a cover so soft upon a world grown so cold.As memories flood back to gently caress an aching mind;of a love grown cold in a heart now so old.The days grow so long and lonelyas you ask yourself, “If only…”In the world that you’ve made, from birth to…
A FADING DREAM
What point to it all,if the words simply fall on vacant ears?The memories, such as they are, are tainted and marred.A weeping heart left so cold; so scarred.To live a life, once so full and completejust to painfully have to admit defeat.As the ‘Ticking-Tock’ of the kitchen clock,counts away the precious, fleeting days.To watch it…
AN INDELIBLE STAIN
(Chaos In Purple Pt.1)A striped tie and a purple suit,an irrational stain upon one, so astute.The manic disguise of a madman’s gaze,upon all who penetrate his meticulous glaze.A trail of lies across a sandy shore,giving nothing away to a vacant whore.She’s selling her wares to the casual observer,a willing participant to all who would serve…
GET UP!
The sun’s rays, ever shining down,in an attempt to turn the sad old frown,into a smile that could warm the coldest heart;give a shrunken soul a brand-new start.The tears, long since dried,have left a trail of sadness beneath weary, old eyes.No more to light a room, with their enchanting glow.And yet, there’s one clear thing…
LOST SOULS
Too many lives wasted, too many tears shed. Dictators thrive on power and greed while lost souls cry for justice. Generations pass, unaware of the tragic cost of tyranny. We mourn the sacrifice made in foreign fields, yet the cycle continues, fuelled by indifference to the horror of their deeds.
UNVEILED
Time and againwe mark the pagesleaving a telling taleacross the agesTales of lovetinged with challenging timesa never-ending recordof the timekeepers chimes.Together in a onenessso strong and completean encompassing walldefending all at ones feet.Word after wordtelling tales once hiddenrevealing deep feelingsonly now, freely given.*Written by Darren Scanlon, 1st November 2024©2024 Darren Scanlon. All rights reserved.
ETERNAL FIRES
In fields where children’s laughter fades,where dust devours the light of day,the eerie echoes of distant blades,sing songs of death, in dark array.The trumpets blare, the drums resound,yet peace is nowhere to be found.In trenches deep, where souls are lost,a cruel reminder of the cost.In valour’s name, young men are sentto face a dire and…
AN UNCERTAIN SOUL.
The sweetness of the airas it breezes through your flaxen hair,lights a fire within a sad, searching soul,filling the depths of another deepening hole.Is a hope rekindled in the shadows within?Destined to walk the lonely nights…Or maybe to win?Only time will tell, if it deems one worthy…So many long and fruitless fights…So much old, thinning…
BORROWED TIME
A fading photo on a flaking wall.A distant memory is, sadly all that is leftof the legacy you tried so hard to leave behind.The silken threads and wonderful websof the long winding paths you would weave,and yet, the pain deep in the cleft of yourburned and broken heart cannot let go…Just cannot let go.And the…
A LONELY ROAD
It’s cold;the glass, so cold.The hand that reaches outto tentatively touch,has grown so old and frail. Yet once, so bold.So bold…“Are you there, My Love?”So dark;the weary world outside, so dark.Where has everyone gone?There should be more than this;there used to be a reason to exist.To exist…“Where are you, My Love?”The tears;The rain cries cold,…
NOWHERE TO HIDE
It’s hard to hidebehind a disguise,in a world overflowingwith x-ray eyes.A hidden heartsimply torn apart,the remains left tattered and tornupon a silken sleeve.No time left to mend,we can do noughtbut grieve.Echoes of trailing feet,slipping and slidingdown so manyrain-soaked streets.Looking for a wayto avoid the dangerof a random, passing stranger;a hesitant smilepeeping out from insidethe shadows,to…
WRETCHED WORLD
Looking down upon a world of disdain,people dying; crying out in their pain.A landscape pockmarked by war and neglect,careless misuse at the hands of the inept.The air up here, once so clear and fresh,now as tainted as the life it does tenderly caress.A concoction of venoms infused in every breath,a sentence passed down; an insidious…
THE DEVILS WHORE
A sycophantic whore,chasing running scores.Stagnant sweat streamsfrom unwashed pores. Satan’s dark talonstearing through her skin,and the raging demons,screaming from within. The gaunt gothic maskupon her fragile face,conceals the flaking paintof a dull, faded grace.The pungent aromaof lingering lust,disturbs the memoryof a buried disgust. Taunting terrified soulswith a smirk of sultry joy,as hungry ghouls are snappingat the feet of…
FATHER AND SON
I touch your cheek,I’m surprised, it’s cold.I reach for your handfor I need it to hold. I look upon your facethat beamed and sparkledas we loved and laughed,wrestled and tickled. Your face is so pallid,the sparkle is gone,no more to smilein the hot summer sun. Your hair neatly tended,you lie there so stillas I try, with memories,a dark…
TIMES BROKEN ARROW
The world keeps rocking to the sound of the void, a pirouette through time that we simply can’t avoid. But what have you done today? Did the fool on his errand pass you silently by? Did you have much to say, as his time, like the clock, seemed to fly? – And the world is…
THE WISE MEN
They’re at it again shouting and fighting, like a pair of spoilt children scratching and biting. For centuries they’ve argued over a piece of land, just rocks and rubble and desert sand. And, “Why?”, you surely ask, such death and destruction; so much innocence torn apart by such arrogant appropriation?” Why must the human race…
A MOUSES TAIL
“But it’s not my fault”, cried the mouse in dismay, “I though I knew where I was but appear to have lost my way” Sat at the foot of my bed with his hands behind his head, he tried, through his tears, to relate what is here. … I set out, early this morn,…
DARK PANACEA
A crowded room is such a lonely place, wear a fragile mask upon a weary face. Everybody’s here yet there’s nobody there and there’s nothing to do, except sit and stare. The distant sounds of joy and laughter, drifting like echoes in dusty rafters. As I slowly subside, sinking oh-so low and I’m silently wondering…
LEGACY OF LOVE
A legacy of words draped across a cold heart, reaching out from a past where ‘twas torn apart. A powerful rhyme; an alliterate touch, to a tender mind, could be just too much. Yet, a warmth now engulfs as if it never really left and, for the briefest of moments, it heals a soul that…
PENSIVE PANE
Standing by the window, calling out the rain and the pain in my neck, as desperate drops call and fall to the mocking marble floor. Rolling rivers of nonchalance that no amount of will or wittering can stop or suspend. Just falling… falling… and in laughter, calling, as they slip to the welcoming floor, sneaking…
INSURRECTION
There’s a line in the sanddrawn in dark distant lands,where the guts and the gloryand fine marching bands,will all die in the dustand play into their hands. And invisible wallsacross seas, oh so wide,are not worth all the tearsand the fears that they hide.So the captains and sailorsshould close the divide.They should all cry, “NO!” Then the…
BROKEN BOUGHS
“Swaying aloft on a warm summer breeze, the life-giving forests of wise, ancient trees.” Life filled leaves of a forest, green, its purest form, now so seldom seen. Majestically reaching so high in the hills, no roots of malice, no hate or ill-will. To wistfully walk among bramble and bush, through wind-swept grasses, so gentle and lush, as the woes of the world drift so…
THE EVERLASTING WONDER
Watching them grow, the seeds I did sow so long ago. Nature seems to nurture, protecting their future and just look at them now. I think I’ve got to take a bow. It’s an amazing thing, for the joy they bring to our eyes and nose and stunning how they do it. Their colours so…
HOW LONG
How long must we sit in silent sorrow, whilst our sons and daughters are robbed of the precious little time they may only borrow? How long can we hold back the fear, staring in stunned horror as they drown in a torrent of their terrified tears? How long can the world stand idly by, watching…
HIDDEN DEPTHS
If I close my eyes, will I still hear the silent cries; the solemn goodbyes. The solitary door through which I was pushed, callously cajoled and heartlessly hushed, led to so much confusion, too many decisions, a reign of despair and draining derision. So many choices, so many voices… Left or right, to run or…
WHAT LIFE?
What life, if life is nought but pain and misery. The spark and the flame, though once so bright, but a flicker within the storms that rage through the night. What joy, if joy is tinged by dark, dour days. The twinkle in her eyes, just a shimmering mirage; an after-image of long days gone…
EMPTINESS
Hold me tight. Hold me through the dark of the coming night. I’m so alone; so alone and cold. Reaching out beseeching hands but there’s nobody there to hold. Where did it all go? I really need to know. A glance in the mist, looking for the face I once kissed. Just a fleeting look,…
THE RIPPLES OF LIFE
(In Loving Memory Of Leanne Jane. 1990 – 2022) She drifted away on an angels sighs, leaving such a hole in so many lives. Heartbreak and tears, the only sight, where once a candle burned so bright. Such a devastating loss, so much stolen away. The brutal reality in the cold light of a heart-breaking…
THE UNINVITED GUEST
Oh deep, dark depression, my uninvited guest, the persistence of oppression is precluding my life’s zest. The dark before sunrise of a dawn that just won’t break, suppressed by a thirst for my soul that only sorrow can now slake. The wisps that you are weaving are clouding my damp eyes, a cold and cloying…
DESPAIR
The trail of a solitary tear on a soft, golden cheek. A silently, searching eye and the sweet solace that it seeks. A deep, desperate gaze from a lonely, longing heart. A despondent, crying soul and a hope it had held from the start. A hand, held out, beseeching a face, in final despair. A…
PLEASE EXPLAIN?
(This is the first poem I ever wrote, at the tender age of 16yrs old…) I am me, I am you but who am I? What is my purpose, please tell me am I just surplus? Where do I come from and where do I go, why don’t I know? Say…
WORDS OF WONDER
A word on a line joined with many and more, a story to tell from behind a closed door. A line on a page and a paragraph to make, from a thoughtful sage to the ones who forsake. A page in a book telling tales short and tall, just have a quick look, hear the…
THE SOUND OF SILENCE
How sweet the sound of silence, like angels in my head. For so much more is heard, when little more is said. * Written by Darren Scanlon, 1st August 2018
THE NURTURING KNIFE
After my final curtain call when the stage lights dim, what will life hold to see. At the end of my show when the cold ink has dried, what will become of me? Clutching a crumbling pen between the trembling fingers of a shaky, uncertain hand. Is that really to be my end; no more…
THE LIONS ROAR
Northumberland to Newcastle and Cumbria’s lofty hills, Durham down through Cleveland, into Yorkshire’s misty dales. Across the lofty Pennines to Lancashire so fine, Cheshire, Staffs and Shropshire, the Severn lands align. Down into the Midlands, Leicester, Notts. and Brum, Derbyshire to Warwick, you can feel the heart-beat thrum. From Humberside and Lincolnshire, Northants and Norfolk…
THE LIE
How can a lie make the whole world cry, yet they claim there is nothing to see, where nefarious knaves and the covetous crave beneath covers so stealthily, free? No thought for the plebs as they weave dangerous webs in a world already complex, where the sins of the saints have done nothing but taint,…
THE JESTER
The Jester performs to a world full of tears, his mirthful attempt to allay the crowd’s fears. With jovial tones; a sweet serenade, a sharp-witted quip for the blushing maids. But what of the end of his long, lonely road, no whimsical smile, no-one out there to goad. When laughter runs out and The Jester…
THE PEN & THE PAGE 